ragtop69gs

I took my first ride on my darkside tire today, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised, I like the way the bike rides with it, corners & brakes well. Rode home from work in the rain and it stuck like glue. Tried a little hard braking in the rain , you'd need to be deliberate to lock it up! For the most part I couldn't tell anything was different other than it slightly following a few imperfections in the road surface, nothing scary though. Where it really shined was in wet road braking and grip, 5 stars on that! BF Goodrich 155\80-15 TA Radial I think I'm gonna be another convert to the darkside.. PS Jeff the bottle is on it's way back to you.

So sorry to hear this. Jeannie & I offer our sincere condolences.

Not to worry Jeff, the doc's have done this many times before and to them it's no different than doing an oil change on the bike. Will they be installing nitrous system while in there?

Bummer,,, Randy, the damage is already done to the car. Jacking the tree off of it would be a risky job unless you have a front end loader or crane, TREES ARE HEAVY!!! Cut most of the weight off before trying to get the car out. We just had a tree come down in the neighborhood and cut the attached garage in half, taking out 2 cars with it. Took two cranes to lift the tree! Be safe dealing with this.

Head south and east, the farther you go the better the roads get. Trips, taking unknown back roads are the most fun. Stop along the way and talk to local riders, you'll find good routes this way.

Beaded, installed, 40 psi for break in period. first ride in the morning .

Mounted up & ready to install. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/18698fb760f466f90c26549a9492b13d.jpg

Me too, easy as pie. Socket was $7 at AutoZone

I had put off doing the swing arm service fearing it was a big involved job, turned out to not be such a big deal once the tire is removed. Glad I checked it as there was barely any grease left on the bearings. The worst part of the job was having to drive to the parts store for a 30mm / 1 3/16" socket.

My thoughts exactly till I saw those triple cut fins

@Kirby . When you say clean & polish do you mean to sand all the machining ridges smooth in the bead area? Or just clean and shiny?

No offence taken. Others that read this thread may not know. I have wrestled with getting the shaft into the u-joint before, I found that a coat hanger thru the inspection hole aids alignment by hooking and holding the u-joint. I've never gone as far as to remove the swing arm but I will this time. At 75K miles it needs visual inspection and re-greasing. I want to be sure everything is 100% before I go to the darkside. Montana awaits me next month. I placed an order with Summit Racing for my darkside tire and windshield wiper at 7:30 Thursday evening and the wipers were at my door less than 12 hours later, the tire is already at the local UPS depot reday for delivery on monday! Totally amazing how fast their shipping is.

I am getting ready to check the swing arm and looking at the factory service manual it say's to remove the rear fender, is that really necessary to service the swing arm?

Let us know when you're coming to town , we'll try and get a little meet & eat together.

Take 2 days in the museum, there's a lot to see, especially if you are a detail looker. Greenfield village is worth seeing too. There is a lot of history tucked into the village.

Thanks for the mounting tip Steve, I Do have a few different choices of shops to do the mounting.

Kirby, Thanks for your post. I have decided that I am going with the BFG 155/80-15. The Idea that it will lower the bike 1" appeals to my short inseam. I have a new Commander II 130 on the front that I really like so far. Everyone running the TA radial seems to really like it. I will give it an honest shot and am really hoping I can make a successful transition to the darkside. Thanks for pointing out some of the quirks to be aware of, it will help me knowing some of what to expect. I was surprised to find that no local shops have either size CT in stock, I'll be ordering one before the weekend. What was your experience when you mounted it up? Did you balance with beads or weights?

Guess I was lied to by the tire shop, they said Cooper made them. Thanks

No, Federal is made by Cooper Tire, most of their plants are in the USA.

What size front tire do you run? What break in procedure did you use for the TA Radial and for how long? What handling differences should I expect having never ridden on the darkside before?

Been considering that one too, my only concern with it is that I've got my forks slid up 3/4" in trees and a 130 commander 2 up front, I know the BFG will lower it another 1" in back and I pull a camper or cargo trailer. Should that be a concern with the handling of the bike? I'd much rather run the BFG if it won't be a problem.

Has anyone run the Federal 165/80-15 on their RSV? Thinking about giving the DS a try and it's the only tire I can find locally.

So,,,, what's your opinion so far on the CT , do you like it?

Thanks for everything so far Donny. Could I ask a favor of you ? Can you get a measurement from the tire to the inside lower lip of the fender. The reason I ask is, I have a Hitch-Doc vertical hitch and want to be sure that a 165/80R15 will fit without hitting the hitch.

Sorry if I missed it, what brand & model is the tire? I'm going to try darkside with my next tire change before heading to Montana.