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Darkside Tire Size

43K views 91 replies 26 participants last post by  Astrit 
#1 ·
I did not post this to start an argument. I rode over 60,000 miles on a dark size on my Voyager so I know what I am doing. Simple questions is what size and brand of tire are you all running on a 2013 Cross Country Tour. I would prefer a run flat if I can find one.

Thanks

Lobo
Guardians Of The Children
 
#2 ·
I also have XCT and I own a Goldwing also the XCT and the Wing use the same size tires. The most popular rear car tire on the wing is a 195/55R-16. I ran one for over 6,000 miles than triked the wing my brother put it on his wing and got another 13,000 I think. Before something went though the side wall and it would not hold air any longer. I will be putting one on my XCT soon. I bought one a Dunlop at beginning of winter but someone else needed one right away so is running mine on his wing. I hope he replaces it soon as my rear tire is gone.
 
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#4 ·
Sorry for the hijack but I want to dark side but cannot change my own tire. (I can take it off the bike and take it somewhere, however.) Do you have your dark side put on at an MC shop or can I have it done at a local tire place, such as Discount Tire. I am in the Chicago area, if you know someone who has done this in the past.

Thank you.

Ride safe.
 
#5 ·
I am running a 185/55R16 Kumho Ecsta PA31... on my Vision instead of the 195 that I usually run. So far I think that I like the performance better than the 195... either size works better FOR ME than that piece of crap E3 that they come with... but I also run a 150/70B18 rear tire on the front mounted backwards so what do I know? The Tire Kingdom store up the street changed out both my tires for me at no charge... it pays to stop by these places and chat awhile. It probably helped that I had them put 4 tires on my MGB last year and that the manager rides a Goldwing.
 
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#7 ·
most guys running a CT are running a run-fat if you can find one.
You want a 185 if your going to put a trailer hitch on cause its about 1/4" narrower
 
#81 ·
I've got the Bushtec hitch and run a 195 CT with no clearance issues.
 
#9 ·
Any pictures to see how the bike looks with car tire?

How it performs in the turns? How easy is to lean the bike for the turns?
 
#13 · (Edited)
This is the tire mounted on my XC.



The easiest way to explain the feeling of a car tire is to compare it to a motorcycle tire.

When you put a fresh motorcycle tire on its amazing.....turns effortlessly, handling is superb. As it wears the handling degrades. A car tire feels like (in my opinion) a half worn motorcycle tire. Its not as crisp....it feels like a Dunlop E3 with about 5K miles on it.

The bonus.....it never gets worse then that. Where the Dunlop gets drastically worse in the last 1/2 of its life......the car tire stays the same throughout its life. I got 28K out of my first car tire....and the first 100 miles felt like the last 100 miles.

Im not super protective of my bike. I let people ride it (as long as I know them) if they ask.....I try to push Victory often. Several times Ive had people ride my bike and exclaim about the great handling.....only to see the shock on their face when I ask them to look at the rear tire.

......if I didnt tell you, you wouldnt know.

Here is a video of me doing low speed parking lot manuevuers. The bike has a car tire on it - specifically a Bridgestone G019 Potenza 185/55-16. I was recording it so I could watch it to work on my technique.






Here is a guy that has a CT
Thats me on my last bike.
 
#17 ·
dark side

:)went for ride with the wife last weekend and on the way home the bike felt funny when I got home checked the rear tire and had ten pounds in it put it back to 41 and checked it two hours later and was down again had the wife look as I rolled it backwards and found a nail witch it made me mad but happy because I wanted to put to put on a car tire got on line with tire rack ordered a 195/55/16 Goodyear eagle winter run flat for $ 147.00 and two days later got it installed and I like how it feels had one on a gold wing for over ten years now feel even better about not having flat tires
 
#18 ·
:)went for ride with the wife last weekend and on the way home the bike felt funny when I got home checked the rear tire and had ten pounds in it put it back to 41 and checked it two hours later and was down again had the wife look as I rolled it backwards and found a nail witch it made me mad but happy because I wanted to put to put on a car tire got on line with tire rack ordered a 195/55/16 Goodyear eagle winter run flat for $ 147.00 and two days later got it installed and I like how it feels had one on a gold wing for over ten years now feel even better about not having flat tires

Welcome back to the Darkside...

The Goodyear you bought, was it the Ultra Grip. If so you should get a lot of miles out of it . I too had one on my Goldwing before they stopped making it and got 32,000 miles out of it to the wear bars. I'm running the Michelin on our XCT now and this is my second one and very happy with it.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I used to run Bridgestone Potenza Grids on my Vision....great tire and I got about 30K out of them. They stopped making them in the size I need.

Then I tried a Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max in 175/60. It was OK....but didnt perform quite as well as my Bridgestone. No idea how long it lasted as I traded the bike off before I wore the tire out.

New bike......new tire time.

First run was a Kumho Ecsta 185/55-16. Excellent performance but it only lasted 16K till it was at the wear bars.



Im looking for atleast 25K....so gotta try something else.

Got a Yokohama Avid on now......excellent performance, rounded shoulder.......the wear rating was something like 760 (vs around 420 for the Kumho). Hopefully it gets the kinda mileage Im looking for.






I use 185/55 or 195/55 interchangeably.....either one works for me.....just depends on what the tire selection options are. I did try the 175/60 Goodyear.....and it was comparable overall size wise and didnt effect my speedometer very much.....but I think the other two are better choices they offer more selection.
 
#28 ·
XC Classic

Is there any issue with going darkside with a spoked wheel with tubes like the classic?
Any special treatment or different tube?
Do people use products like dynabeads or other continuous balancing products when going darkside?
 
#30 ·
I finally installed my Bridgestone Driveguard Run Flat 195/55RF16 on the rear of my 2014 XCT today after the original stock tire had 23,570 kms on it.
I also installed a Centramatic wheel balancer on the back.
I wanted to install a 90 degree valve stem and mount the sensor on the inside but the valve was too big to fit into the rim... sucks.
So now I am going to go and try it out for a few miles and see how it feels.
It will take a while to scrub in, and I am going on a 2 day trip at the end of the month, so it will be a good test.


.
 

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#31 ·
Pauljp, Was your problem that the 90 degree valve stem too large in diameter for the existing hole in the rim? If so, why not just drill the hole a tiny bit larger?

G'day,

Vinish
 
#32 ·
When I ordered my Doran TPMS it came with a couple of straight valves and a couple of 90 degree valves.
For some reason the straight ones are 7mm in diameter and the 90 degree ones are 10mm in diameter.
I don't know if they put the wrong ones in the box or something, I guess I can contact them and see what they can do.
But I am not going to take it all apart again just to change valves so it will probably stay the way it is.
That's the way it goes in my life I guess...
 
#33 ·
Paul...did you hook your Doran up to be on at all times, or did you go with a switched power supply?

I would think that if you're hesitant to take the tire back off and install the 90 degree stem, you won't be a happy camper when your batteries go south on the sensors if they're internal...so you're probably better off with them outside.

That's the same tire and TPMS I'm running on my XC. The Doran has been on, with external sensors, since December 2014 and it has seen lots of rain. No issues in about 20k miles. Twice, it has lost communication with a sensor, parked in the same spot outside my gym, and once or twice in my garage. But it has never stopped communicating with a sensor while I'm riding. Each time it has regained communication once I move the bike - so it's probably just an unlucky position when parked.

I did use the 90 degree stems that came with the Doran, but I had already drilled out my holes for a prior internal TPMS kit that was too large for the OEM hole.

Coincidentally, that's also the same tire I'm running. I've got 6,900 miles on the DriveGuard tire and used up about 3/32. If it's linear, that should be about 23k to hit the wear bars....which would be the best I've done on a car tire. For some reason, I've been burning through them in about 10k, but this is the first DriveGuard I've used.
 
#39 ·
I'm running 28 lbs in that DriveGuard.

Paul - Just from my experience with car tires on the XC, I'd guess that you'll wear the center out of that tire much quicker than the outside at 40 lbs. I've been through 3 car tires previously to this one, and I started at 40 on the first one. I worked my way down over time as I saw the wear. Ran my last one the entire time at 30 and still had just a tad bit more wear in the center, which is why I'm running the DriveGuard at 28. My brain wants to tell me that's just not enough air..but it sure does handle well. Actually, I put the DriveGuard on just a few days before we headed off to ride the roads in North Carolina...broke it in on the way there. And it handled well on the dragon and all those roads up there at 28 lbs.

Something you may want to consider.
 
#35 ·
@skullsessions, yup my Doran is on all the time, I like it better that way, even when I store it for the winter I will have my battery tender on it so it will be ok.
I guess I worry a bit about theft. The external sensor on the back is ok because it will be very difficult for anyone to take it or even see it because of the fender and saddlebags, but the front one is totally exposed and I will probably put that one on the inside when I change the tire as it is a lot easier to work on.

This is my first car tire on the bike so I am still learning but so far it is a lot smoother ride. I am at 40psi but will try 38 and work my way down just to see any difference. I haven't tried any slow speed maneuvers yet.
 
#42 ·
Mine is hot wired too. I ride just about every day, so I've never had an issue with the parasitic battery drain. It's nice to know pressure before you even start the bike. You don't even have to push the button to check...if the red light isn't lit, you're within the range that you setup on the unit, so you know you're good to go. I wasn't sure I'd like the Doran because it's so minimalist. I do like it though.

Slow speed stuff is pretty much the same unless you're on an extremely uneven surface. I find that my bike wants to try to square up with that surface...so I have to be a little more alert than I did with a bike tire. There are a couple of cons with a car tire, but the things I like about it outweigh the negative.
 
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