Yeah, another CT thread...

[toy4bob]

I don't know which side of fence I am on, but read all the CT threads and hope to make a decision before I need a new tire on my Vaq.

just thought would post this I cam across from Motorcyclist Online



Car Tired
A friend of mine recently mounted a car tire on his 1800cc metric cruiser because it was cheaper, cooler, lasted longer and, he claimed, all his friends were doing it with no adverse effects. I have ridden behind him and observed the bike teetering on the edge of the square-profile tire with no contact patch at all. The last time we rode together he carried his 8-year-old daughter on the passenger seat and commented that I was having trouble keeping up. He is an aggressive rider and I just didn’t want to take a chance of hitting him. Have you heard of problems caused by car tires mounted on motorcycles? There doesn’t seem to be any information about what is fast becoming a common practice.
Gene Quies
Fort Atkinson, WI

Car tires may actually cost less, last longer, ride smoother and make your buddy’s 1800 look cool. But mounting automobile rubber on a motorcycle’s wheels is still dumb, for a host of seemingly obvious reasons. Start with this one from Michelin’s Motorcycle Fitment Guide: “Tires designed for passenger cars can be dangerous when used on motorcycles and motorcycles with sidecars, as bead-seat diameters of motorcycle rims and passenger car rims are different.” Though that difference may not be obvious to the inexperienced eye, it can lead to what experts call “sudden, catastrophic deflation,” which is guaranteed to ruin your day.

Just in case that’s not enough, your pal’s gangsta whitewalls are probably edgier than he thinks. Cars don’t lean much, so car tires are supposed to keep most of their relatively flat tread area on the pavement most of the time. Motorcycles lean to turn, which is why a motorcycle tire’s profile is contoured to lay down a consistent contact patch—upright or cranked over. Automotive tread designs don’t work so well leaning on one edge or the other, especially when it comes to channeling water away from some compromised contact patch. The indecisive cornering feel that comes with it generates more anxiety than confidence; enough to put most right-minded people back on bike-specific rubber. Still, your friend and other adamantly like-minded individuals roll on automotive rubber for the same reason dogs lick their other orifice: because they can. And can, as any good dictionary or tire engineer will tell you, doesn’t mean should.



Read more: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/ho...#ixzz1jm4nJlNe