darkside 1200

[paneled]

after many hours of grinding and sanding on the 1200 rear wheel trying to
get the 15 inch tire to seat I gave up and purchased a 1500 final drive, wheel
caliper bracket and axle spacer so I could mount a car tire on the rear of my
1200 sei. I bought a general altimax 195/55 16. got it done last night took it
for a ride, was surprised and the small difference in handling, I`m running
43 lb in the rear for now, started with 45 but seemed too firm. I used 92 year
model parts so it has the larger rear rotor, it has improved the brake performance
a little. The slow speed handling is very similar to the mc tire, the traction is
improved, it will sink me deeper into the seat on hard acceleration. The only mods
I made to my bike were to the 4 holes in the swing arm that the final drive bolt to,
the 1500 rear caliper bracket was machined down to fit between the rotor and the
swing arm, and the left rear lower shock bolt I had to shorten about 3/16 inch, it
would touch the rotor. So far I am happy with the results and how the bike handles.
The rear end feels so solid now it makes the front seem loose.

[Rednaxs60]

Good to hear the results and what you went through. Have looked into changing to a 1500 rear but can only find one up here on Vancouver Island and the fellow wants $400.00 CDN for the unit. Too rich for my blood. We don't have the same access to lots of bike parts like you do down south. Enjoy the ride.

Cheers

[paneled]

I purchased all my parts off ebay, spent about 140.00 us

[ekvh]

1/4” clearances on each side?

[paneled]

about 1/4 inch each side once it was installed completely
I had to deflate the tire and force it past the flange for the
final drive.

[rrod1393]

Going through this now. Trying to mount a Nexen on to my 1200 rim. I used a good amount of silicone paste and even dish soap. Put the pressure up to 90 PSI for a couple of seconds... got freaked out lol and let it out. I am going to try again tomorrow with a longer hose lead, put the tire at safe distance outside and fill it up. Guys have said it took up to 125 psi for it to seat...yikes. I took the tire off the rim after my first try and sanded the bead rim a bit by hand. I then polished the bead rims smooth so to help it along. I am so close......

[paneled]

i tried to get a car tire on my 1200 wheel had the
pressure up to 85 lb tire and wheel coated with grease
left it that way for a week, no luck, gave up and went with
the 1500 final drive set up.

[rrod1393]

Success! Yesterday, after much trial and error, I was able to get the tire to seat. I took a couple days off to read some more posts seeing if guys had issues like me. I first started out standing over the tire and only filled it up to 80 psi. I knew that guys were getting them to seat at 125 psi but I didn't have the balls to stand next to a tire and fill it that much. I went to Harbor Freight and purchased a locking air chuck, used another extension air hose and connected that to my good air chuck with built-in gauge. I use lots of lube (multipurpose grease from Walmart). With the tire outside in my yard and me standing in my garage I filled the tire to about 100 psi and let it sit for 30 mins. Came back and saw it did not seat then released the air. Relubed and filled again to 110 psi and let sit. Didn't seat. Repeated this process and slowly worked up to about 125-130 psi (my gauge only goes to 120 psi). Finally, I heard the one side seat. I knew I was home free. The other side was still fighting so I released the air and relubed. Filled it back to 125-130psi and it seated. Released the air. Happy days. I almost gave up... Cannot wait to take it for a ride. If and when I have to change the tire I would document it better because there really isn't a good write up about how to mount a darkside tire (or at least I didn't find it).

[WingAdmin]

I used this stuff for mounting tires: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H71PEAG/?tag=goldwingdocs-20 ... ingdocs-20



Works better than anything else I have ever used. It's thick, slippery, AND...it evaporates, so you're not left with goo all over the place.

Dish soap can permanently etch/damage your aluminum rims, so if you have had it on there, you might want to wash it off.

[rrod1393]

Where were you the last couple of days! Next time I will pick some up. When I went to auto school, we used this stuff as preventative maintenance for rubber bushings and CV boots. Basically anything rubber under a car we sprayed. I will get some. Thanks for the tip.

[rrod1393]

All that work mounting the tire and putting it back on the bike, only to find out that the valve stem is now leaking around the base............... I have a feeling the tire bead will be a bear to break off the rim.