Hey wondering if anyone here knows anyone who Darksides? For those who don't know Darksiding is the practice of riding with car tires on the bike (usually in the rear), its popular with tourers, mainly goldwingers. Supposedly they see increased tire longevity as well as better wet weather traction...
With many GoldWing tires lasting just 10,000 miles compared to the 30,000 or more from automotive tires that cost half as much to begin with, plus some additional fuel mileage, the economics of it make obvious sense. Wet-weather traction is also greatly improved, according to the reports of many Darksiders.
I think that it makes most sense if you ride very frequently for long distances. It seems like the main benefit is having tires that last longer than standard motorcycle tires.
Tire manufacturers design tires for specific applications and I would not use a tire that isn't designed for motorcycles on a motorcycle for everyday use. It might work for a show bike but for everyday riding I want a tire designed for that purpose.
By way of example a car tire is not designed to ride on it's edge but a motorcycle tire is designed to do that.
I'm a dark sider. I wouldn't consider it for my Street, though. Yes mileage can be quadrupled. For big cruising bikes just under inflate to the "sweet spot pressure."
Hey wondering if anyone here knows anyone who Darksides? For those who don't know Darksiding is the practice of riding with car tires on the bike (usually in the rear), its popular with tourers, mainly goldwingers. Supposedly they see increased tire longevity as well as better wet weather traction...
Just remember that what you're doing is very unsafe because automotive tires are not designed to used on motorcycles and that you've also quadrupled the likelihood of killing yourself, or worse still, an innocent passenger on your motorcycle.
HarleyHoonigan:
Thanks for the conversation on car tires as it promotes the information sharing that can benefit forum members! I don't know why more car tires aren't manufactured for motorcycles. I have seen flat profile tires on drag strip motorcycles and limited other applications, but I think that the issue is more complex than safety as to why manufactures don't seem to market much to the general riding community. To get some great, researched info on car tires on motorcycles, you might consider seeking the experienced info in the dark side forum.
We had a couple of members who left a couple of years ago that had Velorex sidecars. I believe one or both of them put car tires on the rear of the bike and the car. You might do a search for sidecars here and see what they said. I don't think either of those guys comes around anymore.
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