My buddy just put a Kumho run flat tire on his Gold wing and he says there is almost no diff compare to the bike tire and he rode it hard 3 weeks ago in the mountains,,, i followed him in the curves around here and the tire contact patch was about 1/2...

 

Swear we were talking about the next presidential election or religion. There are those that have run car tires and dig em, and those that have never run them, but have a lot of misinformed opinions.

If you look at the contact patch of a car tire on a scooter in a corner, you'll see it has every bit the contact that an MC tire has. You don't ride on the sidewall of a car tire in a corner, the tire rolls and you still ride on the tread.

Back in the day, a lot of folks rode car tires on their scoots.

Seems like some took the warnings in the Harley manual too literally...may cause injury or death.

 

i havent noticed a difference in the handeling nor the ride-- 3rd tire in a yr -- more than 200 bucks

 

I don't want anyone to get the impression putting a car tire on a bike is better than a MC tire.

Having said that and hearing so many testimonials to the contrary I'm sold.

By the way; car tires are actually softer. MC tires need to be harder because they only have a small contact patch. It they weren't as as hard as they are the MC tire would likely wear out in 3-5k miles.

My friend with the Night Train says it's just fine and grips much better. That's good enough for me. I only wish I could put one on my 99 FLHT but the rim's too narrow. With the 200mm on the Train I can put one on.

Just one last thought. Millions of miles have been put on CT's with bikes. I seriously doubt there have been more blowouts or tire issues with the CT's than the MC tires.

Your mileage may vary.

 

I tried a Car tire on my previous bike, VTX 1800 Retro. I did not like the feel of it. one thing I noticed was that on the on ramp I ould have to lean harder than on a MC tire. I know a few VTX riders in Illinois that still swear on a car tire. and have gone as far as riding on the tail of the dragon.
NOt for me, no thanks.
this is Monty on his VTX 1800 C.

 

The only reason i am not running one is that i can't find one that fits...

 

Hi all well I just joined and was supprised to read the car tire thread. I have ran a c/t for years and havent had a problem the first falisey is people who say that you have to lean or counter steer harder didnt stick it out long enough this is true at first but will go away with tIme I will tell you why but first let me say for starters you can patch em just like on a car 2nd they last 4-5 times the life of a m/c tire 3rd the contact area is greater even when cornering than a m/c tire they will outpreform the m/c tire and stick in the rain twisties are fun also the false report that the c/t handles lousey is not true what is true is the fact that the first 800-1000 miles it is a different ride till the tire breaks in and you get used to it and last thing is you dont ride on the side wall if you drive through water then make a sharp turn you can see you are running on the tread try it you will love it after a few thousand miles you will never run a m/c tire again. Thank you for lettin me vent grandpadave PS. car tires are softer than m/c tires thats a fact.

 

A year - $200 a tire - damn you ride more than me. Hell I spend more than that on scotch

For those that have tried and don't notice a difference - freaking fantastic, until you need to do something that is way outa the norm for you, but well within the normal bike tire capabilties.

There are times when I push it (scraping the boards, beanding the boards) then have to get serious with the brakes to deal with the idiot <grin> that is law abiding in front of me. When I need the ultimate tire performance, I must have it. Or I would be dead already.

Sorry in this reply I lost the guy who said car tires are softer - dude - NFW. Most car tires even 'Z' rated will give you 30K miles on your ride. Bike tires are much softer and start out with almost as deep a tread. And hell - 10K miles on a back is fantastic.

OK, If your staying on the light side - making a easy run of it, never scrap the pegs, and you can actually fortell that you will never have to make that 'turn' 'stop' 'dodge'. Go for it.
...gene

 

All this bitching about mileage on rear tires. Try having any kind of high HP bike using a tire that somewhat hooks. I get MAYBE 2K out of a rear tire. That's a Shinko 190 ultra soft drag radial at $140 each. Thank the Lord I mount all my own tires.

Stop going to HD for your tires and mounting. The guy at the dealer will recommend a certain type of tire there because that's what he has in stock to sell you. Which may not really be the right tire for your bike and/or riding style. Your spending WAY too much there. That and there's a whole world of tire makers and types of tires out there. Try doing some research before your next buy. Michelin makes some killer dual compound touring tires. Meaning they're harder in the center and more sticky on the edges where you need it. As far as using car tires, do what you want but buyer beware. There's a reason they make car and motorcycle tires. Hell, I could mod my bike to fit a semi truck radial and make it work and get 150K out of it. What's the point.

 

AVON tires are as good a quality as the rest of the crap out there....If you do your homework you can ****** one up for around $100....After this point you will have to mount and balance the tire yourself or pay a handsome fee to have a bike shop do it for you....Or you can find somone near your domain to do it for cheap...Easy for me to jabber because the only things I can't do are:

1.) boring cylinders
2.) lapping races
3.) line reaming bushings
4.) balancing flywheels
5.) straightening rods
6.) all the other things I forgot!!!!