Your video was as detailed as it needed to be to get the point across, thank you for taking the time to do this. You are definitely helping individuals with learning especially when they don’t have any one to show them.
i guess Im asking the wrong place but does any of you know a tool to get back into an instagram account?? I somehow lost my account password. I would appreciate any help you can offer me.
@Declan David Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Paul, this is what i was doing with my Victory Hammer S after I hit the 500 mile service interval. What I soon discovered is that the Victory spec of 6mm cold, wheel off the ground, was way too tight for my particular model. We had a significant debate on the Victory forum, and several members had damaged bearing from a too-tight belt following the given spec. I doubled the spec for my bike, and even so just a mile or two of riding results in a belt banjo tight due to the front drive sprocket expanding. Seems like the touring models are ok since they start off with much more slack. Nice videos.
I can't believe how narrow that belt is on such a huge bike. I have a 550cc and my belt is about 4 times wider with thicker teeth. BTW beautiful bike. I bet that is a dream cruising with. Thanks for sharing.
Great video, Paul, as usual. I noticed the one single guy that gave you a thumbs-down didn't give a reason why. Whatever, I think your videos are awesome.
Yup, probably the same guy that has been doing it to my last few videos a couple of hours after release. I call these people Keyboard Cowards. Hey, as long as he watches I still get paid.
@@jbw5485 unbolt the shock and wishbone. The swing arm comes down which slackens the belt. You never have to touch the belt adjusters so when you reassemble it, it’s already in the proper place.
Paul I thank you for your videos, as I have learned a great deal about the Victory Cross Country I just bought.. I alike your attention to detail.. In this video I noticed that you have a "dark side" I.e. car tire on the rear. I have don't this on a VTX and like the way they handle and of course the longevity of the tire compared to a MC tire. What I would like to know it the size of that tire as compared to the original tire that came on the Bike.. On the VTX we sed a 205/70-15.. Thanks again for the videos...
Guess I should have just read more of the comments and I would have learned more.. I'm actually just looking for a size.. I liked the car tire on my VTX.. Thanks again
On my 2014 Victory Cross Country Tour I installed a Bridgestone Driveguard 195/55RF16 run flat car tire on the back. This site may help you find a size: darkside.nwff.info/ If you are on FaceBook you can join this group and talk to a lot of people on different bikes: facebook.com/groups/rollindarkside/ Hope this helps.
Hey Paul, just a couple of follow up questions. You said that when the belt is hot it shrinks and gets tighter, I thought it would have been the other way around? When it gets hot it would stretch because it is warmer, no? Where did you get your belt tension thing from, I wouldn't mind picking one up. How often do you check it, once or twice a year at oil change time? Also I would like to see a follow up video where you actually adjust the belt to bring it into spec, just in case mine is farther out. Great job as always Paul...
When I get back after a ride the belt is a lot tighter but you are right, I don't actually think it is the belt but the aluminum frame of the bike that expands thus tightening the belt. I haven't really studied it deeper to find out. I think I ordered the gauge from here: fortnine.ca/en/catalogsearch/result/?q=belt+tension+gauge I imagine it is a lot cheaper in the States. I check it more than twice a year but no real set time, just whenever I think of it or hear something funny during a ride. To adjust it you have to loosen the axle nut and turn the adjusters, but that usually means aligning the wheel as well which is a bit more tricky. I guess I will have to do a video on that soon. Thanks for watching.
Don't know why but bikes at the dealership are tighter than hell, next to nothing for deflection. I just picked up a 2011 Kingpin and the belt was super tight, Just loosened it.
I never realized that. Canada sure is a strange place. I am going to bring this point up to the other riders to see what they think. Thanks for showing me this.
Paul, I also own a 2011 Victory Cross Country with 30,500+/- miles on it I know this video is about belt tension but I have a different interest. I am looking for a less expensive alternative to the OEM Dunlop Elite 3 tires. You have taken some nice shots of your rear tire. It looks like a car tire...' BRIGSTONE DRIVE GUARD'??? How is that working out for you? Could you tell me more? I have watched most of your Victory videos and am impressed with your insights. Thanks for taking the time to do these videos.
Putting a car tire on the rear of a motorcycle is called Darkside. There are a lot of forum sites and Facebook groups dedicated to this. In my opinion a car tire (CT) works just as well as a motorcycle tire (MT) for the style of riding that I do. The only downside that I have seen so far are the negative comments that you get from other riders. I find that I get better traction in rain, gravel, sand, tar snakes, paint, braking. It is also a run flat tire so I can still ride to get it fixed and it lasts much longer that a MT. I am much more confident on the car tire. I realized the only way to know if I will like it is to try it. I bought one and installed it myself. It could have gone either way. If I didn't like it then I would have removed it and it only would have cost me a tire. Turns out that it's been on for 2 years now. Do your research, and try it to see if it is good for you. That's the only way. Good luck.
At 30,000 miles I installed a matching set of Shinko SE-890 Journeys'. They cost less than 1/3 the price of Dunlop Elite 3s'. If I get one season (5,000 miles for me) I will be happy. I am definitely considering the "dark side" as my next set up. Thanks again for your insights.
Paul, I used your rear wheel removal video as a guide last weekend so I could bring my wheel in for a new tire. Made for a really simple task. I plan to use your belt tension video as well. Any chance I could get a copy of the scale you created to measure the tension? TIA.
Hi Brian, I made the ruler in Sketchup a free online program. Do you have it? I will try to convert it to a jpg or something. The tricky part is to print it out to scale for accuracy. Let me know.
I own the same exact bike and I noticed your rear tire. What is it and how do you like it and how does it affect the handling compaired to a normal bike tire?
On my bike the axle nut is 27mm. I don't use a crowfoot because the ones around my area are not long enough to reach while still using a torque wrench and maintaining a 90 degree angle with the wrench. I have actually been thinking of building one just for this purpose. Right now if I needed to adjust the belt I would tighten the nut using a regular open ended wrench then remove the bolt holding the shock in place thus dropping the axle below the exhaust then doing the final tightening using the torque wrench. Seems long, that's why I would need to customize a crowfoot to fit the axle nut.
are you retired? I was wondering what you did for a living. You seem to be very precise in all you do, which is good. I'm guessing whatever work you did, you had to be precise as well.
Yes I am retired - 3 years now. I worked as a technician in the Canadian Federal Government. Being precise is something that I have always done. I put pride when working on my bike, car, woodworking and all my projects because I enjoy doing it and it relaxes me. Thanks for watching.
Hi Nick, that tire lasted about 3 years and I loved it. I went back to a motorcycle tire to compare and realized that I don't like MT's anymore. I can't wait to get back to a CT.
Although everyone is different I went with the Bridgestone Driveguard 195/55RF16 run flat tire as it was easy to get for me in Canada and I do my own mounting. I also went through various tire pressures until I found one that was right for me which was 33 PSI.
@@PaulPomerleau thanks so I just bought cable for the clutch at home depot but I bought the coated one will it fit in the stopper and on the bike or do I need cable without coating,well I just checked and it measures 1/8 with the coating ,so will this fit ? I can a 1/16 so that would make 3/32 with the coating or skip the coating
Mine does not have any coating. I think the ends where the set screws tighten against the cable should be bare, as the coating will make it too slippery for it to hold. You can keep the coating on the rest of the cable as the OEM one has this as well.
I was going to comment about the same thing, Paul. How long have you been running darkside on the CCT? Any issues in different scenarios of weather, terrain, etc?
I have been a darksider for 2 years now. It handles rain, gravel, sand, paint, tar snakes a lot better than a MT. I find it a lot more comfortable as well. This is just my opinion for my style of riding. It may not be for everyone.
I tend to lean my bike through corners as far as it will go...scraping boards, exhaust, saddlebag guards are somewhat normal for me. That has been my only concern when I have considered darksiding in the past.
Hold up. Basically calling us young people dumb and can’t read a clock is pretty ironic considering you have a car tire on your rear wheel. Yes I know you call yourselves “darksiders” but think about the contact patch. If you’re not hitting the edge of your tire, you’re going to slow. Great video though.
There are tons of videos related to belt tension measurements, your explanation is clear as water, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.
Your video was as detailed as it needed to be to get the point across, thank you for taking the time to do this. You are definitely helping individuals with learning especially when they don’t have any one to show them.
i guess Im asking the wrong place but does any of you know a tool to get back into an instagram account??
I somehow lost my account password. I would appreciate any help you can offer me.
@Caiden Eduardo instablaster ;)
@Declan David Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff atm.
Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Declan David it worked and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy:D
Thanks so much you saved my ass !
@Caiden Eduardo no problem xD
Another easy to understand and learn video, thanks Paul!
Paul, this is what i was doing with my Victory Hammer S after I hit the 500 mile service interval. What I soon discovered is that the Victory spec of 6mm cold, wheel off the ground, was way too tight for my particular model. We had a significant debate on the Victory forum, and several members had damaged bearing from a too-tight belt following the given spec. I doubled the spec for my bike, and even so just a mile or two of riding results in a belt banjo tight due to the front drive sprocket expanding. Seems like the touring models are ok since they start off with much more slack. Nice videos.
Hello. More thanks for your videos. They explain in detail how to take care of a motorcycle.
as usual Paul, thank you for another great video!! I learn so much from you
Great, easy to understand video without all the nonsense. Good idea on the computer printout.
I can't believe how narrow that belt is on such a huge bike. I have a 550cc and my belt is about 4 times wider with thicker teeth.
BTW beautiful bike. I bet that is a dream cruising with. Thanks for sharing.
thanks this is new for me well explained simple and to the point thanks
fantastic work mr Paul
Thanks for another informative video Paul. Great to see another Darksider with their CCT too 👍
Perfect instructions again. Very precise! Thank you Paul!
Great video, Paul, as usual.
I noticed the one single guy that gave you a thumbs-down didn't give a reason why.
Whatever, I think your videos are awesome.
Yup, probably the same guy that has been doing it to my last few videos a couple of hours after release. I call these people Keyboard Cowards. Hey, as long as he watches I still get paid.
your a real good teacher thanks for sharing your knowledge
Another great video, Paul! Very informative as usual.
The belt is the only reason I haven't changed my rear tire, thanks for the information.
Belt tension isn’t changed when doing a tire on a cross country.
@@dantheautoman3821 what????? How can you possibly remove the rear wheel without effecting the belt tension???! 😳😳😳😳
@@jbw5485 unbolt the shock and wishbone. The swing arm comes down which slackens the belt. You never have to touch the belt adjusters so when you reassemble it, it’s already in the proper place.
Thank you for sharing.Great video. I ride a 2009 Vulcan Nomad 1700, I think I'm going to replace the belt soon.
Spon on, thank you very much my friend
THANK YOU...for sharing.
Very informative. Thanks for posting.
Paul I thank you for your videos, as I have learned a great deal about the Victory Cross Country I just bought.. I alike your attention to detail.. In this video I noticed that you have a "dark side" I.e. car tire on the rear. I have don't this on a VTX and like the way they handle and of course the longevity of the tire compared to a MC tire. What I would like to know it
the size of that tire as compared to the original tire that came on the Bike.. On the VTX we sed a 205/70-15.. Thanks again for the videos...
Guess I should have just read more of the comments and I would have learned more.. I'm actually just looking for a size.. I liked the car tire on my VTX.. Thanks again
On my 2014 Victory Cross Country Tour I installed a Bridgestone Driveguard 195/55RF16 run flat car tire on the back.
This site may help you find a size: darkside.nwff.info/
If you are on FaceBook you can join this group and talk to a lot of people on different bikes:
facebook.com/groups/rollindarkside/
Hope this helps.
Hey Paul, just a couple of follow up questions. You said that when the belt is hot it shrinks and gets tighter, I thought it would have been the other way around? When it gets hot it would stretch because it is warmer, no? Where did you get your belt tension thing from, I wouldn't mind picking one up. How often do you check it, once or twice a year at oil change time? Also I would like to see a follow up video where you actually adjust the belt to bring it into spec, just in case mine is farther out.
Great job as always Paul...
When I get back after a ride the belt is a lot tighter but you are right, I don't actually think it is the belt but the aluminum frame of the bike that expands thus tightening the belt. I haven't really studied it deeper to find out.
I think I ordered the gauge from here: fortnine.ca/en/catalogsearch/result/?q=belt+tension+gauge I imagine it is a lot cheaper in the States.
I check it more than twice a year but no real set time, just whenever I think of it or hear something funny during a ride.
To adjust it you have to loosen the axle nut and turn the adjusters, but that usually means aligning the wheel as well which is a bit more tricky. I guess I will have to do a video on that soon.
Thanks for watching.
Yes the belt gets tighter when hot even on a steel frame bike like the Kingpin which is what I have.
Sprockets heat up and expand, thus tightening the belt.
Thank you for the video. Much appreciated. I noticed you went dark side. what tire is that?
It is a Bridgestone Driveguard run flat. Thanks for watching.
Paul, would you please do a video on how you remove your rear wheel from the bike?
Hi Mike, yes a lot of people have been asking me to do one on the rear wheel. I have it on my list. Thanks.
Thank you very good job!!
Don't know why but bikes at the dealership are tighter than hell, next to nothing for deflection. I just picked up a 2011 Kingpin and the belt was super tight, Just loosened it.
I think it's funny that you use millimeters for distance and pounds for force together.
I never realized that. Canada sure is a strange place. I am going to bring this point up to the other riders to see what they think. Thanks for showing me this.
Paul,
I also own a 2011 Victory Cross Country with 30,500+/- miles on it
I know this video is about belt tension but I have a different interest.
I am looking for a less expensive alternative to the OEM Dunlop Elite 3 tires.
You have taken some nice shots of your rear tire.
It looks like a car tire...' BRIGSTONE DRIVE GUARD'???
How is that working out for you?
Could you tell me more?
I have watched most of your Victory videos and am impressed with your insights.
Thanks for taking the time to do these videos.
Putting a car tire on the rear of a motorcycle is called Darkside. There are a lot of forum sites and Facebook groups dedicated to this. In my opinion a car tire (CT) works just as well as a motorcycle tire (MT) for the style of riding that I do. The only downside that I have seen so far are the negative comments that you get from other riders.
I find that I get better traction in rain, gravel, sand, tar snakes, paint, braking. It is also a run flat tire so I can still ride to get it fixed and it lasts much longer that a MT. I am much more confident on the car tire.
I realized the only way to know if I will like it is to try it. I bought one and installed it myself. It could have gone either way. If I didn't like it then I would have removed it and it only would have cost me a tire. Turns out that it's been on for 2 years now.
Do your research, and try it to see if it is good for you. That's the only way. Good luck.
At 30,000 miles I installed a matching set of Shinko SE-890 Journeys'.
They cost less than 1/3 the price of Dunlop Elite 3s'.
If I get one season (5,000 miles for me) I will be happy.
I am definitely considering the "dark side" as my next set up.
Thanks again for your insights.
Paul, I used your rear wheel removal video as a guide last weekend so I could bring my wheel in for a new tire. Made for a really simple task. I plan to use your belt tension video as well. Any chance I could get a copy of the scale you created to measure the tension? TIA.
Hi Brian, I made the ruler in Sketchup a free online program. Do you have it? I will try to convert it to a jpg or something. The tricky part is to print it out to scale for accuracy. Let me know.
Paul Pomerleau I've never heard of Sketchup but I will look into it. Thanks for the quick reply.
Great video my friend. Your belt looks bad, time to sell me your bike. Problem solved.
Is that a darkside tire on your XCT?
Yes
I own the same exact bike and I noticed your rear tire. What is it and how do you like it and how does it affect the handling compaired to a normal bike tire?
It is a Bridgestone Driveguard run flat car tire. It works great for my style of riding. I find it very smooth. Thanks for watching.
Do you use a crow foot to loosen axle nut? What size? Curious if that works in order not to remove exhaust/bags?
On my bike the axle nut is 27mm. I don't use a crowfoot because the ones around my area are not long enough to reach while still using a torque wrench and maintaining a 90 degree angle with the wrench. I have actually been thinking of building one just for this purpose. Right now if I needed to adjust the belt I would tighten the nut using a regular open ended wrench then remove the bolt holding the shock in place thus dropping the axle below the exhaust then doing the final tightening using the torque wrench. Seems long, that's why I would need to customize a crowfoot to fit the axle nut.
so, did u keep the bike after the Victory closure letter showed up in the mailbox(I got one also)??
Yes I still have my Victory.
are you retired? I was wondering what you did for a living. You seem to be very precise in all you do, which is good. I'm guessing whatever work you did, you had to be precise as well.
Yes I am retired - 3 years now. I worked as a technician in the Canadian Federal Government. Being precise is something that I have always done. I put pride when working on my bike, car, woodworking and all my projects because I enjoy doing it and it relaxes me.
Thanks for watching.
Hi Paul; I watch this video a second time and noticed you have a car tire on your Victory. How long you been dark siding?
Hi Nick, that tire lasted about 3 years and I loved it. I went back to a motorcycle tire to compare and realized that I don't like MT's anymore. I can't wait to get back to a CT.
@@PaulPomerleau what make and size is the tire? What make of tire do you use on front?
The car tire on back was a Bridgestone Driveguard Run Flat 195/55RF16. On the front I have a Metzeler ME-888 regular motorcycle tire.
It looks like you have a car tire mounted, I am wonder what are your recommendations with regards to tire size and pressure.
Although everyone is different I went with the Bridgestone Driveguard 195/55RF16 run flat tire as it was easy to get for me in Canada and I do my own mounting. I also went through various tire pressures until I found one that was right for me which was 33 PSI.
@@PaulPomerleau thank you very much.
Is that a car tire on there?
Yes
...so if you need to make an adjustment, how do you do it?
Adjustments are not needed for my bike yet, so I never made a video. It's on my to-do list.
Why are there different reading at each point
The belt doesn't stretch evenly. Some places more than others, so we measure in quarters.
@@PaulPomerleau thanks so I just bought cable for the clutch at home depot but I bought the coated one will it fit in the stopper and on the bike or do I need cable without coating,well I just checked and it measures 1/8 with the coating ,so will this fit ? I can a 1/16 so that would make 3/32 with the coating or skip the coating
Mine does not have any coating. I think the ends where the set screws tighten against the cable should be bare, as the coating will make it too slippery for it to hold. You can keep the coating on the rest of the cable as the OEM one has this as well.
@@PaulPomerleau that's what I planned to do just burn off the ends
What brand and size is that rear tire? it looks much different than my CCT tire.
Looks like a darksider to me ;)
Yup DarkSider - It's a Bridgestone Driveguard 195/55RF16 run flat car tire.
I was going to comment about the same thing, Paul. How long have you been running darkside on the CCT? Any issues in different scenarios of weather, terrain, etc?
I have been a darksider for 2 years now. It handles rain, gravel, sand, paint, tar snakes a lot better than a MT. I find it a lot more comfortable as well. This is just my opinion for my style of riding. It may not be for everyone.
I tend to lean my bike through corners as far as it will go...scraping boards, exhaust, saddlebag guards are somewhat normal for me. That has been my only concern when I have considered darksiding in the past.
Ok, gotta ask...have you gone Darkside Paul???
Yup, for 2 years now. This is my first time. I wanted to see what all the hype was about. So far I like it.
I've had a VTX1300, a GL1800, a VTX1800, and before next year, my CCT will be darkside.
Ok, I should have read further down :-)
Geesh get on with it!!!!!
thank you boss! (Y)
Hold up. Basically calling us young people dumb and can’t read a clock is pretty ironic considering you have a car tire on your rear wheel. Yes I know you call yourselves “darksiders” but think about the contact patch.
If you’re not hitting the edge of your tire, you’re going to slow.
Great video though.
Lmfao… car tire on a motorcycle….
Yes it is. Good for you for noticing.
@@PaulPomerleau but the beads are different.. I’ll spend the extra money on a motorcycle tire than to be cheap. You only get 1 life