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Car tire installation

Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
138
Reaction score
3
Location
Pflugerville, Texas
First Name
Jason
Looking for a shop (or individual with a changer) to install a car tire in the Austin area. I found a thread from 2009 that mentioned getting one installed at TJ Cycles and the New Braunfels Honda shop, but that was 3 years ago. :lol2:
 
Most motorcycle tire changers can do car tires as well. I know mine will change car tires as i have changed some on my personal vehicles. Youll still have to take it to a car shop to have them balanced(i take it to a shop down the street that balances them for $5 a piece)
 
Most motorcycle tire changers can do car tires as well. I know mine will change car tires as i have changed some on my personal vehicles. Youll still have to take it to a car shop to have them balanced(i take it to a shop down the street that balances them for $5 a piece)

Problem is some shops aren't willing to touch putting a car tire onto a MC rim. My dad had the same problem and later found out a buddy of his had a tire changer and went over and did it himself.

Car tire places wouldn't touch it cause it was a motorcycle rim and bike shops wouldn't touch it cause he wanted to put a car tire on it.
 
Problem is some shops aren't willing to touch putting a car tire onto a MC rim. My dad had the same problem and later found out a buddy of his had a tire changer and went over and did it himself.

Car tire places wouldn't touch it cause it was a motorcycle rim and bike shops wouldn't touch it cause he wanted to put a car tire on it.

It didnt dawn on me he wants a car tire put on a motorcycle rim... I was thinking he wanted someone to do a car tire/rim for him...:doh:

I do car tires all the time on the GL1800 Goldwings... Dont see a problem with it... I also just patched a tire today and will be patching a tire for Sharkey tomorrow so i guess im different...:dude:

Oh and run flats are a pain in the you know what to put on!! But that seems to be what all the Goldwing guys run on their bikes so...:shrug:

Try giving Wes a call at Pink Gorilla Cycles. Dont know if he has a tire changer since he mostly does bike and gear sales but he can probly put you in touch with someone if he cant do it.
 
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Take the wheel to a Mom&Pop and have mounted! That's what I do. I did have the local Wal-Mart do-it though, once.
 
For what it's worth, "there will NEVER again be a car tire, much less a run flat car tire put on my wing." End of rant. I'm gone from here. HB
 
Hmmm...might there be a reason why no mainstream shop will accept the liability of putting a car tire onto your bike??? All those engineers who design motorcycle tires surely must have just missed the fact that car tire technology of longer life and cheaper options already exists, right? And all of those shops that refuse to do it must be either ignorant to how well car tires actually work or just out to make more money on motorcycle tires, right? All of them. The fact that hardly a one will do it...hmmm...
 
I can see where this thread is going now. :yawn:

I've ridden my dad's car tire equipped Stratoliner (he also used to have a car tire equipped Intruder 1400) lots of times and other than an increased effort to turn in and maintain a lean angle it rides just as well or better than a bike tire. And this is coming from a guy who has MC tires only on his bikes. His Intruder sold with over 60k miles on it and his stratoliner I believe currently has over 40k miles all of which have been on car tires with exception of the first 5k miles on the stock tire. He's changed more tires due to tire age than tread wear.

You can find evidence all over the web that demonstrates a car tire has a larger contact patch at all lean angles than a MC tire on the same bike.

But hey who am I to argue with the "experts"?

I understand why shops don't want to touch the work and it boils down to liability. If something WERE to happen they don't want the fact they happened to spoon a car tire onto a MC rim to come back and bite them. And I get that stance.

Honestly go try it out sometime and get some actual seat time then come back and state your opinion on the subject. I think a lot of folks would be surprised. If you've tried it and don't like it then so be it fine just don't get all down on other folks who want to try it or have been doing it for a while and like it.

:rider::rider::eat:
 
I can see where this thread is going now. :yawn:

I've ridden my dad's car tire equipped Stratoliner (he also used to have a car tire equipped Intruder 1400) lots of times and other than an increased effort to turn in and maintain a lean angle it rides just as well or better than a bike tire. And this is coming from a guy who has MC tires only on his bikes. His Intruder sold with over 60k miles on it and his stratoliner I believe currently has over 40k miles all of which have been on car tires with exception of the first 5k miles on the stock tire. He's changed more tires due to tire age than tread wear.

You can find evidence all over the web that demonstrates a car tire has a larger contact patch at all lean angles than a MC tire on the same bike.

But hey who am I to argue with the "experts"?

I understand why shops don't want to touch the work and it boils down to liability. If something WERE to happen they don't want the fact they happened to spoon a car tire onto a MC rim to come back and bite them. And I get that stance.

Honestly go try it out sometime and get some actual seat time then come back and state your opinion on the subject. I think a lot of folks would be surprised. If you've tried it and don't like it then so be it fine just don't get all down on other folks who want to try it or have been doing it for a while and like it.

:rider::rider::eat:

+1

I have heard nothing but good from the riders who i have put car tires on theyre Goldwings not to mention the 15k miles they get out of a tire that costs half what the OEM replacement tire costs....
 
Thanks for the input guys. :zen:

I understand this is a controversial topic, and that there are very strong, logical arguments from both the "pro" and "against" sides of the fence. Riders who I've met in person and talked with at length online have demonstrated that this tire fitment does indeed work, and are the reason why I've turned from "no way in ****" to "well, maybe I'll give it a try".
 
Discount Tire mounted my most recent Pirelli Run Flat. $5 to remove the MT and $5 to mount the CT. Their spindle was not small enough to dynamic balance the tire but I'll just put some Dynabeads in there when I'm ready to put it on the bike.

I also have a local mom & pop Moto Shop that doesn't have a problem with mounting the set to the bike.

I'm on my second CT on the Wing and the tire that Discount Tire mounted for me is a backup to what I'm running now. I put 18K+ miles on my first Pirelli Euforia and liked it so much I bought two of the last five left in DT's inventory - Pirelli has since discontinued the tire.
 
Well put on "those with experience". Mine is that I ride a Valkyrie with 127,000 miles on it. About half of those are running car tires. I've been riding for 45 years and about a million miles. I teach folks how to ride (better), and enjoy the many benefits of the car tire. I switched because I felt unsafe on bike tires in the wet on the Valkyrie. I have stayed for a multitude of reasons. The picture below is of my current car tire with 40,000 miles on it. It's my bike, if you don't like my tire choice, don't ride my bike. :doh:
IMG_20110904_125737.jpg
 
Some people say that riding motorcycles are unsafe and no one should do it. Some people say whitewater rafting is dangerous and no one should do it, some say that about sky diving. And some say that about putting car tires on motorcycles.

Do what you want, ride what you want to ride, and keep the rubber side down.:dude:
 
In the event anyone else is looking to have this done, Central Texas Powersports in Georgetown was able to help me out.
 
The local NTB did one for my when I had my Valkyrie. The couldn't balance it, but other than that they didn't blink.
 
Dude, didn't you hear about that guy who put a car tire on his motorcycle, and all it would do is go straight? Didn't he wind up in a flaming pile of wreckage on some twisty road? Didn't it explode underneath him, destroying him, the bike, and everything else in a quarter mile radius?

No?

Me either. 23,000 mi here on my Firestone C/T, and no issues other than that it's time for a new one (I'm on my third front tire for this C/T.) Perfect setup for commuting- I'm not going to say it doesn't make me a bit slower in the turns, but I run out of lean angle way before I'm running out of tire.

+1 on the 'mom and pop' comments- dealers don't want to do it because they're concerned about liability and insurance and don't know how any repercussions from the C/T failing might impact them. Most bike mechanics I know shrug and say "I've never heard of a problem with it, so why not?" the way Monkey Wrench is doing.
 
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Interesting thread here. Over the years I have heard the "Don't do it" "Love em" statements but I have never put a c/t on my bike. Any ideas as to the best brand/size c/t to install on Harley 16 inch rims? I know very little about the metric bikes so I have no idea what size rims are on them or how wide the tires are. The widest tire I have mounted on my dresser was a 140 Metzler 880.
Thanks
Tom
 
Interesting thread here. Over the years I have heard the "Don't do it" "Love em" statements but I have never put a c/t on my bike. Any ideas as to the best brand/size c/t to install on Harley 16 inch rims? I know very little about the metric bikes so I have no idea what size rims are on them or how wide the tires are. The widest tire I have mounted on my dresser was a 140 Metzler 880.
Thanks
Tom

Stock on my VTX 1800R is a 200/60R16; I'm running a Firestone 205/60R16 C/T. I'd suggest running a 145 ??R16, and go with whatever tire profile closest matches the stocker. Looks like that Metzler you're running is a 140/90HB16, appears something like this might work. Best bet is to hit Harley-specific forums like this one or this one and look for someone with your bike, and see what they're running and how they like it. This is a good forum for all things darkside.
 
Cheez,
Thanks for the info and the links. I was "BANNED FOR LIFE" from the HD forums. They don't like my friends and I there cause we called b.s. on some bad info they put out out but the other sites are good ones.
Will check around to see what other H-D riders are using if anyone is running c/ts.
Thanks again
Tom
 
Cheez,
Thanks for the info and the links. I was "BANNED FOR LIFE" from the HD forums. They don't like my friends and I there cause we called b.s. on some bad info they put out out but the other sites are good ones.
Will check around to see what other H-D riders are using if anyone is running c/ts.
Thanks again
Tom

You don't have to sign into the forums to read them and get good info on what size tire to run, what PSI, etc. Good luck with the experiment!
 
... Any ideas as to the best brand/size c/t to install on Harley 16 inch rims? ... The widest tire I have mounted on my dresser was a 140 Metzler 880. Thanks, Tom

Tom, assuming you have the HD 3" or 3-1/2" rims, the only tire I've thusfar seen that might fit is the Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial in 5.00R16 size, a tube type tire with a 25.00" diameter. It's expensive and I found no reliable information as longevity. But I do know a fellow that successfully mounted this tire tubleless on an HD 3-1/2" rim.

I'm looking to replace the rear tire on my Sportster sidecar rig w/3" rim -- I'm not yet convinced to try this one: From: http://www.cokertire.com/antique/500r16-excelsior-stahl-sport-radial.html

Sidewall Style: Blackwall
Tread Width: 4.40
Section Width: 5.40
Overall Diameter: 25.00
Construction: 4 PLY POLY/STEEL
Max Load Capacity: 992@35PSI
Recommended Rim: 3.00 - 4.50
Tube Type or Tubeless: Tube Type
Price: $233
 
Cheez, I sometime slide in there to check out some threads of interest. Will try to see if I can trace down one of the C/T on Harley threads.

SwampFox, Ouch that tires is a pretty penny. Have you looked at any of the Dunlops?
Tom
 
... Ouch that tires is a pretty penny. Have you looked at any of the Dunlops?

Sidecar pusher tires tend to wear fast. I've had pretty good service out of the stock D-401's at about 5,000 miles. I don't know if the D-402 touring tires would last any longer on my rig.

The classic auto radial would make sense only if it would surely last 12,000+ miles, but I'm "hearing" they may be of softer compound that wear faster. :shrug: However, I sure would like the extra braking traction with more rubber on the road with a flat profile auto tire. I'm not yet convinced it's worth a test.
 
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