Anyone ever wondered about this... ?

[inspiron]

Using car tires instead of motorcycle tires?

http://lifeisaroad.com/stories/2004/...eDarkSide.html

[Nexus242]

I've got some wicked sticky Hankook R-S2 Z212 on the civic but I don't think I can fit a 195 or 205 on the SV alast.

[Clint]

It's been discussed before, but maybe not here. The profile is all wrong and creates potentially catastrophic handling issues. I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole, nor would I ride with anyone so irresponsible to do such a thing.

Think about it... you start to lean into a turn and that sqaured-off tire rolls up onto its edge. How much traction do you have then? Uggh! Not only that, but they probably weigh twice as much. The gyro effect would keep you straight into oncoming traffic.

Edit: I just re-read the article. That guy is blowing so much smoke it's sickening. No way has he done "twisties" on that tire. Maybe twisties at standard cruiser parade pace, but not anything above a creep. I'd bet my left one on it.

[nhoel]

The guy was full of crap... that tire will want to keep straight up all the way... even if you manage to lean it, it might turn... but most likely will not. The traction is different and take off will be a much slower than the others... I agree with rowdy, i would not want to ride with another motorcycle when the tires look like those.

[Firedog]

There's a thread on another board (I-A) with pictures. They are raving about it. I, however, don't want to even think about it for the reasons that Rowdy mentioned...

[Clint]

Originally Posted by Firedog

There's a thread on another board (I-A) ...

And again the guy claims to have ridden the "twistiest parts of Texas", but you never hear anything about lean angles or speed.

Putt putt putt. "Boy, this here car tire is neato!"

[Mavman]

I'd probably go with a bigger metzler when the time comes rather than a car tire.

[stevie c]

Just because Judge Dredd has big square tyres on his bike doesn't give me any reason to follow suit!

[St0nkingByte]

The pictures of the tire with 23,000 miles on it are pretty compelling. If you never lean your bike over that far whats the point? On most of the cruiser bikes the pegs are dragging before you get that far over anyway. If I can't physically put the bike over that far then why would it matter?

He also makes an interesting observation about motorcycle tires, they are an extraordinarily poor value compared to car tires and there is no good reason for it other than a lack of market forces preventing the gouging.

My most recent tires, Metzeler's are arguably the best tires I can buy for my bike according to everyone I talk to, they're freakin imported from Germany and cost a buttload of money but with only 2,500 miles on them they're looking significantly worn already and I'll be lucky if I get 10,000 miles out of them. They also took a bunch of weights tacked on to balance.

Of the eight tires I have on my current cars, all the ones that came with the cars implying they are not the best money can buy, none has needed weights to stay in balance. The tires on my Saturn which has been religeously dealer serviced since day one have been pulled, rotated and balance checked every year and with 35,000 miles on them they haven't needed a single weight.

[DrBob]

I have never personally tried a car tire on a motorcycle, but to me it just doesn't seem like a good idea.

I know OpusX is happy with his (the I-A post), and it does look cool (I saw his LC at the Dead Snakes and Tumbleweeds Rally) but keep in mind a couple things: he lives in South Texas, were everything is flat and the roads are straight, and as of that posting he had not yet been out in the rain with it. For interstate of city driving, it is probably fine, but here in the mountains I wouldn't last five minutes with a car tire.

[St0nkingByte]

Even if I never try a car tire I still enjoy the opportunity to %%%%% about motorcycle tires

[axel_2078]

I got a chuckle when I read "Note, NO wear on the sidewalls despite 23,000 + miles" and below read "Note the wear in the center..." Gee, I wonder WHY there's no wear on the sidewalls? What a F'ing moron.

[Clint]

Originally Posted by St0nkingByte

The pictures of the tire with 23,000 miles on it are pretty compelling. If you never lean your bike over that far whats the point? On most of the cruiser bikes the pegs are dragging before you get that far over anyway. If I can't physically put the bike over that far then why would it matter?

He also makes an interesting observation about motorcycle tires, they are an extraordinarily poor value compared to car tires and there is no good reason for it other than a lack of market forces preventing the gouging.

My most recent tires, Metzeler's are arguably the best tires I can buy for my bike according to everyone I talk to, they're freakin imported from Germany and cost a buttload of money but with only 2,500 miles on them they're looking significantly worn already and I'll be lucky if I get 10,000 miles out of them. They also took a bunch of weights tacked on to balance.

Of the eight tires I have on my current cars, all the ones that came with the cars implying they are not the best money can buy, none has needed weights to stay in balance. The tires on my Saturn which has been religeously dealer serviced since day one have been pulled, rotated and balance checked every year and with 35,000 miles on them they haven't needed a single weight.

Where to begin?

I won't take much lean on that tire to significantly shrink the contact patch. It'll happen well before he scrapes hard parts, I'd wager.

Car tires aren't that much cheaper if you buy decent ones. If you pay for a car tire that's as good with traction as a bike tire, you'll pay about the same, if not more.

You get so few miles out of a bike tire because the compound is soft and sticky (to save your sorry butt when you do something dumb). You can buy rock-hard bike tires, too, but I certainly wouldn't. Every tire is a compromise.

Many guys don't balance their tires, and if you properly set a tire with it's heavy side opposite the wheel's heavy side, little to no weights are needed.

Did I cover everything? I still say it's a foolish idea.

[SuzukiGirl1]

No thanks...Cars need 4 tires for a reason...

I don't want to mess with the tires on my bike!

[Fishpart]

May be full of crap, but does have some points on the techonolgy and price compared to motorcycle tires. I have 7,000 miles now in 6 months and will soon need to change tires and I know it will be expensive.

[Pinhy]

Originally Posted by Mavman

I'd probably go with a bigger metzler when the time comes rather than a car tire.

+1...i want to do a 200 rear...i think it looks great on the bike....i know it will decrease handling, but if i wanted awesome handling i would have bought a sport bike!

.

[Ranger_b0b]

hmmm....I dunno. The guy makes some good points. From my point of view, If he wants to risk it, let him be the grease spot, I won't be putting a Badyear on my bike. As far as the lean thing, all that said a car tire isn't made to lean, go turn your car's, (or better yet, your truck's) tire full lock one way. Get out and look at it from the front. The inside tire will be tipped to the inside of the turn. Its called ackerman, and it basically achieves the same effect as leaning a moto. Obviously, its not to the same degree as a bike, but tires are designed to ride on the outside edges. No tire is designed to ride on the side wall, even a cycles. I totally disagree with him saying its not gonna change the handling of a bike though...Its gonna react much more slowly. It has to. Physics, and all the ucky science stuff. Just my 0.02

[DrBob]

Originally Posted by Fishpart

May be full of crap, but does have some points on the techonolgy and price compared to motorcycle tires. I have 7,000 miles now in 6 months and will soon need to change tires and I know it will be expensive.

Eeek! Suzuki must still be using those crappy bridgestones.

I get over 20,000 miles out of a set of Metzeler ME880 tires, and they both handle and ride better than the bridgestones.

[inspiron]

20'000 miles on a set of motorcycle tires?

When I bought my bike, I was told I can expect to replace the tires every 5000 miles. The OEM tires (Bridgestones) lasted exactly that - 5000 miles. I replaced them with Conti RoadAttacks, and have put about 3000 miles on those. I expect that the'll last another 3000 to 4000 miles, but no more.

One of my instructors once said "even if they did produce motorcycle tires that last 25'000 miles, would you buy them?" - I would NOT. A tire design is always a comprimse between longevity and performance. If you want your tire to stick to the road when you are in a turn, it will leave microscopic pieces of itself on the road. If it isn't sticking to the road it will last longer, but you may not.

When I enter a turn, I want those tires to stick to the road with everything they've got. I don't want to lowside (or worse, highside) because I was too cheap and wanted more miles out of my tires.

Yes, replacing my tires costs about $500.00, and I can go about 5000 miles with them. So, one mile costs me about $0.10. Gasoline costs me about the same ($0.10 per mile).

[Kodatech]

I know its a really old thread but check this out.

YouTube - CTOW 2 (Dunlop Winter Sport M3 195/55/16 not RunFlat)

A car tire WILL lean and turn a motorcycle. But you won't catch me with one on MY bike anytime soon.