Going to the Dark Side

[RadioHowie]

But when you see guys whose judgement I trust, Doug and Howie-as well as many others, I'm starting to consider this mod!

:dribble: :dribble:

You have GOT to be shitting me.

(I'm talkin' 'bout Doug, of course )

 

[user 213]

BLASPHEMERS!!!

You know you want to Skooty. Don't deny your desires, (and try a CT too, ya hoser).

:lol:

Having cookies on board helps when people keep asking questions. Go with your favorites and you can't lose. Tequila works too, in any of it's many forms, but precludes test rides and is really only good in parking lots at large events. I went through six gallons of margaritas at a gathering in Oct. :dribble:

 

[RadioHowie]

Damned old MissusHowie....

She went to her mom's in north Florida for a few days before Thanksgiving and took the Nikon with her.

NOW she can't seem to find it, so I can't post the picture of my brand-new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus the big brown truck delivered yesterday.

Time to take off the wheel and find someone to put the new tire on for me.

Damn it looks [SIZE=18pt]BIG[/SIZE] sitting in the living room. That thing will fit on a Feej?????

 

[user 213]

HA! FINALLY sucked you in. It'll never fit. This whole thread has been an elaborate hoax just to get you to try and mount a CT on your FJR Howie. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Na, I'm just jerking your chain. Of course it fits. ^_^ But you can see how it makes people do a double take when they see it on the bike. Got that brake arm fabbed up yet?

 

[RadioHowie]

HA! FINALLY sucked you in. It'll never fit. This whole thread has been an elaborate hoax just to get you to try and mount a CT on your FJR Howie. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :lol: :lol: :lol: .

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Na, I'm just jerking your chain. Of course it fits. ^_^

You bastard!

But you can see how it makes people do a double take when they see it on the bike.

Hell, I did a TRIPLE take when I came home from work last night and saw it in the living room. I thought for a moment the old lady had bought a new couch!!

Got that brake arm fabbed up yet?

Not yet...I figure 'til I got one made (or purchased) I'd just move the existing arm that wraps around the mounts and offset it to the outside. If that doesn't work, I'll just measure it and go buy a piece of bar stock and make one myself. Looked at Catfish's vendor page but didn't see the torque arms.

I'm anticipating my first Darkside ride Sunday. Too busy 'til then, dammitdammitdammitdammitdammit.

 

[Patriot]

HA! FINALLY sucked you in. It'll never fit. This whole thread has been an elaborate hoax just to get you to try and mount a CT on your FJR Howie. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :lol: :lol: :lol: .

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Na, I'm just jerking your chain. Of course it fits. ^_^

You bastard!

But you can see how it makes people do a double take when they see it on the bike.

Hell, I did a TRIPLE take when I came home from work last night and saw it in the living room. I thought for a moment the old lady had bought a new couch!!

Got that brake arm fabbed up yet?

Not yet...I figure 'til I got one made (or purchased) I'd just move the existing arm that wraps around the mounts and offset it to the outside. If that doesn't work, I'll just measure it and go buy a piece of bar stock and make one myself. Looked at Catfish's vendor page but didn't see the torque arms.

I'm anticipating my first Darkside ride Sunday. Too busy 'til then, dammitdammitdammitdammitdammit.

geez Howie, quit whinin'

hehehehehehe...

https://www.fjriders.com/forum/images/smilies/****.gif

 

[ridgerunner88]

Don't know if this has been discussed or not (no I didn't read all 885 posts). I am about ready for a new rear tire and in my search for a tire I have noticed that most of the ones I was considering have three compounds with the softest in the center and the hardest on the shoulders.

To my question, has anyone racked up miles on one of these multi-compound tires that could share their results.

The tire that I was looking at specifically was the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.

I don't think the Potenza G19 is a multi-compound tire and of the many, many choices may have been the perfect choice right outa the gate.

 

[RadioHowie]

Don't know if this has been discussed or not (no I didn't read all 885 posts). I am about ready for a new rear tire and in my search for a tire I have noticed that most of the ones I was considering have three compounds with the softest in the center and the hardest on the shoulders.
To my question, has anyone racked up miles on one of these multi-compound tires that could share their results.

The tire that I was looking at specifically was the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.

I don't think the Potenza G19 is a multi-compound tire and of the many, many choices may have been the perfect choice right outa the gate.

I have exactly ZERO Darkside miles (so far) so I can't report, but the tire you're considering is exactly the one I chose. I didn't really consider the multi-compound aspect in my decision...I based it on brand, mileage rating, speed rating and the less-than-square shoulder profile.

Give me 6-8 months and I'll have a full report for ya. At that point, I'd be on the last legs of the 2nd rear in that time frame.

 

[user 213]

Got that brake arm fabbed up yet?

Not yet...I figure 'til I got one made (or purchased) I'd just move the existing arm that wraps around the mounts and offset it to the outside. If that doesn't work, I'll just measure it and go buy a piece of bar stock and make one myself. Looked at Catfish's vendor page but didn't see the torque arms.

I'm anticipating my first Darkside ride Sunday. Too busy 'til then, dammitdammitdammitdammitdammit.

The hollow oem brake arm will need longer bolts and some spacers inside the arm to prevent it from crushing. I'd hesitate to go that route hombre. The other issue is that it puts the arm very close to the inside of the swingarm and there isn't room for the rubber brake line. I'd be concerned that it might actually scissor off the brake line if it got pinched. Normally the brake line runs along side the arm. You could possibly route the line on the inside of the arm though. Be very careful.

Any local hardware store should have a piece of 3/16 thick x 3/4 wide x 12" chunk of steel or stainless steel that you can hacksaw off and drill three holes in. Heck, two holes if you don't want to be pretty about it and just zip tie the brake line to the arm. Just use steel and paint it black with some rattle can and you're done. Last for years.

@RR88 - There are several different tires being used. I have 25k on the BT 019 Grid with more to go yet. I don't believe anyone has tried multi-compound CTs yet on the FJR. I had been eyeballing the Michelin for my next tire, but haven't been getting much riding in lately. (too poor to buy gas. ) It fits my criteria though. I prefer all season tires since I ride in all conditions. The symmetrical and directional tread design, along with a treadwear rating over 400 and it has a nicer profile than the 019, though that didn't seem to be an issue.

FWIW, the single compound 019 has worn very evenly at 30 psi. I picked up a piece of glass and resulting slow leak last long trip and pressure dropped to 21 psi. No impact on ride handling that I noticed, but it did cause the edges of the tire to wear more and cup some. I was flogging it a bit in the twisties that trip, not all on slab. Normally that doesn't add much wear, but with the low pressure it increased the wear on the outside tread blocks of the tire.

Do understand, the CT weighs more than a moto tire by about 10 lbs. This means the shock is going to work a little harder. If it's borderline worn already, the extra weight of the CT will really exaggerate the feeling.

 

[ridgerunner88]

The Michelin is a couple pounds lighter than the Potenza

 

[Bustanut joker]

Damned old MissusHowie....
She went to her mom's in north Florida for a few days before Thanksgiving and took the Nikon with her.

NOW she can't seem to find it, so I can't post the picture of my brand-new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus the big brown truck delivered yesterday.

Time to take off the wheel and find someone to put the new tire on for me.

Damn it looks [SIZE=18pt]BIG[/SIZE] sitting in the living room. That thing will fit on a Feej?????

I call bullshit! on this 'un..

Hey Howie, everything looks big compared to that weasel fukpickle you got hangin'. fukin schwinn ten speed innertube makes ya look bad ya putz..

Kisses

:jester:

 

[RadioHowie]

Found the camera....hope y'all don't regret it. Gonna document MY trip to the Dark Side:

Just so no one can call BS on my intentions:

"Glamour Shot" of the implement of destruction:

One spare tire compared to another:

And completely off-topic, but since Bust chimed in:

Gonna look for a tire-changer tomorrow.

'Howie

 

[Bustanut joker]

An folks wonder why I :wub: you..

Putz

:jester:

 

[ridgerunner88]

That's a bitchin tire

Did you get a good deal on it?

I seen it for about $160

Hurry up and put 20k on it so I can get a report

I can hold out for about 2 months so hurry up............lol.

 

[RadioHowie]

That's a bitchin tireDid you get a good deal on it?

I seen it for about $160

Hurry up and put 20k on it so I can get a report

I can hold out for about 2 months so hurry up............lol.

$159.00 from tirerack.com

 

[RacinRay]

I just can't bring myself to read 45 pages of posts...What's the bottom line????? Has anyone wrecked using a car tire? Has anyone been a track day hero on a Comp T/A. Give me the the executive summary. :dribble:

 

[bigjimbiker]

I just can't bring myself to read 45 pages of posts...What's the bottom line????? Has anyone wrecked using a car tire? Has anyone been a track day hero on a Comp T/A. Give me the the executive summary. :dribble:

[SIZE=36pt]YES AND NO[/SIZE]

 

[user 213]

I just can't bring myself to read 45 pages of posts...What's the bottom line????? Has anyone wrecked using a car tire? Has anyone been a track day hero on a Comp T/A. Give me the the executive summary. :dribble:

Actually, I think Big Jim means NO and YES. That I know of, no FJR darksider has crashed with the CT on. I do know that Doug555 did a track day with his CT and had no issues, aside from freaking out the instructors a little. They got over it.

Bottom line is it's not that different from a moto tire. There are a couple of idiocyncrancies (sp)that you have to decide if you want to live with. The steering is heavier. You get used to this quickly and it's not really an issue, it's just something you notice when you get on a bike w/o a CT. The second is how if feels crossing lines/grooves/ruts. You feel each edge of the tire hit, rather than just a single as you cross it with a moto tire. It likes to track in car tire width grooves more than a moto tire. (think studded tire grooves).

Aside from that it's incredibly stable and holds traction extremely well in all conditions. It doesn't step out on tar snakes or in the wet at all. It does throw huge amounts of water spray in the rain, but it's behind you. I would not suggest it on snow and ice, but haven't tried that just yet. I've ridden in the snow more often than I'd care to, but not on the CT. My suspicion is that it will spread the weight out more and be less than desireable.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

So who will mount a car tire on a motorcycle rim? Aren't dealerships squeamish about liability? Or are all you guys mounting your own CT's?

I wish we had a Dark Side FAQ section with items like CT's used, modifications required, impressions on ride that are universal (not just one riders impressions), etc.

Guess I get to read 800+ items since this seems to be a fetish that is here to stay.

 

[jmdaniel]

I am about ready for a new rear tire and in my search for a tire I have noticed that most of the ones I was considering have three compounds with the softest in the center and the hardest on the shoulders.

You sure about that? I'm pretty sure multi compound tires are the opposite of what you wrote; wouldn't make much sense to have the part you ride on most be soft, and the part that needed to have grip be hard.

I used to ride a cruiser, and it's interesting to see this thread here, considering there is also a thread that just started up on the Texas VTX board, where almost all the guys are fessing up and admitting that putting a car tire on their bike was a dumb decision. A couple are still defending it from a cost perspective, but is that really a good tradeoff? Crappy ride to save a few shekels?