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130/90 -16 tire

I have a Heritage sidecar and the tire doesn’t last 6 mos.  Has anyone fitted a car tire on the car and what did you use ? If one isn’t available, what would be the hardest compound tire for it?

130/90 - 16

what kind of mileage is going with the six months,,, it sounds like you may have an alignment issue if you are going through tires that fast  

 

Thane Lewis has reacted to this post.
Thane Lewis
USCA # 8913

What tire are you running now.

Back in the 1930's a 130 16 tire was a good choice. Over the years bikes got heavier, speeds increased and this tire size became more and more inadequate however some manufactures stuck with it as how it looks for some companies is far more important then how it worked. Harley still runs it on many bikes, it was not until 2009 that on the FLH type bikes they finally put a better tire size.

As sidecar wheels are not in line with the rear wheel of the bike when you turn you are scuffing the tire. If the sidecar tire was in line with the rear tire of the bike then there would be no scuffing and steering effort would be greatly reduced however it would be like taking the right front wheel off of your car. It would want to fall over. This is called wheel lead.

It is not uncommon to get only about 5000 miles out of this size tire on a modern bike with a sidecar. We use to have an automotive tire that solved this problem however it is long out of production. As such there are no good options, just less bad options. You could have a custom wheel built for a 125 15 tire, expensive, the tire is not easy to come by nor cheap. You could widen the rear of the bike allowing for  all kinds of different wheels and tires. Again expensive to do.

You could change bikes to one where an automotive tire can be ran on the rear.

There are antique car tires you some times can find however then tend to be larger O.D. Not last all that long and be expensive.

Or, you can resign your self to the fact that you will be changing rear tires often. With this route one school of thought is to go with the least expensive tire you can find that has the needed load and speed ratings. In general it cost to make rubber soft as such less expensive tires tend to be harder rubber, we are not worried about falling over when you have a sidecar so harder rubber makes sense in that it tends to last a bit longer. Even if the cheap tire does not last longer, at least it was less expensive.

Jay G
DMC sidecars

http://www.dmcsidecars.com

Thane Lewis has reacted to this post.
Thane Lewis
Jay G DMC sidecars www.dmcsidecars.com 15616 Carbonado South Prairie RD Buckley WA 98321 866-638-1793 Hours Monday - Thursday 6-4:30

130/90 - 16 is a front tire. the wheel is a front wheel. You can do anything if time,and cost are worth it. A car tire on the sidecar is a big plus.

There are many car tires that will fit the 16 inch rear wheel the front wheel is a different story. These numbers give you an idea what you need to track down. When I have time I will do some searching. 7.7 wide would likely be to wide. And may not fit wheel right.

130/90 b16 is

25.2 inches tall 5. 1 inch wide

195/60R16 is

25.2 tall

7.7 wide

 

   Can it be done yes with work. On my 750 Street with sidecar I switched to 15 inchWheel to a match 15 in wheel on the bike and both bike rear and sidecar run the same car tire. It required I cut wheel hub down and change axle.

Got rid of the cheap 16 inch tire that was on it and get amazing tire life now.

I use a 195/55 16 tire on the rear was just curious about the sidecar. The issue is I have an Indian fender which is narrow and limits what I can use.