I've got about 1000 miles on the rig since I put it together and it has pretty much worn out the Cheng-Shin rear tire that was on it. Can anyone reccomend a good sidecar tire that is 4.50X17"? I have been looking around for a square profile sidecar tire and all I've found is Avon's, it's 19" so it won't fit.
I talked to the guys at Coker Tire, they reccomended this tire http://store.coker.com/prod/450-17-excelsior-blackwall-tire.html
It is rated at 900lbs and 93mph. I don't think it's sidecar specific but it's a sqare profile tube type. Has anyone on here dealt with Coker Tire before?
Corker Tire has been around for a VERY long time, if you have a antique car you go to Corker, if you have a nostalgia Hot Rod you go to corker, if they have what you can use feel safe in knowing that it is what they say it is and can do what they say it can do.
Any bona fide motorcycle tire will meet sidecar weight and speed ratings, some will exceed the ratings and you'll be spending more than you need to. Sidecar tires are usually 'rear fitment only'. Air pressure is important. For instance my FLHRI calls for 5 lbs. less air in my sidecar tire than my rear tire and they are the same model tire, hence the square wear pattern.
Dunlop makes a Police model tire, which supposedly wears twice as long....black wall only.
Check out their site and see if they have your size.
Are you asking about the "sidecar" tire that fits on the rear wheel of the tug, or the one on the sidecar?From my limited experience the tire on the sidecar will last forever (or at least a long time).
Greg, sorry for the confusion, I'm talking about the tire on the rear of the tug. I'm looking for something a little more heavy duty, one of my friends who has a BMW/Ural rig uses the Avons and says he gets about 3X the wear of a normal tire. I posted some pictures to my album that show my tire wear. I haven't noticed any wear on the sidecar tire or the front tire of the motorcycle.
http://www.sidecar.com/megabbs/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=358
The tire was about 50% when I put the sidecar on it, and I've put 1000 miles on it. My friend suggested that I may need to have another go around with setting toe and lean or that I may want to stop driving so aggressively if I want to get better tire life. 🙂 Accellerating hard through the corners is so much fun though....
Ditch,
The Dunlop tire was also suggested to me, I haven't looked it up yet. I've just been running max pressure in the rear tire since I don't have a reccomended pressure for the bike with the sidecar attached.
One person told me that the Coker tire won't work because it is designed for a car rim and they are different. I did tell their rep exactly what I wanted it for and he said it would fit though. Does anyone know about the difference between an old tube type car rim and tube type motorcycle rim?
The Dunlop 491 Elite II is what is reccomended by the local shop that used to have a CB750/Vetter outfit that they built and ran around in. It's about $160.
Well the one or other will laugh, but I am happy with the check MITAS tires originally on the JAWA. They are something for a small and light rig nothing for a heavy one. They have preaty heavy side walls and a reasonably grippy thread rubber, allthough they are nothing for raceing they work fine on the rig on wet roads and gravel.
Now as single I wouldn't go down too much, but that might be more because I still have the main s/c mount below the foot peg and I hit already the ground with it. That means it has less to do because of the rubber but my lazyness to take of the exaust pipe first and have to fiddle longer when I will put on the sidecar again.
The occasion the importer put me a chineese tire on the back was horrible. I cannot recommend them at all. Week sidewalls, no grip, extremely fast worn in less then 2000km. It felt like gelatine and drifted even in the slightest bend.
Best regards
Sven Peter
