Darkside changeover

Hi Lonnie, I've read a lot of your posts with interest but have not replied until now. I wasn't aware you could fit a car tyre to a 16" Harley rim, I'm running AVON on the rear of my '05 Sportster. Is it possible to fit a car tyre onto a Sportster rear ?? I've not heard of it being done without modifications to the rim. I thought the rim was too narrow, are later rims wider? Could I change the rear wheel on my Sporster for one off a later model that will accept a car tyre?

Any advise greatly appreciated.

Sean.

Sean Hogan - 7/29/2011 2:08 AM

... I thought the rim was too narrow, are later rims wider?....

Sean, I will let Lonnie address the technical aspects, but we have 3.00-inch wide rims on our Sportsters, but Lonnnie's 2010 FLHxxx should have a 5.00-inch wide rim -- plus a wider swingarm for the wider wheel.

By the way, it sure look's good Lonnie. Jena sure appreciates the extra braking traction of the auto tire on the rear of her Burgman rig.

Sean, there are a couple of tube-type options that should mount on our narrow wheels/swingarms, but I prefer tubeless tires (tyres?).

Sean Hogan - 7/29/2011 2:08 AM

Hi Lonnie, I've read a lot of your posts with interest but have not replied until now. I wasn't aware you could fit a car tyre to a 16" Harley rim, I'm running AVON on the rear of my '05 Sportster. Is it possible to fit a car tyre onto a Sportster rear ?? I've not heard of it being done without modifications to the rim. I thought the rim was too narrow, are later rims wider? Could I change the rear wheel on my Sporster for one off a later model that will accept a car tyre?

Any advise greatly appreciated.

Sean.

I have a Firestone/Bridgestone 195/60-16 car tire mounted on a four inch wide rim on my Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 in place of the stock 170/70-16. When you mount a tire to a rim, the mounted width of the tire will vary based on the width of your rim in comparison to what is called the measuring rim width. If your rim is narrower than the measuring rim width, the result will be a narrower than standard tire section width when mounted. The opposite is true if you mount on a wider rim than the measuring rim width. The measuring rim width for my 195 tire is 5.4 inches. Mounting it on a four inch rim results in a reduction in mounted section width of approximately .6 inches (i.e. six tenths of an inch).

Go to www.tirerack.com and then search for an article called "Calculating Approximate Tire Dimensions" for all of the technical details to help you with sizing, mounted tire size, etc.

I have a 6" wide rear rim so the dimensions are compatible with the tire spec charts. The Sporty uses a narrow rim and has a narrow swingarm. The early Harleys used Firestone 500/16's on 3" rims but they are tube type tires. Coker has them if they fit your swingarm width clearance.

L.

Sure wish I could make the switch Lonnie, but I've still got the narrow rear rim on my '96 FLH. Rolled the clock over to 111,000 on the way home from John Day. Maybe it's time for a new bike with a wide rear wheel. Don't think that's gonna happen if I want to stay married to Barb.

there are 500r16 radial car tires available - will "probably" fit

Timo
last year or earlier this year you were trying out a coker tire that sounded like it might fit my Harley rig.
Was it a good tire? Did you have any issues with it? Does it seem to be of modern construction?
Joe

ive run it a few thousand miles so far - no noticable wear - has a nice flat profile, does not get hot, handles well. i wont know for a year if its more durable than the stock tire - but it drives nicer than the stock tire and will fit in the old frame.

it seems to be modern construction and it is steel belted radial but its tube type tire

for me thats no biggie since im running all spoked wheels & have to run tubes.

its actually the size of the old pre 06 harley rear tire when mounted on a 3.5" rim. it would still fit fine on my 07 mounted on a 4" rim... when this tire gets old ill try mounting one on my stock 3" rim - if it will fit then ill just change wheels when the time comes. old hd stock wheels are cheap to keep around.

before i put it on the bike i measured the tire, mounted and aired up - i am pretty sure it will fit all three corners of my 07 but im still planning on running a dunlop front and sidecar tire for now as the added foot print would potentially just use more gas to push around - the tread is 4.5" wide on the ground and the sidecar dunlop is only running 2" wide on the road at 28psi.

its about the same price as a harley dunlop...

to

The tire you are running is the 500r16 radial car tire from coker?
Sorry I lost track of the post in which you identified it.
Joe

yes its the 500r16 radial

The 25 inch overall diameter of the 500r16 is just about right -- better than the 26/+ of the 500/525-16 bias ply tires. If the 500r16 will spoon onto the 3 inch & 3-1/2 inch rims, it should be a great option for us folks with skinny wheels. Too bad it requires a tube; I really appreciate the ability to plug a tubeless tire on the side of the road (another one last month on the 2-wheeler).

the 500r16 from coker goes on a 3.5" just fine

i found a 80 spoke steel 3.5" x 16 on ebay for a hundred bux

the only issue is the tube stem takes way too much dexterity to get it unscrewed... grrrr

i have a 80 spoke 4" rim with a side stem hole that id rather use but a hub and set of spokes are real money

to

Lonnie,
I will be in need of a rear tire as well. I have an 09 Street Glide with a Liberty SC. What size tire did you mount and is it a little less in diameter? Did you have any problems mounting it on your wheel? And finally, why did you pick that brand? Sorry for so many questions.

Sam

High performance sport radial. 195/55/R16 Not too many brands offer this size. Cost is about $200.00 less than the Harley 180 Dunlop and it will last about 4 times as long. Original tire was worn out at 7K.
GPS shows about the same error as the stock worn OEM tire. Tight fit, 1/8" belt clearance. Ride is softer than original Dunlop.

L.