[cpwomer]

Come on down to north Ga and let's cruise the mountains...

 

[tcmcnomad]

just a heads up, I ended up going w a yokahama 175/55-16 It handled wonderful, it did raise rpms a good bit fine in town but limited me to 68mph w cruise control. I did put 26,000 miles on it and now switched to a Kumho 185/55-16 So far less than 1000 on the Kumho, not nearly as sticky but that is to be expected w a treadwear of 500 vs 180 for the yok, still at 26,000 not complaining one bit.

 

[cpwomer]

I went with a 65r. Its taller rubber and helps with the rpm loss. All tho when I did have 55 the increased rpm in short gear on the Dragon was an accelerated advantage.

 

[rohny brimstone]

got a short ride in on the double darkside,liking it so far,(austone bt-45 )blow out an oil seal on my progressive air shock,no riding this weekend,ordered a sealkit from progressive,austone was a lot quiter and smoother,i'm 5'7" and can still flat foot with my corban seat and floorboards

 

[Chopin]

got a short ride in on the double darkside,liking it so far,(austone bt-45 )blow out an oil seal on my progressive air shock,no riding this weekend,ordered a sealkit from progressive,austone was a lot quiter and smoother,i'm 5'7" and can still flat foot with my corban seat and floorboards

Are we going to see those tires in Marietta, OH in September?

 

[Chopin]

1500 Darksiders ONLY

Speaking of car tires.... My bike has been sitting for well over a month . I checked the pressure yesterday as the usual prelude to a ride. The front motorcycle tire had lost 15 psi., the rear car tire was at the same pressure I left it at over a month ago. Maybe car tires fit the rims better ?

 

[rohny brimstone]

yes chopin im planning on making it i ride that area often i live hr and half away

 

[AZgl1800]

Just a side note. On my 1800 I set the rear PVT Michelin at 34 psi.
rode it 4500 miles over the next 30 days.

When I got home, check again at the same ambient temperature.
34 psi...

The E3 on the front? lost 1 psi.

 

[the draggin]

I have a question for the experienced darksider. Does your wing still get squirrelly in curves when there are tar strips? Darn near lost it yesterday on a curve but I'm running the Elite tires both front and rear. I just replaced the neck bearings and retorqued them before the ride. That seemed to help the general overall handling. I never had this issue on any other bike even my old H-D Ultra never got loose in a curve like this. Could car tires help?

 

[Tatanka]

Hate tar snakes, especially on a hot day!:surprise: No amount of adjustment to the bike will help IMHO; it's all about how to go into them.

As the folks who went to Cody, Cody, Cody last year know, bison poop is just as bad as tar snakes!:frown2:

 

[Lopaka]

As a recent convert to the Darkside, I have a question about fitting a car tire.
Up front info, 2001 Suzuki Intruder 1500 with a Texas Sidecar. Recently changed rear tire to a Falken Ziex 295/65R15. It rides great, but I still get pull and push from the front tire, 150/80R16 on a 3.5-inch rim.
I want to put a Federal Formosa 175/60R16 on the front rim. Would the larger Dunlop Taxi Tire be better? Or, am I ought of my mind?

Thank you.
Bob B in Lower Alabama

 

[F6rider]

First off, welcome to the forum!

Unless I am mistaken, you are talking about a car tire front and rear, right? I have not heard of anyone doing that, before.... Running with a sidecar might make it doable though. Let us know how it works out!

 

[Bob Myers]

Unless there are some new sized car tires on the market there are no CT that will fit the front of a GL1500. If there are, please provide more info, my sidecar rig could use one too

 

[Lopaka]

Sorry for the absence ... been checking every tire shop I could find down here ..
Consensuses - I'm crazy... known fact ..
So, no known car tire in the US will fit a 3.5 width rim ...
Recommendation - put a fatter MC rear tire on the front..

Bang-Bang .. researching that now .. will follow up ..

 

[Lopaka]

BTW ... thank you for letting me in ... I've only owned 2 Hondas in my life ... a 250 Rebel and a 450 Rebel ... loved both bikes ...

 

[Lopaka]

Sorry it has taken so long ... a lot of research ...

First off ... there are no car tires I can find that will safely mount on a 3.50x16 MC rim ...

Second ... I have found 2 candidates that I am really interested in ...

Shinko Classic 240 MC Tire and Shinko Super Classic 270 MC Tire ...

Haven't ordered one yet, still deciding on tread pattern ...

The difference from a 150/80R16 is ... 3/8" narrower on each side (3/4") and 1/4" taller top and bottom (1/2") ... will fit very nicely and put more rubber on the road ...

 

[Swivelhip]

Darkside

Darksider
1. Year of your 1500: 1997 GL1500 SE

2. List your tire name and size: Austone 175R16C 6PR

3. Run Flat or Not Run Flat: Non-run flat.

4. Miles on your Car Tire at your posting: 144 miles.

5. Evaluate your Car Tire's overall performance. 1 to 10 with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best: Rate a 7, planning on it doing better but to soon to do anymore.

6. Will you stay a Darksider? Yes/No: Yes, I will stay darkside.

7. Please list the size of the M/C tire your replacing. ie..."160/80-xx:
160/80B 16 (Avon Venom-x)

Wanted to get this up here for anyone thinking of going to the darkside.
The tire felt a little squirrelly at first but I think a lot of that had to do with the front also being replaced at the same time and I was really paying attention to any movement.
Now after 144 miles, much better.
It is defiantly quieter and my cruse will actually top out at 78-79mph instead of the 75 it used to(probably due to the height difference).
I put a Bridgestone Exedra radial on the front.
I put 2oz of Dyna Beads in the front and 3oz in the rear. I am pleased with them so far. I will for sure let you know if it stops tire cupping and wobble.

The tire looked to big but I went with what I had got off the forum and it fits fine.
2nd picture is the one that worried me, that is the tire still flat and what you see in front of it is the exhaust. I thought for sure when I put air in it I would have a clearance problem...no problem.

1900 miles on the tires now. Ride mostly 2 up, I do still like the CT, kind of wish I had gone bias ply on the front, may just be me but it seems like the radial is harder hitting on bumps. As far as curves I can not even tell the difference. I will admit that I was a little tense the first couple of hundred miles.

 

[ETC]

My question is what modification if any must we do to get a Valkyrie or vtx rim to mount on a 1500? I plan to darkside but would prefer a 5+" wide rim as I intend to use a 175/60-16 to lower the seat and gearing a bit. I would assume a Valkyrie 1500 rim should be rather simple, the 15' vtx would be more ideal better tire election. Can anyone point me in the right direction on this?

The issue with putting the valkyrie rim on is swing arm width. The GL uses a different frame than the Valk so there is not enough room to mount the rim. If there was I would have been doing lot's of them.
The other issue with the GL is the rim is 3" vs the 5.5" of the valk and other Honda rear rims so a CT ends up with a great deal of lateral flex. Most get by with over inflating the tire to stiffen the walls but on a 2 wheel it's not as critical as a 3 wheel setup (RT)
I have been looking for a RF in the proper size to try on the rear to eliminate the side flex even though the RF tires are in general a poor choice.
For now I am recommending sticking with the MC tire until some true testing and verification is done on a CT for this purpose.

I have the same issue with many of the Harleys as they also run the narrow rims and worse they are spoked so I have to find a solid rim to swap out.

 

[Bob Myers]

Finally got the Austone on tonight, too late to ride, may get some miles during the week next week. I have a SS1k to ride on Saturday so I'll be riding a lot this week trying to punish the tire and find the sweet spot for air pressure

 

[JackFlash]

Has anyone ever put together a list of darksider rear tire brands and sizes for the Goldwing's, including the 1500's? If so how can it be found? Thanks!