Best front/rear tire for rocket touring

[Tripps]

Yeah we all ride like racers

If someone said it handled "as good", I would let it slide, but "better"? Sorry, no way. I never rode the Isle of Man, but if you told me you could do it faster on a bicycle, well....
The poster didn't say it was as good, but better handling,(15% better), that's silly, sorry.

 

[Elvis]

If someone said it handled "as good", I would let it slide, but "better"? Sorry, no way. I never rode the Isle of Man, but if you told me you could do it faster on a bicycle, well....
The poster didn't say it was as good, but better handling,(15% better), that's silly, sorry.

How many rockets have you seen at the isle of man race? I have never had my rear tire slide since putting the altimx on, it grips and stops.

 

[TriumPhil]

Car tires???

 

[rocket51]

Tripps, have you ever ridden a motorcycle with a car tire on it? If you have then you have a valid opinion on what one rides like, if you haven't you don't know what it rides like. All I can say is that I have ridden thousands of miles on car tires and they seem to have better grip in curves. I can go faster in same curve on same bike with car tire than I can on motorcyle tire. I have not ridden my Rocket 3t with car tire yet but I hope to have simular experience as I had on my Vtx and if I do I would be happy to see if you can keep up with me in the curves. Regards, Tim

 

[Tripps]

Never have, and probably never will. Never tried a motorcycle tire on my truck, either. If I can't keep up, it's because you are a better rider, not because you have a car tire.

Actually, I shouldn't say never, I could see putting one on for a cross country trip, coast to coast or something, to avoid having to change tires, but it would come off when I was done. Tire expense is a PITA, but I can afford it, maybe some can't.

 

[CanberraR3]

Hey Rocket51, don't you think you should have tried every available motorcycle tyre before you start making comparisons between car tyres and motorcycle tyres on motorcycles? Until you have, any opinion you have on that score isn't valid - accoding to you. Fact is, even then you cannot say they are better or safer. All you can say is that you like them or that they help you ride or you save money or that you don't notice or care about people sniggering behind your back.

On the other hand, no one needs to have used a car tyre on their motorcycle to know they don't want to or to think it's a stupid thing to do. Just the same as I've never put a steering wheel on my bike either and I know I don't want to and think it would be a stupid thing to do.

 

[Macrider]

car tires

Hey Rocket 51
It's a lost cause, don't bother wasting your time or effort in trying to explain to them that car tires are indeed better.
It never ends, there are a million threads on this argument and it will go on for another thousand years.
Yes car tires are indeed better, but its like talking to a wall.

 

[rocket51]

Hey Macrider. Thanks for your post. I am not trying to convert anyone to the darkside (to everyone their own) but I do want to express that for me car tires work great. I know that there are many that completely reject the idea. Of the many that have used car tires, the postive reviews would probably be in the high 90% range. I don't recall seeing any completely negative reviews from those that have used car tires, but some have decided to go back to motorcyle tire for one reason or another.


The reason for my initial post was to find out what car tire others have found to work best on the Rocket and to find out what tire for front others have prefered. With the limited Rocket 3's out there, there is a limited amount of imput. I know I want a car tire on rear and that is not even an issue for me, only issue is which one and which front tire. If I can find a Michelien Hydroedge that fits, it will be my chose because I was completely satisfied with in on my VTX and Stratoliner, the General tire I had on my Goldwing, it was too mushy even with max air pressure.

 

[Macrider]

car tires

Well I still have the General Altimax HP on my bike and theres about 10,000 miles on it.
And still looks new, just starting to slightly round the edges now,
I think it should be good for another 20,000 before I have to replace it.
So I have no other different make of CT to compare it to.
I have had a MT on it to compare to and it sucked in contrast to the CT.

Another good tire I have heard works good on Rockets is the Riken Raptor.

 

[Elvis]

it's obvious that Triumph engineered a bike that did not have a true motorcycle tire engineered to match it. I have ridden motorcycles for 30 years plus and I have never had a bike that could shred rear tires like this one. The car tire is the only one that has held up to it. I personally don't feel safe riding on motorcycle tires that blister in 2500 to 5000 miles.