Car tire update

Message

Lion_Lady · Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:38 am

iwannadie wrote:well sounds like its good to me, if it works you cant argue with those results. if it was me id be worried bout the contact patch and sidewall but if thats not a problem then go for car tires ha. dont think i could rig one up on my bike though

Yeah, maybe you can't argue with paul's personal experience (or all his valkyrie riding friends), but I bet if anything happens that his insurance company has to get involved in, they'll just close the door and walk away without a cent paid. Not worth the risk.

As a motorcyclist, I can't see the logic in taking a specialized two wheel machine and replacing half my traction with the engineering for a 4 wheeled machine to save some money. Just seems beyond logical.

I've got to go find the mag (I think it was RoadBike) that did an in depth article a couple months ago about mc tires. It was followed by a letter to the editor from someone like Paul who, along with his friends had been running car tires on their big cruisers. The letter was used as a sidebar with a well written response as to why using car tires is NOT a good idea.

I've GOT to find the article... will post it up.

Pam

paul246 · #22 Unread post by **paul246** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:31 am

Lion_Lady wrote:
iwannadie wrote:well sounds like its good to me, if it works you cant argue with those results. if it was me id be worried bout the contact patch and sidewall but if thats not a problem then go for car tires ha. dont think i could rig one up on my bike though
Yeah, maybe you can't argue with paul's personal experience (or all his valkyrie riding friends), but I bet if anything happens that his insurance company has to get involved in, they'll just close the door and walk away without a cent paid. Not worth the risk.

As a motorcyclist, I can't see the logic in taking a specialized two wheel machine and replacing half my traction with the engineering for a 4 wheeled machine to save some money. Just seems beyond logical.

I've got to go find the mag (I think it was RoadBike) that did an in depth article a couple months ago about mc tires. It was followed by a letter to the editor from someone like Paul who, along with his friends had been running car tires on their big cruisers. The letter was used as a sidebar with a well written response as to why using car tires is NOT a good idea.

I've GOT to find the article... will post it up.

Pam

The article you are talking about has already been referred to. I also read it. Big deal. Now you must ask yourself, why would anyone even bother to ask this question of a motorcycle publication? Did this person actually expect any other sort of answer? OF COURSE they are going to say it is all bad, they have liability issues to worry about, not to mention sponsors etc. And yes, the editor probably believes in what HE is saying.

That is where you and I differ. You follow, and feel safe doing so. I try taking a calculated risk and NOW know that I'm perfectly safe with what I'm doing. I no longer have to wonder about it nor debate the issue.

Please read before replying. I stated that this was not a monetary issue, only that the cost savings were a bonus.

vector18 · Sat Aug 27, 2005 12:45 am

I think the car tire looks cool and all, but I know for a fact it does not lean as well as a m/c tire. First of all its not rounded like a m/c tire. 2nd of all, I met up with a friend of a friend and he's got the triumph 2300cc monster bike with a car tire on it. We were going at it and he was pulling from me on the straight. As soon as a curve in the road, and even the slightest curve, he had to slow down and I passed his a$$ as if he was standing still! When we got to where were going and parked, he said he couldn't lean the bike at 140mph so he had to slow down. I agreed his bike is faster than mine, I mean it is 600cc bigger and all, but I would kill him in any race as long as the road wasn't straight. Now for me, just driving a straight line and not being able to lean all the way down is not fun and if I wanted to just go straight, I would have bought a trike or a car. Don't bash me cause I'm just stating my .02!

paul246 · #24 Unread post by **paul246** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 8:12 am

You sure he has a car tire on it??, the Rocket3 comes with a big cross section m/c tire . If he was running a car tire, what was it? That can make all the difference. Also, how experienced was he with that tire? In fact, how good a rider was he to start with?

You won't catch me, I know that for sure

.. I don't have to slow up, just the opposite.

vector18 · Sat Aug 27, 2005 11:01 am

He is only a friend of a friend and I rode with him up to Americade. I probably won't see him again. I don't know which tire he has on the bike and I'm not sure of his skills. So like you said, that could have made a difference. But also, keep in mind, he wasn't pulling from me that bad on the straight away. The Warrior is a pretty strong bike and I have a few mods here and there on it. But when it comes to the twisties, it's all in the rider and that's my specialty. I could smoke sport bikes on the twisties if the rider has the slight bit of fear in him. Anyway, good luck with your car tire. It definitely looks cool! I'll post pics of my Metzler 240 I'm having done to my bike in the next month or two. It should have about equal width.

DivideOverflow · Sat Aug 27, 2005 11:47 am

The rocket III has the biggest production MC tire on the back... It probably wasnt a car tire. It also isn't the top in it's class for highspeed cornering. I really don't think you beating him has anything to do with him using a car tire, if he even was, since you said yourself: "But when it comes to the twisties, it's all in the rider and that's my specialty."
my .02 cents.

Anyways, paul said it seemed like he got better handling with it on. So who is to tell him that he is wrong about the way his bike handles? Not me! haha

vector18 · #27 Unread post by **vector18** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 2:24 pm

I know for a fact he has a car tire on his bike cause when I smoked his a$$ and slowed down for him to catch up, he screamed to me, "I HAVE A CAR TIRE ON THE BACK SO I CAN'T LEAN THE BIKE THAT MUCH". Than when we got to Americade and was sitting down eating lunch, he explained to me the reason he put the car tire on the back was cause it lasts longer than a m/c tire and looks cooler. He is disappointed that he lost his abiliity to lean. He did say he used to lean alot more with a m/c tire, but it didn't matter to him that much. So now no one else should doubt that this guy actually had a car tire or not.

paul246 · #28 Unread post by **paul246** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 3:26 pm

Hey, I believe ya, he had a car tire. None of us that I know using car tires has ANY problem leaning, we scrape bits all the time. Anyway, perhaps he is just new to the idea and hasn't had much experience. I know I sure did not go flat out when I first tried it, but worked my way up gradually to full confidence.