Observations from the Darkside

[brianinpa]

I am not one to just take anyone's word on a subject, especially one that involves my safety, so I wanted to see what that rear tire was doing while riding down the road. I mounted the GoPro to the underside of the left engine guard and went for a ride. I tried slow turns, normal riding, and even 90+ riding. I even stress tested the camera when I leaned into a turn too far and hit the camera. oh2: It seemed that at high speeds the camera only wanted to take video of me...

Here's what I found out... The 165/80R 15 tire that I have on the bike now provides a smoother ride than any motorcycle tire I have ever had on a bike. I was worried about the stories I had heard that it takes a little more lean to get a bike into a turn. That might be the case on a bike with a wider tire, but I didn't find that to be the case with this tire. The bike handles just about the same... the only difference I see is a slight push when I try to turn at a slow speed. It just takes a little more to turn the handlebars.

As far as sidewall flexing goes, take a look...

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBYbRCmDps[/video]

So, with all that in mind, the tire is going to stay and that just means I have some work to do to another wheel.

 

[mcgovern61]

:clapping: Nice!!! I will be curious to see how long the tire lasts compared to your other tires!

 

[dan filipi]

Seems to run normal as a tire, nothing jumped out as a problem I could see.

 

[brianinpa]

You should have seen when the camera hit the road... things were jumping all over the place when that took place!
:smilie_happy:

 

[slabghost]

It also means I have to work on a few wheels myself. Looking real good.

 

[dan filipi]

brianinpa » 21 minutes ago[/url]":19d8k1g8]
You should have seen when the camera hit the road... things were jumping all over the place when that took place!
:smilie_happy:

I would have liked to see that but you cut it out.

 

[brianinpa]

All totaled, I had 1 1/2 hours of video... I had to edit quite a bit of it out.

 

[bronko37]

I know people do it. I know it works. I just have no idea why anyone does it....To what end? What are we trying to gain here?

 

[brianinpa]

The tire I took off had 7,000 miles on it and I only half used of it. Take a close look - the whiskers are still visible:

Bald

• brianinpa
• Apr 16, 2016

The tread on the side never got touched and that seems to be where the most tread is on a motorcycle tire. That is fine for a sports bike, but I don't ride a sports bike. Add to that, most motorcycle tires are rated for around 700 to 900 pounds... The weight of the bike, the rider, and if I put a passenger on the bike... well, the weight rating of that motorcycle tire is exceeded. With a car tire back there, I don't have to worry about that. Mileage, well that remains to be seen.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Have a PVT on my 1800 and it is doing the job quite nicely. My riding friends have tried to find fault with the tire while we ride, but have not. If you tour a lot, putting more than one set of tires on a year gets expensive. I did that last year before I went to a PVT on the rear. have over 10K on the rear and front tire, no cupping on the front and I expect to get at least another 10K out of the front as well, the rear - don't know.

The only issue for me is that I take at least one rider training course each year, and PVTs on a bike are frowned upon - so I need two rear tires.

Another issue is that a PVT may last more than two years and the drive line maintenance required on some of these older bikes may be deferred when it shouln't be.

To what end would a person put a PVT on a bike? I would challenge this mindset with the fact that we all take chances. Who rides without ATGATT? Who rides with a t-shirt, a pair of flip flops, a girlfriend on the back with cutoffs on, or won't take a rider training course. I submit that a PVT on a bike is safer decision than some of the riding practices you see on the road.

From this thread, I now know what size PVT I need to get for my '85 LTD. Have been thinking of this for a while.

Cheers - ride safe, it's a jungle out there! :music:

 

[joedrum]

so far my experience has been great......better stopping ...better traction.....handles and gripss all a oldwing can do before it scrapes anyway ...so no down side i have

 

[Terry]

I loved darksiding on my GL 1800, there was no downside despite the fearful rumours of certain impending death. I ran a run flat car tire that had very rounded edges, with virtually no additional turn in effort from a standard moto tire.

Especially on a big heavy mile eating touring bike, darksiding is the best way to go. Bigger bite, increased load rating, better ride, better wet or dry traction, and increased treadwear life.

The only slight issue is finding someone willing to mount it on a motorcycle wheel.

 

[brianinpa]

Terry » Tue Apr 19, 2016 11:42 am[/url]":824izyan]
The only slight issue is finding someone willing to mount it on a motorcycle wheel.

That's why I do it myself.

 

[slabghost]

I was against the idea of darksiding for a long time. However there are now so many good reports on it and so many cars are actually smaller than our bikes. Car tires seem to be made of much better compounds now than in years past.

 

[bronko37]

Interesting stuff guys....

 

[brianinpa]

Before 2010 I had never considered anything but a motorcycle tire on my bikes because the rear tires would last 12,000 miles and I could live with that. In 2010 when I got a Gold Wing and the first tire I bought lasted 3,000 miles, I was perplexed. Then I heard of this thing called "Darkside" and started to look into it, but too much because I quickly found out that there weren't any tires that would fit the 1100. I did more research and came to the conclusion that if I ever got a chance, I would convert the 1100 so that I could run a passenger vehicle tire (PVT) on the bike: Joe showed us how, and I was able to pick up a donor bike for cheap.

Is it for everyone: well no. Are there strong opinions on both sides of the debate: of course - but I don't debate that often. I just want to get the most for my money as long as it is legal, and the guy that owns the shop that I take my bikes to for inspection said that he will not fail my bike just because there is a PVT on the back... there is nothing in the state's code that states the tire must be a motorcycle tire.

:moped:

 

[Rednaxs60]

bronko37 » Today, 4:37 am[/url]":n0ox619o]
Interesting stuff guys....

These topics are always interesting. Keeping everything in perspective is the difficult part. A PVT on a heavy cruiser actually makes sense, economically and safety wise. Not a lot of flexibility regarding weight and it does't take much to exceed the load capacity of your tires. Hardly Davidson used to sell its bikes with PVT right from the factory.

Failures in tires tend to be from lack of attention and with the exception, under inflation of tires - MC, cars/trucks, trailers - is the number one reason for tire failure. Motorcyclists tend to be more conscious of this issue (I check my truck tires maybe once a year or when I think I should - shame :beg: ) and check their bike tires more religiously.

The nice thing about living where we do is the wealth of choices we have. We get to try different things, push the envelope, tell stories of our adventures and what works for us.

I read an article about this issue a while back and the author who was neutral in his own thoughts came to the conclusion that there are as many cons as there are pros for using a PVT on a bike. He did mention in his closing statement(s) that with the increasing use of PVTs on bike, that there is a good possibility that a PVT manufacturer may very well put out a tire specifically for bikes that will give extremely good mileage. We can only hope.

Ride safe and enjoy!

 

[brianinpa]

This weekend I tallied a total of over 2500 on this tire so far and wanted to add an updated shot...

New...

Just getting broken in...

I have spent some time trying to get the rear end to act squirrelly but it stays planted. In twisting turns, there was a slight learning curve until I figured out exactly how aggressive I could be with the throttle while in a turn, but it just stays stuck to the road. I have also been riding in a pretty heavy rain storm, and I have never felt anything like it before.

In PA we also use the chip stone/oil method of road resurfacing and that has always caused the seat to stick to my butt long after getting off those freshly resurfaced roads, but I was on one today and the rear tire never wanted to wander.

Yeah up, I like having a wider contact surface in the rear.

 

[slabghost]

Sounds good to me.

 

[dan filipi]

Sounds like there aren't any negatives to going this route.

I'm in need of a rear for my 83. I need to look around more for one to fit.