15" car tire on HD

They don't like to talk about what you are doing on this site. Check your USCA inbox. I've sent you a reply.

akathetroll wrote: "They don't like to talk about what you are doing on this site."

Who is this "They" of which you speak?

I want to hear what other people are doing technically on this site and specific numbers certainly help.

Lonnie
Northwest Sidecar

Lonnie,
"They" are the ones that get so worked up when someone talks about mounting a 15" auto tire on a 15" motorcycle rim without mods. "They" are very concerned about safety from their view point/knowledge.

Of which, I just had one mounted by a shop after showing them all the posted reasons not to. I previously posted a 1500LC-C90 forum that has members that have run 15" auto tires for many miles on solo bikes. It did take 80 psi to seat the bead not 120 psi like they talked. I plan to run 40 psi. My local shop has no problem mounting an auto tire to my rim in the future.

Later this summer after some riding time, I plan to post my thoughts and specific numbers. I'm not promoting that others do it. I've done it after a lot of research and decided it was safe for ME. At this point, I can only talk about mounting because I don't have any riding miles on the 15" auto tire yet. The SKUNK Rally in June will be a good place for some others to view.

Originally written by akathetroll on 2/21/2007 4:33 PM

It did take 80 psi to seat the bead not 120 psi like they talked. I plan to run 40 psi. .

This part scares me Wayne. I was a Jaguar mechanic before I got into computer work. We had the tire machine regulated to 36 pounds. That's the most I've ever used to seat a bead. I can't imagine what 80 pounds did to the structural integrity of that tire. Ride carefully.

Dear Wayne,
The original poster stated he had gotten a 15" 'car size wheel'. This sounds like a car wheel to me. So the comment on 'they' maybe was not warranted regarding that post?
Regardles of that,Yes, it has been stated here and other places that mounting a car tire on a 15" motorcycle rim is not recomended.
There have been articles in magazines showing pictures of sidewall blowouts.
There has been pictures of this posted at SCT.
Why? What's the big deal?
There are size diferences that make the 15" tire hard to mount on a motorcycle rim and there have been documented injuries when people tried to mount them. The 'They' you refer to feel that a warning is in order due to this.
'They' also had concerns as to whether there may be damage to the tire even if it did mount sucessfully. (As Mike wrote...Mike are you a 'they'?)
'They' also know that there have been 15" car tires mounted with little problems by some.
THE POINT THAT 'THEY ' WERE TRYING TO MAKE WAS THAT THERE CAN BE PROBLEMS WHEN MOUNTING A 15" CAR TIRE ON A 15" MOTOCYCLE RIM. Simple.
So, if 'they' didn't warn newbies about these concerns then 'they ' might feel bad if someone did get hurt.
If the other 'theys' want to try it then that is their decision. It is then up to the other 'theys' to assume the responsibility of the outcome.
Could be good or could be bad but the main thing is that all the 'theys' at least had a chance to talk about it first....right?
So from one 'they ' to another 'they ' I hope it works out for you. After all if it does what will 'they' say then?
We are all in this together anyhow....hope both 'theys' agree to that.

Originally written by SidecarMike on 2/21/2007 7:36 PM

Originally written by akathetroll on 2/21/2007 4:33 PM

It did take 80 psi to seat the bead not 120 psi like they talked. I plan to run 40 psi. .

This part scares me Wayne. I was a Jaguar mechanic before I got into computer work. We had the tire machine regulated to 36 pounds. That's the most I've ever used to seat a bead. I can't imagine what 80 pounds did to the structural integrity of that tire. Ride carefully.

And we shouldn't speak about the old starter fluid trick or sitting a very overinflated tire out in the sun till it pops on the bead or..or ..or.
Lots of stuff can be done, has been done and will be done. Lots of times it worked and some times it didn't. The results have varied from 'no problem' to 'remeber the time' to ' Too bad about him he was an okay guy'...but...so it goes.

Claude,
Right or wrong, it was my decision. Time will tell. If it blows, I'll hear "we told you so". If it doesn't, "he was just plain lucky". I still respect the thoughts of "theys".

LoL..You got it Wayne 🙂

yes - its a CAR size wheel & the tire went right on - this has NOTHING to do with the 15" car tire on a 15" motorcycle wheel issue...

so this works - for now...

the factory wheel is rated at 906lb.. the 15" 145sr15 is rated at 996lb plus it has more tread plus its a radial tire

for later, way later.....

all harley series now have a version with radial tires - it appears that any new made parts get radial tires - ie they are doing a running change over - i fully expect to be able to revert to motorcycle radials sometime later this year - the drag is that the rears so far are all 17" and the fronts 17" or 18" so its three new wheels - but within 12 months it will be possible to run radials all around on motorcycle wheels - in fact if a sidecar was ordered to go on a SE road king now it would have radials all around. the current tires and wheels already are availiable and work on the fronts - its the rears that are a problem - the first road king with a rear radial came out in aug, i saw one in sept.. radial touring tires front and rear -

and now hd is sourcing tires from michelin starting in a few months..

oh well

to

Is the wheel laced? I would like more details on what exactly you did.

KC

I had a car size wheel made, its solid aluminum

to

Now were are getting somewhere! Did you go to a machine shop? I am wondering if a laced set could be made. I have heard of it being done before, but to a much bigger rear tire. I will still like to stay with my standard HD size. Why haven't any tire companies started to build more sidecar specific tires? According to this board, there is a demand for them.

well.. all the other bike wheel sizes are nearly the same as the car sizes so there are many cases where a car tire will just go on.

15" is different - the wheels are NOT the same size.

HD rear fenders and swingarms wont handle a larger tire - yet & so far the touring tires have all been bias ply tires and not very long lasting in sidecar service.

the 2007 SE road king has radials front and rear - i fully expect this whole issue to more or less go away over the next few years

to

Harry Tarzian of H T Wheels out of central Pa. has done some Harley Wheel conversions. He uses a Centerline aluminum wheel with a Harley center hub to make a new wheel.The tire is a 165R15 which is a radial. Yes, welding in involved. You may want to talk to him. His number is 814 349 2414. Harry is a friend but I have no assocoation with his wheel buisness. We also do wheels at C Stanley Motorsportsd but are not geared up to do Harley wheels at this time. The wheels that we are presently doing have no welding invloved.
I think Harry's wheels are around $750 at thsi time but you will have to check with him. This is an excellent price compared to some. When thinking of doing a whell conversion for a car tire ,especially in this type of situation, you must realize we are now talking about a tire that typically retails for around 40 bucks!! Add to that the fact that we have seen these tires going 20k on a sidecar rig with much tread left on them and the economics begin to make even more sense.
Note that there are sources to have a one off billet CNC machined wheel made but you will pay dearly for it as a one time deal.
For a laced wheel conversion you may want to check with Buchannon Wheel. Thye are THE spoked wheel authorities! Do a google seach for them.