Car Tires

[ARKNT]

I followed another bike a short while today and I noticed something strange with his rear tire. The tread pattern was noticeably different. It had 2 grooves near the center of the tire tread. I suspected it was a car tire so I watched as I followed.
I have seen car tires mounted on bikes before but never saw one on the road from behind like that. I knew I would not consider a car tire as a replacement but I had never visualized how bad it looked. When the bike leaned it had to lean "UP" onto the edge of the flat tread tire then it was rolling on what appeared to be a knife edge as he rolled around the curve. There was certainly not much contact patch available for traction while leaned over. Also he was not all that stable leaned over. He looked to be fighting the controls.
This may be great at a dragstrip where the only corners are getting back to the pits but it looked very unsafe on the road.
I believe the short tire life of bikes leads people to make some very bad decisions. I know that many riders buy the sticky rubber for fast riding but when it wears out so fast it leaves them riding on nearly worn out tires after just a few thousand miles. Some people need to change tires more often than oil. Something just seems a little backward there.
Anyway after visually watching I would strongly discourage others from trying auto tires on a bike.

Brad

 

[maxweljames]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of bike was it? Street, cruiser, Sport Tour, etc. etc. mfg?

 

[ARKNT]

It was a cruiser but I didn't get the mfg. Leather panniers.

 

[Herb]

One of the things I don't miss in moving from the Honda Shadow cruiser world to this Sport Tourer forum is "going to the dark side"(putting car tires on the cruiser) wars. Screen after screen of flames! I actually thought they made sense on a cruiser since it's mostly straight line riding. Can't imagine one on the NT unless you did nothing but super slab commutes....boring.

 

[Mellow]

We won't be getting into any flame wars here, period.

If there is a care tire that will fit the NT and someone wants to try that, that is their business and choice given all the factors. It may make perfect sense for them but may make little sense for someone else, again it's their choice. It's simply another type of accessory and the safety debate could apply to that just as well as having a GPS on your bike or how aggressively you ride. We just won't go there.

There are folks putting car tires on Cruisers, Wings and now even STs.

The tires offer benefits such as wear and handling in certain conditions, there are also negatives concerning handling in certain conditions. It's not a perfect solution but may be a great solution for some folks, the key is to understand and be prepared for any differences in handling. In the end, the choice for something like this is yours to decide, given all the factors.

.. Bottom line, if you don't agree with such choices, that's okay but we won't allow anything other than constructive comments, discussions on the subject, flaming will just get posts deleted as well as possibly other actions.

:wink:

 

[Phil Tarman]

If you don't have a radial car tire inflated to motorcycle tire pressure levels, I'd think you could get some lateral deformation of the tire carcass and some decent lean angle while keeping a bigger contact patch.

 

[ARKNT]

Using other than normal tires is certainly the operators decision. I would just consider it very carefully first.
After watching this bike do a corner it reinforced my ideas about it.
Phil, This tire did not deform hardly at all while leaned over.

Brad

 

[Bear]

I have not seen a lot of car tire use around here. I have seen a Harley Trike with Pirrelli Cinturatos---works fine for him. I can also see it on a sidecar rig. I tend to be a bit of a "Chicken" when it comes to tyres. My next set will be Bridgestone 023. That's my departure from stock. Actually my decision to go 023 was based on information from this forum.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Phil, This tire did not deform hardly at all while leaned over.

Brad, I confess that, AFAIK, I've never seen a car tire on a motorcycle, and I've sure never followed one around from behind while it turned. I was parroting the party line of those who have crossed over to the "dark side." As I did my thought experiment, it seemed to me to be a plausible argument. It would be interesting to know what pressure was in the tire you watched, but what you saw did not sound like a very inviting way to ride.

 

[suvcw04]

Oooooo, been wondering when the DarkSide debate would come to the NT site. I was ready to put a car tire on my 500 Kaw, but traded it in on the NT before I got the chance. I have done a LOT of research on darksiding. There are thousands of riders with hundreds of thousands of collective miles on car tires. All brands and sizes of bikes. Many, many youtube videos of the tires in actual use. No, it is not for everyone, but most of those that do go that route are happy.

 

[ken]

I'm not trying to cause trouble, but other than tire mileage, is there any advantage of using car tires. I have seen them on Harleys, but not recently. Wouldn't the cost need to modify the wheel, which I assume is necessary, offset any savings an auto tire would offer? Tires don't seem that expensive, so is there some other reason to do this? My experience has been with sport bikes and dirt bikes; perhaps that explains why I'm unaware there is a "dark side" outside Star Wars.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I believe that (relatively) ultra-high mileage is the only reason people go to the dark side.

Seems to me that I remember quite a few Goldwingers have made the trip.

 

[suvcw04]

I'm not trying to cause trouble, but other than tire mileage, is there any advantage of using car tires. I have seen them on Harleys, but not recently. Wouldn't the cost need to modify the wheel, which I assume is necessary, offset any savings an auto tire would offer? Tires don't seem that expensive, so is there some other reason to do this? My experience has been with sport bikes and dirt bikes; perhaps that explains why I'm unaware there is a "dark side" outside Star Wars.

I've never heard of anyone modifying a wheel to fit a car tire. Some rim/tire combos require high air pressures OR a day or two to seat the tire. Most just put in 50 or 60 lbs of air, lube the rim and tire and let it set until it pops into place. Yes, the rims are different, but it will work.
I think, for a lot of riders, that the frustration of changing tires everytime they turn around at $100 plus leads them to car tires which will run 3 to 5 times longer and often cost less. I know that I bristle anytime I'm asked to pay WAY too much for an item just because it has MOTORCYCLE stamped on it someplace.

 

[RedLdr1]

I know that I bristle anytime I'm asked to pay WAY too much for an item just because it has MOTORCYCLE stamped on it someplace.

Don't ever buy a Corvette... I learned a long time ago to tell the parts guys I have a 1980 Chevy with a 350 4 barrel.... I started following the "Darkside" threads on the V-Strom forums and it is basically all about mileage and occasionally load range....

 

[suvcw04]

Don't ever buy a Corvette... I learned a long time ago to tell the parts guys I have a 1980 Chevy with a 350 4 barrel.... I started following the "Darkside" threads on the V-Strom forums and it is basically all about mileage and occasionally load range....

Aint it the truth?!?!? My brother has an older Vette. My father was a mechanic, so we were taught from early on that Chevy parts would fit almost any GM product and Ford parts were also for Mercs and Lincolns.
I almost bought a WeeStrom, but the seat height was beyond my tip toe range.

 

[elizilla]

It's so long since I bought a car tire, and I buy so many motorcycle tires, that the motorcycle tire prices seem normal to me. But I am looking at buying a used car, I've found one I like, and it is going to need tires soon. I researched what they cost, so I could factor that into what I offer the seller. Wow! Car tires are CHEAP!

 

[slowly]

I once had a VTX1800, after having to replace the rear tire around every 5000 miles I tried a car tire on the rear. The wear greatly improved, over 15000 miles before trading it in and still good amount of wear left. But I would not go back to a car tire, you gave up what I call the good way a motorcycle should feel and handle, the bike was not as fun to ride. You always knew the tire was on the bike, it liked to follow uneven patterns in the rode and the bike always took extra effort in turning and handling. For the long distant rider who normally ride in straight lines this tire may be worth it, but for me, I would not go back.

 

[Bear]

You are right about the sports cars and pickups. I have a diesel guzzling 3/4 Ton Suburban. Even with the turbo, it gets 18 in the city and 21 in the country. If I drive the speed limit, I old everybody up. Cruising at about 65-70, we are back down to the teens. Our Vibe gets 37mpg.

A friend who owns a 1200cc BMW ha.s a set of Metzeler tyres that he has 18000 miles on. He still is nowhere near his wear marks--the tyres are radials. I'll find out which ones they are and check to see if they are available in our sizes. I can live with a MC tyre that can go 20 to 22000 miles.

 

[Chucksklrst]

One thing I am finding out about my motorcycle tires are that When I lived in Texas my tires wore out faster than they do here in Colorado. I have been getting better mileage here that I did in Texas. I belive that reason for this is becouse heat, how long the tire is exposed to that heat and what kind of pavement. In Texas most of my riding was in hot weather where the road surface is very hot,with a chip seal construction. High speed straight line riding. Here in Colorado most of my riding is in the mountains were the weather and road surface is cooler and the speeds are slower. There are more curves, to use more of the tire. One also needs to look at the style of motorcycle used. Typically, a cruiser ride is slow and short. Not long enough or fast enough to build up a lot of heat. A sport tourer ride, on the other hand, is usually an extended ride and higher speeds.

Be Careful when comparing other people mileage with a certain tire. So many different variables. Even comparing your own type of mileage to your previous tire has a lot of different variables. Then of course the metzeler ME880 is so hard, I hesitate to run it any where but in the flats. I do like a bit of traction. My be that is why Phil has not been in the mountains very much.:smile: Phil, still running that ME880?

 

[Phil Tarman]

I do like a bit of traction. My be that is why Phil has not been in the mountains very much. Phil, still running that ME880?

No, Chuck, I replaced it after 15,000 miles. It was squared-off (odd thing, that, since I live out here on the Plains). I replaced it with a BT-023 and it's a much better-feeling tire than a squared-off worn-out tire. The Metzler actually had pretty good traction, but the BT-023 is better. I've been draggin pegs fairly regularly since replacing the ME-880. I probably won't go back to the ME-880 unless they make a radial rear in our size.

BTW, the main reason I don't get into the mountains very often is that I'm still working and I'm 85 miles away from the nearest one. Three hours going and coming eat up a chunk of time I just don't have.

But, I'm only a year and nine months away from having a lot more time. A bit less money, but a lot more time!