I have a 15" Bug rim. I'll measure both the wheels and see how much difference there is. I've had to do work on steel car wheels before. It's amazing any of them work at all. All the ones I've seen had a ton of runout and wobble:o)
I'll post my findings here.
Originally written by Wngnut on 6/18/2009 1:32 PM
I have a 15" Bug rim. I'll measure both the wheels and see how much difference there is. I've had to do work on steel car wheels before. It's amazing any of them work at all. All the ones I've seen had a ton of runout and wobble:o)
I'll post my findings here.
Excellent!!!
Never exceed the manufacturers maximum pressure when mounting a tire - maybe a few pounds over - but ye gods - 100 psi??? The rubber is stretched off the steel wires that hold the tire onto the rim. When that happens the tire explodes. With the force of being dropped off the top of the Empire State building. Folks have been decapitated - killed - by tires exploding during fitment.
If you must do it - do it very slowly with lots of rubber lubricant. We have many cases of the larger - 145. 155, and 165 tires exploding wjen fitted to 15 inch MC rims. Seems the 125SR15 and the 135 SR15 are ok if very carefully fitted.
Not a problem with 16, 17, or 18 inch - just a matter of clearances.
Some have used 15" front wheel tractor wheels for wheels on MCs.
I used a 15 inch Honda cast wheel welded onto a 15 inch Laverda hub. For the 135SR15. wORKED FINE.
aS cLAUDE SAID - THIS HAS BEEN WORKED TO DEATH.
Ok, My new motorcycle rim and car tire have arrived. I'm going to measure them up in the next couple of days and post my findings.
The old rim on my Goldwing had been fixed and I don't trust it with the side loads that will be applied by the new sidecar.
Well I measured the car rim and the motorcycle rim. The diameters on the rims that I have measure exactly the same. One difference that I noted was the motorcycle rim had a little rounded bump that the tire would have to go over before it will seat. This bump is very small being about 1/16" tall and about 1/8" wide. The car tire measures 4" wide and the motorcycle tire measures 3" wide.
I'm thinking of turning the bump off. I'll get the motorcycle tire and measure it first. And see how it compares to the car tire.
Later, Wes
I beleive that bump helps keep the tire from flip flopping and comeing off when low on air, you may not want to turn it off. You want to see a bump look at a scooter rim sometime it's hard as hell to get the tire off, BTDT.
Yeah, I was thinking that. I just thought it would seat better? I've had a couple that were very hard to seat.
What do you guys that change your own tires use for lube? I have been using dawn dish soap.
Tire lubricant: from Michiln tires:
It is essential that only an approved tire mounting lubricant be used when mounting Michelin® Truck Tires. Vegetable oil soaps or animal oil soaps, in solution, are the preferred materials for use as bead lubricants. Never use antifreeze, gasoline, ether, silicones, or any petroleum based lubricants. Never dilute lubricants beyond that recommended by the manufacturer since this may have a harmful effect on the tire and wheel/rim.
An effective way is to put some pressure in, then let out, and repeat. Never use the 140 psi I saw in a previous post. I have been up front and personal on a few tire explosions. One at 70 psi. Not nice nor pretty. The explosion mentioned by Claude was from fitting a new Firestone 165-15 onto a 15 in MC rim. The sidecarist conned the Firestone dealer into fitting it for him. After the explosion he conned the dealer into letting him have another Firestone 165-15 but the dealer would not fit. He did it himself with his cousin helping him. When it exploded he was lucky. Got off with a busted collar bone and a few busted ribs. Others have been killed.. Force is about that of exploding a half a stick of dynamite.
Won't work..... Can't be done!!!! Will not fit. Been there, Tried that, Have the Tee shirt. I have a solution on the way though:o)
Wngnut - 7/18/2009 10:28 PM
Won't work..... Can't be done!!!! Will not fit. Been there, Tried that, Have the Tee shirt. I have a solution on the way though:o)
Hi, my first post here. I bought an 83 wing with a Califorina side car last july and my hubby has been trying to find out if a car tire will work on it. Most of what I have read says that it wont, then I saw here that you said you had a solution on the way. I was just wondering what it was and if it it worked. We realy love the rig but would also like to find a way to keep rubber on it longer and cheaper. Any help will be greatly appreaciated, thanks
Hi,
Welcome to the board!!!!!
Been pretty busy here. I was having some trouble so I decided to mount the original GW wheel and tire and sort things out this next winter. I want to get this sucker on the road!!!
I bought a used EML real wheel. I was going to mount it but ran into a couple of problems. The first problem was the bearing next to the pumpkin was a tad loose. I need to take the wheel apart to fix it. I'll just bore it out and install a sleeve. The second problem is the drive hub on a 1984 GL1200 is different than one for a 1987. The wheel was made for a 87. But I heard that a drive hub for a 1988 would work. I bought one on EBay and It looks good. I still have to fix the bearing hole to see if the hub will work for sure, But it looks good. While it is apart I'll strip the paint and powder coat things to match my bike.
There are a couple guys that build wheels one is Harry Tarzan and the other goes by the moniker Stoker on the ADV rider board. Plus I think Claude might be able to help you out?
The EML website is here. http://www.emlsidecar.com/starteng.htm
Good luck!! Wes
Wngnut, why don't you just send your wheel to Kosman Specialties and have an automotive bead put on your wheel? I think they charge around $400 or so. I think you have the choice of maintaining your original wheel diameter, or increasing it by an inch.
arbalest
Have you had Kosman do this? If Kosman will do it for $400, I'm sending my wheel tomorrow. I talked to Harry a few months ago, and he wanted ...twelve...hundred...dollars to weld a centerline rim onto my GL1200 rear hub.
Mitch
lillisa - 9/3/2009 7:46 PM
Wngnut - 7/18/2009 10:28 PM
Won't work..... Can't be done!!!! Will not fit. Been there, Tried that, Have the Tee shirt. I have a solution on the way though:o)
Hi, my first post here. I bought an 83 wing with a Califorina side car last july and my hubby has been trying to find out if a car tire will work on it. Most of what I have read says that it wont, then I saw here that you said you had a solution on the way. I was just wondering what it was and if it it worked. We realy love the rig but would also like to find a way to keep rubber on it longer and cheaper. Any help will be greatly appreaciated, thanks
The 82 and 83 1100's use a 16" rear rim and tire. Shouldn't be an issue according to some of the other posters in this thread. I'll find out in a month or 2 when i find the right tire to go on my 82 1100.
