New member and new "darksider"

[willness33]

First of all, great forum.  I didn't realize there was a valkyrie forum until google showed me the way while researching the darkside.

So, after thoroughly trashing my last Avon and almost dying a flaming death (cords showing everywhere), I decided to give another look at the car tire.  Before the last Avon went on, I almost pulled the trigger on the CT, but I, like many others, chickened out.  Not this time.  I researched a bunch here, on VRCC and I read Daniel Meyer's writeup.  I decided to go ahead and give it a try.  Off to Discount tire I went.  Upon arrival, I was greeted by a salesman and told him I wanted to see everything he had to offer in a 205/55/16.  He asked what kind of car the tires were for.  I laughed and informed him it wasn't for a car.  No more questions were asked by him.  I opted for a Falken.  Nice directional tread with a good water groove down the middle.  V rated, I believe.  I took the tire home and called the Honda dealership in town.  I asked the guy on the phone if they'd put a car tire on it. " FLAMING DEATH!!!!"  Ok, on to a small local shop.  I called a small custom shop down the road and they said they'd try, but I'd have to pull the wheel since they only work on harley's and their mechanics wouldn't tough a jap bike.  I've got more than my fair share of wrenching experience on cars, but very little on the dragon.  Off to the garage.  Let me tell you, removing the rear wheel on the valk is not fun when you have no motorcycle lift.  I ended up ratchet strapping the rear end up from the roof trusses in the garage.  Not recommended, but it got the job done with a 7 out of 10 on the cussing scale.  The tire got mounted at the local shop with a moderate amount of flaming death warnings.  At this point I was starting to believe them.   Putting the wheel back on was more work than I thought it would be.  It's a pretty tight fit to get the caliper bracket back in against the spacer, but do-able.

The bike called to me and said "suit up and go for a ride!!!!"

Everything I've read is true.  There are a few things you have to get used to, but the feel is much more stable after you change the way you ride a little.  Higher speed cornering was really no change for me as I'm already a little more aggressive with the big girl.  If ANYONE is on the fence about going to the Darkside, don't be.  You'll never go back.

Pics:






I'm patiently awaiting my cookie.

[Russian Concussion]

Welcome Will - both to the forum and to the Dark Side! Ride safe (BTW, where r u statewise?)!

[willness33]

Welcome Will - both to the forum and to the Dark Side! Ride safe (BTW, where r u statewise?)!

Charlotte, NC.  Thanks for the welcome.

[Russian Concussion]

enjoy the tire on the kakalaki roads then! going to IZ?

[willness33]

I've not been to any of the IZs, but plan on it maybe next year.  The thought of all those Valks in one place makes does intrigue me.

 The wife and I just got back last weekend from the Freedom Fest at Snowshoe Mountain in WV.  Lots of GREAT roads in the WV mountains.  The only downside is that it's supposed to be an "all brands" rally, but there were mostly Harley riders turning up their noses at my 6 cylinders of greatness.  I've gotten used to the jealousy a long time ago, though.

[timk519]

Welcome to the board! I went darkside earlier this year - and after some tire pressure adjustments, it's been a treat!

[willness33]

Welcome to the board! I went darkside earlier this year - and after some tire pressure adjustments, it's been a treat!

Yep!  I think 30psi is going to work out best for me.  At that pressure, most of the tracking abnormalities are gone and there's no butt wiggle when adding or taking away throttle in turns.

One thing that continues to plague me is an oscillation under full throttle acceleration up to triple digit speeds.  I know I don't need to run that fast and I normally wouldn't, but I'm just seeing how the tire performs under ALL circumstances.  It's less pronounced at 30psi than it was at say 26 or 28, but If I don't back off on the gas, I'm pretty sure it would turn into a tank slapper and pitch me off.  Anyone else experience this?

[Fla. Jim]

Yep had the same problem above 85mph the other day. Noticed a bit of wandering about 85 and tested my handeling by giving the old girl a good jerk on the handelbars and thought I was not going to pull her out of it! Stopped at the closes rest stop after mentaly cleaning my mental dump in my pants and checked the air pressure in my darkside tire....13 psi !! I had picked up a screw and had not noticed. Patched her up and left 42lbs in it for a few days to help seal the plug I put in and have been amazed at how much better It handles vs the 36 psi I had been running. Don't know if I will wear the center out first but she is staying above 40psi, that is if I  don't find another screw!

[willness33]

Hmmm, I thought 30psi was the average pressure most were running in the car tire.  I guess I could try a bit more and see how it feels. 

Fla. Jim, what brand/size tire are you running?

[Fla. Jim]

I am running the 205/65/16 Michilen Hydroedge.
http://vrcc.photostash.com/vrcc_166/New%20tires%203-19-08.jpg
Running a MT90B17 Dunflop K491 Elite II bias rear mounted backwards (for safety) on the front


Vrcc#166 formaly voai 584? I think

[kellylizjones]

Hey all  ,,help please.. I'm thinking of coming over to the darkside,,,  i have  questions of what size tire to start with..I have little inseam to spare on   my Valk,,, generally running two up 80% of the time we ride everywhere,, all conditions,,I run the  stock shocks a bit soft to give me a little more sole on the pavement  2 around town, 3 to 4 on trips, depending on  how much excess weight we are carrying,,,I'm concerned about   top fender rub if running to soft shock setting,,burning off  outside of tires,i also want a softer tire for grip, rather than concern extended mileage,,,, we ride ALOT in rain in North east OH,,, my main reason for going over to the darkside,,

             quick snapshot  we go to a local bike night occasionally  Icehouse inn  austintown OH,,, on nice nights ,,, 1000 bikes,, mostly Harley's,,,If rain anywhere in sight,,,  two goldwings , a "valk"{us}.., a BMW maybe 3 harleys,,  100 pickus,,{the other harley guys}

      Willness33,,, your bike and mine  are 'sisters"..same paint,,,

[willness33]

Hey all  ,,help please.. I'm thinking of coming over to the darkside,,,  i have  questions of what size tire to start with..I have little inseam to spare on   my Valk,,, generally running two up 80% of the time we ride everywhere,, all conditions,,I run the  stock shocks a bit soft to give me a little more sole on the pavement  2 around town, 3 to 4 on trips, depending on  how much excess weight we are carrying,,,I'm concerned about   top fender rub if running to soft shock setting,,burning off  outside of tires,i also want a softer tire for grip, rather than concern extended mileage,,,, we ride ALOT in rain in North east OH,,, my main reason for going over to the darkside,,

             quick snapshot  we go to a local bike night occasionally  Icehouse inn  austintown OH,,, on nice nights ,,, 1000 bikes,, mostly Harley's,,,If rain anywhere in sight,,,  two goldwings , a "valk"{us}.., a BMW maybe 3 harleys,,  100 pickus,,{the other harley guys}

      Willness33,,, your bike and mine  are 'sisters"..same paint,,,

If it makes you feel any better, when I changed the tire on my valk, I compressed the swingarm all the way up without the shocks on it.  With a 205/55/16, there was no rubbing anywhere at full compression.  I did the "nut cage mod" on the right side (driveshaft side) of the fender.  I might not have had to do it, but I wasn't really looking forward to pulling the wheel again just to do something that simple if it needed it.  Fear not, join the darkside and enjoy!

The teal is kinda nice, isn't it?  I'm considering pulling everything off this winter and painting all of the black a pearl white, though.

[willness33]

Posting this as an update for anyone researching and thinking about coming over to the darkside.  I've been playing more with air pressures and have finally settled on 34psi.  Rides better here than anything higher or lower, in case anyone cares.

[Pistolchamp]

Last Saturday my son (on a Suzuki crotch rocket of some kind, who cares?) and I rode from San Antonio to Dripping Springs for a meeting.  FM 165 from Blanco to Highway 290 is a lot of fun if you enjoy high speed curves and plenty of great scenery.

We were running a bit late to the meeting so I took the lead and blasted 68 miles in 44 minutes for an average speed of 92.72 mph.  My son swears that nothing on the planet can keep up with his crotch rocket, but, upon arrival he told me that its still correct that nothing can keep up with him, but, his fat old man on an overweight, crudely suspended, bagger Valkyrie with a car tire can be a bit difficult also.  At one point he was so far back I nearly (repeat NEARLY) slowed down to let him catch up.

He was most embarrassed when I passed him on a long downhill curve and never looked back... heck, why not, he was going too slow.

We spent the rest of the day playing in the Texas Hill Country on roads I knew as well as a few he knew.  Great fun, even in the high temps.

About 5pm we were pooped and started home.  It turned out that we were over 100 miles from his house and we were ready to crash when we got there.

Great fun, a great companion and I lost 8 pounds by the scale... remember to hydrate and often.  We slept like logs.

Enjoy the brightside.  I run 35 psi and it works just fine with my Michelin Hydroedge 205/65R16.  I have over 17,000 miles on this tire.

[Sludge]

Im late getting in on this thread, but welcome to the darkside Will!  I live in Roaring River, NC  Not too far from the parkway.  We should get together and ride sometime.