And then there were TWO!

[HellFire]

I'm surprised they didn't lose the 240 rear tire in favor of a smaller size 180-200 range. That overgrown, honking tire is half the reason the Standard and Classic handles like a log wagon. I rode the one in Pensacola before they sold it and I was blown away at much better the R3T handles in comparison. Of course, the Rocket isn't marketed for it's handling. It's marketed as a power cruiser/street fighter. The fat rear rubber is fine for that, I guess.

Changing the rear tire size would have been a VERY, VERY smart move. If they had just changed the diameter of the rear wheel alone, the tire options would have been almost limitless and the price would be nearly cut in half. That oddball 16" rear wheel is why so many are joining Vader on the dark side.

 

[xhdskip]

The darkside rocks.
Coming from a Christian thats saying something.

 

[PWRMAD]

Vader on the dark side.

Please explain for this newbie.

 

[HellFire]

Please explain for this newbie.

Darkside refers to going against everything in the past thats been held and preached as gospel about ONLY using tires that were made specifically for motorcycles. The Vader reference is self explanitory.

 

[TriumPhil]

PWRMAD

Darkside = Using a directional tread car tire on the rear
See forum herein dedicated to the subject or go here for the chapter and verse:Riding on the Darkside

 

[PWRMAD]

PWRMAD

Darkside = Using a directional tread car tire on the rear

Ah, thanks. This spring I rode a Valkyrie with a car tire on the back, and it handled way worse than my old Ironhorse Chopper with a 240 rear tire and like a 7 foot wheelbase. Didn't like it at all, although I'd love to have it at the dragstrip.

 

[TriumPhil]

It's definitely a subjective choice, that's for sure. I owned 2 VTX 1800s and after using 3 different brands of MTs (Dunnies, B'stones and Metz)I went over to the darkside and never looked back. The B'stone Potenza CT I ran was, IMO, vastly superior to the MTs under virtually all conditions. I am a very aggressive rider with nearly 45 years in the saddle on almost 20 different motorcycles that I've owned. It does take alittle getting used to and riding on a CT will always require different input from the rider than aMT does. It isn't evryone's cup 'o tea. When I burn through the Metz on my Rocket I'm definitely going darkside, probably on Toyo's Proxes T1R.

 

[HellFire]

An 800lb rocket squashes the tire into shape and seems much more rideable than a lighter bike with a car tire. But then why would you need a car tire on a lighter bike anyway, if they made a bike tire that handled the weight and torque of an R3 I wouldn't even consider using a car tire. But ... they don't.