First DS experience

[bob109]

Thanks for your very informative feedback! Info like yours goes a long way in educating others as to the specific characteristics of a tire brand! As was earlier mentioned in this thread, not all tires are "good candidates" for Dark Siding! Based on your reported weight you my want to consider a "stiffer sidewall Run Flat" as your next tire. Both Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct provide a broad selection of top quality run flats with excellent thread/tread patterns. With the growing number of Dark Siders on our Forum there no shortage of "DS tire use/recommendations!

Regards and Safe Riding

bob109

[2wheelsforme]

A run flat with stiffer sidewalls might help. I would think getting away from an ice and snow tire which are reported to feel more squishy would be another direction to head. I have none of those problems with my summer tire. I also think a CT will wear the corners a bit and break in to feel better as it wears.

[3Chief]

Thanks for your very informative feedback! Info like yours goes a long way in educating others as to the specific characteristics of a tire brand! As was earlier mentioned in this thread, not all tires are "good candidates" for Dark Siding! Based on your reported weight you my want to consider a "stiffer sidewall Run Flat" as your next tire. Both Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct provide a broad selection of top quality run flats with excellent thread/tread patterns. With the growing number of Dark Siders on our Forum there no shortage of "DS tire use/recommendations!

I'm definitely going to try a RF next, although I will dig thru the DS forum more thoroughly before making my next tire selection.

A run flat with stiffer sidewalls might help. I would think getting away from an ice and snow tire which are reported to feel more squishy would be another direction to head. I have none of those problems with my summer tire. I also think a CT will wear the corners a bit and break in to feel better as it wears.

Getting away from this particular ice and snow tire will definitely be a plus a I still believe it's to soft in general for MC use. After close to 700 miles it feels fine in the corners unless I'm on the throttle. I was turning onto an onramp and got after it out of the turn and felt the tire deform/twist. I know on shaft driven bikes you can get a similar feeling under hard acceleration from a stop as the shaft torques the rim however I wasn't on it that hard. Also more than once it's felt like I was "crabbing" especially if there was a crown on the road. Live and learn

[crossbowme]

I have played around with the idea of DS tire but hesitate. First, I have the full Monty on my bike and don't want to lose that precision in my ride. Second, I'm not sure what tire and brand to put on the bike. One poster took the recommendation of snow/ice from another post and that didn't work out well. When you go to other threads the recommendations are all over the place.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[3Chief]

I have played around with the idea of DS tire but hesitate. First, I have the full Monty on my bike and don't want to lose that precision in my ride. Second, I'm not sure what tire and brand to put on the bike. One poster took the recommendation of snow/ice from another post and that didn't work out well. When you go to other threads the recommendations are all over the place.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have the full Monty also and with my current limited DS experience I would definitely go with a run flat. The tire I'm currently running is way to soft for me. Otherwise I only noticed a slight adjustment once I actually relaxed a little on the CT. By and large once you stop thinking about it it's a minimal adjustment and the handling characteristics of the bike are pretty much the same. I personally don't care for the squiggly feeling this particular tire gives me at odd times. I'm going to swap back to my OEM this week while researching what CT to try next. I would recommend picking up a second rim if you don't already have one and use it for CT experiments until you either find one you like or decide it's not for you. That way you can readily swap back if needed. That's what I'm doing and if a run flat removes that squiggly feeling I'll most likely stay on the darkside. It's worth the experiment either way. I honestly feel that the bike is more responsive and snaps out of corners better with the CT than the OEM. I can also definitely feel the CT grabbing better in low traction situations. On the downside the squishy squiggly feeling this tire gives me is unnerving and the bike seems to crab when the road has bad grooves. I want to try a stiffer side wall tire and see if it clears up my issues before I give up on the DS.

Nothing ventured nothing gained, don't let the naysayers dissuade you from forming your own opinion. Just do your research. I'm not happy with this particular tire, which is a snow/ice tire, however I did not do enough research on my own before I bought it. Several others on this board run snow/ice tires and luv them. It appears that the particular tire I bought no one else had tried so it was a new experience for all. My next CT will be something more tried an true.

[crossbowme]

I have the full Monty also and with my current limited DS experience I would definitely go with a run flat. The tire I'm currently running is way to soft for me. Otherwise I only noticed a slight adjustment once I actually relaxed a little on the CT. By and large once you stop thinking about it it's a minimal adjustment and the handling characteristics of the bike are pretty much the same. I personally don't care for the squiggly feeling this particular tire gives me at odd times. I'm going to swap back to my OEM this week while researching what CT to try next. I would recommend picking up a second rim if you don't already have one and use it for CT experiments until you either find one you like or decide it's not for you. That way you can readily swap back if needed. That's what I'm doing and if a run flat removes that squiggly feeling I'll most likely stay on the darkside. It's worth the experiment either way. I honestly feel that the bike is more responsive and snaps out of corners better with the CT than the OEM. I can also definitely feel the CT grabbing better in low traction situations. On the downside the squishy squiggly feeling this tire gives me is unnerving and the bike seems to crab when the road has bad grooves. I want to try a stiffer side wall tire and see if it clears up my issues before I give up on the DS.

Nothing ventured nothing gained, don't let the naysayers dissuade you from forming your own opinion. Just do your research. I'm not happy with this particular tire, which is a snow/ice tire, however I did not do enough research on my own before I bought it. Several others on this board run snow/ice tires and luv them. It appears that the particular tire I bought no one else had tried so it was a new experience for all. My next CT will be something more tried an true.

Thanks for your info. Please post on here after you try other tires. I would like to here about your experiences.