dARKSIDE

[ghostler]

Concur on the tire sizes, cranky. My 1987 Suzuki Savage uses a 100/90-19 bias ply front tire. I decided to save some money and bought Kenda Challengers. Their 100/90-19 was larger in diameter, rubbed against the fender well. The Savage's back tire is a less than common 140/80-15, so I got the more common 130/90-15. It was about the same size although it fit. I found those tires of extremely hard rubber, long wearing, but very spooky when wet, almost no traction.

I loosened the fender bolts and shifted as best as I could, some light filing of the mount holes until it didn't rub. I only used the tire for a short time until I bought a Pirelli MT66 Route, which fit like the old OEM tire did. I wore down the rear tire then replaced with a Pirelli Route, which was a decent rain tire. But it was a lesson in being careful when buying cheap tires.

[doug of so fla]

Bill is correct!! as you HAVE to do some very in depth research to make sure you get the right car tire for your M/C. a normal car tire like what is pictured above is not a good pick for a M/C, And any cheap tire is JUST that !! imho.

The side walls on average car tires are way to thin to use on a M/C. A sudden loss of air would be catastrophic as the tire would collapse and run right off the rim. Just a slight loss of air would make the tire very squirrely & heat up and blow..

When you put over the max rated air in a tire to set the bead you are stressing the tire cords past max breaking point or in a radial you are cutting (separating) the steel from the tire rubber.

To mount a car tire or M/C tire you always MUST be sure that the rim is CLEAN!! (even polished) any gunk stuck to the bead area is going to make a slow leak and it will make the bead much harder to seat as the bead will (DRAG) over the crud, forcing you to use more air. and you can never use just water or soap or regular tire lube you need to get a good brand of tire lube mfg JUST for tire lube mount. Napa or some auto stores have the good stuff.

The XII is a hard tire to find in a car tire cause there are very few selections for this size in automotive & even M/C anymore.

I have used car tires way back in the 50's when dealers did not carry M/C tires,, and M/C's & PEOPLE and horsepower & torque were much smaller so it did work out ok .

Now the M/c industry in (just the last couple of years) have been forced to mfg bigger and better M/C tires but only for the big market M/C mfg like Harely. and if the rest of the large M/C mfg & customers are using tires not spe'cd to today's riders & rode speeds & wt & HP.

Wing riders riders have been using (CARTIRES) "BUT" 99% of them are RUN FLAT ZP (zero pressure) CAR tires, with a load limit of over 1200lbs for the rear tire. This is a totally different tire than a regular car tire!!!! it is way thicker than a car tire and even thicker than a M/C tire. The tire patch on the road is over 7" & it's tread design is M&S (mud & snow), and it will stop a wing so strongly that most cannot hang onto on the handle bars cause it does not break loose it just stops!!!

ON the GL1800riders.com website there is a thread that about 250riders have entered there mileage on car tires (mostly runflats) and have recorded over 12 million trouble free miles to this date.

Being I have had many years and miles on Voyagers, I have done research on both wing and XII and I can not find a RUNFLAT car tire for a XII or even a good car tire.

Hopefully they will improve M/C tires (UP TO RUNFLAT SPEC's) some day as it is a no brainer for a M/C tire to be a "Run Flat " tire, imh68yrs of riding experience. imho.

Hope you can all understand what all this is cause I just don't want anyone to get hurt, because of not knowing what the car tire, M/C, THING, is about..

RIDE SAFE !!! Your tire is the only thing keeping your ass off the ass phalt !!!!

[cranky]

.... haven't seen this here, probably missed it.. what I looked at, especially the
tire specs for size / rotation / etc.. http://darkside.nwff.info

[doug of so fla]

Yes I just saw this the other day and I think all mfg will say the same thing. And they would never say anything else.
But there is enough info out there to ask the question why don't they make a runflat ZP M/C tire for today's heavy laden high HP , High torque m/c's . When safety should be there first goal in a 2 wheel motorcycle.

. AS they said ride at your own risk!!! but be educated on what you are doing.

[ghostler]

Just conjecture, but could it be that motorcycle changes tend to be gradual and models extended for longer periods of time, because it is difficult to recover research and development costs, given quantities sold? Manufacturers have been burned for bringing a model out that seems nice, but doesn't garner the sales they expected.

Not everyone is interested in safety only, because you can buy bikes with and without traction control (ABS). Not everyone buys premium tires with superior highway performance. Not everyone wants to wear a brain bucket. Would they sell sufficient quantities of run flat motorcycle tires to recoup their R&D costs in short order?
Just a few questions for inquiring minds. More power to Goldwing riders for finding a run flat tire that works really well.

[satanicmechanic]

So im curious to those that have run the CT on their bikes how does it handle grooved pavement? Is it better or worse than an MC tire?

[Neal]

There's no comparison...The car tires will ride as if the grooves are not there.

[Nails]

> The side walls on average car tires are way to thin to use on a M/C.

Somewhat off topic, but I got a new front tire for my dual/sport, a Kenda M51 Triple. Off topic because it's a knobbie. My last three tires were full-on motocrossers (generally super thin sidewalls), but I decided to get a real live DOT tire this time because I have to ride on the freeway sometimes. (No alternative one direction, not even a frontage road ... other than a 10 mile long-cut on washed-out jeep roads across the mesa ;)

But not entirely off topic because this Kenda has a very stiff sidewall. How stiff, you ask? Well, I rode about 8 miles on the freeway, turned off the exit ramp from a stop sign, and went another couple miles on a divided highway -- all apparently with the front tire totally flat.I took the next corner a little hot, the tire bead finally broke free, and then a couple ribs did too.

I'm not trying to evade personal responsibility here. I'm just saying that I'm a little conflicted over the value of stiff sidewalls. At least I could tell when the motocrossers were flat.

--
Neal

[voyager55]

I have a New Nexen car tire I never used mounted on a rear rim. If you're ever in Mpls give me a shout.

[Danger4u2]

Just mounted my Nexen tire, SB802. 165/80R 15 87T. Would not seat up to 80 psi. 85 degrees and sunny today.
I got out my small air compressor that has a pressure regulator. I used a 4 foot hose so the pressure would be the same
as the regulator showed. I also have a clip-on air chuck. My brother suggested putting a strap around the tread so the tire could not expand in circumference. I set the regulator @ 100 psi with the wheel on a small diameter metal trash can. Plugged in the air hose and got back. Didn't see how high it got but one side popped very loud, a few seconds the other side popped. I let you know how I like it soon.

[Neal]

I usually end up at about 100# on the federals and 120# on the Nexens to seat the beads.

[cushman eagle]

I usually end up at about 100# on the federals and 120# on the Nexens to seat the beads.

Isn't that about 3 times the maximum rated pressure

[Neal]

Yup. About three times my 46# running pressure, But that's what it takes to get the beads past the 'bumps' on the rim,

[Nails]

I'll get to enjoy this experience in a couple months. I don't really have a way to run and hide, so I hope 85# and a couple days in the New Mexico summer sun will do it. My Dunlop back tire will last until then.

Do you polish the inside of the wheel with steel wool? Then Vaseline? (If you already said so, I'll re-read this whole thread.)

[chevyman1]

When you guys are seating that bead at those high pressures I would not be around it.
I have a friend that was putting air in a racecar aluminum wheel that must have had a crack that was not visible he got to around 20 lbs. and it let go, he was medevac'd to the hospital, it tore his knee up real bad was in a wheelchair for a couple of month.
SO BE CAREFUL

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

I side with Kevin on this issue.
If you want to see why, go back to page 6 on this topic (1/21/18 date of posting) to view the images of what can happen when introducing too much PSI to a (Nexan at least)!

[Danger4u2]

As far as removing the wheel I have a lift. I put the bike on the center stand with the wheel hanging over the edge. First time I just dropped the wheel out.
This time I didn't take into account I now have a receiver hitch, Marvellas http://marvellas.com/cart/index.php?rou ... duct_id=49 , so I had to let the air out of the tires to remove and reinstall. Next time I'll set it a few more inches back. I used No-Mar tire lube. It tacks up when it dries. I would not use Vaseline as it will always be greasy. A few year back I bought a Marc Parnes wheel balancer for my BMW, it works great with the Voyager wheels. http://www.marcparnes.com/
Tomorrow I will put the tire to the test, going to Austin Tx. for the MotoGP races at the Circuit of the Americas race track. http://www.circuitoftheamericas.com/motogp
We have a friend that works for a local brewery. We have a great time for 4 days. This is the first year I will not be riding a Dual Sport bike. We'll see how it all works out.

[Nails]

In the end, I chickened out. This is partly Barry's fault. He had talked me into it in the first place, but since then he has returned from the darkside. True confessions: this is mostly because they rot before they wear out, at the rate we actually use the bikes. Decided it wasn't worth the hassle, so just ordered a normal tire and to hell with it.

But I might regret that because I'm planning a back-and-forth trans-continent ride this summer.

[VoyKimmer]

Nails, are you going to the international rally in Summerville WV . Would love to meet you.

[HMB Don]

Nails
If you installed a Dunlop e4 or an old r3 you should be able to make a few of those trips and never have to replace the tire. This would include traveling at speeds of 80 mph.

Hope You're attending the AVA International Rally