the center of the sidecar tire is worn dead even - i suspect that its a combination of the really wide radial rear tire and the relative low amount of miles there is a passenger in the sidecar. its completely obvious after a couple hundred miles with a passenger that the tire contact is more even than when empty. running it at 26 or 28 lb makes it wear smoother but makes left hand turns real squishy. ive run some of the twin tires but mine are now all over 8 years old & that is just too old so i took them off. the michelin rear tire is 5 years old & by all accounts thats fine. if i ever have a reason to change bikes again i think ill get a wreck and rebuild it and put / purchase / build a wide tire kit to run a 200+ 16" radial on the rear rather than the 15" tire. for the moment there are no tires that will fit in the harley front fender that are auto radials & no 16" motorcycle radial fronts. but there are 17" and 18" radial fronts that will fit - but its a lot of bux to lace up a wheel and change the tire - i can wear out 3 or 4 sidecar stock tires for the cost of the conversion - but the rear is such a total PITA to change and work on that its the one that i want to last 20+ k if possible. my rear drive belt has a hole in it now - whenever i change the tire ill have to change the belt - its not much bux but its a LOT of work.
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We all proabably agree that the tire that usually gets the most rapid wear is the rear tire on an outfit. If fitting a car tire on the rear of a rig gives a lot better wear back there, even at increased wear on a sidecar tire, it is still a big plus. Sidecar tires are much easier to change that rear tires on most bikes.
claude #3563 - 10/19/2009 5:45 AM
We all proabably agree that the tire that usually gets the most rapid wear is the rear tire on an outfit. If fitting a car tire on the rear of a rig gives a lot better wear back there, even at increased wear on a sidecar tire, it is still a big plus. Sidecar tires are much easier to change that rear tires on most bikes.
I agree that it's nice to have a rear riee that wears longer. Having said that, I can't imagine it making any difference at all in sidecar tire wear. If the sidecar tire is wearing out, it's almost certainly misalignment.
I've simply never had the problem. Usually when you see an old Harley sidecar, it's got a rotten, original tire on it.
It's a nice theory but no cigar as as far as I'm concerned.
ive double checked the alignment and its right on - less than 1/4"
the wear pattern when the car is empty is about 1.25" wide at most - loaded its nearly three inches wide but empty the two center ribs dont even touch the full width.
if i let some air out of the tire down to 26 or so i get a wear pattern that gets out to the second set of ribs but handling on left hand turns get squishy.
the tire that wore out the fastest was the twin tire i had on there - it just went away - the rear 15" radial shows almost no wear and the front is showing almost no wear. the twin tire front wore out in less than 10k. i purchased a number of twin tires - blew one rear, wore out two fronts, wore out one sidecar. this spring i replaced the two remaining twin tires - the sidecar was on the wear bars bad at less than 7k, the front was 3/4 worn out at 7k.
it is worth it to add in here - its not been uncommon for me to run through a tank of gas on the freeway with the cruise set on 85 fully loaded. when im on the back roads two up im always trying to keep up with the solo bikes.
most of the miles are me alone driving to work & that is where the little narrow center gets worn.
pie in the sky id put a 15" michelin on the sidecar, id bet the tire would have to get changed strictly from age.
of course pie in the sky id buy a wrecked 07, do the engine, true. weld, plug, timken, 103, 255's & do a swing arm that will hold a 2xx r16 & lace up spoked front and side with 15" steel car size wheels, kick start, weld on sidecar mounts & lower the car to 5" clearance.
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One of your Twin tire wear problems could be due to the fact that they are obsolete tires that could be several years old. The tread compound doesn't age that well and some have also had carcass failures with old Twin tires.
Lonnie
Hack'n - 10/19/2009 2:34 PM
One of your Twin tire wear problems could be due to the fact that they are obsolete tires that could be several years old. The tread compound doesn't age that well and some have also had carcass failures with old Twin tires.
Lonnie
Yes, get new tires and then check things out as you go. Old tires can indeed do strange things.
i had one carcas failure
then this winter i dug into the date codes and took the two that were still in service off
until this past winter i never knew that tires expired, now they say not to mount a tire over 5 years old and to remove any tire from service thats over 8 years old....
so it goes
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Now you have me wondering ....I have had lousy pusher wear. My first tire was the original Dunlop on the bike. The bike is a 2001 Road King but had just 1000_ miles on it when I bought it so the tire was 8 years old when I started riding on it. My second tire got about the same mileage as the first.. Where do you find the date info on a tire?
scrinch - 10/19/2009 3:09 PM
Now you have me wondering ....I have had lousy pusher wear. My first tire was the original Dunlop on the bike. The bike is a 2001 Road King but had just 1000_ miles on it when I bought it so the tire was 8 years old when I started riding on it. My second tire got about the same mileage as the first.. Where do you find the date info on a tire?
Here
Hey there to all just wondering how asking for some pics. (front and back ) of (if possible)
a 2000-2006 HD rig after being put together and aligned...changed this thread to tire wear...?
I know that proper alignment has alot to do with tire wear but that wasn't what I was searching
for heck I guess it doesn't necessarily have to be a HD rig just thought since mine was HD that's
what I'd ask for pics. of...? My car is already attached and aligned but since my rode run off back
in april and flying the car a few times and now getting closer to some winter down time I was
looking at my rig the other day and it looked (optical illusion?) like it leans towards the car more
than some pics. of others I've seen...there are no brackets,bolts ,nut etc., loose so what gives?
That was my reason for asking for pics. of front and rear shots of HD or other rigs...? Magnetic
protractor that's some serious belly crawling...lol. Is that with the hard bags out of the way I
hope not the 1 on the car side as I've already scratched paint a couple of times even getting
that sob out and clear of bike...anyway Thanks again for your time sorry for the book this time
around...=)
ophiophilia - 10/19/2009 8:06 PM
Hey there to all just wondering how asking for some pics. (front and back ) of (if possible)
a 2000-2006 HD rig after being put together and aligned...changed this thread to tire wear...?
I know that proper alignment has alot to do with tire wear but that wasn't what I was searching
for heck I guess it doesn't necessarily have to be a HD rig just thought since mine was HD that's
what I'd ask for pics. of...? My car is already attached and aligned but since my rode run off back
in april and flying the car a few times and now getting closer to some winter down time I was
looking at my rig the other day and it looked (optical illusion?) like it leans towards the car more
than some pics. of others I've seen...there are no brackets,bolts ,nut etc., loose so what gives?
That was my reason for asking for pics. of front and rear shots of HD or other rigs...? Magnetic
protractor that's some serious belly crawling...lol. Is that with the hard bags out of the way I
hope not the 1 on the car side as I've already scratched paint a couple of times even getting
that sob out and clear of bike...anyway Thanks again for your time sorry for the book this time
around...=)
I would bet that the two U-bolts slipped on the rear frame section. That often happens with the U-bolts. I solved that problem wiht a steel cap. Stay tuned. I'm goint to start making them by next Spring.
As to the issue of the thread changing from your original quesition, I'm truly shocked. that has never happened berore to my knowledge on the internet. LOL.
"Magnetic protractor that's some serious belly crawling."
Just make sure the front wheel is straight and use the protractor on the disc - no belly crawling. 🙂 🙂
ive had several rounds of the rear clamp moving - its VERY irritating
if i ever do a new rig ill make my own rear mount assy
i keep mulling over how to get the stability that the cars had that mounted on rigid frames where the rear of the car bolted right to the rear frame casting without pushing vibration back through the frame
*sigh* it makes my head hurt & what i have works fine - just no room for the kick lever *pout*
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GNM109 - What do you mean "steel cap"? Can you give us a pic or a drawing?
With the front bike wheel pointing straight ahead you can use the magnetic angle guage on a front rotor and get your lean-out reading.
This is not rocket science!
Lonnie
