Skip to content

USCA Sidecar Forum

For some extra information about navigating the forum you can go to Forum Tips

Please to create posts and topics.

Rear tire replacement size to the Darkside

I am riding a 1996 Goldwing SE with a Champion Escort sidecar. Bought it last year and put about 3000kms on it running a bike tire on the front end, car tire on the back that the bike came with. I see there is a lot of controversy over the use of car tires on motorcycles. I was very interested in installing car tires on both the front and back of the bike as I have no intentions of riding the bike without the sidecar. After doing a little research I found lots of peoples OPINIONS in regards to this practice. Spoke with several two wheeled riders who have logged in several miles on their CRUISERS using a car tire on the back, even found a two wheeled rider who was looking to change his front tire out to a car tire. There was also another fella that I found on a forum that went to the extent of having a rim modified and welded back together to accommodate a car tire onto his bike, a practice I would highly NOT recommend doing (As a Journeyman welder I was taught that that is something you just DON'T do) And then I came across this..... http://trafficsafe.org/index.php/trafficsafe-investigates-riding-on-the-dark-side-1683/ ............ It seems like a silly idea to me to put a car tire or 2 car tires on a TWO wheeled motorcycle, but I don't ride a Two wheeler. This winter I installed a Leading link front end on the bike as well as a 4.00 - 18 Metzeler Block-K on the factory rim on the front end. Everything fit like a glove on the front end and I am amazed at how well the leading link front end helps keep the side car pushed into the ground in a right hand turn. After inspecting the rear tire, I noticed that it needs to be replaced. There is currently a Vredestien Sprint classic size 155 SR15 82S on the back which kind of concerned me as everything I can find online in regards to the "Darkside" is pointing me to a 175/75 R16 for my 96 Wing. I know that it is a 16" rim so why and how in the hell did the mechanic before me get a 15" tire on the rim?!!!!!!! I have seen a lot of guys bragging about how great the Austone taxi tire is on the Steve Saunders Goldwing forum. Putting MC tires on my rig is pointless to me as my bike does not lean and I have no intentions on riding this bike without the hack. Can anyone out there point me in the right direction?

Jay

Never ride faster than your angel can fly

RedDevilsHack - 3/9/2014 11:11 AM There is currently a Vredestien Sprint classic size 155 SR15 82S,,, I know that it is a 16" rim so why and how in the hell did the mechanic before me get a 15" tire on the rim?!!!!!!! Can anyone out there point me in the right direction?

http://www.pearlevision.com/Smile

I suspect it is not a 16" rim if you are reading the tire size correctly.

Lots of guys run car tires on their hacks. Sidecar wheel-yes; rear wheel-yes; front wheel-yes if you have leading links or a center hub setup. In fact, the slang term for a car tire on the rear is a "car pusher." Very common practice.

However, these hacks usually have car wheels too, and the car tires are automatically a good fit on these wheels. Where things start to get dicey is when you try to mount a car tire on a motorcycle rim (darksiding). Bike rims have a different bead shape and moto tires are manufactured to fit this shape. Car tires are made to fit the shape of car wheel beads. Nevertheless, some car tires seem to seat just fine on some motorcycle rims and hold their bead even under duress.

One darksiding oddity I've run into is that a 15" car tire should NEVER be mounted on a 15" motorcycle rim. Other sizes, it'll vary whether a combo will work or not. Just something about 15's makes it a dangerous practice.

I agree with Sidewise--if your Vredestein is a 155 SR15 (SR means steel belted radial) then you have a 15 inch rim. No ifs ands or buts. You should probably measure the width. If it's 4" wide (likely) then you can probably use a 165/80-15 or even a 175/65-15. But you should probably try to figger out if it's a car wheel or not. I suspect it is.

Got any pictures?

The folks over on the Hacks section of Adventure Rider tend to be a bit more technical than the group here. A good starting place if you want to do more research on this topic is here--

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=893409

But I've googled around a bit and it seems that if you can locate an OEM 16" Honda rim for your Wing then there are quite a few car tires that should work fine as pushers.

Hi RedDevil, it appears you may have a aftermarket 15" wheel that permits the mounting of the 15" automobile tires - which is not a bad thing. Best option may be to simply pull the wheel to see what you have to properly access your options.

Lee / Summer Grove, Louisiana: Ural cT, CJ750, Burgman/Texas Ranger, Zuma 50F, MB5, TW200, CRF250L, GTV300