Size of rear tire....

Hi guys... here's the thing... I'm looking to change the rear tire of my 1985 xj700 for one of a car...size is the problem. Somebody know what car tire could fit in my bike? or How I can measure and what to measure to find a tire? Thanks guys....

 

It has to be a 16" tire.

You can't go much wider than 130, maybe a 140 will squeeze in.

Aspect ratio isn't too critical for getting it in there.

So you're looking for a 130/xx-16, maybe 140/xx-16

130 or 140 is narrow, so a small car tire. Problem is (at least in the U.S.) small cars tend to have 13 - 15" wheels. 16" is often a truck tire, quite wide by motorcycle standards.

I don't think you're going to have much luck.

 

Car tires and motorcycle tires are completely different designs!

Car tires are flat with no sidewall tread. Bikes are curved, designed for a camber vehicle. Car tires not only are a really bad idea on a motorcycle, it's illegal in some places, and there's no good reason to do it.

I'd never recommend it or would do it myself. Mostly because I don't want to be dead.

Watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkB0JnAPY0w

and read this: http://www.ridermagazine.com/browse-by- ... ycles.htm/

 

Agreed at least on the design of the tires. the good side of having a car tire in the bike without mention the long lasting life of the tire, is a much better grip on the road, specially on rainy days... and a much powerful stop when you press the breaks. About the curve of the tire is only needed when you leaning in the turn but most of the roads have wide turns and the leaning that you need also depends of the speed that you are riding. I usually changes the rear tires of my bikes for car tires, but the size of the tire in this bike is weird (16) for most of the bikes and cars...

 

Longer tread life maybe; but a motorcycle tire of the proper size and design will offer much better wet-weather traction as well as braking than an automotive tire that was NOT designed for leaning.

Don't do it.

 

If putting car tires on motorcycles were a good idea, car tire manufacturers would be marketing them to motorcyclists, and charging a premium for the "extra performance" they provide.

 

I was doing this since my first bike (Honda shadow vlx 600) in 1995, never had a problem with the leaning, or stopping or blowing the tire... I guess non of you tried before. But anyway, this I not a post about what I should do or not... is about of tire size... if someone can make a parallel between this 2 tires to match sizes would be great to know... if not it's ok too... Sorry to be so straight forward, but I'm seeing this post turning into a "you should/shouldn't do" instead of getting some info I'm looking for...thanks

 

It isn't meant to tell you what you should/shouldn't do, but what are you are doing is kinda alarming. I haven't done it because it makes no sense.

It's your life, you can ride on rims if you want. But I don't want to see someone else take your anecdotal evidence of "it's fine" when it goes against all independent studies and recommendations. We're not telling you that you can't, we're warning others against it.

A quick google shows other darksiders have banded together from the butthurt of sicence and reason ^_^...might have a calculator there, worth a check: http://mcdarksiders.forumotion.com/

 

Whether it's a good idea or not, passenger car and motorcycle tires are measured the same way. The 130 tire on there is pretty close to the shaft, you can't go much wider.

BTW, I have a friend put a car tire on a Royal Star Venture. He ended up chewing up the drive splines. They need lubricated more often then every tire change when you get 30,000+ miles from a tire.

 

Wow. I didn't even know this was a thing. I don't understand the logic behind it.

Is it really just because car tires last longer? I'm not an expert in vulcanization or anything but I'm pretty sure the harder the rubber (longer lasting) the worse the traction.

I hate to say it but if someone can't afford tires, maybe they shouldn't be riding. Keep in mind that with any vehicle you're gambling other people's lives, not just your own.

 

Here's how I look at it:

Motorcycles are designed by literally THOUSANDS of engineers, all with more education and degrees than I have.

TIRES are likewise designed by literally thousand of different engineers, all with more education and degrees than I have.

I learned a good long time ago not to try to "out-engineer" the guys that designed and built both items. Way outta my pay grade plus I'm outnumbered by people who actually knew what they were doing.

If this were a good idea, or practical in any respect from an engineering standpoint, somebody would have beat you to it. As in, selling car tires for bikes.

That they didn't shows us that there are reasons for that; probably many more than both you or I could possibly imagine.

What a whole bunch of us are trying to tell you is that it's not a good idea for a number of reasons, a lot of which we aren't even aware of.

What Carl is trying to tell you is that finding a 16" automotive tire only 130mm wide is probably an exercise in futility.

Put a bike tire on it and ride.

 

if you ride 4 lane all the time a bike tire will ware kind of into a car tire profile.
a car tire will try to ware to a bike tire profile.
a guy at work has one on a wing or some such thing, he says it keeps getting better, he just likes how it looks

 

My goal is to get something touching the road, whether its a footpeg, exhaust bracket or knee, while getting around corners.
I thought that was the idea?!

Just saying!

 

Well, just for "gits and shiggles" I searched "Vintage tires" and the smallest I could find was a 16 X 145 which is still too wide. You can look further if you want. Got any pics of your previous bikes with car tires on, be interesting to see what they look like.

 

Here is a site that might help what you are looking for.

http://www.cokertire.com/

 

True dat! 8)

I would think if you tried to accomplish that goal with an auto tire you would get just soooo far and then your handle bar will be touching the pavement (and your leg and your arm and your gas tank etc.) :?

 

I had a 205-60R 16 on my V-Star 1100, rode it for 3 years.

This is the WRONG kind of car tire on a bike. Square profile.
You had to PUSH the bike into a turn, and it would want to stand back up.
Making a left at an intersection, where the asphalt has settled into "tracks" felt like somebody was randomly shaking your handlebars.

Another reason to not do this - some tires need to be over-inflated to seat the bead.

 

To Maxim-x... I'll post as soon as I can a pic of my last Honda Shadow wicha had it with a car tire....
But anyway... I can't believe that none of you guys saw a car tire in a bike before... you guys remember the old choppers back from the '70s??? or any HD from the '40s, 50s????... they look awesome... come on ....

 

Rod, no doubt it looks cool.

I choose to ride as safe as possible (hi-vis and all that). A part of riding safely for me is having my bike handle as it was designed, so that a quick swerve responds rapidly and predictably.

(I remember seeing picks of the drag bike choppers when I was young and thought it was cooler than cool.) 8)

 

I remember the choppers from the 70's; none of my friends had car tires on them, though the motorcycle tires of the day looked more like car tires then they do now. The only car tires I saw on bikes back then were on drag bikes, because there were no dragracing tires being made for motorcycles then.

 

Haven't seen one in any of the motor bike shops I buy from! and when I get new tires for my car they sell me car tires, from what I understand when cornering you almost have more rubber on the road than when you are straight up; cant see you having more rubber on the road when cornering with a car tire.

 

Maybe he's a "Drifter"!! :roll: :roll:
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

Rod; it's not that we haven't seen or heard of this concept before; it's just that it's basically a non-starter of an idea among serious, safety-conscious riders. And despite our eclectic diversity, we are largely just that.

So you're simply not going to get a lot of support for the idea here; plus the size you'd need apparently doesn't exist. Which is probably a good thing.

Honestly, it isn't a good idea for many many reasons despite the fact that you don't want to hear them.

 

here are a few words on the subject from shinko tire co.

"Is it okay to put wider tires on my motorcycle?

Wider tires should only be installed with the approval of the motorcycle or tire manufacturer. If wider tires are approved for a particular motorcycle, one size designation it is the typical permissible size increase. Be sure to consider clearance for width and diameter, the effect on stability and handling, and whether your rim is wide enough. Always allow for some tire growth, as all tires will increase in size after they have been inflated and ridden on for a few hundred miles."

http://www.shinkotireusa.com/faqs

CN

 

The donut tire off of a Buick Rendezvous is 135/90 16. Not saying whether or not its a good idea but there are car tires out there about the right size.

 

The right size is not the same as being the right tire.

 

exactly! the rubber compounds are completely different as well as the tread designs and inner cord layouts. I for one am not interested in cutting corners where my safety is concerned.

CN

 

a donut - hell no. speed rating of 45mph, hell no.

My old boss/friend rides with a car tire on the rear of his valkyrie, says it takes some time to get used to but he loves it now and is happy as hell getting 50k from a tire.

Considering he's ridden it from wisconsin to texas multiple times, although something that i too personally will never do to sacrifice a margin of safety(although yes, its each's own decision of just ho much of a safety margin to sacifice) but anyway, although something that is in someway decvreasing the "safety"from that of a mc tire, its something that's not insane/gonna kill you instnatly kinda a thing and reliable

 

While "to each his/her own" is the X factor...it's fairly simple...as stated by many members, car tires are not motorcycle tires. Not that it won't ever happen but as for now motorcycle tires aren't designed to last 50k miles for a reason. We have enough to think about when riding. I wouldn't dare.

Roc

 

There are slot of people who have gone to the "dark side" as a lot of people call it. I have read a lot on it as there are many who do that with the Intruder 1500. I have not, probably won't, but still am intrigued by the idea......

Dave fox

 

I mentioned the donut idea to my buddy who runs a car tire on his VTX and for the same reasons as stated here he was against it.

 

Here's how I look at it:

Literally LEGIONS, thousands no less of engineers, virtually every one of them more highly educated than I am, designed this stuff.

I remember a Yamaha ad from the mid-eighties featuring a bunch of lab-coat clad engineers crowded around an embryonic FZR of some sort; with the caption:

"This IS Rocket Science..."

So I long ago gave up trying to out-engineer the engineers; and in doing so learned that following their instructions to the letter produces fine results.

Go figure.

 

IMO, the only time a car tire/tyre should be placed on the rear of a motorcycle is when said motorcycle is a trike.
Shouldn't be on a 2 wheeled bike because it's too hard to lean into a turn or corner.
Would be nice to get 50k miles out of a motorcycle tire. FYI, car tires can crack, split and blowout just as easy as motorcycle tires. A car tire may be more prone to fail on a motorcycle if pushed too hard because of the weaker sidewall.