Put on car tire, it's great

Every time the idea presented that the CT had more surface area contacting the ground resulting in better traction, the thought invariably gets changed to front brake efficiency and rider's ability to stop "correctly".

Sorry Dawg68, after reading my own post again, it was bad advice, I apologize.
Do not listen to me ever again.
Mac

I have two almost identical rockets. At one point, one had a car tire, the other one a POS Metz. Performance is way better on the first. The Metz's always got me in trouble. Both are now dark. A 240 Metz on the back of a Rocket is like using a rubber band for a bungee cord. It is inadequate.

Steel said:

And for what the "experts" say.... Scientist believe that a bumble bee should NOT be able to fly.
BTW, are they the same experts that made second gear, and designed the ignition? Perfect bunch aren't they?

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Scott, that is the best post of your career, you are the king!!

ksquared said:

I post this only as a caveat - and because I have considerable experience with this issue:

If you have an accident while running a car tire on a motorcycle, you will have a GREAT DEAL of trouble obtaining compensation for your injuries (if you are a plaintiff) or defending a claim for injuries brought against you (if you are a defendant). Expert testimony will establish that the vehicular dynamics of operating a motorcycle with a car tire as the driving wheel, is inherently dangerous, outside of the contemplation of EVERY design engineer who designs motorcycles and outside the contemplation of EVERY designer who designs either motorcycle tires or car tires. You will not be able to find a tire industry engineer who will testify under oath that a car tire has the necessary directional stability and cornering characteristics to be SAFELY and PREDICTABLY used on a motorcycle under all operating conditions. They will, however, testify that both the profile and carcass design of a car tire are inherently antithetical to the physical environment and physical forces within which a motorcycle operates. The fact that you were operating a motorcycle with a car tire installed WILL become a central issue in your litigation - and it will not be to your benefit.

Take this for what it's worth, but I can tell you that in 40 years of legal practice - I have NEVER lost a motorcycle case I've tried to a jury, either for a plaintiff of a defendant.
*************************************************
STANDARD OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER:

The above does not constitute legal advice. It is posted for general informational purposes only. No attorney-client relationship is formed by the posting of this material and you have no right to rely on it. I am probably not licensed to practice as an attorney in the jurisdiction where you reside. If these issues affect you - you should seek competent legal counsel in the jurisdiction where you reside. The law varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and what is stated here may or may not constitute the law in your jurisdiction.

So there!

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You will be able to find motorycle tire makers that have to admit their tires are not really suitable for this bike. I blistered the original before the first recall. I also blistered another one after that.

Macrider said:

Sorry Dawg68, after reading my own post again, it was bad advice, I apologize.
Do not listen to me ever again.
Mac

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That goes for the rest of us also??

CanberraR3 said:

There's the rub. Those with the knowledge of tyre technology, compounds, bead design etc wouldn't have the experience because they know better than to use them. The actual experts - not the self appointed ones - universally say a car tyre is not suitable to use on a motorcycle. Those with the experience you'd have to conclude do not have the knowledge.

Recently someone said they have been using normal automotive oil in their bike without any problems. This is a good parallel. Anyone who knows oils and what goes in them, or who would take advice from the actual experts, would never use ordinary automotive oil in a wet-clutch motorcycle. Just because someone is prepared to do it and experienced no problems doesn't make him an expert nor does it make it right.

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I sincerely agree with you and by the way it wasn't a rub. I simply stated that I valued the "opinions" of those who use CT as they are the people who have knowledge and experience with respect to the effect they produce. You translated that into expert opinion. I don't think there is anyone here that could speak to the topic as an "expert" unless they were directly involved with product development and design. That said a forum is a big place that brings together all types of people from various backgrounds and there may be someone out there reading that can speak to that.

When I mentioned that I, personally would not put a car tire on a motorcycle it is for my reasons, not sarcasm against those who do. If you were to ask me why, I would simply state that due to my background within mechanical engineering I believe that the design differences between the two products suggests that one is better suited for its intended purpose over the other, safety for instance. There are a lot of positive and great points raised based on people's "experience" with respect to using car tires and on the flip side, just because there are positive experiences with car tires does not make it the right choice to install on a motorcycle. That does not mean that you cannot use one over the other, it simply means that the Car tire design may not support the effect a motorcycle will put on the tires. This supports your oil analogy but it's also a personal choice. If you look closely at the comments made as to car tire effects while installed on a motorcycle, most are about lifespan, cost saving, traction wet or dry etc...what about safety? Is it safe to do so? I guess that's the tough question and this is where I believe most people who use or don't use car tires on their motorcycle have decided to accept the risk or that the unknown risk is too great. This is the major reason as to why I will continue to use and pay for motorcycle tires, the other are the legal implications as mentioned in a couple of the other posts.

Once again I totally agree with your comment;
"The actual experts - not the self appointed ones - universally say a car tyre is not suitable to use on a motorcycle. Those with the experience you'd have to conclude do not have the knowledge."
I would just argue in that when we consider people who have experience running car tires on their bikes, they do hold knowledge as the the effect the tire has on the motorcycle. Is it scientific in nature, no, can they provide expert testimony, probably not. Can they tell us what it feels like and how it reacts under varying conditions, you bet ya. Rather than trying to guess as to how a car tire reacts on a motorcycle, ask someone who has done it.

If I go through one tire a year, let's estimate $400 for the rear tire (rough guess), that's $33 bucks a month.....pretty cheap entertainment in my books.

Just a thought.
Cheers

Macrider said:

Sorry Dawg68, after reading my own post again, it was bad advice, I apologize.
Do not listen to me ever again.
Mac

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Lol....no worries and not a big deal. I'm a pretty relaxed guy. This is what I love about forums, it's great conversation and we don't always need to see eye to eye. In the end it's all about safe riding, good friends and a bottle of rum wouldn't hurt either.

Cheers

I think I can cofidently say that the great majority of those who go to the darkside never leave. I hear a lot of people that have never rode on the darkside bashing those who do, but by far most of those who ride the darkside like it and will continue too ride the darkside the rest of their life. We are not trying to force anyone to do what we do, we are just saying that we really like it and will not stop unless the experts and lawyers make it against the law. Gov't may step in and say we can't and we will resent it as we do in them telling us more and more what we can do and what we can't do. I don't know of any car tire being responsible for an accident on a motorcycle though there might be some as I am sure there are motorcycle tires that were the cause of an accident. It's kinda like guns don't kill people, people do. It is all about taking responseability for our actions. For me I hate having Big Brother telling me what I can and can not do if I am not hurting anyone else in the proccess. I don't really think the experts are that smart, in fact I think a little common sense will go a lot further than the so called experts. I find that the majority of those calling themselves expert are not so smart and usually have a selfish motive for what they try to force on us. Greed is why so many push there superior and expert knowledge upon us, and I for one am tired of it. Learn to start thinking for yourself and stop listening to the experts. If we all listened to experts we wouldn't have railroads, electricity, radio's, airplanes, etc etc etc. If the experts had their way we would still be living on a flat earth.

PS: I do wish there was a spell checker on the forum and maybe their is and I haven't found it. I am not the best speller around, and am sure no expert speller.

PS2: I just thought about the worlds fastest Indian, with worlds fasted speed for Indian motorcyle, he wasn't an expert but he got the job done when the experts couldn't. If you haven't seen the movie, take a look.

Good post Rocket 51.