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Well… it’s done!!
Today was the day I completed the crossover to the Darkside.
Here is the install 300 Report
Well I took the bike to my local Auto skill center here on Fort Bragg and decided to give it a go myself. That didn’t go so well… So I removed the bike tire and took a look at the Kumho’s fit… I could not figure out how to get the tire past the wheel well and wheel studs??? Ahh, a quandary. So, after a while of tinkering and then wearing out my welcome with the shop supervisor who sort of “helps” out, I decided to use one of my lifelines… I phoned a friend.
I put my bike back together again and took it to a friend’s place where we commenced to place the center stand again on an 2” block to raise the back end a little. I removed the left exhaust just to make the access to the lug nuts easier. I removed the tire, took it to a local used tire place, and asked them to change it out.
OK, many shops proclaim they “do not have the right equipment” to change a bike tire. But the difference is that you have to clamp the rim from the outside, not the inside… this seems to throw them a loop for some reason.. The punk rocker who worked there could not care less what I was putting the tire on. But he sure liked the Dynabeads (lord knows what was going through his head). It took less than 5 minutes and cost me $5.
So , back to the bike. Here is the crux of the fitment issue I faced earlier. Turns out that placing the tire on a rim changed the shape of the tire and placing the tire on the bike took approximately 15 seconds. Now, after a good government funded education I seemed to waste all that college money. Masters degree of what? Not tires!
Put the bike together and went for a ride. My immediate impression: FANTASTIC!!
I immediately noticed the over steering issue people speak of, but the way I felt it is that it was simply a tad harder to start a turn and the bike wanted to right itself, which I find to be a nice benefit.
The ride, with the Kumho on the rear and dynabeads running in both tires is WAY smother. I put the dynabeads in the front this morning and I noticed less vibration up there right away, now with both it is even better.
I found the ride softer and so I took it down the crappiest road on Fort Bragg and I noticed that the translation to the pilot is far less. I like.
I would like to thank all of you who have urged me, coached me and in some cases coerced me into making this change. I know I am going to love this!
Cheers. :thumbup:
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Today was the day I completed the crossover to the Darkside.
Here is the install 300 Report
Well I took the bike to my local Auto skill center here on Fort Bragg and decided to give it a go myself. That didn’t go so well… So I removed the bike tire and took a look at the Kumho’s fit… I could not figure out how to get the tire past the wheel well and wheel studs??? Ahh, a quandary. So, after a while of tinkering and then wearing out my welcome with the shop supervisor who sort of “helps” out, I decided to use one of my lifelines… I phoned a friend.
I put my bike back together again and took it to a friend’s place where we commenced to place the center stand again on an 2” block to raise the back end a little. I removed the left exhaust just to make the access to the lug nuts easier. I removed the tire, took it to a local used tire place, and asked them to change it out.
OK, many shops proclaim they “do not have the right equipment” to change a bike tire. But the difference is that you have to clamp the rim from the outside, not the inside… this seems to throw them a loop for some reason.. The punk rocker who worked there could not care less what I was putting the tire on. But he sure liked the Dynabeads (lord knows what was going through his head). It took less than 5 minutes and cost me $5.
So , back to the bike. Here is the crux of the fitment issue I faced earlier. Turns out that placing the tire on a rim changed the shape of the tire and placing the tire on the bike took approximately 15 seconds. Now, after a good government funded education I seemed to waste all that college money. Masters degree of what? Not tires!
Put the bike together and went for a ride. My immediate impression: FANTASTIC!!
I immediately noticed the over steering issue people speak of, but the way I felt it is that it was simply a tad harder to start a turn and the bike wanted to right itself, which I find to be a nice benefit.
The ride, with the Kumho on the rear and dynabeads running in both tires is WAY smother. I put the dynabeads in the front this morning and I noticed less vibration up there right away, now with both it is even better.
I found the ride softer and so I took it down the crappiest road on Fort Bragg and I noticed that the translation to the pilot is far less. I like.
I would like to thank all of you who have urged me, coached me and in some cases coerced me into making this change. I know I am going to love this!
Cheers. :thumbup:
