auto tire for rear of bike

Daniel - A little more info please! It's not clear from your post if you have an auto tire now or if you want to go to an auto tire.

ALSO...What size rim is on a '95 Voyager?

Thanks, I am embarrased to notice how vague I was. The bike has the original wheel which should hold a Dunlap K425A (150/90-15 74H).
The tire on now is a Dunlap with nearly 17,000 miles mostly from 2-wheeling.
I plan to dedicate this bike to the sidecar only, thus the hopes to fit it with an auto tire.
Daniel

OK! Now I have to bow out as completely unqualified to answer your question! Perhaps others will step in. 🙂

Fitting a 15" car tire to a 15" motorcycle rim in not advised. Car tires are smaller in the seat area than motorcycle tires. Some sizes are worse than others with 15" being one that is off quite a bit.
You could spring for a car wheel conversion. Harry Tarzian, owner of H.T.Wheels in central Pa., makes a decent wheel that looks very nice at a resonable price. Would not hurt to give him a call at (814) 349-2414.
If you happen to be heading to the upcoming Hack'd Reunion (Oct 1-3 Bunkhannon, W.VA.)look me up. I have a white BMW K100 with a homemade sidecar which will have a large cargo box on it. The bike has one of Harry's wheels front and rear. Harry may be there as well.
Claude

Thanks for the info & Harrys phone # Claude.
Does Harry offer 16 inch rim for harleys at a reasonable price?
Liberty sidecar makes one but it is very expensive( but probably worth the $$$).

Claude do you know if harry has a web site??????????

Thanks again
sidecar lenny

Sorry but Harry does not have a regular website..he is not too much up on computers etc..
Actually many that have Harleys have utilized the 'twin tire' which comes from Dauntless. If you go to the Dauntless website there is info there on them.This is a direct mount up car tire with a flat tread etc. The 16" rim size does not vary nearly as much between automobile and motorcycle so thi sis possible. As I mentioned before different rim sizes vary much more than others.
If someone really wanted a rim made Harry could do so but it is not necessary if the 16" twin tire is used.Note that Harry would tell ypou the same thing even though he would be passing up a possible wheel sale.
Hope this helps some.

Hi Claude

Thanks for the info. Claude.
I do know about the twin tire at Daunless and currently have AVON MKII
on my front and rear rims. They have worked well for me so far.
I have read alot of your recommendations about rims and tires and remember that you had stated you could get good generic car radial at a great price and get 15,000 miles or more out of them if you had the right rim that would accept them.
I was jsut trying to find out if anything new has come along.
Thanks again.
Glad to see you are better and wish I could be a thte rally and meet you
but family obligations prohibit me from attending.

Lenny,
Yes, I had previously mentioned getting 15" auto tires at a good price.It does depend on the size. The 165r15 tire has been purchased at Pep Boys for 38 bucks on sale. I have seen them up to 60 bucks as well. These have about a 26" rolling diameter which may be about the same as the motorcycle tire they are replacing. This is good in some ways but it is too bad in others. For instance if the speedometer runs off the transmission or the rear tire it's accuracy will not be off too much. The bad side is that the tire will not give any gear reduction due to the size of it. I am now running 135r15 tires in the front and the rear. These, at this point, are a little more expensive and a little harder to find. I have heard rumors that these may become more common due to some of the small cars coming out these days. This has not been seen as of yet though. The rolling dioameter on the 135 is around 23" so the sppedo deal is not a good thing...but... to me, it is a small issue compared to the gear reduction they provide. They also lower the bike which is usually not a bad thing handlking wise. Go to google and type in 'coker tire' for availability and pricing. Guessing them to be a little under 90 bucks.
Tire wear can be excellent if the rig is set up well. It also depends some on driving style. You mentioned 15,000 miles. I have heard of some who got much more than that but even 15 thou is pretty good for a tire that costs less than a cycle tire and looks kinda neat to boot.
Is it a good move money wise to spring for a car wheel? You have to be the judge of that I suppose. Yes, it can pay off with increased milage and better tire wear no doubt. The question may be how long will it take to recover the investment. Do the math. Get a price on a 491 dunlop cycle tire and figure it out. If someone is going to keep the bike and ride it a lot I think it is a great investment. The comporable would be price -vs- value. How much is the value of the increaded milage? How much is the value of a neat looking wheel and tire? Some have paid many many dollars just to look good when it comes to wheels on solo machines. At least on an outfit there is the practical truth to consider as well.
Harry's wheels are still priced very reasonably for what they are. There are others who can supply wheels as well so check around. Canadian Norm Potruff makes a decent wheel also at a decent price. EZS has wheels available but they do cost quite a bit more. Shop around there are others too.
Sorry for rambling.

Originally written by claude #3563 on 9/29/2004 1:20 PM

I am now running 135r15 tires in the front and the rear. These, at this point, are a little more expensive and a little harder to find. I have heard rumors that these may become more common due to some of the small cars coming out these days. This has not been seen as of yet though.

You'll be pleased to know, Claude, that the 'Smart' car, wearing 145/65R15's on the front and 175/55R15's on the rear, have just landed in Canada, 'Fresh off Boat'. Looks like sidecar friendly rubber is available in variety, again. The car should be available in the US market by 2006.

150/90-15 WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD CAR TIRE FOR THIS SIZE TO FIT A 2003 YAMAHA MIDNIGHT VENTURE ROYAL STAR?

my suzi runs a 155/60/15 BFGoodrich T/A on the bike, and a CTC 155/60/13 on the car,( factory wheels on both)...the tire shop in Beamsville Ont. was unaware a BFG was available in that size until I produced the copy from on-line research, ordered up , it was installed the next day,...25000 kms and it still looks new, good luck, crawf.

Have you checked out this site www.cartiresonmotorcycles.com They refer to it as the darkside.