De-Darksiding the 1100

Well, I made a decision the other day. I am in need of a new set of tires for the 1100. Have ridden the tread off the Dungflop 404 that i put on the front less than a year ago. So, I bought a Shinko front a couple weeks back. As I was deciding on which C/T to buy for the rear the other day I thought back on my riding since I put this one on. This C/T is the replacement for the Bridgestone Spitfire that went flat on me at 90 mph on the interstate. Needless to say, that shook me up pretty bad. I feel like it still haunts my riding to this day. It also happened shortly after I got this bike so I don't have a riding history to compare to without a C/T.

I have always felt that this bike handles squirrelly above 60 mph, just not a real comfortable ride. Kinda like I gotta really be on my game and, for a long trip, that can be grinding. I don't have a riding history on this bike before putting the C/T on the back so, when I ordered my next rear tire a couple days ago, I matched my front with a Shinko rear. I am running a 165/80/15 C/T right now and the Shinko that I ordered is a 140/90/15. I seriously hope that this will help the higher speed riding. If not an actual improvement, maybe just a placebo type effect. We'll see. I'll report back after a couple long trips.

Simpleman77 wrote:Well, I made a decision the other day. I am in need of a new set of tires for the 1100. Have ridden the tread off the Dungflop 404 that i put on the front less than a year ago. So, I bought a Shinko front a couple weeks back. As I was deciding on which C/T to buy for the rear the other day I thought back on my riding since I put this one on. This C/T is the replacement for the Bridgestone Spitfire that went flat on me at 90 mph on the interstate. Needless to say, that shook me up pretty bad. I feel like it still haunts my riding to this day. It also happened shortly after I got this bike so I don't have a riding history to compare to without a C/T.

I have always felt that this bike handles squirrelly above 60 mph, just not a real comfortable ride. Kinda like I gotta really be on my game and, for a long trip, that can be grinding. I don't have a riding history on this bike before putting the C/T on the back so, when I ordered my next rear tire a couple days ago, I matched my front with a Shinko rear. I am running a 165/80/15 C/T right now and the Shinko that I ordered is a 140/90/15. I seriously hope that this will help the higher speed riding. If not an actual improvement, maybe just a placebo type effect. We'll see. I'll report back after a couple long trips.

sounds like some 1 had your back on that blow out eric , soninlaw blew 1 at 70 and ended up with the bike on its side in the medium with heavy traffic on us 10 , talked to daughter this morning and he has another flat on his bike , the roads in the pennsacola area are infested with nails , be careful bro , i hope this works out for you , don't they have run flats tires

Good luck on those tires Eric. I'll be interested in knowing how they work out. Give us an evaluation in a month.

Welcome back from the Darkside brother......

Gotta ride what works for you. No exp. DS on that size bike. Do let us know what you think. Would like to know.

if ya go back far enought , the care tire and bike tire had the same profile , bot bias plyed rubber with thread , now there round with some rain groves , and made for curves

Eric I ran ME880s on my 86 VT1100 with no problems at any speed. If you have the same problems with the new tires you may want to look at your rear shock bushings, swing arm bushings, and neck bearings.

trip wrote:Eric I ran ME880s on my 86 VT1100 with no problems at any speed. If you have the same problems with the new tires you may want to look at your rear shock bushings, swing arm bushings, and neck bearings.

what wes said could be your problem eric , worth a check , i think maybe the biggest problem we have , is all the dam tires are made in china anymore , your not buying good old american made anything anymore , i replaced the fuel pump last week on our dixson mower , i took off a alum casted part , that lasted for 15 yrs and replaced it with a junk looking plastic fuel pump , that i had to install the hose nipples , made of plastic with a o-ring , with a cheap pastic spring keeper to hold it all together , all i can say , junk and throw away chit is all we can buy anymore , just saying ,

trip wrote:Eric I ran ME880s on my 86 VT1100 with no problems at any speed. If you have the same problems with the new tires you may want to look at your rear shock bushings, swing arm bushings, and neck bearings.

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing, Wes. Next time you're by, maybe we'll pull the bike out and have a look.

By the way, the brake and clutch fluid flushes made a huge difference. Thanks for that.

I was planning on coming down last Sat. untill I couldn't get the windshield in the Challanger replaced. They finally got it replaced today. After it was set on the seal and glued we found a chip on the edge. So we get a do over when I call them to do it. Probably after I get back form Fl. this week end. I will call you when I get there.