Going to the Dark Side

[FJRSTAR]

I'm watching this with interest. I only get about 6,000 on a rear tire unless I'm in the twisties which halves the mileage. I run a Shinko (the horror) on the rear and get a lot of negative comments but it seems to work OK for me and I get an additional 1,000-2,000 miles. I'm keeping an open mind, it'd be nice to take a 10,000 mile trip without having to change the rear. I remembered this on youtube, interesting. I assume the sounds are the pegs scraping. Ian, Iowa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay3ZVmORDl4

And right side up... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaIj1XrmvLM&NR=1

This is a very interesting thread. This video is also cool...

 

[FJRSTAR]

This should FINALY put the 190 rear tire on an FJR debate to bed :lol:
As far as handling/ turn in. If you have an after market shock that allows for height adjustment, raise it all the way up and it will help with turn in.

Good luck in you endeavor

Been there done that. Got about 8,000 miles out of a rear BT-021, 190/50-17. https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=24863

I am currently running Shinkos front and rear but the recommended sizes this time. Last time the store did not have a 180 so I went with the 190 Bridgestone.

No problems or concerns at all with handling in the twisties fully loaded, just me, my gear (and a heavy tool bag) for SFO in Eureka.

A 200 might just fit as well but the larger sizes do cost more.

 

[user 213]

Your car tire idea makes sense to me, but not with a 205 mm tread width. 205 mm is about 8 in. wide, meaning about an inch of tread overhangs the wheel on each side. A 5.5 in. wheel equals about 140 mm. Theoretically, if you put a 140 series tire on it, your sidewalls would be at 90 degrees to the ground. <snip>

The main reason for the 205 is that in a 17" tire, there are no narrower tires than 195 and the 205 is rated for a 5.5" wheel, (the FJR's size), where as the only 195/45-17 I can find is rated for a 6" rim.

Also, try to find a tire with a higher max PSI than 35. Some are up in the 40's. This will give you more of a crown in the center of the tire and will make the tire more round, rather than square.

Most of the tires I'm looking at will tolerate pressures up around 45. What you are forgetting is weight. The FJR weighs much less than the car, even at 1/4 figures. If I maxed the pressure, I would simply increase the center wear when riding strait. Another factor is that the high performance tires, (which most in 205/50-17 are - it's the oem size for front Porsche), tend to have a much squarer tread design, with very stiff side walls and they resist rounding out with pressure.

:dance: On a completely unrelated note, have you considered mounting a tire that is made for a heavy touring bike, like the aforementioned Goldwings? <snip>

Again, the wings use a different size and something like the Elite 3 isn't available in the FJR's 180/55-17 size. There is a very limited selection of radial tires in our size with hard compounds since we use the industry standard size for sport bikes.

Thanks for your input. B) You did make me think about temp spare tires, which are often in 17" and narrow. They are usually rated for 50 mph though! I might not be the fastest guy, but I'm not that slow!

 

[user 213]

I understand why someone might mount a car tire on a cruiser even though i believe it to be a bad idea. However it makes no sense what so ever to mount a car tire on a bike which uses a sport touring or sport tire. The whole purpose of a sport type tire is to achieve better handling and a car tire would totally eliminate the good handling characteristics of a sport type motorcycle. So the obvious question is Why would you want a fjr that handles worse than most cruisers?????

Here's the thing - I believe you are making an assumption w/o actually having personal experience. Your assumption might be correct, or might not be. I'm simply willing to try it and find out for sure. I'm not looking for the ultimate performance. My riding style is probably different from yours. Not better, not worse, just different.

Among other things, what I'm looking to discover is if a car tire will be acceptable in handling/performance for my riding style. And for my own assumption w/o experince, I believe that the handling won't be worse than most cruisers, just different from a moto tire. It's still on a FJR! It's not the tire that limits a cruiser's handling.

 

[wheatonFJR]

So when does this car tire thing happen?

I bet the actual riding with the tire will generate less excitement than this thread..<yawn>

...except for that unseen nasty corner up ahead looking for max traction.

 

[zenwhipper]

Oh boy... this is a bad idea.

Just look at the profile of the tire...

Of all things I can think of to tinker with on a bike - tires are not one I'd give much latitude to push the envelope on.

Man, best of luck.

Scott

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

I understand why someone might mount a car tire on a cruiser even though i believe it to be a bad idea. However it makes no sense what so ever to mount a car tire on a bike which uses a sport touring or sport tire. The whole purpose of a sport type tire is to achieve better handling and a car tire would totally eliminate the good handling characteristics of a sport type motorcycle. So the obvious question is Why would you want a fjr that handles worse than most cruisers?????

Here's the thing - I believe you are making an assumption w/o actually having personal experience. Your assumption might be correct, or might not be. I'm simply willing to try it and find out for sure. I'm not looking for the ultimate performance. My riding style is probably different from yours. Not better, not worse, just different.

Among other things, what I'm looking to discover is if a car tire will be acceptable in handling/performance for my riding style. And for my own assumption w/o experince, I believe that the handling won't be worse than most cruisers, just different from a moto tire. It's still on a FJR! It's not the tire that limits a cruiser's handling.

"Pushing the Envelope" (thinking outside the box)

In the history of the I.O.M., there was a racer, Freddie Dixon, who just didn't follow accepted racing dogma: he raced with footboards, a backrest, and a windscreen -- and, he won!

All the stories in motorcycling haven't been written yet and brave is the man willing to experiment with a completely different tire paradigm.

I, for one, consider the current sport-touring tire, tire-life, situation (almost) intolerable.... :angry:

Good on ya, 'OCfjr'.

 

[mike25]

I gotta admit this will be some good info if your stuck in bum F---,

and need a tire REALLY BAD.

 

[FJR13k]

I was not able to read through all 6 pages on this so I apologize if it's been mentioned...will you be able to fit chains on in the winter? If not I suppose studded tires are better than nothing

 

[rogdeb]

You really stirred things up here Eric :lol:

Go for it -- :clapping: -- I applaud your effort in this EXPERIMENT -- ( a controlled procedure carried out to discover, test, or demonstrate something ) also ( the process of testing )

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

I think this could work.

All you have to do is figure out an anti-sway bar.

:blum:

 

[palerider]

I sometimes have to remind myself who we bikers are and who we are not: Who we are not are people who are content with the status quo, the received envelope. Who we are are people who expand that envelope because we know that the size of the envelope is limited only by the size of our imaginations.

Because of this thread, my envelope is bigger. I for one am grateful.

 

[Last Chance]

I, for one, applaud the experiment. I was about to go to the dark side on my VTX1800C cruiser. A much heavier bike than the FJR. It will be interesting to see what the results of this experiment will be.

LC

 

[bandit]

I, for one, applaud the experiment. I was about to go to the dark side on my VTX1800C cruiser. A much heavier bike than the FJR. It will be interesting to see what the results of this experiment will be.
LC

I awit the results. I think if you had time to search more you could find a car tirre with a much less squared off profile to help out. I too am getting tired of replacing my itres every 8K miles or so. I am so cheap i went to the Shenko tires this time just to see how they work out on the FJR, The bridgestones were toast at 8K miles. the front was completely gone, (to be honest it was beyond a what i normally ride them to at 7K miles. Rear is well into the depth indicators. Front it donw to the base tread. Hope this works out well for you. Please keep us posted on your results/impressions.

 

[GA CYCLE RIDER]

that is one reeee-tarded tire set up. I would kiss the wife real good and hug the kids extra tight and put lots of extra stamps on the life insurance payment, cancell the stamps, better fed ex it, before I rode off on that jack *** set up. Add yourself some curb feelers so you will have a split second warning prior to busting your ***.

 

[user 213]

that is one reeee-tarded tire set up. <snip>

A bit narrow minded, don't you think? Good to know you're not an early adopter.

I ordered a Bridgestone Potenza 019 today. All season tire with a section width of 8.3". Should be here in a couple or days or so. Most of the tires the cruiser dark siders are using are 16" and not offered in a appropriate 17" size.

More info once it's mounted and I have a couple of rides on it. Then we move to boring stuff like wear over time, etc.

 

[Hotboot]

Press on o' pioneer of the dark side, waiting to hear the results. You WILL be careful won't you ???

 

[Canadian FJR]

Will that bad boy ever hook up, imagine this set up at the drag track. Might be fun with the odd wheelie also. :clapping:

Canadian FJR

 

[user 213]

Press on o' pioneer of the dark side, waiting to hear the results. You WILL be careful won't you ???

To say the least. That's what experiments are about, careful testing and data gathering. I have no desire to crash and nothing to prove. It fits, how well it works remains to be determined. If it sucks, I have no problem saying so. So far, it doesn't look like that will be the case. Just different feel at slow speeds for the most part.

CanadianFJR -Be careful, if some of these guys think a car tire is dangerous, Oh My, just imagine how dangerous they must think pulling wheelies would be! :derisive:

 

[Khunajawdge]

I probably won't need a car tire on the rear of my bike, until I realize that I am acting as Mad Max (or Goose), and need to make tracks on anything that will roll toward the Thunderdome.

I do however, "applaud" the effort OCFJR! :clapping: