Looking to Go to the "darkside" Tire suggestions.

[bigbikerrick]

Hello Folks, Since my ST 1300 has a sidecar attached, I want to try out a car tire on the rear. What brand size tire fits without clearance issues? I plan to order the tire online if possible,and install it myself using my harbor freight MC tire machine,and mojo lever.
I appreciate any suggestions/advice.
Thanks
Rick Duarte

 

[SMSW]

Do a search for 'darkside'. There have been a lot of discussions about this. You can also go to ST1300 Technical > Tires after you hit the Forums tab above. Look at Shinko - I'm sure I've seen discussions about this brand of car tire being used on ST's.

 

[spiderman302]

I just put on my third BF Goodrich g-force comp-2 a/s 205/50r17 (93W) tire. It is a press fit getting it past the drive. You would think it would never fit. The trick is to let all the air out and place a plastic bags between the arm and the tire then it will slide by. I run it at 26 psi to get the best ride. The previous one I put 27k miles on before it picked up a nail with a lot of tread left. The first car tire was a Hankook ventus V2 in the same size. You should get 40k miles out of the tire and with a load rating of 1,433 lbs.....

less time in the shop more time on the road.........

 

[W0QNX]

I don't even like to post in darkside tire threads as many will soon be along to disagree but 970mike and myself have over 400,000 thousand miles on ST1300 darkside tires. We both really liked the:

BF Goodrich g-Force COMP 2 A/S - #31113

Ultra High Performance All Season

Size: 205/50ZR17 Extra Load

Load/Speed Rating #: 93/W

Item #: 31113

Which I just ordered today from TireBuyer for $125 taxed and shipped.

One reason we like, which you will not need so much, is they handle better in curves than any other tire we've tried. Another is the good price and reasonable miles (40,000 plus).

And for a final comment before the haters arrive. Almost all the 205/50 WILL RUB the inside of the upper fender. Way up top where nobody looks. Mine is full of holes. And you may need to remove some of the material on the inside of the swing arm which I guess at being .050" at most on another bike I did. Mine I removed maybe .020". FYI this can be done after install with sandpaper slid by tire friction between the rubbing tire and the swingarm. And they above tire is one of the widest out there but if you're serious it will work great.

Duck, these comments will awake the non-dark-side experts quickly.

 

[W0QNX]

I just put on my second BF Goodrich g-force comp-2 a/s 205/50r17 (93W) tire. It is a press fit getting it past the drive. You would think it would never fit. The trick is to let all the air out and place a plastic bags between the arm and the tire then it will slide by. I run it at 26 psi to get the best ride. The previous one I put 27k miles on before it picked up a nail with a lot of tread left. The first car tire was a Hankook ventus V2 in the same size. You should get 40k miles out of the tire and with a load rating of 1,433 lbs.....

less time in the shop more time on the road.........

Another help is to loosen the 4 bolts in the rear end (pumpkin) and I use cut pieces of oil jug plastic to cover the hard bits and let the NOT inflated tire slide by.

 

[spiderman302]

So that makes 500k miles of dark siding among the three of us. That is 13 car tires instead of 60 rear motorcycle tires.
With the lower tire pressure, you do not get the odd lift from the edge of the car tire, plus better traction and softer ride.
But you might not feel that lift if you are hard mounted to the sidecar.

 

[Larry Fine]

. . . 970mike and myself have over 400,000 thousand miles on ST1300 darkside tires.

That's a lot of miles!

 

[TourNut]

Still like my GYTT rear / Battlax BT45 front . Handled the mountains @ RockSTOC 5 rally last year just fine . Didn't slip on gravel switchbacks that others complained about w/ MC tires .

 

[Netling]

I don't even like to post in darkside tire threads as many will soon be along to disagree but 970mike and myself have over 400,000 thousand miles on ST1300 darkside tires. We both really liked the:

BF Goodrich g-Force COMP 2 A/S - #31113

Ultra High Performance All Season

Size: 205/50ZR17 Extra Load

Load/Speed Rating #: 93/W

Item #: 31113

Which I just ordered today from TireBuyer for $125 taxed and shipped.

One reason we like, which you will not need so much, is they handle better in curves than any other tire we've tried. Another is the good price and reasonable miles (40,000 plus).

And for a final comment before the haters arrive. Almost all the 205/50 WILL RUB the inside of the upper fender. Way up top where nobody looks. Mine is full of holes. And you may need to remove some of the material on the inside of the swing arm which I guess at being .050" at most on another bike I did. Mine I removed maybe .020". FYI this can be done after install with sandpaper slid by tire friction between the rubbing tire and the swingarm. And they above tire is one of the widest out there but if you're serious it will work great.

Duck, these comments will awake the non-dark-side experts quickly.

I have never heard of this until I read this and watched the video! I’m coming from Ducati and track, amateur stuff no pro... just reading this makes me cringe! I would fear loosing the rear grip, but than again I’m all for learning new things.
I haven’t even gotten my st on the road, so I don’t know what to expect... I’m just coming from a background where you wear knee guard because you likely are dragging them at some point. How do these handle corners?!

 

[GoodGuywitha9mm]

Darksiding - Having worked in a tire shop when I was younger, there is something to be said about the tire life advantage. While a couple of examples cite side cars, how does an auto tire affect "leaning" or "cornering" in the traditional sense? Is it harder, same, easier? That would be my only concern if I were to give it a go!

 

[PhotoDoctor]

I read through many of the Darkside treads last month and I just installed the Bridgestone DriveGaurd RunFlat 205/50 17 on the rear of my st1300 and a BT45 rear tire on the front. There were no clearance issues with the tires but you will want someone who is good with a tire machine to mount this tire on the rim and it still take two people. I have a friend with a auto repair shop so it was no problem for me.

As far as cornering on the bike goes.... it feels very solid and I'm impressed.

 

[rwthomas1]

I follow these darkside threads just for curiosity. I'll probably never ride enough distance to warrant the effort. Fortnine did a reasonable job presenting the issue but I think missed the point. It appears that the cost is not really the issue. Darkside allows less time at the shop, longer distances, etc. Stopping for a new tire mid-tour, or mid-season is the primary reason, no? Fortnine also appeared to be darksiding the wrong machine? Seems a larger, heavier sport-tour or touring machine makes a much better case. Kudos to those who experiment like this, I've yet to see anyone attempt this in anything other than a thoughtful manner. Most of the comments against seem to come from riders that do 50-100 miles of twistys on weekends and cannot fathom the mileage rolled by some touring and commuting riders. Experiment on! Its great to read about.

 

[W0QNX]

I follow these darkside threads just for curiosity. I'll probably never ride enough distance to warrant the effort. Fortnine did a reasonable job presenting the issue but I think missed the point. It appears that the cost is not really the issue. Darkside allows less time at the shop, longer distances, etc. Stopping for a new tire mid-tour, or mid-season is the primary reason, no? Fortnine also appeared to be darksiding the wrong machine? Seems a larger, heavier sport-tour or touring machine makes a much better case. Kudos to those who experiment like this, I've yet to see anyone attempt this in anything other than a thoughtful manner. Most of the comments against seem to come from riders that do 50-100 miles of twistys on weekends and cannot fathom the mileage rolled by some touring and commuting riders. Experiment on! Its great to read about.

I'm not sure how cost can't be one of the reasons. I'm changing out my rear tire right now (on break now) and can give you 46,850 primary reasons I like my rear tire of choice. Different choices have yield up to 64,000 reasons......

 

[rwthomas1]

I'm not sure how cost can't be one of the reasons. I'm changing out my rear tire right now (on break now) and can give you 46,850 primary reasons I like my rear tire of choice. Different choices have yield up to 64,000 reasons......

I don't darkside, so I am only guessing at motivations. Cost I'm sure is a factor. But to the riders who only buy tires once a season, or every other, less of a factor maybe? If you are riding enough to need 2-3 tires a season, then it starts to make a lot of sense. Where I am, there is a sect of riders that put on the gear, ride to the wall by the ocean, park it and pose. These types are sub-50miles a week for half a year. I know these types. They are likely the naysayers with regard to darksiding. But sport-touring and touring bikes are not these people, so it matters little.

 

[bigbikerrick]

I am definitely going "darkside" on my sidecar rig.....heck, I wish I could find a car tire to fit the front! Having a bike where the stock rear allows a car tire is a HUGE benefit in a sidecar rig. These things can eat a back tire in 3K miles, if the "tug" is a high torque bike, like the ST, and you like to slew the chair.. That gets expensive !
Thanks
Rick. Duarte