These M/C tires gotta go..or do they?

[TxBiker]

Good morning go-fasters, Gotta question for ya. My 23 T has 120x80x16 Carlisle tires up front on a set of beautiful chrome spoked rims. The rims are 3 1/2" wide and I am having a really tough time finding replacement tires in that size. First question of two. Is it safe to run a set of motorcycle tires on the front end? Metzeler offers a nice Sport/Touring tire in that size.and I can run tubes in them. Second question, will a 5.00 x 16 ribbed Firestone nostalgia tire work on this size rim? Anyway, any help I can get on this will sure be appreciated. TxB

 

[409T]

You'll find lots of opinions about whether or not to run motorcycle tires. I'll just say that I have them and am happy. I'm going to guess that a 5.0 tire on a 3.5" rim is a little too much, but others will chime in with better information.

 

[woosterken]

what is the load rating on the motor cycle tire?

woosterken

 

[tfeverfred]

When I had wire wheels, MC tires worked great. Man....... I still miss those wire spoke wheels.

 

[madmike8]

Fred, I thought they looked awesome on your T. Too bad about the wreck... MissB2 looks good, but I do miss the wires... When are we going to see updated pics of MissB2?

 

[tfeverfred]

Fred, I thought they looked awesome on your T. Too bad about the wreck... MissB2 looks good, but I do miss the wires... When are we going to see updated pics of MissB2?

LOL As soon as she stops breaking! I lost a bid on Ebay for a cam. My moneys too tight to get a new one, but I'm hopeful. I'm replacing her flexplate tomorrow and Monday. I'll probably touch her frame up and adjust the steering, as well.

 

[Stephen]

Check out bridgestone BT45 tires, maybe... I got one on my trike and expect to get 20,000 out of it.

 

[Mr T Bucket]

Fred, what kind of camera are you looking for?

 

[Scot76]

I don't know alot about t-buckets yet but I do know alot about motorcycle tires. I am the service manager at a Harley dealership. The 120/80-16 size you suggest isn't all that common, at least on Harley's, but 130 wide 16 inch tires are. If you are going to run a motorcycle tire it might as well be made for a heavy motorcycle. The Metzler tires are made in Germany and the dollar to euro ratio has made them on the expensive side right now. The ME 880 series of tires are heavy duty motorcycle tires made for big cruisers. H-D, Goldwings ect. They are pretty good tires on a motorcycle but are usually a special order item as they are not original equipment.

I would be more inclined to try the OEM Harley Dunlop D402 MT/90B-16 myself. The MT size equals a 130mm wide tire and works very well on a 3.5 inch wide rim. The thicker sidewall would give a better ride.

If you figure a Harley weighs in at 850 lbs and adding 2 riders with luggage you could hit 1200 GVWR pretty easy. Cut that in half you get 600 lbs on the front tire. Add 2 front tires and you are back to a 1200 lb capacity with relative safety of not over loading the tires.

These tires are available in blackwall, thin white stripe, and wide white wall. They are extremely common tires and getting some would be as close as you nearest Harley dealership. You could also get tubes there as well in side metal valve or center metal valve.

If you go with motorcycle tires for the front of a T-bucket make sure they are front tires. The belting in the tires are made for front or rear with front made to take braking load and rear made to take accelleration load.

 

[T-Odd]

Uncle Larry just replaced the tires on his spoke wheels with 145R15 and I think they look great.

They also seem to function a little better than motorcycle tires - with the added bonus they will probably last few more miles.