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Tourer
Posts: 412
Fargo, ND | I have a Car Tire installed on my Vision with about 500 miles on it...so far so good. I did run a car tire on my Kawasaki VN2000 and was very happy with it, so I thought I would give it a try on the Vision. I ended up choosing a Bridgestone Potenza 195-55-16 as that seemed to be the closest to the stock size that I could find. The tire was about $85 plus shipping and should last for 25,000 - 30,000 miles. I have a hitch on my bike as well which makes the fitment a little tight but seems fine to this point. I'm getting ready to leave for Sturgis and the mountains from there and will end up with probably an additional 3,000 miles in the next week or so. I have Harbor Freight mounting and balancing equipment and did my own install and balance. That went well. The tire popped onto the bead with aproximately 20lbs of pressure. I currently have 40 psi and will probably lower that slightly as time goes along. The tire has not leaked down 1lb since install. Here are some photos... Side by Side for size -  My balance job was better than factory...she rides awesomely smooth now -  The finished product - 
This post is for anyone that is interested in it's content. I wouldn't suggest anyone else even consider mounting a car tire on their motorcycle and am not interested in hearing from those that don't think I should have done it. YMMV Regards, |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | Nice job John.
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Looks like a good fit, nice work. You have the HitchDoc hidden hitch? How much clearance wouldyou say you've lost as compared to the stock MC tire? I'm leaning Darkside (have been since I got the bike) for the next tire. Was going to do it on the first change but I wanted an accurate gage of how long the E3 would last without a bad bushing. I like it John..... |
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Visionary
Posts: 3006
San Antonio, TX | It does look like a nice fit.
Take Care |
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Tourer
Posts: 550
Tacoma, WA | I have been darkside on my "bar hopper" VT700 for about 1500 miles now, and love it. My next tire on the Vision will be a Car tire, for sure. Thanks for posting, John, it looks great on there!!-----Metalguy |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | thanks flatsix, now that I've seen it, it is not so bad. I think yours is the first one that I've even seen a picture of and was beginning to think it was an Area 51 deal. I'm going to hold out until I go with the trailer though, which will be some time from now, though I wanted it to be this year. I'm trying to get my wife to go long distance and I think that is what it will take. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 115
Columbus, Ga | How well do you like the cornering capability of this tire and how much if any was lost due to the flat profile of the car tire. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 600
Linwood, MI | Same question as Eagle, here. How is the handling with that car tire on there? It seems like it would take more effort to roll over into the corners, and then you would have a much smaller footprint on the turn than you would with a regular motorcycle tire. I'm not a terribly aggressive rider, but I do drag the floorboards every once in a while and ride in the rain a lot, so traction on wet curves is pretty important.
After just dropping nearly $300 for a new rear tire at 11k miles I'm very interested in options that would give good performance but last longer. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1484
LaPorte,Tx. | Flatsix, thanks for taking the step to use this tire, I think it will be interesting on how it works out for you. Let us know the details on how it works. |
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Tourer
Posts: 537
, FL United States | Please keep us informed. I too would like to know about the handling and the actual mileage of this tire as well. It looks like it belongs on there. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 160
Lennox, SD | Nice job John!
How is that Vison treating you?
I'm getting ready to make the jump to something other than the Nomad
Kioti |
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Tourer
Posts: 412
Fargo, ND | Thanks to all for your compliments. To try deal with some questions in one post...I do have a Hitch Doc hitch on my bike. I'm happy with it other than I purchased one of the early ones and it was shipped with bolts that were too short. I went to the local hardware store and purchased the proper size as I am not a very good 'waiter' for replacements. I then called the factory and was basically told 'the hitch was shipped with the correct bolts' and 'thanks for calling, see you later'. So...the way I see it they still owe me $20 for my replacement bolts and 2 trips to the hardware store. Other than that all is good with the hitch. The fitment with the hitch and the car tire is a little tight, however, I have had no issues to date. I am leaving tomorrow for Sturgis and will have a better feel on that when I return. Without a hitch...there would be gobs of room, as in no issues with anything even remotely close to the tire. The tire rides straight better than the stock tire. Contrary to popular belief...I think it has a larger contact patch than stock, both going straight and bent over in the curves. As my photo might imply, it does handle water far better than the stock tire as the tread design and depth really shed the water. There is a little (I do mean little) more input required to make it lean over. Overall...at this point, I see it as a very positive move.
Also, good to hear from you Kioti! |
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Tourer
Posts: 537
, FL United States | cool thanks |
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Tourer
Posts: 460
Centennial, CO | Kioti - 2009-07-23 6:31 PM
Nice job John!
How is that Vison treating you?
I'm getting ready to make the jump to something other than the Nomad
Kioti
Kioti - I rode a Kaw Vulcan Classic for 30+ thousand miles. I put on some Nomad bags, an HD type fairing and some Road King lowers. I LOVED it...that is until I made the mistake of taking a demo ride in Sturgis. Whoops! I was back and less than a month later...well, it was exactly Labor Day weekend. Woohoo! You WON'T go wrong! |
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Tourer
Posts: 432
Gettysburg, 2008 Tour Premium | By "smooth" are you saying the ride is less harsh over bumps? I am not a big fan of the ride from the E3's even though they do alot of things well. |
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Tourer
Posts: 329
scotts valley, California | Do you ride a lot of twisties? I am all for saving a buck, but kind of like the idea of gripping the road. Do you notice the car tire burning out more at take off than the E3? Thank you for sharing the info, please keep us advised. |
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Tourer
Posts: 394
Tucson, AZ | Flatsix, thanks for the input. As 've said before, I'm a big believer in car tires. After 35k plus on two Potenzas on a Valkyrie, I'm sold. As far as the burnout question goes, no suck luck. If you have two bikes side by side from the rear and look at the contact rubber on the road, there's no way you're going to spin that tire. Well, unless you're on a Boss Hoss! Anyway, I'm going with Potenza as well only I'm going with the 205/60/16. I had great luck with that tire. By the way, it's not just about the money, although that is a nice benefit, I just like them better. |
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Tourer
Posts: 329
scotts valley, California | Gray, that is quite a testimony for car tires. I am definately interested. My burnout question was relative to how well the rubber grips the road. The motorcycle people would say that motorcycle tires are made softer so they will grip better. My bike isn't any Boss, but she frequently burns rubber when I hit the throttle a little bit too hard. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 72
Newberry, Mi. | Holy crap! I've been riding street bikes for 27 years and have never seen this.
Since reading this thread and then googling it along with viewing videos, I'm sold. At least enough to give it a try.
Thanks for the thread man. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| I've been doing a little research and I believe I'm going to go with a 185/55-16 on mine. The 185 is a little closer to the MC tire width and should give me around 3/4 of an inch more room to clear the hitch. The only problem is there are only 2 tires in this size, a Dunlop which runs around $81 and a Bridgestone which is more than $100. I still have some time and mileage left to research this some more.
Edited by Teach 2009-07-24 11:06 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 394
Tucson, AZ | I don't you have to be too concerned about the "burn out" factor. Remember, there's quite a bit more rubber on the pavement than there is on a stock tire. Even with my Valk, which was much quicker than my Vision, I couldn't get it spin the rear tire. |
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Tourer
Posts: 329
scotts valley, California | Sorry I mentioned burnout. Let me reword the question: Do you believe that the car tire will grip wet pavement in a high speed curve as well as the E3 tires? |
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Tourer
Posts: 412
Fargo, ND |
I did just return from my trip out west and now have about 3,400 miles on the new car tire. The tire worked just great. I prefer it to the stock tire going straight ahead. In nice 50 mph sweepers there does not seem to be any difference. In the tight twisties type turns it does require a bit more input to make it obey...not objectionable, just a little more. The times I noticed a difference was in construction ruts, etc. the back end will tend to wander or follow the rut a little (remember riding over a 'grated bridge' and having the bike wander a bit? Basically the same deal...just let it wander and hang loose at the controls. It was outstanding in the rain (of which we had plenty).
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| The stock E3's follow the construction ruts so I don't see that as a real problem. No hitting of the tire on the hitch when 2 up?? I'm leaning towards a DS tire for this change coming up and as previously posted I think I'll go 185/55-16 so it isn't quite as wide as you are running and see how it works.
Thanks for the update
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Tourer
Posts: 412
Fargo, ND | I did have the trunk loaded with some stuff and the wife unit on the back out riding one night. On a couple large bumps, that I hit by design, I could hear a very minor brushing type sound. I did recheck the hitch and tire a couple of times and could see no evidence of rubbing. On my out west trip I had the trunk off and no wife on the back and no reoccurance. |
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Car Tire
