Car tire on rear for 2009 and up HD

The newer frame HD 2009 and up is different than the older ones. My 2017 RGU has a stock 180/185-16. After a lot of home work I learned a few things.

1. 195/60 R16 is a prefect fit. Works out the the same height so no issues with speed. Wider but no issue. at .59 wider you have some room even if tire lost some air.

2. 205/55 R16 will also fit but lower and wider. While it clears there is no wiggle room.

3. They make car tires that are called wheel/rim savers. They have extra rubber on the side wall curb side to protect fancy wheels. great on a car but they will cause clearance issue if used on the bike.

4. 195/60 R16 are a little less common but you can get them, most places.

I will not get into the debate about Car tires on a non sidecar bike. I did put a 195/60 R16 Hankook OPTIMO H426 on mine. Also used Ride on for balance. It has been on a while and winter riding is great. It will ride through snow the stock tire could not, and works much better on ice. Drive ways I could not get up with stock tire it rides right up. I just returned from a 500 cool ride on dry roads. It was higher speed Highway riding for the most part. The rig handled great.

5. There are two different types of tire out there Symmetrical and Asymmetrical. Symmetrical tires have a tread pattern that is the same across the inner and outer portions of the tire.

Asymmetrical tires have a tread pattern that is different across the width of the tire. When looking at an asymmetrical tire the inner and outer tread patterns will not be the same.

For use with your rig you may wish to stay with Symmetrical tire.

6. This tire calculator may be of use to some. https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=180-65r16-195-60r16

Good report Robert Thank you

SideCar

Has anyone looked into the side motion of the rear wheel and the side wheel, The reason I am saying this is because it is oppisite for a car tire on a trailer, a no-no?

A friend of mine always puts car tires on the rear of his Gold Wing ... I can not ride behind him. Seeing that tire lift up on the edge of the tread just gives me the willy's ... he's got like 150K on his wing and he's been doing this since the oem tires wore off ... I just can't wrap my head around it.

Sounds like Robert is running a sidecar, so no leaning in either left or right direction = full contact patch of tire staying in contact with the road surface. (UNLESS he's into "spirited" riding)

Win~win in my book!...

If you're reading this Robert, what is the measurement between inner rails of your swingarm?

peteg59 said:

Sounds like Robert is running a sidecar, so no leaning in either left or right direction = full contact patch of tire staying in contact with the road surface. (UNLESS he's into "spirited" riding)

Win~win in my book!...

If you're reading this Robert, what is the measurement between inner rails of your swingarm?

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Yes I am running a sidecar. And the Car tire is working great. Heading to TN with it in 13 days. I will have to measure it. Plenty of room with this size the 205/55R16 would have left very little. Even a low tire would have been an issue. Remember if you go this route, stay away from so called rim protector tires, they have a wide sidewall.

Don't have to run a side rig to run a CT on a bike. I'm currently running a 205/55R16 on my 07 Road King. And there is no room to wiggle.

Eggman said:

Don't have to run a side rig to run a CT on a bike. I'm currently running a 205/55R16 on my 07 Road King. And there is no room to wiggle.

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How did you get that on an 07 ?

It wasn't too hard to do. Couple of shoe horns, a fender stretcher, tubing stretcher, and a little grease.

Seriously, it is not for the feint of heart. Once I had the frame tubing marked, I looked at it for several hours before actually cutting it. I used a modified 2009 rear frame, swing arm, axle, and fender. Made a couple of rear wheel axle spacers to align the rim/tire in the frame. Had to get a 24 mm belt and do a little clearancing on the frame welds. Added a pulley and a disc spacer with new wheel/hub for the tire. Made a couple of new welds that weren't overly huge but still got the job done.

Eggman said:

It wasn't too hard to do. Couple of shoe horns, a fender stretcher, tubing stretcher, and a little grease.

Seriously, it is not for the feint of heart. Once I had the frame tubing marked, I looked at it for several hours before actually cutting it. I used a modified 2009 rear frame, swing arm, axle, and fender. Made a couple of rear wheel axle spacers to align the rim/tire in the frame. Had to get a 24 mm belt and do a little clearancing on the frame welds. Added a pulley and a disc spacer with new wheel/hub for the tire. Made a couple of new welds that weren't overly huge but still got the job done.

View attachment 71570View attachment 71571

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Scary but cool I will give you that The 195/60R16 would have been about 1/2 inch narrower .

I knew that would be the widest that I could put on it. Had both of them in the basket and went with the 205. I'm figuring this winter when I do some other stuff, I'll go to the 195. All I can tell you is that it rides and stops like no other. I like it. Took a bit to get used to it though, not going to kid ya.

Eggman said:

I knew that would be the widest that I could put on it. Had both of them in the basket and went with the 205. I'm figuring this winter when I do some other stuff, I'll go to the 195. All I can tell you is that it rides and stops like no other. I like it. Took a bit to get used to it though, not going to kid ya.

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On the sidecar rig the car tire rear has worked great . I ride in the winter in Wisconsin the difference was amazing. I went with the 195/60 for two reasons . The clearance on width is better should you get a low tire. The 205 was pushing it. And on mine the tire came out prefect on height it was the same so that was a plus. I salute your effort getting that on an 07 frame.

Currently setting up the car tire for my other rig . A Street 750 with sidecar. 15 inch wheel according to some won't work but proved yesterday it does now I have to get a new tire and get it mounted.

Some forget years back motorcycle wheel got a raised lip added inside the wheel about 1/2 from the edge. It helps keep wheel in place if you get a flat. Sometimes getting the bead to pop over it takes some effort.

As of today 6,000 miles on the car tire on the rear of the bike, with sidecar. Tire still looks new. No doubt any motorcycle tire would have been replaced by now.

I agree car tire is the way to go. I don't care how carefully you align the sidecar, you're not going to get the mileage out of a motorcycle tire. If I could find a suitable tire I'd switch in a minute.

My other sidecar rig is a Harley 750 Street. Just mounted the car tire on rear of it today. It works. Sidecar id off right now doing some work on it.

replaced 140/75R15 with a 155/60R15 all good.

EDIT: I rode the bike awhile with out the sidecar. The tire worked well. Playing a bit the found the front end will come up easier rather than spin the tire as it did with stock tire. You can feel the bike is a bit quicker with the smaller tire.

Put sidecar back on. it works great. After a few miles to get the feel of it I started to play. Flew the car just over a mile at low and high speeds it had no issues. Down the road I still want to try a 165/60R15.

The 155/60r15 was a safe bet.

The hankook 426 served me well on the RGU rig. My rig is set up right so wear was even. It lasted about 13,000 miles . Not bad for a discount tire. I replaced it with a Michelin A/S premier. No big fan of Michelin , but 195/60R16 does not leave a lot of options . The new tire does ride smoother and is a higher mileage tire.. We shall see how it holds up