Car Tires on a Motorcycle/Sidecar

Hello fellow Hackers... does anyone know where I can purchase car tires that will fit the 16" wheels on my Electra Glide / Sidecar Rig? I don't think I can go any wider than 155. Thanks for any info...

Hey Red,
16's are really hard to find, but a friend of mine has one on the rear of his FJ, it's an Avon Turbosteel 165 HR 16, I believe it has a speed rating of 130mph, and is intended for use on classic cars.
You can get them from England, no problem, but they are fairly expensive.

Here's a link http://www.vintagetyres.com/press/165hr16 avon turbosteel.doc

Vredestein Comtrac, 175/75R16. 1/2" narrower than a stock XR 1200 tire; don't know what size the Electra Glide is. Could not find anywhere local, but found em on-line here:

https://www.tiresbyweb.com/p-8480-vredestein-comtrac.aspx

Seated easily at 50 PSI. Took going to 4 bike shops before I could find someone to mount it. Can't seem to post pics any more, but I'll try linking to photobucket. Here it is on a 2008 16" Fat Bob wheel on my in-progress XR1200 hack build.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/advrider-p...agocruiser_XR1200%20Hack%20Build_IMG_8409.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/advrider-p...agocruiser_XR1200%20Hack%20Build_IMG_8410.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/advrider-p...agocruiser_XR1200%20Hack%20Build_IMG_8411.jpg

Pago, the stock size for the 04 Electra Glide is 140/80/16. There is room to go wider. Kenny...

Does it have to be a 16" rim?
Can you find, say a 15" rim and go w/ a taller tire?
Height is the concern. Then width.

For the Harley, 16 inch rim, check out the Avon Speedmaster. It's a flat profile tire, made for sidecars. It goes right on the Harley rim. I guess for the rear, they call it the Avon SM mark II.

Thanks for the info. I checked out the Avon, but it said it was a tube tire. I need a tubeless. My bike came with spoked rims (for tubes) but I sold them and bought Mags so I could go tubeless.

About 2/3rds of the way down above the tires they have a listing of bikes and tires listed.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/DarkSiding

Here is a link to their database;
http://darkside.nwff.info/database.php

They also have a list of tires that you should not try to put on a bike.
http://darkside.nwff.info/ListNOT.php

We have just finished two 15" wheels for Harleys. They take a 165R15 auto tires. Photos to follow.

I run a 190/70R15.

Am going to be going sidecar due to health issues... Have been doing a heck of a lot of research lately (time to burn...) on the subject, and have seen the frequent reference to switching to car type tires as there'll be no leaning in corners with a hack attached. My GL1100 Goldwing has a 16" rear wheel, and I've noted the GL1200 has a 16" dia front wheel... think I'll look into whether a swap is do-able. In the hunt for 16" relatively narrow car tires that could work, I've come across an unlikely source - space saver spare tires. Several big name brand manufacturers offer space saver spares that look like normal tires, have decent tread patterns and a fairly deep tread. I'd imagine that it'd be easy to pick up new wheels/tires from wreckers too. Anyone mount space saver rubber and see how they wear? Here's one of the tires I found:
http://www.ityre.com/en/tyres/catalog/continental/size/62827/ , and there's a Firestone Tempa Spare Radial T135/70R16 available.

First and foremost... Get the Yellow Book if you haven't already.
It's available a few different places...


A sidecar is nothing like a motorcycle.
I cannot stress this point enough.

I couldn't agree more. I registered at the United Sidecar Association and am reading the Hal Kendall manuals (link here: http://www.sidecar.com/links3.asp) - is the info in the "yellow book" that different, or is there something of value I'd be missing as compared to Hal's info?

I've already touched base with Brock Smith over at Side Effects in Kamloops, and am considering the Steerite triple tree mod. The older I get, the more careful & conservative I get... I think I understand how different sidecars handle. I don't have much of a choice regarding this - if I want to stay with motorcycling, I'm going to need to do 3 wheels.

Now how about them car tires?

I'm looking also. but I don't think those space saver spares are designed to go over 50 MPH...

From the Conti specs on that link I posted... "M" = good for 130 km/h.

correction, space savers are SPEED LIMITED to 50mph/80kph. don't use them please. the carcass can actually separate at higher sustained speeds.

What ever made you think I'd run a tire not appropriately rated? Not all "space savers" are rated the same... although I believe thay you're absolutely correct in that most of 'em are rated safe to just 50 mph. The Continental brand are manufactured and sold/available in Europe where highway speeds are much higher (lived there 6 years and just passed thru again a few weeks ago), which is I assume why they rate their spare for 130 km/h. I don't think it'd be possible to buy 'em in NA. A show stopper (for me) that I discovered in researching this, is that many (most?) of these tires only have 5/32" tread as delivered - most passenger car tires have 10/32" to 12/32". Some of 'em are pricey too - like $250-$350! I came across this Avon sidecar specific tire which'll fit my stock GL1100 19" front rim: http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/sidecar ...might give that a try. I like the idea of getting a bigger contact patch on the road... needs a tube tho Haven't really found a good car tire for the 16" rear rim. Should ideally be 140 width or less. If it was a 15" dia, there seems to be options - early 60s VW Beetles had skinny 15" rubber, and of course Smart cars run pretty narrow tires. One thing about Honda GL1100 Goldwings, decent tires for 'em is comparitively cheap compared to more modern lower profile sizes.

BTW dakdakdave, you might find this an interesting read (I did): http://www.caranddriver.com/features/03q2/do_you_care_about_your_spare_-column Wish I could find the article where he says " although tests we've conducted on the high-pressure rubber suggest they are far more durable than that (August 1992)."

Anyone know of a decent brand 145/16" (or narrower) car tire?

Does any one know what size auto tire will fit my VStrom 1000 front and rear. I intend to leave the hack on full time and would like the extra mileage.

Don't use a car tire on a motorcycle rim. Car tires and Motorcycle tires do not have compatible beads. In other words a motorcycle tire will not seat in a car wheel and a car wheel will not seat properly in a motorcycle wheel. Do a bit more research and you'll find there are threads with diagrams showing the difference in the beads.

I know in theory you are right;
However, in Oz, car tires are fitted successfully to GSX1400 outfits which are more powerful and heavier than the DL1000.

I ran a car tire on a 1500 Goldwing outfit for 12000km with no problems.