[Robbie]

Not too long ago I rode a Boss Hoss with a car tire on the rear and could not get the bike to lean into the corners. I kept feeling like I couldn't turn, the feeling was unsettling to say the least. My question is: Is the feeling the same crossing over to the darkside with my VTX?

 

[blackdot]

At slow speeds I feel that I have to add a little more steering input to get it to turn, but this does not occur at any speed above a crawl.

 

[rmoreaux1]

I rode a Boss Hoss at bike week and was rocking through the corners. I thought the bike handled great and ran so freaking smooth is was uncanny. I am unsure why anyone would say they don't get down in the corners. Even an older friend rode one and he was doing extremely well in the corners and he was scared to death to even get on the thing.

 

[Spoiler]

At slow speeds I feel that I have to add a little more steering input to get it to turn, but this does not occur at any speed above a crawl.

My feelings exactly. Maybe the BossHoss would be a beast anyhow

 

[chromepony]

You need to nudge it a little at first but after a tank of gas you will be used to it and after a 1000 miles you won't know it's there. Some who have tired it haven't liked it but I bet if we took a poll you would see most like it as well or better than an MC tire.

 

[Good Old Rebel]

At slow speeds I feel that I have to add a little more steering input to get it to turn, but this does not occur at any speed above a crawl.

+1 to that. One tank of gas and you won't remember why you were worried about it in the first place.

 

[Donut]

It has been reported that some insurance company will not cover you if you have an accident - one person had to pay all doctor bolls out of pocket so be careful $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ It could destroy you financially.

 

[hoss37]

Reported by who??? And what insurance company??? I had Progressive on my bike and switched to Geico, Neither of which had any issues with a car tire on the rear of my bike. Why is it that every question about darkside has to turn into something else? The question was, would the feeling be similar to what he rode, nothing about insurance or doctors bills. What i really don't get is how people that don't even ride the darkside somehow feel qualified to offer an opinion.

 

[ke4rco]

running the general grabber UHP 305-70-15 sidewalls are soft enough that it really doesn't feel square. I lean way down and still drag floorboards, wide open in the twisties even after the VTX became a touring bike.



I had an accident on the bike running darkside back in November (there's another thread on this) the insurance company had no issue with the tire, in fact it was even stated by several that since I am running the big rear CT is why I was able to keep the bike upright and not drop it, due to a greater control and handling while hard braking and doing over $2000 in damage to a chevy cobalt, and only $1800 (according to the ins company) to the bike.

 

[Donut]

Reported by who??? And what insurance company??? I had Progressive on my bike and switched to Geico, Neither of which had any issues with a car tire on the rear of my bike. Why is it that every question about darkside has to turn into something else? The question was, would the feeling be similar to what he rode, nothing about insurance or doctors bills. What i really don't get is how people that don't even ride the darkside somehow feel qualified to offer an opinion.

There was a long post on here about a month ago about it.

 

[Charlie D]

There was a long post on here about a month ago about it.

Still doesn't change the fact you changed the subject.

My bike handles just fine with the car tire and I have over 30,000 miles on this tire and almost 50% tread left.

 

[hoss37]

Got it. But once again that wasn't the question asked by the OP and I still don't get how someone with absolutly no expierience on a Darkside tire feels the need to answer. And i'm interested in that other thread as well, did a search and came up empty. To me it makes about as much sense as me answering a post about anything to with an 1800, I have no knowledge about the 1800 so I keep my opinions to myself.

 

[readtrio]

Why are you getting your panties all twisted up about the responses he is getting????? :hmm2:
How are you contributing to this thread, other that bitchin about some of the answers from some other people.:icon_blah:icon_blah:icon_blah

Got it. But once again that wasn't the question asked by the OP and I still don't get how someone with absolutly no expierience on a Darkside tire feels the need to answer. And i'm interested in that other thread as well, did a search and came up empty. To me it makes about as much sense as me answering a post about anything to with an 1800, I have no knowledge about the 1800 so I keep my opinions to myself.

 

[hoss37]

Guess i'm just tired of seeing people with no expierience or knowledge about the subject of Darkside tires interjecting their opinions where it wasn't asked for. As far as answering the question, funny you feel the need to rip me but you posted nothing even close to an answer either. Nice contribution!!!

 

[unclebrad]

i have a general grabber on mine :mosh: if you go darkside and dont like it then put a mc tire back on. its that simple.....i took the chance and put a ct on and i like it.....ROBBIE you will just have to take a chance put a ct on and see if you like it, if you dont then your not out of a lot of money i paid $65 for my grabber, to me it was well worth it, like other ppl said after you get a tank of gas through it you wont even know its back there............. be safe

 

[00 Doc]

The idea that an insurance company won't cover you if you have an accident while using a car tire on your motorcycle is just an
URBAN MYTH! continually perpetuated by the uninformed.:icon_blah
Your insurance policy is a legal contract between you and the company. Read your policy under exclusions, unless your policy contains specific language that excludes the use of a car tire, then the company has a legal obligation to pay a valid claim. atriot:

 

[jstar61]

I had no problem going from the stock tire to my Michelin Hydroedge, it felt slightly "loose" until I got it scuffed in and the pressure at the sweet spot, but no problems with the lean.

And for what it's worth I had no problems after my wreck with the insurance company (not due to the Car tire anyway). They even paid for the rear tire replacement.

 

[MetalheadDave]

Robbie, last month I put on a Yokohama Avid on the back of my VTX and have since logged probably close to 1000 miles. On my first ride I was dragging the boards and exceeded 95mph. On my second ride with the Darkside, I got caught an hour from home in a storm(10% chacnce of showers my a**). The tire handled the rain better than I could have imagined it, and the breaking power that can be applied to the rear now is tremendous.

It IS a litle different, but like many here have said, it's akin to riding a different bike and you DO get acclimated to the new feel very quickly. It does feel very stable, but I threw on a new front tire and dynabeads at the same time, so I cant accurately say how much the CT is a factor on how much the ride has improved.

Like me, I see that you have an R model. Getting the tire to bead with a tube on those spoked rims was an adventure to say the least! I blew up the first tire and had to modify the second one to get it to work. If I was doing it again, I would follow the sage advice given here and take the time to seal the rim. There are a few great write-ups here on how to do that. There are also some minor modifications recommended to get that tire to fit under the fender. Reverse the bolts holding the exhaust for more clearance. I also had to cut off about an inch of thread on 2 of the bolts for the sissy bar.

Good luck to you and ride safe.:mosh:

 

[lamaybl5711]

I was scared I wouldn't like the darkside so I went cheap....I bought a low cost tire from Walmart and figured for what I was paying, if I didn't like it, I wasn't out much. I've since put about 10k miles and frequently forget about it being a CT on the rear.
As for sealing the rim, I thought the R models were a solid rim and the S models were spoked....I know my S came spoked and I purchased and R rim so I wouldn't have to worry about sealing it.
Anyway, give the darkside a try. The tire isn't that expensive and if you don't like it, you could probably sell the tire for half of what you paid for it (or more).

 

[Donut]

The only reason I gave the info in post #7 above is i didn't want someone to have that problem and I thought they should check into it first.
If that is changing the subject or stealing the thread then I'm sorry.