New Darksider

[johnmj]

Honestly if I'd thought about it before putting the wheel back on the bike, I'd have taken my 4" grinder and fixed that seam so that it went into the curved part of the swingarm smoother. It's close but sitting straight up and down like it would normally be on the interstate with 1 or 2 riders (had my buddy and his wife sit on the bike today, I can slide my CC between the tire and the swing arm, the clearance is only in specific turns that 'cause the side wall to flex. I've heard that the 1500 has to use 195/60R16's because of clearance issues but the math showed that to be a smaller tire (more rev's per mile and less gas mileage) and the 65 series sidewall isn't THAT much bigger than stock but it is about an inch in circumference bigger which is what I was looking for and measurements taken with the stock tire on seemed to suggest I could get away with it. This is the second bike I've darksided, I was just waiting on the tire the dealer put on mine to sell it wore down. got 10k miles on a 'stone before it was pretty much a race slick. Over all I'm satisfied with this tire so far. Once I get break in done and can get it back down to the sweet spot I expect the ride to be a lot better.

[poppy]

Got my tire mounted and ready for breaking it in. I did ride for about 30 minutes Saturday and it felt pretty stable. There is a little bit of difference in the turns but nothing major. Mixed up the roads a little including a brisk jaunt on the turnpike. High speed, well 60-70mph indicated, felt good. There appears to be rubbing on the left front corner at the swing arm. I will have to address that but again, nothing major.....just a pain in the butt to remedy. I did check clearances during the re-assembly and it apparently rubs during right turns. Regardless, I'll remediate that and provide additional comments. Attached are a few pictures for viewing.....

[poppy]

View of right side, looking up at swing arm. This side looks good!



Left side, looks like it is rubbing slightly.....no big deal to straighten out.

[poppy]

Ooopps! How did this picture get in here...hahaha!

[nightflight1]

Pop, that is that a 1500 Nomad so there must be a little difference in the clearance. I think the 75 will fit the 1600 without rubbing. I think BlownDodge had a 75 on his and I don't remember him saying he had a problem. Good luck on fixing the problem and thanx for the pix and keeping us informed.

[poppy]

I don't recall any issues with this tire on a 1500 either. I'm willing to grind a little bit on the swing arm corner, but not excessively. I'm also looking forward to re-installing my hitch later and testing pulling the trailer. It's all good for now....

[macmac]

i did read of a 1600 with a 205 wide tire catching a rock, and for it slinging out hot rubber at other riders behind him. Evidently the rock.pebble got hung up and sort of carved the side wall some. Just something to bear in mind.....

[trosco]

Poppy, please make a post or maybe a couple more posts. Once you have 400-500 miles on the tire and it's broke in, I am very interested in the operating pressure you end up at. Then after couple thousand miles a perspective on the tires performance.

The 1600 rear wheel is wider than the 1500's as is the swingarm because we run a 20mm wider rear tire OEM. But the 1500s 150/80 rear tire is as tall (actually 1mm taller) that the 1600's 170/70 so both bikes should accommodate the same height tire.

I suspect that the rub in the corner of the swingarm on the 1500 is due to the CT tread profile. A square shoulder on the CT needs space in the area on the swingarm that the egg shaped shoulder of a MT doesn't.

Poppy I be inclined to trim the outside 1/2 inch of the shoulders of that tire down about 1/4 inch. You don't need that part and it could even help the transition in turns.

Just a thought.

[poppy]

Originally Posted by trosco

Poppy, please make a post or maybe a couple more posts. Once you have 400-500 miles on the tire and it's broke in, I am very interested in the operating pressure you end up at. Then after couple thousand miles a perspective on the tires performance.

The 1600 rear wheel is wider than the 1500's as is the swingarm because we run a 20mm wider rear tire OEM. But the 1500s 150/80 rear tire is as tall (actually 1mm taller) that the 1600's 170/70 so both bikes should accommodate the same height tire.

I suspect that the rub in the corner of the swingarm on the 1500 is due to the CT tread profile. A square shoulder on the CT needs space in the area on the swingarm that the egg shaped shoulder of a MT doesn't.

Poppy I be inclined to trim the outside 1/2 inch of the shoulders of that tire down about 1/4 inch. You don't need that part and it could even help the transition in turns.

Just a thought.

That's a good thought, thanks for the idea and suggestion. I'll definately post some follow ups during/after the break-in period. Right now I have 40psi and I don't think it will take long to accumulate miles as I commute on the the bike(s) approx 60 miles round trip daily.....maybe be broke in in two weeks, not counting club rides!