Car tire on my Road King

C

Chrissy_Lynn87

New member
Nope no way those tires will mount on the rear of an 08 and earlier model touring series HD. The stock tires are 130 to 140 mm wide. So a 195 mm wide tire is over 2 inches than a stock tire. That would be over 1 inch wider on each side. The stock tire only clears from rubbing the belt and swingarm less than 1/2 inch.
I have searched dilligently for a 16 inch car tire that is narrow enough to fit the rear on my 07 Ultra. Haven't found one yet. The narrowest I have found is a Vredestein Comtrac that is 175/75-16

David
 
I was thinking the same thing. Car tires aren't designed to roll in turns, so I'm curious how they would perform in a hard workout on the twistys like the Tail of the Dragon.

Beary
 
Marine,
No. It doesn't quite work that way. A car tire would probably not be a good idea for a crotch rocket or a race bike, but I think it will work on mine. Picture this.
A two ton car going into a turn causes the tire walls to flex, so most of the thread stays in contact with the pavement. What I think that happens in motorcycles is that the inside wall flexes in a turn and most of the thread stays in contact with the pavement, there is no riding in the sidewall actually.

Google "dark side" or go on You Tube and search "dark side", plenty of videos showing this.

Regards,
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYhkCA_JwJM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FxBSqR4Ugs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu_9xj4WZLA
 
That does not look safe in any way.If you have to do a emergency turn to avoid something it is a good chance you could lean the bike to far and roll it off the tire.Also motorcycle tire has a certain amount of flex built into the carcus for lean and stability.If you watch the vid you will see the car tire side wall flex out in the turns (not good)this will create alot of excess heat in the side wall that will in time damage the side wall and could blow out.I worked with Michellin for a few years testing race tires for motorcycles and this subject has came up.Motorcycle tires are built for motorcycles car tires for cars period.Tires are cheep dont skimp on them!If you life is worth $67 or what ever you paid for the tire that is your choice but would not be mine.IMHO
 
I kinda feel like scotty, and that 3rd video does show a lot of sidewall compression in the turns.

If the evidence is there, (i.e. the Wing riders have been doing it for years), then awesome. I just won't be skimping on the only parts on the bike that are supposed to touch the pavement
 
Looks horrible in the 3rd video. Would suit someone who does lots of straight roads and takes it easy in the corners. This is asking a car tire to do something it's not designed for - if this was a genuine option why wouldn't Harley and Honda offer these tires as standard? I wouldn't do it ever.
 
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