Car tire on Kawasaki Vulcan?

Question

Has anyone tried a car tire on their bike?
How did you size it? How’d it do?

Drew 2 years 31 Answers 928 views 0

Answers ( 31 )

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    195/55-16 runflat on my voyager. I went with this specific tire because it has a rounded profile. Some car tires really do have almost square corners, but a lot of them, like this one, are actually fairly rounded.

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      what tire is that? That is fairly rounded for a car tire.

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        pirelli snow control I think it’s called.

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        So it’s a winter tire?

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        correct. There are many “darksiders” that run snow tires. I liked the directional tread pattern, and the rounded edges.

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    Yep. And after 4k it came off. Hated it.
    Bike does not feel responsive. Wants to stand up.
    Yes it will lean. Yes you can drag the floor boards.
    No it does not feel the same. The tire was not designed for side load on the out edge like that and is not rounded so it wants to be flat on the ground and tries to stand the bike up.
    I hated this feeling.
    Yes I had plenty of grip.
    No I’d did not feel unsafe.
    No it was not louder.
    And yes they fit just fine if you get the right size.
    But it was just not for me.
    Might be great for a big touring bike and a rider that like to rack highway miles tho.
    I ride in the city a lot and twisty back roads a lot. Very little highway. So I prefer a proper MC tire and how it handles and rides.
    And I get like 20k out of Michelin Cammander IIs. Just be sure to keep them properly inflated.
    The like a little more PSI than the bike calls for.
    I run 41-43 in the rear and 38-40 in the front and have no problems.
    There are also insurance considerations to think about. They look for any reason to deny a claim these days. So if your at fault they might get pissy about the bike having a car tire on it and try and blame that as a contributing factor and a reason to deny the claim.
    Probably not, but you never know.

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      thanks for the constructive response. I’ll take this into consideration.

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    Yup, 2 years on the tire and it barely looks used. And I ride this bike like I’m running from the cops.

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    Research the bead diameter/radius of a bike rim and a car tire. You’ll find out why “setting the bead” is so hard to do…. And why it shouldn’t be recommended

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    I thought about that. This video set me straight.
    https://youtu.be/hEZeR9E3JyY

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    I tried it. Ruined the bearings in my forks. So, cost savings…none. Don’t do it. Round tires rule.

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      Just curious,did you have a car tire on the front as well,I’m just trying to figure out how it messed up the forks if the D.S. tire is on the rear

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      Glad to respond. Bike tire up front. The difficult leaning put stress up front. The handling of the bike was horrible in turns. Great on the straights. A few good things to say about running a car tire, however, in the end, I had to go back to round Dunlops.

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    I went darkside, the tyre was slight larger diameter which meant tht the speedo was finally accurate. Riding in the rain was far better as traction was superb both cornering and leaning. I went with an expensive tyre as and got extraordinary mileage.
    The big downside, and the reason I had to go back was the fact that it is harder throwing it into the corners which played havac on my shoulders and elbows now that I am older. I had it on a Vulcan 1600 Nomad

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    I’ve been Darkside on my V2K since ’09, first with a 225 /60/16, and now a 205/60/16. I suppose the fact I’ve been that way for 12 years speaks for itself on how I feel about it.

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    Those that I know, were happy to get rid of it. To much work on turns and windy roads are supposed to be fun, not work!

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    What would be the pro and con of that ?

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      I run darkside.
      Pros: better wet weather traction and in my case, also sand and dirt. Tires are cheaper, last up to x4 longer if not more. I still drag my footboards. Still corner like before. As far as performance, have had zero negative side effects. It does feel a littlendifferent at first but its really subtle.
      Cons: pain to find a shop that will mount it.

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      another pro is better braking stopping power.

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      Rider has a good video on this topic

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    so on my stock vulcan 900 classic 08 i can put a car tire 9n it

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    I run 205 60 16 on my voyager

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      Yep,that is a very common size for metrics and Harleys

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    07 vulcan2000 classic lt i run a Yokohama Avid Ascend GT. 205-65-16

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    Running a 195 65 r 15 on my 900 custom. Love it. 3.5 years. Had bike 4

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    Find out how your insurance company or local traffic laws view having a car tire on a bike. If shit hits the fan you might be screwed in a court case

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      The dark side is different but not in a bad way, you counter steer more with a car tire and yes it does like to pop back up straight after leaning.
      If you are not an aggressive ride the the dark side will do just fine. Ive been running car tire on my Nomads for over a decade. Way more likes than dislikes for me. My 1500 nomad I run a 195 60 16
      My 1600 205 60 16

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    I ran 205/60-16 for about a year. Great straight line traction like you would expect. My only complaint was that I had so little clearance. Should have gone with a 195 instead. Ended up putting on whitewalls after all.

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    Done it, love it, not going back. 2017 Vaquero.

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      What size tire did you use?..looks good

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    There’s a group on Facebook called. Rollin Darkside

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