Going to the Dark Side

[John d]

An educated decision may lead to a verbal spout. If I learn that my sister burned her hand on the stove burner, and my brother tries to do the same while I say, don't do that. Brother then says "How would you know, you never tried it". So brother burns hands - good for him eh?

By listening to you all here, and talking with people on the road, I made an educated decision not to put a car tire on my bike. I also learned that if you do, you won't necessarily go down in flames. I also learned that I'm spending a whole lot more money on tires - oh well, I can live with that. If I was doing an Iron Butt ride, I learned that a car tire would help, but I don't do Iron Butt rides.

I like to learn and not get burnt.

Flame away!

 

[lnewlf]

when I started riding I put a milk crate on the rack...worked well.....I don't see that any more but if someone wanted to use a milk crate on their FJR where would be the problem??

 

[Bustanut joker]

when I started riding I put a milk crate on the rack...worked well.....I don't see that any more but if someone wanted to use a milk crate on their FJR where would be the problem??

Nope I'm all for it.

Just so long as the bungies holding it on are matching.

 

[Pterodactyl]

JohnD, Your implication is that using a car tire increases risk. There is no evidence of that. Your decision was a poorly educated one.

 

[user 213]

An educated decision may lead to a verbal spout. If I learn that my sister burned her hand on the stove burner, and my brother tries to do the same while I say, don't do that. Brother then says "How would you know, you never tried it". So brother burns hands - good for him eh?
By listening to you all here, and talking with people on the road, I made an educated decision not to put a car tire on my bike. I also learned that if you do, you won't necessarily go down in flames. I also learned that I'm spending a whole lot more money on tires - oh well, I can live with that. If I was doing an Iron Butt ride, I learned that a car tire would help, but I don't do Iron Butt rides.

I like to learn and not get burnt.

Flame away!

No flames required.

Actually, what you should have learned is that if you put a car tire on, you have no greater or lesser chance of going down in flames than any other motorcyclist. There is no "won't necessarily" involved. No one has among this group. The people that have crashed on a CT either had an occurrence that was not tire related, or were running so ridiculously a low pressure that any tire would have had a failure. And even that number is tiny, even among the CT riders, never mind motorcyclists in general.

What you haven't said, is why you felt it was not for you. Or what goals you considered when you first started looking into CT use.

I'm not trying to sell you on this. But you keep posting, attempting to defend your choice. We, err, really don't care what your choice is, either way. But you seem to feel a need to share with us that you chose not to run a CT. Not sure why that is?

I'm not god's gift to motorcyclists. I don't suck either. I haven't run into too many people that kept up with me thru the twisties when i was running a CT on the FJR. And I wasn't, ever, trying to stay ahead of them, just riding The Pace and enjoying myself. I have run into a lot of riders that talked trash about the CT, then dropped off the back and were never seen again until the rest stop. They typically started asking different questions after that. I don't think any of they decided to try a CT, but they learned something new that challenged their preconceptions.

Your example is flawed. You're comparing subjective evidence with empirical evidence. Your friend said he burned himself on the stove. I.E. All stoves are hot. That's False. Only stoves with the burners on are hot. If your friend didn't understand that the stove had knobs and could be turned off, having only experienced that one stove, his warning is not completely valid, only valid under the conditions he experienced, which you have not defined.

So tell us what interested you in the CT option, and what specifically turned you away? Enlighten us.

 

[Uncle Hud]

"Riding the Pace." Haven't heard that in a very long while, but still believe this concept is the most enjoyable way to Ride.

 

[user 213]

Off topic, but for better or worse, most motorcyclists seem to have learned to ride brake in, throttle out methods. This is a track method, and works spectacularly well on the track where you have a known course, corner workers and are repeating the route. On throttle or on brake, never in the middle. Accelerate until you have to brake, brake as hard as you can w/o loosing traction, then accelerate as hard as you can until the next time you have to brake.

That method doesn't really work well or apply to the street. Too many unknowns, too many other users. And oncoming traffic to deal with. For me, once I was taught the pace and practiced it, it just made sense for street riding. Yes, I can ride the other way too, but it's not always faster on the street. And we all have different comfort thresholds.

 

[user 213]

double post deleted

 

[Uncle Hud]

Amazing and awesome how this double post ^^^^ happened ten and a half hours apart.

 

[user 213]

Amazing and awesome how this double post ^^^^ happened ten and a half hours apart.

computer went to sleep before the forum loaded the reply. I came back, saw it still sitting there and thought it hadn't went, so hit 'post'.

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Amazing and awesome how this double post ^^^^ happened ten and a half hours apart.

computer went to sleep before the forum loaded the reply. I came back, saw it still sitting there and thought it hadn't went, so hit 'post'. :fool:

nah, it was the car tires fault for being so slow

 

[Uncle Hud]

OCfjr posted: double post deleted

Didn't mean that you should delete it; sincerely expressing amazement at the power of the internet to alter time and space.

 

[lnewlf]

the Pace is good technique...worth saying twice

 

[rbentnail]

...... On another note I have yet to have to plug a darkside tire. I think they are enough stronger to resist most hazards.

I think you're right- mostly- about the DarkSide. I had to plug a hole in a G-Max AS-03. Luckily I found it was flat in my driveway b/c it was a real bee-atch to get the sticky string to go. I ended up removing the wheel b/c I was afraid I was going to push the bike off the center stand or across my carport on the side stand trying to get it through. Once in it held air like new.

 

[user 213]

I've had darkside flats. No different than doing a CT on a car. You have to air the tire up before you try to ream/insert the sticky string though!

 

[2wheels4fun]

Getting close on wear bars. Looking at ordering first CT. So far all I can find that has been recomended and under $100 is BFGoodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S All-Season Radial Tire - 205/50ZR17/XL 93W. Are there any other suggestions? I assume this is the correct size.

 

[rbentnail]

It is the correct size but I'm more into the summer performance tire. Better tread and traction.

 

[user 213]

It is the correct size but I'm more into the summer performance tire. Better tread and traction.

To each his own. I ride in all weather, and don't want a tire to start slipping in the wet, so I started with and have always recommended all season tires for Darksiding the FJR. Too many, (IMHO), Summer tires get squirlly in the rain, often dramatically! Bad enough in a car, I don't want to experience it on the bike.

And yes, 205/50-17 is the correct size. It's the most common 17" size that fits and has a low profile, w/o being so short shouldered that it can cause rim damage if a pot hole is hit. My early posts in this thread give info on how I chose tires. We have learned a few things since then, but the basics still apply well.

 

[2wheels4fun]

Getting close on wear bars. Looking at ordering first CT. So far all I can find that has been recomended and under $100 is BFGoodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S All-Season Radial Tire - 205/50ZR17/XL 93W. Are there any other suggestions? I assume this is the correct size.

I'm an all weather rider, rain, cold, year round, mostly back country roads in the mountains on Western North Carolina. Done a few gravel roads (<100 miles) and will be going cross country in a few months. Is this the correct tire to choose? Have dunlop roadsmart 3. 11,000 miles first rear with 7,500 cross country. Second only has about 4,000 miles but getting close to wearbars with just back contry roads spritted riding. Will need to order something in the next month.

 

[RossKean]

Only you can tell for sure. For many people, a(ny) car tire is a disappointment from the beginning while others have been more than pleased with handling, low cost and the ability to do a long tour without having to worry about a stop along the way for a tire change. Most of the collective experience seems to be with the Exalto and the General Tire options - neither of which is currently available. For something new, you are likely on your own - no consensus out there AFIK.

If you were nearby, I would GIVE you a General Tire that I removed with less than 15,000 miles - lots left on it. That was my second foray to the Darkside, and although I really wanted them to work for me, I never felt fully comfortable with them.