Running "Darkside" - Page 2

burkbuilds · 11-30-2010, 12:25 AM

I was hoping it would all come in this by this weekend, but I just checked my e-mail and the shipping dates put most of it coming next Monday, so I won't have a chance to do anything with it until the following weekend. Oh well.

burkbuilds · 12-10-2010, 10:27 PM

I did it. Switched over to the car tire today. I had a lot of trouble getting the tire to seat completely on the wheel. It would seat about 300 degrees but that last little bit just didn't want to pop out all the way. I tried several times in my shop and then took it down the road to a mechanic friend that does mainly front end alignment and tire replacement work. He got the same results and wasn't willing to put more than about 80 lbs of pressure on the tire. Next I went to a Suzuki dealer that's right behind my friends shop, they spent about 45 minutes on it and got the same results. Surprisingly, they never even mentioned that I was putting a car tire on a bike, I kinda expected to get some flak from them, but they seemed to think it was fairly common, and had no objections to trying, but they wouldn't put more than 55lbs of pressure on it. So I went back to my shop and tried a few more times, but no success. Next I called a commercial tire installation company and explained my situation, the owner told me to bring it on down and he'd get it on. I took it in and his first words after seeing the tire were, "well, there's your problem, your trying to put a car tire on a motorcycle rim." Yes, I replied, I'm tired of replacing the rear tire every six months. He told me that he rode a bike too, and he took my tire back to the shop area. I looked through the shop window and watched as he hooked it up to an air hose with a clip on it and then got about 6 feet away and put the air to it. In a few seconds I heard a loud "pop" then a few seconds later I heard another "pop". He then instructed one of his guys to let some air out of the tire and then brought it back to me fully seated. I asked him what he did to get it to seat and he said, "I put 110 lbs of pressure on it". Wow!

I was pleased when I got home to find that the 155 width tire, mounted on my rim, was exactly the same width as the 145 motorcycle tire mounted on the rim. I put calipers on both tires and they were exactly the same width, about 5 5/8".

Here is a shot of the calipers on the new BFGoodrich 155/80 R15 tire.

The next picture is the calipers on my Michelin 145/90 15 motorcycle tire and I didn't move the calipers at all after measuring the BFG tire, and you can see that they are both touching at the widest point.

Here is a shot looking down on the two tires side by side. You can see a big difference in the profile of the tread, and the motorcycle tire appears to be larger in diameter, but for all practical purposes, they are close enough.

Once I got the new tire balanced, which was a lot easier than balancing the motorcycle tire, and took a lot less weight to make it balance, I installed it on the bike and took it for a spin. I am using 35lbs of air in the tire. I don't really know how to determine the proper amount of pressure, so I'll just have to play with it a little and see how the tire is wearing.

I started out running some neighborhood roads and then took it up on state highway 27. Got it up to about 70 mph for about 3 miles and then turned around and came back the other way. Next I ran a local twisty road to see how it handled in the curves and then I took it up on Missionary Ridge and ran some more curves. Dropped down to East Ridge, Tn and headed out to I-24, took it back up to about 70-75 then headed south on I-75 for a few miles. Got off the highway, took some more twisties and came home.

Here's my impression. It does feel different than the motorcycle tire. Not worse, just different. I found it to run smoother and with less vibration than the motorcycle tire. It is easier to maintain your direction when going straight ahead, and you can almost balance out and not put your feet down at a stop, which is kinda cool. I also found that it corners great, just as well as the MC tire, maybe even better, but definitely not any less. It does take more "effort" to lean into the turns, but it's also easier to pop back up when you come out and switchbacks are not a problem at all. I never scraped the pegs but I was fairly aggressive in running the s-turns I hit tonight. I also took a few minutes and drove around in a gravel parking lot to see how it would do. Not a lot of difference there, but the back end never felt like it was sliding out at all, so maybe a little improvement over the mc tire.

Well, I'm not saying anybody else should do this, and I'm not saying it is a good idea or recommending it, but I will say that I'm glad I tried it, and I think I will probably stay with it. I like the way it feels, and I'm hoping it will last 2-3 times as many miles as my MC tires were. My friend who owns the alignment shop also rides and he said he had three people he knew who rode CT on the back tire of their Motorcycles.

burkbuilds · 12-10-2010, 10:33 PM

I failed to mention that I also changed from a spoked wheel to an aluminum rim so I wouldn't have to deal with all the labor of cleaning and shining the spokes and I also don't have to run an inner tube in the tire now. The only kinda weird thing is that the BFGoodrich tire is blackwall on one side and raised white letters on the other.

music man · 12-10-2010, 10:59 PM

When I read about you wanting to try this I started to mention to you that a big problem a lot of people have with it is getting it to seat properly, and I forgot to ever post it up. That is cool as hell that it works and you like it, I would love to do that, I am like you, it is ridiculous how often you have to change a back motorcycle tire.

Water Warrior 2 · 12-11-2010, 12:48 AM

Like the look of the new tire/wheel combo. I do think you will get tired of looking at the same tire and wondering if it will ever wear out. Something to keep in mind though. From what I have read the CT is a real bear to remove so hopefully it will really last.

burkbuilds · 12-11-2010, 09:32 AM

The tire dealer that got it to seat for me did not charge me anything, the only thing he requested was that I trade with him in the future. I asked him if he stocked this particular tire and he said yes, quoted me a price and so I think I'll return and let him do the work next time, which hopefully will be 24-30K or more down the road.

zenbutcher · 12-22-2010, 03:51 PM

Glad you got everything to work out. You write well and I enjoy your posts. Keep us updated!

Water Warrior 2 · 12-22-2010, 09:36 PM

I think the 500 will remain the ride of choice for the long commute. However after a seat mod and a couple other additions their could be a major change for the long commute. BB might find it an advantage to just keep riding the 500 until the 750 is all finished and modded to his satisfaction.....................Oh yeah, I can see that happening. Just park the new ride for the next 3 or 4 months. What was I thinking ?? :lol:

burkbuilds · 12-23-2010, 10:32 AM

I am looking forward to getting the new 750 home, but I have no plans to make it into my commuting bike. Of course, that could always change. The 750 is a showroom unit without any add on's as best I can tell. Eventually it will at least get floorboards, a crash bar (engine guards) and a windshield. I'll be interested in seeing how the seat feels after an hour in the saddle. So far I've always modified my seats and this will probably happen at some point in the future with the 750 too. I'll also add a Stebel air horn to the bike, mine has saved me from getting run over several times since I put it on. Basically I'm hoping the 750 will be my in town commute to work bike when I graduate from college and get a job closer to home.

burkbuilds · 01-01-2011, 05:01 PM

I've put about 1,000 miles on the car tire now. Fuel economy about the same, can't really tell any difference there. The "feel" is different. A lot of the people I've read posts from that switched to a car tire said that they got used to it and didn't notice it after a short time. I can't say that. I can still feel a difference. Kinda hard to put it into words, but I will try. The car tire reacts to some things that the motorcycle tire ignored, but it also dismisses things that the motorcycle tire was affected by. Examples, grooves in the road and long gouges left in the highway by car wheel rims when their tires blew out are less noticeable with the car tire on my bike. Uneven pavement is more noticeable though. When you are in a curve one direction and pop back up over the top and lean the other direction, the feel is seamless on a motorcycle tire, but on the car tire you feel like you hit a flat spot at the top. I've also noticed that in cold wet weather, you need to get a few miles on the car tire before it "sticks" as good as the motorcycle tire. The only time I've felt it "slide" a little was leaving work on a cold rainy day and pulling out in a fairly sharp left turn while aggressively accelerating onto the street. Now it's possible that I would have had the same "feel" with the motorcycle tire, not sure if I've ever had that exact set of circumstances when I had the bike tire on or not, but I've done it twice with the car tire. Never lost control or anything, just felt like it slid a little bit. Having said that, I'm happy with the change if it gets me double the mileage I was getting from much more expensive motorcycle tires. I plan to ride it out and see how well it wears. If this was a motorcycle tire it would be out of tread by June at the latest, so it shouldn't take long to answer this question.

11-30-2010, 12:25 AM	#11
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Running "Darkside" I was hoping it would all come in this by this weekend, but I just checked my e-mail and the shipping dates put most of it coming next Monday, so I won't have a chance to do anything with it until the following weekend. Oh well. Login or Register to Remove Ads
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12-10-2010, 10:27 PM	#12
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Running "Darkside" I did it. Switched over to the car tire today. I had a lot of trouble getting the tire to seat completely on the wheel. It would seat about 300 degrees but that last little bit just didn't want to pop out all the way. I tried several times in my shop and then took it down the road to a mechanic friend that does mainly front end alignment and tire replacement work. He got the same results and wasn't willing to put more than about 80 lbs of pressure on the tire. Next I went to a Suzuki dealer that's right behind my friends shop, they spent about 45 minutes on it and got the same results. Surprisingly, they never even mentioned that I was putting a car tire on a bike, I kinda expected to get some flak from them, but they seemed to think it was fairly common, and had no objections to trying, but they wouldn't put more than 55lbs of pressure on it. So I went back to my shop and tried a few more times, but no success. Next I called a commercial tire installation company and explained my situation, the owner told me to bring it on down and he'd get it on. I took it in and his first words after seeing the tire were, "well, there's your problem, your trying to put a car tire on a motorcycle rim." Yes, I replied, I'm tired of replacing the rear tire every six months. He told me that he rode a bike too, and he took my tire back to the shop area. I looked through the shop window and watched as he hooked it up to an air hose with a clip on it and then got about 6 feet away and put the air to it. In a few seconds I heard a loud "pop" then a few seconds later I heard another "pop". He then instructed one of his guys to let some air out of the tire and then brought it back to me fully seated. I asked him what he did to get it to seat and he said, "I put 110 lbs of pressure on it". Wow! I was pleased when I got home to find that the 155 width tire, mounted on my rim, was exactly the same width as the 145 motorcycle tire mounted on the rim. I put calipers on both tires and they were exactly the same width, about 5 5/8". Here is a shot of the calipers on the new BFGoodrich 155/80 R15 tire. The next picture is the calipers on my Michelin 145/90 15 motorcycle tire and I didn't move the calipers at all after measuring the BFG tire, and you can see that they are both touching at the widest point. Here is a shot looking down on the two tires side by side. You can see a big difference in the profile of the tread, and the motorcycle tire appears to be larger in diameter, but for all practical purposes, they are close enough. Once I got the new tire balanced, which was a lot easier than balancing the motorcycle tire, and took a lot less weight to make it balance, I installed it on the bike and took it for a spin. I am using 35lbs of air in the tire. I don't really know how to determine the proper amount of pressure, so I'll just have to play with it a little and see how the tire is wearing. I started out running some neighborhood roads and then took it up on state highway 27. Got it up to about 70 mph for about 3 miles and then turned around and came back the other way. Next I ran a local twisty road to see how it handled in the curves and then I took it up on Missionary Ridge and ran some more curves. Dropped down to East Ridge, Tn and headed out to I-24, took it back up to about 70-75 then headed south on I-75 for a few miles. Got off the highway, took some more twisties and came home. Here's my impression. It does feel different than the motorcycle tire. Not worse, just different. I found it to run smoother and with less vibration than the motorcycle tire. It is easier to maintain your direction when going straight ahead, and you can almost balance out and not put your feet down at a stop, which is kinda cool. I also found that it corners great, just as well as the MC tire, maybe even better, but definitely not any less. It does take more "effort" to lean into the turns, but it's also easier to pop back up when you come out and switchbacks are not a problem at all. I never scraped the pegs but I was fairly aggressive in running the s-turns I hit tonight. I also took a few minutes and drove around in a gravel parking lot to see how it would do. Not a lot of difference there, but the back end never felt like it was sliding out at all, so maybe a little improvement over the mc tire. Well, I'm not saying anybody else should do this, and I'm not saying it is a good idea or recommending it, but I will say that I'm glad I tried it, and I think I will probably stay with it. I like the way it feels, and I'm hoping it will last 2-3 times as many miles as my MC tires were. My friend who owns the alignment shop also rides and he said he had three people he knew who rode CT on the back tire of their Motorcycles.
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12-10-2010, 10:33 PM	#13
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Running "Darkside" I failed to mention that I also changed from a spoked wheel to an aluminum rim so I wouldn't have to deal with all the labor of cleaning and shining the spokes and I also don't have to run an inner tube in the tire now. The only kinda weird thing is that the BFGoodrich tire is blackwall on one side and raised white letters on the other. Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

12-10-2010, 10:59 PM	#14
music man Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Hot Springs Arkansas Posts: 1,127	Re: Running "Darkside" When I read about you wanting to try this I started to mention to you that a big problem a lot of people have with it is getting it to seat properly, and I forgot to ever post it up. That is cool as hell that it works and you like it, I would love to do that, I am like you, it is ridiculous how often you have to change a back motorcycle tire. __________________ "Tell me what kind of wreck you're going to have and I'll tell you what type of helmet you need." [Author Unknown]
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12-11-2010, 12:48 AM	#15
Water Warrior 2 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Squamish B.C Canada Posts: 11,409	Re: Running "Darkside" Like the look of the new tire/wheel combo. I do think you will get tired of looking at the same tire and wondering if it will ever wear out. Something to keep in mind though. From what I have read the CT is a real bear to remove so hopefully it will really last. Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

12-11-2010, 09:32 AM	#16
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Running "Darkside" The tire dealer that got it to seat for me did not charge me anything, the only thing he requested was that I trade with him in the future. I asked him if he stocked this particular tire and he said yes, quoted me a price and so I think I'll return and let him do the work next time, which hopefully will be 24-30K or more down the road.
	0

12-22-2010, 03:51 PM	#17
zenbutcher Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 57	Re: Running "Darkside" Glad you got everything to work out. You write well and I enjoy your posts. Keep us updated!
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12-22-2010, 09:36 PM	#18
Water Warrior 2 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Squamish B.C Canada Posts: 11,409	Re: Running "Darkside" I think the 500 will remain the ride of choice for the long commute. However after a seat mod and a couple other additions their could be a major change for the long commute. BB might find it an advantage to just keep riding the 500 until the 750 is all finished and modded to his satisfaction.....................Oh yeah, I can see that happening. Just park the new ride for the next 3 or 4 months. What was I thinking ?? :lol:
	0

12-23-2010, 10:32 AM	#19
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Running "Darkside" I am looking forward to getting the new 750 home, but I have no plans to make it into my commuting bike. Of course, that could always change. The 750 is a showroom unit without any add on's as best I can tell. Eventually it will at least get floorboards, a crash bar (engine guards) and a windshield. I'll be interested in seeing how the seat feels after an hour in the saddle. So far I've always modified my seats and this will probably happen at some point in the future with the 750 too. I'll also add a Stebel air horn to the bike, mine has saved me from getting run over several times since I put it on. Basically I'm hoping the 750 will be my in town commute to work bike when I graduate from college and get a job closer to home.
	0

01-01-2011, 05:01 PM	#20
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Running "Darkside" I've put about 1,000 miles on the car tire now. Fuel economy about the same, can't really tell any difference there. The "feel" is different. A lot of the people I've read posts from that switched to a car tire said that they got used to it and didn't notice it after a short time. I can't say that. I can still feel a difference. Kinda hard to put it into words, but I will try. The car tire reacts to some things that the motorcycle tire ignored, but it also dismisses things that the motorcycle tire was affected by. Examples, grooves in the road and long gouges left in the highway by car wheel rims when their tires blew out are less noticeable with the car tire on my bike. Uneven pavement is more noticeable though. When you are in a curve one direction and pop back up over the top and lean the other direction, the feel is seamless on a motorcycle tire, but on the car tire you feel like you hit a flat spot at the top. I've also noticed that in cold wet weather, you need to get a few miles on the car tire before it "sticks" as good as the motorcycle tire. The only time I've felt it "slide" a little was leaving work on a cold rainy day and pulling out in a fairly sharp left turn while aggressively accelerating onto the street. Now it's possible that I would have had the same "feel" with the motorcycle tire, not sure if I've ever had that exact set of circumstances when I had the bike tire on or not, but I've done it twice with the car tire. Never lost control or anything, just felt like it slid a little bit. Having said that, I'm happy with the change if it gets me double the mileage I was getting from much more expensive motorcycle tires. I plan to ride it out and see how well it wears. If this was a motorcycle tire it would be out of tread by June at the latest, so it shouldn't take long to answer this question.
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