I have not seen this but would have concern about side load and cornering with a car tire.If you have a blow out you probably would wish that you put the tire designed for the bike back on it. Good Luck !

 

2: can we really say what the value of one life is? 3: do we really know if one is worth more than the other? 1: what do you want to spend?

You're asking all the wrong questions friend. Here; try these ...

1: Do you feel as safe on a CT as you do a MCT?
If the answer is yes then go to question number 2.

2: Have you done the research to be reasonably sure the CT you plan to put on is the right size? If the answer is yes go to number 3.

3: Have you met with and talk with others about running a CT on your MC. Was he convincing? Did you see him ride? Did he ride just as well as everyone else. Did you ask him about any qualms he has had about riding on a CT? Does he get much gaff about it? Would he do it again?

If you were satisfied the guy knew what he was doing and was thoroughly competent on the CT and was comfortable riding on it and said he wasn't going back to MC tires would you be convinced or would you still be an "unbeliever"?

If at this point you thought you might give it a go if your bike had the correct rim then you get to go to the head of the class. If you said you still weren't convinced then start at the beginning and go through the steps until you are convinced but that still doesn't mean you or anyone else should do it just because Jack did it. Only if you wanted to give it a try should you proceed.

JMHO

By the way. The cost difference is something like one MC tire for $150 that might last 5-6k miles vs a CT costing $110 lasting 40-50k miles. So around $1300 savings, not counting mounting and balancing, over the life of the CT. Figure over $1500.

At this point you will say: "Is $1500 worth your life" then I say: Is riding a motorcycle worth yours and then the conversation is over.

 

You could always put a run flat tire on if that was your only concern.

 

Those of timid nature see danger where none exists.....

 

I just ordered a rear Metezler motorcycle tire (160/70-17) for my '09 FXDC after finding that there isn't a car tire presently that would fit my laced rear rim.

I'm a firm believer in the "Dark Side" and personally rode a Gold Wing GL1800 with a car tire mounted on the rear. The test ride and my riding buddies car tires on Wings & Valks, along with many hours of research shows me that a mounted car tire on the rear of some motorcycles can not only be safe but actually safer than an OEM motorcycle tire.

Just look at the load rating of a rear oem tire on a Gold Wing. With just an average solo rider you're already exceeding the oem tire load limit. Adding a passenger and cargo, you're well over the load limit of any known MC tire for a Gold Wing.

Some of you sound like Johnny Racer, "what about leaning into curves"? Harley big twins like the Gold Wings have a very limited lean angle, so forget those wet dreams of yours ever putting your knee down on the road to make a sharp curve. You'll scrape down your under carriage to the axles before that could happen. BTW a Gold Wing will out lean a stock big twin HD.

If you have doubt on the safety of going to the dark side check out:
www.gl1800riders.com and click on "Dark Siders". Some of these guys ride their Gold Wings year round through the snow up North and one fellow in Alaska. All using a car tire mounted on the rear of their Wings. I'm told they handle better than MC tires on loose gravel as well.

To the naysayers with no experience on car tires on mc's. It wasn't long ago that the MOCO advised against using radial tires, tubeless tires, mag wheels, or even a belt final drive, saying the same warning of danger.

Let the pioneers continue pushing the envelope for the betterment of all.

BTW, if any dark sider knows of a way to remedy my situation, so I can mount a car tire on my laced rim let me know. I may have to go to a mag wheel to do it.

 

I've seen people "seal" their rim so they could go tubeless and run a CT but the width of your 160 is what is limiting you right now. If you could go 180 you might find one to fit.

 

This outfit applies a sealant to spoked motorcycle wheels so that tubeless tires can be used. It's an old article, so perhaps others are doing the same process. I never really explored any of the sealed spoke options because I long ago decided to never purchase another bike with spoked wheels.....as everyone knows, as nice looking as they are, they won't stay that way without a lot of detailing. The valk, of course has solid wheels, and thats' what I run a CT on.

The motorcyclecruiser article brings up a factor that I had forgotten to use during this thread's CT discussion...the well documented increased blow-out risk associated with the use of tubed tires on motorcycles. Oh, the horror, that some riders on this forum are willing to expose themselves to increased danger just so they can preserve the retro look by riding bikes with spokes!

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tec...eal/index.html

http://www.wheel-works.com/index.html

 

People usually think that when you turn, tire will stay on corner. Tire is flat but flexible, I don't think it will stay on cornet, contact surface can be even bigger that bike tire.

 

I have the same rear tire on my 08 low-rider as the OP'er. 160/70/17

I have 15/16" clearance on both sides of the tire in a couple of places, on the fender and belt guard.

I found a 195/45/17 which would only leave me 1/4" clearance on each side of the tire. This seems to tight a fit for me. Wondering what others think?

I also found a 165/35/17. This tire will fit, although it will lower my rear axle a couple of inches and throw my speed-o off by 10 mph. Handling will probably be effected some and it seems like I'll lose some top end speed. Does that mean I'll get off the line a little quicker?

Anyways, how do I figure out if this is a good quality tire before actually buying it? While I was looking locally two different tire guys advised me to stay away from Chinese made tires. The web page says these are Taiwanese made tires.

http://www.sonartire.com/index.php?fn=product_data&id=1

I believe my rim is 4.5" wide at the edges. The chart for this tire shows 6.5". If in fact my rim is 4.5" does that mean this tire won't work on my rim?

Am I missing anything or some other reason why this tire won't fit and work? At this point I'm mostly interested in the mechanics of making it work. Comments about safety issues from the dark side guys are especially welcomed. This whole thread help me to decide to try it, so thanks for every-ones input, both pro and con.

BMW, I used this tire size conversion calculator to make my estimations of these clearance numbers. Thanks to the member that posted it here, I found it very useful. I'm hoping it's accurate. ;'o

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos

 

http://mcdarksiders.forumotion.com/forum.htm