The rear tire on my 1800F had gotten to the point where a replacement was needed, so I looked up popular tires in my size. Choices, limited because of the 18" rear wheel, were all around $300 for Dunlop, Metzler, Michelin and Pirelli. I'd been curious about darkside tires for some time, so decided to look into those too.
The Darkside forum (mcdarksiders.forumotion.com) has hundreds of testimonials on mounting and using car tires on bikes. Most are positive. I decided to give it a try and ordered a BF Goodrich Comp TA in 215/45-18. It was radial, z-rated to 168 mph and cost $164.
When it arrived I didn't believe it would fit, as it was almost 9" wide. However, numerous other riders reported installing the same-size tire without difficulty so I continued. My local shop had no problem mounting and balancing ($25 including disposal fee).
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I had to remove the plastic dust shield on the rear end, but with that out of the way, to my astonishment, the inflated tire just barely slid in. I reinstalled the dust shield and completed the installation without difficulty.
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The tire was initially inflated to 26 psi, but after riding two blocks, I increased it to 38 psi, which improved the ride greatly.
At any highway speed and going around fast smooth curves, I felt no difference in handling. At 40 psi, It was smooth and steady up through illegal speeds.
However, performance on rough roads and at slow speeds is very different.
There are several Youtube videos of guys showing that these tires don't affect slow-speed handling to do MSF parking lot drills. While this is accurate on smooth parking lot pavement, this doesn't show the effect of this tire at slow speeds on irregular road surface. The flat profile becomes like riding with an overweight, uncooperative passenger on the back, throwing their weight around in unexpected ways.
Most road irregularities run parallel with the road, ie like small ruts in the road. The flat tire profile finds and fights with any ruts or ridges, forcing you to constantly correct with the front wheel, just like riding a light weight dirt bike on fire roads. It's difficult if not impossible to find and set up smooth lines through curves with having to constantly correct. And the tire wants to drift off the crown of the road even when smooth.
Worse, at walking speeds over irregular surfaces, the rear profile can suddenly and violently pitch the bike. If not holding on tight while maintaining balance and footing, you could easily drop the bike.
There is one Youtube Goldwing guy that drilled two holes through the sidewall of his rear darkside tire, and then rode another 20 miles at speed without trouble. This is a real benefit.
Ironically, I found a Bridgestone Excedra for $177, so the cost savings at replacement time might be nil. Any real cost savings might only come with less frequent replacements.
In summary, I see the attraction to using a tire like this on a Goldwing, which spends long hours straight up on flat interstate roads and highways. I like the outrageous look, and will keep it mounted for a while, but for casual around-town cruising, the tradeoffs aren't worth it to me.
![Image]()
The Darkside forum (mcdarksiders.forumotion.com) has hundreds of testimonials on mounting and using car tires on bikes. Most are positive. I decided to give it a try and ordered a BF Goodrich Comp TA in 215/45-18. It was radial, z-rated to 168 mph and cost $164.
When it arrived I didn't believe it would fit, as it was almost 9" wide. However, numerous other riders reported installing the same-size tire without difficulty so I continued. My local shop had no problem mounting and balancing ($25 including disposal fee).
I had to remove the plastic dust shield on the rear end, but with that out of the way, to my astonishment, the inflated tire just barely slid in. I reinstalled the dust shield and completed the installation without difficulty.
The tire was initially inflated to 26 psi, but after riding two blocks, I increased it to 38 psi, which improved the ride greatly.
At any highway speed and going around fast smooth curves, I felt no difference in handling. At 40 psi, It was smooth and steady up through illegal speeds.
However, performance on rough roads and at slow speeds is very different.
There are several Youtube videos of guys showing that these tires don't affect slow-speed handling to do MSF parking lot drills. While this is accurate on smooth parking lot pavement, this doesn't show the effect of this tire at slow speeds on irregular road surface. The flat profile becomes like riding with an overweight, uncooperative passenger on the back, throwing their weight around in unexpected ways.
Most road irregularities run parallel with the road, ie like small ruts in the road. The flat tire profile finds and fights with any ruts or ridges, forcing you to constantly correct with the front wheel, just like riding a light weight dirt bike on fire roads. It's difficult if not impossible to find and set up smooth lines through curves with having to constantly correct. And the tire wants to drift off the crown of the road even when smooth.
Worse, at walking speeds over irregular surfaces, the rear profile can suddenly and violently pitch the bike. If not holding on tight while maintaining balance and footing, you could easily drop the bike.
There is one Youtube Goldwing guy that drilled two holes through the sidewall of his rear darkside tire, and then rode another 20 miles at speed without trouble. This is a real benefit.
Ironically, I found a Bridgestone Excedra for $177, so the cost savings at replacement time might be nil. Any real cost savings might only come with less frequent replacements.
In summary, I see the attraction to using a tire like this on a Goldwing, which spends long hours straight up on flat interstate roads and highways. I like the outrageous look, and will keep it mounted for a while, but for casual around-town cruising, the tradeoffs aren't worth it to me.
