I agree with above, I'll stick with the stock Dunlop's, never had a problem
with them.
with them.
Auto Tires On Rear of T.G.
- Thread starter Trent
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #62
I was going to stick with my Dunlops also as they seemed to work fine, till I tried something else....And I am very glad I switched. The common sense differences between auto tires verses motorcycle tires made it an easy choice, and my first ride on auto tires made me a believer.
The Dunlop signature tires which come on the Triglide are car tires.
OK,
But lets ask the really important question:
What would be a good replacement rear tire that has/comes with Wide White Walls
Anyone out there running WWWs?
Springman
But lets ask the really important question:
What would be a good replacement rear tire that has/comes with Wide White Walls
Anyone out there running WWWs?
Springman
- Thread starter
- #67
Yeah, I know... But when you have them off and compare them to other auto tires, the sidewall flex and stiffness, tread depth, and overall meatier aspect is a big difference. Since we don't lean, I can easily feel that the stiffer side wall makes a huge difference in the curves and twistys. The sidewall on those Dunlop's is very noticibly thin and flexible compared to the Toyo's I put on. You cannot know unless you try it for yourself. Others that have switched will agree with me on that. Sometimes ya gotta give new thought a chance!! I remember a lotta guys on here complaining about the new changes to the 2014's and that they were crazy and would never work and they will never get one. Ha Ha!! Some of them now have those new Trikes and love them. ;-)
Thank you msocko3 :clapping:.
- Thread starter
- #69
My last thoughts on this crazy thread. !! All of you master-debaters out there,.... we all can agree that HD puts out their product with the cheapest, most cost effective, buy in bulk cheaper, no frills products they can get their hands on and get away with. Why do we all spend thousands of $$$$ for better quality, more efficient, and better performing products to make our rides better?? They work just fine without replacing anything. Right?
When you changed out the grips on your brand new Trike, why did you do that? Because the factory grips are crap!!!! HaHa!!!! Air breathers, mufflers, cams, windshields, led lights, floor boards, SEATS!.. ... you name it!!! They can all be replaced with products that work better. And most likely you replaced a lot of these items because someone who tried something different convinced you that something else worked better. And was more shiny too!!
Well... nobody thinks about tires the same way for some reason,, and maybe they should. There are just simply better performing tires out there than the cheaper made stock tires that HD buys in bulk for their benefit. ( as in $$$ savings ) Try it, and you will find out.
And no more replacing those sweet stock HD seats because they work just fine right?.. If there were seats that were better, HD would put them on to start with right??? !!!!!!!!!! Right. Ha ha!!!!!!
All of you master-debaters out there,.... we all can agree that HD puts out their product with the cheapest, most cost effective, buy in bulk cheaper, no frills products they can get their hands on and get away with. Why do we all spend thousands of $$$$ for better quality, more efficient, and better performing products to make our rides better?? They work just fine without replacing anything. Right? When you changed out the grips on your brand new Trike, why did you do that? Because the factory grips are crap!!!! HaHa!!!! Air breathers, mufflers, cams, windshields, led lights, floor boards, SEATS!.. ... you name it!!! They can all be replaced with products that work better. And most likely you replaced a lot of these items because someone who tried something different convinced you that something else worked better. And was more shiny too!!
Well... nobody thinks about tires the same way for some reason,, and maybe they should. There are just simply better performing tires out there than the cheaper made stock tires that HD buys in bulk for their benefit. ( as in $$$ savings ) Try it, and you will find out.
And no more replacing those sweet stock HD seats because they work just fine right?.. If there were seats that were better, HD would put them on to start with right??? !!!!!!!!!! Right. Ha ha!!!!!!
Well, I usually change stuff on my ride out of personal choice...... I guess we could ask HD to build us all custom bikes to suit our exact needs and/or desires, but where is the fun in that? And, part of that fun is trying new things..... and sharing with others.
Now, I have no operational issues with the stock Dunlops - I just would like WWWs.
And, I can understand staying with the stock units as they can be had in a pinch at all the HD Dealers....
So, this is one of those personal choice things and everybody gets to choose for themselves...
Springman
Dunlop Signatures are the same tire that Ford uses on the Tarus. They are not cheap tires.
Softer sidewall = softer ride. I'm running 24 psi in mine.
YES If you want a performance sticky tire you buy for that reason.
I change stuff because I like to do that .... my trike is an expression of myself. Roxy is like no other trike out there. I'll probably go with Goodyear ComforTread as my replacement tire when the Dunlops wear out. I want a nice comfortable ride. When I want performance I ride my ZRX 1200R.
Boborag:
This one looks great and may corner like on rails ... but not a touring trike!!epper:
Softer sidewall = softer ride. I'm running 24 psi in mine.
YES If you want a performance sticky tire you buy for that reason.
I change stuff because I like to do that .... my trike is an expression of myself. Roxy is like no other trike out there. I'll probably go with Goodyear ComforTread as my replacement tire when the Dunlops wear out. I want a nice comfortable ride. When I want performance I ride my ZRX 1200R.
Bob
orag:This one looks great and may corner like on rails ... but not a touring trike!!
epper:
- Thread starter
- #72
They are an in-between tire. But there are better quality and better performing tires available. That is the simple point I am trying to make. If you are happy with what ya got, then who cares what anyone else thinks!
My last thoughts on this crazy thread. !!
When you changed out the grips on your brand new Trike, why did you do that? Because the factory grips are crap!!!! HaHa!!!! Air breathers, mufflers, cams, windshields, led lights, floor boards, SEATS!.. ... you name it!!! They can all be replaced with products that work better. And most likely you replaced a lot of these items because someone who tried something different convinced you that something else worked better. And was more shiny too!!
Well... nobody thinks about tires the same way for some reason,, and maybe they should. There are just simply better performing tires out there than the cheaper made stock tires that HD buys in bulk for their benefit. ( as in $$$ savings ) Try it, and you will find out.
And no more replacing those sweet stock HD seats because they work just fine right?.. If there were seats that were better, HD would put them on to start with right??? !!!!!!!!!! Right. Ha ha!!!!!!
.My last thoughts on this crazy thread. !!
I couldn't agree with you more, they do choose their suppliers based on the cheapest. They did that with lifters and the 'c' lifter shows, its a piece of junk which doesn't last real long.
Great reading and all the input and ideas on the tires. I'm looking at putting 18" rims on my 2014 this summer and starting to look around for different tire options also.
I have Michelin tires front and rear don't have many miles on them yet but they handle the road very well. very good in the rain and softer ride.
I am working on putting Freewheeler wheels on Miss Mysterious...I am going to go with Goodyear Assurance Triple Tread on the rear...I do run 25psi rear and 40 psi in front...25 psi shocks w/ DK Comfort Lift...going to see tomorrow if I can make a Street Glide Enforcer wheel work on the front...only because I like the rotors better than the trike rotors...
I've been riding for 60 years. I've had Dunlop, Michelin, Avon, and God know what else on my bikes. Some 'stick' better, some last longer, some give a better ride. Nothing that any of them do make me want to replace perfectly good Dunlop tires. I'm not a road racer, nor do I worry myself sick about that extra mile or two of wear. I have never mounted a rear tire on the front with reverse rotation. All the tires I bought as replacements were usually on sale at the dealer at a price I thought was reasonable.
To the guy that wants 18" rims, better measure and measure again, not a lot of clearance in those Tri wheel wells. It is hard enough to get a stock tire and rim on and off.
To the guy that wants 18" rims, better measure and measure again, not a lot of clearance in those Tri wheel wells. It is hard enough to get a stock tire and rim on and off.
- Moderator
- #80
18 inch rims work just fine if you use a 215/45/R18 tire. The circumference is the same as stock. They were just the same getting on and off as stock. I have 18 inch PM wheels on the rear and a 21 inch wheel on the front.
Put a new set of Toyo car radials on my TG...Just got back from a 350 mile ride thru the twistys and curves in the Idaho mountains.
Before I bloviate about them, I am curious how many of you have done this also and what are your thoughts, good and bad, about the car tires on the rear instead of the stock Dunlop tires that came on it. And what tires did you use. Fire away!
All trike rear tires are auto tires. Some radials some not. Your choice.
Just found this on Lehman Trike's stuff: For Your Info:
There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation out there when it comes to tire pressures for trike riders. Most all trikes have a motorcycle tire up front and automotive tires in the rear. The motorcycle compliance label has a recommended pressure for both the front and the rear tires. Now that your motorcycle is a trike are these still the pressures to use? Since we are trying to clear up the confusion and misinformation… the answer is yes and no!
Let me explain more fully. We, Lehman Trikes, have always recommended that you maintain the same pressure the motorcycle manufacturer lists on the compliance label for the front wheel. There is no reason to change this pressure. That’s the "yes".
The "no" is a bit more involved. First of all, the two automotive tires like those installed on the rear of your trike are a completely different design than the single motorcycle tire they replace. Now for some history. Lehman Trikes has been building and riding trikes for 25 years. Our founder, John Lehman, and many of the dedicated trike riders that [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]work here have experimented for years trying to find what air pressure in the rear tires gives you the best ride, handling [/FONT][/FONT]and tire life. What they found and recommended for years was an air pressure in the 20 to 22 psi range worked best.
So why, if you look at a current Lehman Trikes Owner’s Manual or the Owner’s Manual for a H-D Tri Glide, do you see a 26 psi recommendation for the rear tires? When I came to Lehman Trikes several years ago one of the things I was [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]asked to do was to confirm with the manufacturer of our tires that they would support our recommendation of 20 to [/FONT][/FONT]22 psi air pressures for our application. What I learned is that no tire manufacturer will recommend anything less than 26 psi for standard automotive tires.
Where the 26 psi number came from is an interesting and somewhat involved story. There is a regulatory organization [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]called the Tire and Rim Association (T&RA) which, of course, standardizes specifications for all different applications for [/FONT][/FONT]tires and wheels (rims). One of the things that they provide is a load carrying capacity for each tire size at different air pressures. In their old reference books they listed load carrying capacities for tire pressures all the way down to 20 psi. I don’t know what year they changed but in 1999 they still listed load carrying capacities down to 20 psi.
[FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]
[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]Do any of you remember the big public fight that went on between Firestone and Ford Motor Co a few years ago? As I recall, people were rolling over in their Ford Explorer’s and Ford and Firestone were vigorously pointing the finger at each other. The final out come was that it was determined that people were reducing the air pressure in their tires to [/FONT][/FONT]improve ride quality. That would not have been a problem but they failed to increase the pressure when the vehicle was more heavily loaded. As a result, the T&RA elected to eliminate the lower pressure ratings from their reference books. In support of the T&RA, the tire manufacturers will not support running their tires at anything less than 26 psi.
So how much difference does it make? Why not just run them at a higher pressure? Running the rear tires on your trike at a higher tire pressure has a dramatic impact on how the trike rides and handles. For each additional psi of pressure you increase the rigidity of the sidewall. At maximum pressure the sidewalls of your tires are quite rigid. Rigid sidewalls will increase the occurrence of the low speed "head shake" inherent in all three wheeled vehicles. They will also transmit more of the bumps in the road to you and your passenger. As you reduce the tire pressure it allows the [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]sidewall to provide additional "cushioning" when riding over irregularities in the road surface. Certainly you do not [/FONT][/FONT]want to reduce the air pressure too far because that will adversely affect the handling of the trike.
The "cushioning" effect of the sidewalls is, of course, reduced if you are using a tire that has very little sidewall. For example, those 18 or 20 inch rims that look so cool on the back of your trike do all the wrong things for ride comfort and [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]low speed head shake. A standard 15 or 16 inch rim with a properly sized, properly inflated tire will give you the best [/FONT][/FONT]ride quality and the least amount of head shake.
The most commonly used tire on the rear axle of a Lehman Trike is the P205/70R15. As a point of interest, in the 1999 T&RA reference book it lists a load carrying capacity of 1146 lbs for a standard P205/70R15 tire with 20 psi of air pressure.
There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation out there when it comes to tire pressures for trike riders. Most all trikes have a motorcycle tire up front and automotive tires in the rear. The motorcycle compliance label has a recommended pressure for both the front and the rear tires. Now that your motorcycle is a trike are these still the pressures to use? Since we are trying to clear up the confusion and misinformation… the answer is yes and no!
Let me explain more fully. We, Lehman Trikes, have always recommended that you maintain the same pressure the motorcycle manufacturer lists on the compliance label for the front wheel. There is no reason to change this pressure. That’s the "yes".
The "no" is a bit more involved. First of all, the two automotive tires like those installed on the rear of your trike are a completely different design than the single motorcycle tire they replace. Now for some history. Lehman Trikes has been building and riding trikes for 25 years. Our founder, John Lehman, and many of the dedicated trike riders that [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]work here have experimented for years trying to find what air pressure in the rear tires gives you the best ride, handling [/FONT][/FONT]and tire life. What they found and recommended for years was an air pressure in the 20 to 22 psi range worked best.
So why, if you look at a current Lehman Trikes Owner’s Manual or the Owner’s Manual for a H-D Tri Glide, do you see a 26 psi recommendation for the rear tires? When I came to Lehman Trikes several years ago one of the things I was [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]asked to do was to confirm with the manufacturer of our tires that they would support our recommendation of 20 to [/FONT][/FONT]22 psi air pressures for our application. What I learned is that no tire manufacturer will recommend anything less than 26 psi for standard automotive tires.
Where the 26 psi number came from is an interesting and somewhat involved story. There is a regulatory organization [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]called the Tire and Rim Association (T&RA) which, of course, standardizes specifications for all different applications for [/FONT][/FONT]tires and wheels (rims). One of the things that they provide is a load carrying capacity for each tire size at different air pressures. In their old reference books they listed load carrying capacities for tire pressures all the way down to 20 psi. I don’t know what year they changed but in 1999 they still listed load carrying capacities down to 20 psi.
[FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]
[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]Do any of you remember the big public fight that went on between Firestone and Ford Motor Co a few years ago? As I recall, people were rolling over in their Ford Explorer’s and Ford and Firestone were vigorously pointing the finger at each other. The final out come was that it was determined that people were reducing the air pressure in their tires to [/FONT][/FONT]improve ride quality. That would not have been a problem but they failed to increase the pressure when the vehicle was more heavily loaded. As a result, the T&RA elected to eliminate the lower pressure ratings from their reference books. In support of the T&RA, the tire manufacturers will not support running their tires at anything less than 26 psi.
So how much difference does it make? Why not just run them at a higher pressure? Running the rear tires on your trike at a higher tire pressure has a dramatic impact on how the trike rides and handles. For each additional psi of pressure you increase the rigidity of the sidewall. At maximum pressure the sidewalls of your tires are quite rigid. Rigid sidewalls will increase the occurrence of the low speed "head shake" inherent in all three wheeled vehicles. They will also transmit more of the bumps in the road to you and your passenger. As you reduce the tire pressure it allows the [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]sidewall to provide additional "cushioning" when riding over irregularities in the road surface. Certainly you do not [/FONT][/FONT]want to reduce the air pressure too far because that will adversely affect the handling of the trike.
The "cushioning" effect of the sidewalls is, of course, reduced if you are using a tire that has very little sidewall. For example, those 18 or 20 inch rims that look so cool on the back of your trike do all the wrong things for ride comfort and [FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans][FONT=Stone Sans,Stone Sans]low speed head shake. A standard 15 or 16 inch rim with a properly sized, properly inflated tire will give you the best [/FONT][/FONT]ride quality and the least amount of head shake.
The most commonly used tire on the rear axle of a Lehman Trike is the P205/70R15. As a point of interest, in the 1999 T&RA reference book it lists a load carrying capacity of 1146 lbs for a standard P205/70R15 tire with 20 psi of air pressure.
- Moderator
- #83
Thank you good article.
I run my 2009 Triglide with 20lbs in the rear tires...with the Mrs. on board and fully loaded...runs great, holding the curves and when it's raining, sticks a lot better in the turns. Believe me, 20lbs works great. I weigh in around 235 and the mrs around 120. I believe Dennis runs around the same air pressure even pulling a trailer! So lower that rear pressure boys, your butt will appreciate it and it will handle much better.
just a thought..................
Diesel
just a thought..................
Diesel
bikerbillone
3000+ Posts
Interesting, what does Harley, or the builder recommend? My trike is a 2005 GW with a Road Smith conversion. Road Smith recommendeds 26 to 30 lbs; 20 would probably make for a better ride, but I'm thinking I don't want to go that far under the recommended.
Harley recommends 26 in the rear, I ran 24 in the rear of my 2010 Triglide. Those of us with IRS trikes can run the higher rear tire pressures and still get a smooth ride, I run 28 which is the recommended pressure for the rear of my 2012 Hannigan. The straight axle on the Triglide has a bit of a harsher ride when it comes to bumps, so the lower tire pressure helps smooth it out a bit.
bikerbillone
3000+ Posts
Yes, you get the 'feeling' of those big bumps, but I think that's the nature of the beast.
Diesel,
Glad you re-posted this. I have been running around 20 PSI for several years on my 2011 TG. After I got the trailer I never felt the need to change. I started out just going down a couple pounds at a time and found the ride improvement was noticeable. Rode a while at 16PSI, then found 20 felt about the same so left it there.
Enjoy the rides folks,
Dennis
Nice reading thread. Thanks to everyone for their input. I am still playing with mine as I have not been able to log many hours in the saddle since I got it triked and not the winter weather and having it put away in a storage place doesn't help any either.
Thanks again for all you input.
doesn't help any either.Thanks again for all you input.
Run em at 20psi......really, that's ok for the tire and the wear pattern will be even across the tire.....
Just my $.02
Diesel
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