Ok...it's time

[clayton]

Before starting this I have read a lot of the threads here about the Dark Side since within a few weeks I will to become a Dark Sider :)
I did find some answers and to some I did not, so here it goes.

1: I see that many riders on the Dark Side are using 195/60-16's in some form of a manufacturer.
So I believe that I will stick to this size at least for a good starting point
However in the event will a 185 work?
2: I see that most everyone starts out at around 30 PSI give or take.
My question to this is...is there a way to test if I have too much or not enough PSI?
3: Dyna Beads Ratio...
Is it the same as what I would normally place in a MC tire?
I see talk of using air soft pellets since they do the job at more than half the price. Is there a "specific" type I should use? I don't do the Air Gun thing so I have ZERO knowledge of these :)
4: Most importantly in my eyes...
What should I expect in light of the ride? Is the CT going to scare the Crapola out of me? Does the bike feel like it will fall over? Obviously since there is a flat spot on the tire I will experience "trailing" in ruts and such correct?
5: Mounting...
I have talked to several MC dealers in my area and they will NOT mount a CT for me so it looks as if I will be doing the job.
I believe I may try this option...
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299597
I do have tire irons as well.
Do car tires have a "spot" on them for air nozzle alignment? I have honestly never looked :)

Am I missing anything?

Thanks Much

[ringadingh]

Originally Posted by Clayton

Before starting this I have read a lot of the threads here about the Dark Side since within a few weeks I will to become a Dark Sider :)
I did find some answers and to some I did not, so here it goes.

1: I see that many riders on the Dark Side are using 195/60-16's in some form of a manufacturer.
So I believe that I will stick to this size at least for a good starting point
However in the event will a 185 work?
2: I see that most everyone starts out at around 30 PSI give or take.
My question to this is...is there a way to test if I have too much or not enough PSI?
3: Dyna Beads Ratio...
Is it the same as what I would normally place in a MC tire?
I see talk of using air soft pellets since they do the job at more than half the price. Is there a "specific" type I should use? I don't do the Air Gun thing so I have ZERO knowledge of these :)
4: Most importantly in my eyes...
What should I expect in light of the ride? Is the CT going to scare the Crapola out of me? Does the bike feel like it will fall over? Obviously since there is a flat spot on the tire I will experience "trailing" in ruts and such correct?
5: Mounting...
I have talked to several MC dealers in my area and they will NOT mount a CT for me so it looks as if I will be doing the job.
I believe I may try this option...
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299597
I do have tire irons as well.
Do car tires have a "spot" on them for air nozzle alignment? I have honestly never looked :)

Am I missing anything?

Thanks Much

I'll try to answer some for you, with my darkside experience.
1- Any size tire that fits will work. Anywhere from a 175 to a 205.
If your bike is a 1500 it has a 3.5" rim, the 1600's have a 4.5" rim.
2- 30psi should be close, but each tire is different and this is something you have to experiment with to see where it feels right for you.
3- Most use double the amount you would use for a bike tire, about 4 ounces.
4- It does feel a little different, but most times you won't even know its there. On my bike cornering such as a right hand turn sometimes made the bike feel like it would lean itself a little more, especially if there was a dip in the corner. After a while I rarely noticed a difference between the tires.
5- I mounted my own, make sure its warm so its more pliable. There are a few clips on youtube that show you how. I used tire irons.
6- Some tires do have a dot, most don't.

[clayton]

Thx Ring

[MAS Tequila]

Start that tire at 40 psi, then after about 500 miles start bringing the pressure down gradually.

When you take the first ride you will probably say ti yourself "What did I do'. then it will start getting better.

Stay with a car tire and not a truck tire. I've had both and the car tire feels and handles better, unless you're a flatlander.

MT

[recumbentbob]

from the dynabeads web site MC section

195 - 205 car tires on the rear 3 oz

[clayton]

Well been searching around and think I am going to go with a Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 195/60-16
Decent price decent tire and from the other forums I see several people use them and so far only one complaint about only getting 10grand on the mileage whereas others are stating 20grand plus.
Heck if I can get 15 I would be happy as apposed to 7 or 8 on a MT
Wish me luck :)

[Sin City Stan]

Originally Posted by Clayton

Well been searching around and think I am going to go with a Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 195/60-16
Decent price decent tire and from the other forums I see several people use them and so far only one complaint about only getting 10grand on the mileage whereas others are stating 20grand plus.
Heck if I can get 15 I would be happy as apposed to 7 or 8 on a MT
Wish me luck :)

Wishing you good luck. Be careful the first 200-500 miles as the tire will be slick with release mold. The first corner I took scared the crap out of me.

[clayton]

Yea I can expect I will experience the "tight sphincter" syndrom at some points during my 1st 500 :)
I actually took a curve, the tire I wanted was not in stock so I opted for a Dunlop SP Sport 5000

[recumbentbob]

Originally Posted by Clayton

Well been searching around and think I am going to go with a Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 195/60-16
Decent price decent tire and from the other forums I see several people use them and so far only one complaint about only getting 10grand on the mileage whereas others are stating 20grand plus.
Heck if I can get 15 I would be happy as apposed to 7 or 8 on a MT
Wish me luck :)

That's the same tire and size I have and I love it.

[macmac]

Clayton I run that rear tire myself. I used just shy of 2 oz of dyna beads in it, because i spilled some. With out thinking i just added the beads with no testing for balance too. I may have wasted the bucks for the beads, but this tire rides like glass.

The bike will be more stable, and in curves will want to come up straight all by itself. You will find you need to hold the bike down in a curve, and let up hand pressure as the curve becomes staight.

If you are forced to be on any dirt roads 40 psi will be a bit too much, but run 40 if you can.

I could not, and the steering was wild at slow sppeds with 40 psi in my rear tire, way to sensitive. I didn't go 5 miles like that, and dropped psi to 36.

The bike no longer pinged pebbles like a bullet out into the woods either, which I liked.

Yes there are certain ruts the tire will follow, but I found that better than the mc brick.

It handles figure 8 road grinding far more stable, as it does wire cheese grader bridges.

You will like the stabilty for the added hold down in curves.

I tried 24 psi and that felt like i was glued to the riad and i could do no wrong, but tire wear on the sides of the tread were going to get thin real fast.. SO I re-set to 34 psi and that's where that tire stays.

I have 11,000 miles on it and still have 6/32nds of a total of 10/32nds new. So it isn't near any replacement time yet.

Oh I almost forgot!!! The tire will have either a yellow or a green target like dot. The dot will be in the center of a target like spot, with the same color ring around the spot. That is the mark to line the filler valve stem too.

There will be other marks, mine has a red dot and a white dot, but no outter circle around them. The one with the circle around the dot IS the one. I called Dunlop for that info, so it was first hand info to me.

Chances are once the tire is mounted on the wheel which took me 5 tries to get seated, never exceeding 51 psi, that you will need to let the air out once more to roll it under the bike on an angle.

I do that seated cross legged on the shop floor, and then with the tranny in 1st gear before hand lift the tire on my legs, guiding it with my hands.

I have the axel and the spacer in the gear box, just flush, so when the splines lock up and you can pull the tire at you, then with my chest I start the axel push in.

I can do this alone.. with no help from anyone, so I am sure you can.

[recumbentbob]

I started at 38psi and dropped pressure in 2 psi increments all the way down to 28 psi I found that 32 psi felt the best to me.

Then i wanted to check how the tread was going to wear.

I went to the store and bought a bottle of White liquid shoe polish.
Find a pretty straight road then paint a 1 inch wide stripe across the tire from edge to edge.

Ride about 2 to 3 miles and check the stripe. you want it to be worn off all across the tire. If it's worn off in the middle it's over inflated and if it's worn off on the edges it's under inflated.

If you find that your sweet spot on psi is over or under inflated you will just have to live with it...... :)

But this is an easy way to predict the tire wear.

Bob

[mobandy78]

Originally Posted by Clayton

Well been searching around and think I am going to go with a Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 195/60-16
Decent price decent tire and from the other forums I see several people use them and so far only one complaint about only getting 10grand on the mileage whereas others are stating 20grand plus.
Heck if I can get 15 I would be happy as apposed to 7 or 8 on a MT
Wish me luck :)

Looks like I'm a little late, but I was going to say that the Bridgestone Turanza is an AWESOME tire. There is another thread, forget who, that posted about it and it was the best c/t he's used.

I can't answer most of your questions, but the psi, like others have mentioned, needs to start at around 40 and then work your way down. I'm sitting at 32 psi now and it handles like a dream. I haven't noticed any tracking in grooved roads and I travel on one every day.

[blowndodge]

I run 28 lbs in my truck tire and it's wearing pretty linear after13K which is hardly at all!

[Sin City Stan]

Originally Posted by Blowndodge "Darksider"

I run 28 lbs in my truck tire and it's wearing pretty linear after13K which is hardly at all!

Same here, 27-28 PSI gives even wear across the tire and I'm happy with the handling. I check every 1500 miles or so with a depth caliper.

[macmac]

I use the puddle method.. Ride real slow thru a puddle on cean crete somewhere and walk back to look at the tread pattern.