This debate has raged for awhile on several different forums. Both sides seem to repeat the same positions;

Dark side argument:
The only difference between opinions of someone who has never tried a car tire and someone who has, means very little.

Anyone trying to offer their personal experience is just relaying a story. It's anecdotal. It only offers a personal perspective... which is good and has value.

It however does not offer any real proof one way or the other. A positive personal experience is because either car tires are are OK on a motorcycle, OR you just haven't experienced the weaknesses/shortcomings.... yet....


Motorcycle tire argument:
The problem with tire manufacturers telling us specific types of tires can ONLY be used in certain applications is also suspect.

It could be they have scientific data forming their opinion, or they are trying to avoid potential liability, or they are taking a stance for marketing purposes to make money. We'll never know the truth behind there admonishments.

If "safety" was the main/only consideration, we wouldn't be riding a motorcycle..... Hell, I'd probably rarely leave the house!

I would like to see a real-world, scientific test comparing the two. Unfortunately, this issue probably isn't big enough for someone to expend the time or money. I'd be willing to bet they are not as "evil" as the one side suggests, nor as "trouble free" as the other side claims......

Life is all about risk v benefit. We are all adults. We evaluate risks and make our decisions based on what we consider to be the benefits.

When it comes to tires on my motorcycles, I care more about the stakes of a tire failure than the odds that it would happen.......

So until I can see a scientific comparison, I'll suffer the extra cost (purchase price & lower mileage) of a motorcycle specific tire.....

Just my 2 cents......

 

Personal experience is just anecdotal, stories? When ya compile thousands of experiences, all proclaiming success, that doesn't mean something? We are all still waiting for that story of the person who had a problem. Not waiting for the, "a friend of my neighbor" had a problem. That would be the incredible story but I'm sure the naysayers would lean on it much as possible.

 

Troo dat. Funny how forums will have clueless nayayers against seasoned users answering all the same old questions over and over until we get bored and leave. I've been gone from here for a couple years and here I see it's not changed one bit!
As the original softtail darksider, I'll mention that I'm still on them, will always be, still ride her on the floorboards. I have a 2 over front end for extra lean, stage 2 engine mods, Ricor Intiminators, and other speed goodies, all with never a negative experience of any kind.
That said, markymann made interesting neutral perceptions of the argument. The last request lifted an eyebrow. I put on rider skills day now and the, teaching the Ride Like a Pro system, and when we added in panic stops, I noticed two things: (1) virtually nobody knows how to panic stop without rear wheel slideout (until practiced], and (2), the CT will outstop any bike rear tire. Period.

 

My understanding is that a motorcycle tire has a stiffer sidewall than a non run-flat car tire. This is very important for people that tow a pop-up camper. A bike towing a trailer experiences lateral loads. I personally know of one person who was riding a 2014 Ultra, switched to a car tire and had a mishap. He read about all the advantages of a car tire and put one on his bike. He rode around on it for a week without any issues. His first trip towing his pop-up camper, 1/4 mile from his house and the camper started wagging the bike and he dumped the bike. The trailer also flipped and he messed up his elbow and ribs. A similar story was also posted here on the hdforums.
Based on this obviously small sample and what I understand about tires, I'm going to stick with a motorcycle tire. On a somewhat related topic, I'm curious as to how an insurance adjuster would react if he saw a car tire on a motorcycle that's been involved in an accident.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/hacke...-the-bike.html

 

Old thread, but interesting. I noticed when I was debating Dyna Beads that the only people against them were the ones who had never tried them. Anyway, two questions I have to those that use CTs: What kind of mileage longevity do you experience? Also, what effect if any does running a CT have on your MPG?

 

ok then.......the debate rages on..................

can riders using car tires give me examples of the brand and car sizes they are using, just in case i want to slide into the dark side ?

hmmm, then my whitewall will only be on ONE side with a car tire !!

 

is their a car tire alternative for 18" rears? or is it only for 16"?

 

I would probablly be game to try one, since I have the giant rear wheel. But Wide White Walls are more important to me at this point. And that's not available on a car tire.

 

If you want white walls it would only be on one side!!!

I like my black wall car tire very much though.!!!

 

I cannot believe that some people think it could be OK to use a car tire on a motorcycle. What part of car tire don't you idiots understand?

Why I read that some guy heard that WW2 was started by a car tire on a motorcycle! Everyone knows that if you have a car tire on your motorcycle that you risk the the 100% chance of spontaneous combustion! I heard that guys who ride dark side have to buy their kids rain coats because all the other kids spit on them!

Is this what you want? Well is it? It is a proven fact that every single person who has ever put a car tire on their bike died with in 23 minutes of trying it. Are you dumb enough to disbelieve these facts that I have laid out before you?

I just can't imagine that anyone would..... errr.... ummmm,.....nevermind.