Steve W. wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
Steve W. wrote:
I switched to the "dark side" (car tire instead of bike tire)long
ago. Fully loaded 1800 'wing with my fat ass on it and I get closer
to 50K on the rear tire, for less than half the price of the bike
tire it calls for. No flats, no abnormal wear and MUCH improved
ride and braking. A lot of the big bikes can be fitted the same way.
This sounds interesting - and I've heard before about using car
tires on bikes . What size do you use ? Are you running a radial ?
My front is a bias ply , Dunlop EIII , so I assume I need bias ply
on the rear too ... My bike runs 16's (130/90's FWIW) on both ends ,
are car tires sized the same as bike tires ? Do they handle like the
bike tires in the twisties ? We got a lot of really windy roads
around here ...
'06 GL1800
Rear - 195/55R -16 Kumho Ecsta PA31 from Tire Rack
Front - 130/70ZR-18 Bridgestone Excedra G851 from Amazon
Radials on both ends.
You can run a radial on the rear and bias on the front. BTDT.
BUT it does make it handle different.
Never had an issue with the tires when I drag the pegs but I don't get
to do that often these days. More distance rides these days.
I do know a few folks who ride darkside, who go through foot boards
yearly from grinding them down though.
Think about the technology of tires today. How many flats have you had
on your vehicles from crap tires or rough roads versus the bike? How
about the tire wear? When you put a set on a car you figure that 30K
is poor wear but accept 10K on the bike. The current rear has around
22K on it and it's maybe 1/3 gone.
Usually the issue is side clearance. What bike do you run? Maybe it's
on the list http://darkside.nwff.info/?p=tires
Side clearance ... I figured that would be a potential problem . My ride
is a 1990 FLHTCU , normal tire is a 130/90-16 . I've got a new Dunlop Elite
3sitting out there to install , by the time it's worn out I should be able
to figure out what will work . I agree on the technology thing and have
wondered why it is that bike tires get so few miles . I always thought the
rubber compounds were more formulated for stick rather than mileage and that
that's just the way it is ... money's not exactly tight here , but why throw
it away if there's an option ?
--
Snag