irish2themax
New member
Guys, here is my own personal experience of riding a motorcycle with a car tire on the rear. The caveat is that it was NOT my bike and I did NOT ride it extensively. I DID ride it thoroughly, at least enough to get more than an idea of what it would be like in a long term application. As with all disclaimers, folks are going to do exactly what they are going to do. That's just the nature of human beings in a free society.
It was during one of my Ride Like A Pro classes. A rider shows up with a Yamaha FJ Sport Cruiser. He had a car tire on the back. He regaled us with tales of having had to modify the rear end and change out the swing arm and what not. He is an IronButt rider whose idea of fun ir riding from SoCal to Florida and back in a few days. So his major concern is mileage on tires. Here are some pics of his bike.
He struggled right from the first exercise. I could tell that even the slow speed weave was difficult. While riding the circle I could tell that he was "teetering on the brink" of going over. The offset was almost impossible as he missed ALL the gates. His rolling u-turn went well outside of the 24' turning area and the u-turn from a stop was impossible for him to do as he could not preposition the bike in leaned over state.
Folks, as you can imagine all kinds of riders take my course so I've had the pleasure of taking ALL kinds of bike through the exercises. Most of the time it's to show the hesitant and non-believers that it can be done on their bike. However when I took his bike for a spin I struggled too. The weave was my first introduction to the unique handling aspects of the Darkside. While going straight in an upright manner the bike felt rock solid. However as soon as I tried to flick it over into a weave I almost dumped it. The amount of physical input required into the bars just to get the bike up and onto that outside edge was a good workout. And then to bring it back to the other side was just as difficult. The sensation of trying to do the weave was: going straight - smooth and steady, getting up onto the left edge was a struggle, back down to the flat part slowed the whole transition process, followed by struggling to get the bike up and over to the right edge. Every exercise I rode was a struggle to get the bike up onto the corner, or outside edge, of the tire. And once there, it was a struggle to keep it balanced from tipping over. This made quick handlebar transitions back and forth, lock to lock, tank to tank difficult as ALL my focus was on keeping the bike from tipping over.
All in all, for me it was not a pleasant experience, at least not for the way I ride. The whole ride was unpredictable. Yes, it was NOT my bike and I do NOT ride it everyday. And the owner said that over time one gets use to it and learns how to compensate. But to me that's like learning to walk with a rock in your shoe. Yes it can be done, and the discomfort caused by rock can be dealt with and compensated for, but I'd rather not have to learn to do it. Finally, the rider admitted that he had to modify the rear swing arm and other parts, so the cost was more than buying and installing a rear tire. I mention this because perhaps all those rear modifications were a contributing factors in the poor slow speed handling. And although I could not be sure, and did not want to force the issue, perhaps finances played a role too. In other words, a person spending that kind of money to make something fit and work is more inclined to run it way inspite of any downsides. I know this first hand as I forced myself to ride with a LOUD exhaust for a year just because it took a lot of time and money for it. I have since changed exhaust back to something a little more tolerable. Once again, personal preference.
For him, for what he does, riding on the superslab all day eating Skittles and drinking Redbull in search of the next coast to coast location, that rear tire will no doubt save him money in tire changes over the long run. However for me the ability to quickly flick my bike around an object in the road, or manuever in close quarters comes first.
Once again I am not trying to force conclusions or make any person choose the Darkside over the Lightside or vice versa. I am just sharing my experience with it.
Ride Safe
It was during one of my Ride Like A Pro classes. A rider shows up with a Yamaha FJ Sport Cruiser. He had a car tire on the back. He regaled us with tales of having had to modify the rear end and change out the swing arm and what not. He is an IronButt rider whose idea of fun ir riding from SoCal to Florida and back in a few days. So his major concern is mileage on tires. Here are some pics of his bike.
He struggled right from the first exercise. I could tell that even the slow speed weave was difficult. While riding the circle I could tell that he was "teetering on the brink" of going over. The offset was almost impossible as he missed ALL the gates. His rolling u-turn went well outside of the 24' turning area and the u-turn from a stop was impossible for him to do as he could not preposition the bike in leaned over state.
Folks, as you can imagine all kinds of riders take my course so I've had the pleasure of taking ALL kinds of bike through the exercises. Most of the time it's to show the hesitant and non-believers that it can be done on their bike. However when I took his bike for a spin I struggled too. The weave was my first introduction to the unique handling aspects of the Darkside. While going straight in an upright manner the bike felt rock solid. However as soon as I tried to flick it over into a weave I almost dumped it. The amount of physical input required into the bars just to get the bike up and onto that outside edge was a good workout. And then to bring it back to the other side was just as difficult. The sensation of trying to do the weave was: going straight - smooth and steady, getting up onto the left edge was a struggle, back down to the flat part slowed the whole transition process, followed by struggling to get the bike up and over to the right edge. Every exercise I rode was a struggle to get the bike up onto the corner, or outside edge, of the tire. And once there, it was a struggle to keep it balanced from tipping over. This made quick handlebar transitions back and forth, lock to lock, tank to tank difficult as ALL my focus was on keeping the bike from tipping over.
All in all, for me it was not a pleasant experience, at least not for the way I ride. The whole ride was unpredictable. Yes, it was NOT my bike and I do NOT ride it everyday. And the owner said that over time one gets use to it and learns how to compensate. But to me that's like learning to walk with a rock in your shoe. Yes it can be done, and the discomfort caused by rock can be dealt with and compensated for, but I'd rather not have to learn to do it. Finally, the rider admitted that he had to modify the rear swing arm and other parts, so the cost was more than buying and installing a rear tire. I mention this because perhaps all those rear modifications were a contributing factors in the poor slow speed handling. And although I could not be sure, and did not want to force the issue, perhaps finances played a role too. In other words, a person spending that kind of money to make something fit and work is more inclined to run it way inspite of any downsides. I know this first hand as I forced myself to ride with a LOUD exhaust for a year just because it took a lot of time and money for it. I have since changed exhaust back to something a little more tolerable. Once again, personal preference.
For him, for what he does, riding on the superslab all day eating Skittles and drinking Redbull in search of the next coast to coast location, that rear tire will no doubt save him money in tire changes over the long run. However for me the ability to quickly flick my bike around an object in the road, or manuever in close quarters comes first.
Once again I am not trying to force conclusions or make any person choose the Darkside over the Lightside or vice versa. I am just sharing my experience with it.
Ride Safe
hyea:
