A car tire on the ST1300???

jdaniels

R.I.P. - 2010/08/27
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People have been using car tires on their motorcycles.I actually talked with a Valkyrie rider yesterday using a car tire on the rear.Said it's the second car tire he's had on it and he got 30k miles on the first one.I wonder if a Size: 205/55ZR17 car tire will fit on the ST? Has anyone ever run a car tire on the rear? I sure would like 30k instead of the 7-8k I get.Anything wrong with using a car tire? It seems like you'd have a much larger contact patch with the car tire.:biker:
 
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There was a good write up on one of the GL1800 boards a good while back and the finding was (besides long mileage) was the bike wanted to go back to the upright position in a turn, it did not like being leaned over. I'm too aggressive of a driver to want that to happen to me in the middle of a curve!
 
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An insurance carrier cannot dictate what equipment you use on your bike, as long as it is DOT approved for road use, the correct size weight and speed rating they cannot refuse a claim. This has been tested and proven regarding CT usage.

On a bike with limited ground clearance (cruiser, Goldwing) a car tire has more than enough contact area and does not try to stand up. Run flat tires because of the stiffer sidewall have the same feel of a motorcycle tire with increased tire contact area in turns. On a heavy bike there are a bunch of benefits, better accelleration, braking, wet road, longer life, and higher load capacity. At least on a Goldwing IMO the feeling is a lot more stable in all situations and adds not takes away from the ride and performance.

How do I know this.....first hand experience

Yup thats a V rated Dunlop Sport 3000A 195/55R 16 run flat on my GL so flame on :flame

That being said I would NEVER even consider putting one on an ST, too much lean angle, not enough tire period.

Wearing my nomex undies, Spencer
(the GL Darksiders have over a million miles on CT's without a failure, compare that to the known rear MC tire failures on the same model....hmmmm)
 
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jdaniels

jdaniels

R.I.P. - 2010/08/27
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There's not much difference in the nearest size car tire I can find available,(205/55/17) and the ST's (170/60/17). It would make the speedometer more accurate actually.This was the closest tire size I found available.


Tire Size Comparison

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile
170/60-17 - 4.0in 12.5in 25.0in 78.6in 806 0.0%
205/55-17 - 4.4in 12.9in 25.9in 81.3in 779 -3.4%General Exclaim UHP (Ultra High Performance Summer)
Size: 205/55ZR17
Blackwall
ZR Speed Rated
Price: $88.00 (each)

Estimated Availability:
In Stock

General Exclaim UHP (Ultra High Performance Summer)
Size: 205/55ZR17
Blackwall
ZR Speed Rated
Price: $88.00 (each)

Estimated Availability:
In Stock
 
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Yellow Wolf said the same, till he accepted the challenge and ran the Dragon on a CT equipt 'Wing, then made a public retraction.

His biggest surprise was how it launched out of corners and lifted the front wheel :D
I'm sorry. But I'm not willing to be that ginuea pig...

Its the shape of the sidewall that would have me concerned...let somebody else do it..

its not a big friggen deal to me to save a few bucks in mileage in order to not have to spend 300 or so bucks every 10 - 12k


Well...maybe in Florida it would be ok........:)
 
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JD,

It not the size but the lean angle that would be the problem. The GL and Valk's max lean angle go right to the usable tread surface of the CT. The ST would exceed that and you would be on the sidewall, then on the ground, then in the hospital. From someone who believes in their use on the right bike, please don't try this.

Spencer
 
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JD, I agree with Spencer. I did run a CT on my VTX for a while, as have many, many others. The CT had a boat load of advantages over the stock Metz 880; tremendous amount of traction wet or dry, increased highway stability, longer tire life, etc. If I had a wing, I have no doubt that a CT would be on it right now. But the ST is a different animal. As Spencer pointed out, the lean angle of the ST is much more than a Wing or a VTX or a Valk. The CT worked very well on these bikes, because there was a limit to the lean angle, and it wasnt the tire.

Even though I'm a staunch support of the Darkside, putting a CT on the ST would be like putting a prairie dress on a supermodel (best analogy I could come up with at the moment, but you get the idea).

If you want longer tire life, look at the BT020F, so far I have almost 19K on the stock front tire. Rear probably would have made it to 15K, but it died an early death thanks to a bolt.
 
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My response wasnt meant as a challange, simply as a response to your statement "have fun in turns.... " The point I was trying to make was, if you havent tried it, dont knock it. Yes, it did work quite well in the turns on my VTX. And apparently for YW too.

But if I still had the VTX ..... ;) :nanner1:
 
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My response wasnt meant as a challange, simply as a response to your statement "have fun in turns.... " The point I was trying to make was, if you havent tried it, dont knock it. Yes, it did work quite well in the turns on my VTX. And apparently for YW too.

But if I still had the VTX ..... ;) :nanner1:
Yes my brother...but its called car tire and I have to ASSUME there is an reason in SCIENCE and ENGINEERING as to WHY its called a car tire and not a MOTORCYCLE tire..

I still love you..even though I think I can keep up with you on a cruiser...You'll come to my side with more time on your ST;)

BTW...I will be in your hood for Campstoc in May and again in June...Maybe I can buy you a beer and and we can swap lies about how long my ST tires last when I use retreaded airplane tires..the ST will FLY with those babies...All in good fun man...
 

dduelin

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Yes my brother...but its called car tire and I have to ASSUME there is an reason in SCIENCE and ENGINEERING as to WHY its called a car tire and not a MOTORCYCLE tire..

I still love you..even though I think I can keep up with you on a cruiser...You'll come to my side with more time on your ST;)

BTW...I will be in your hood for Campstoc in May and again in June...Maybe I can buy you a beer and and we can swap lies about how long my ST tires last when I use retreaded airplane tires..the ST will FLY with those babies...All in good fun man...
Don't waste your time Todd. 19K on OEM ST1300 tires speaks a thousand words.
 
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Yes my brother...but its called car tire and I have to ASSUME there is an reason in SCIENCE and ENGINEERING as to WHY its called a car tire and not a MOTORCYCLE tire..

I still love you..even though I think I can keep up with you on a cruiser...You'll come to my side with more time on your ST;)

BTW...I will be in your hood for Campstoc in May and again in June...Maybe I can buy you a beer and and we can swap lies about how long my ST tires last when I use retreaded airplane tires..the ST will FLY with those babies...All in good fun man...
A beer sounds good, first round is on me. :D
 
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