Car Tire on Front

[geol]

car tire up front?

If you ride a trike without using the sidewall of the tires in back, why not use a car tire up front? The only thing I can think of is inability to find the correct size...

 

[Trent]

Re: car tire up front?

You hit the nail on the head. Dunno about a Wing, but I tried to find a tire that would fit my TG thru several different tire dealers. Just wanted to give it a try. Not a single thing available that would work. All too wide. Just my experience though.

 

[geol]

Re: car tire up front?

I looked a bit an there are car tires in 18" BUT the aspect ratio was 40 or 45 which would make them way too wide. I found one car tire in the correct size (I think). It is for antique cars and I am not sure if it would work well at modern speeds/roads:

Excelsior All Black - 450-18

You can also find this tire in a 475/500 width (18"):

Excelsior Tires - Buy Antique and Vintage Tires Online from Performance Plus Wheel and Tire

 

[John Luciano]

Re: car tire up front?

I do not understand the sizing. 450 is the tire width in inches (1/2" ) don't sound right. If metric it is too wide. My rear are 225 and they are huge. If the 450 is wall height that can't be either. HELP,!!
I just looked back at the 1st link and looks like 450 is really 4.5 " (4 1/2")
Figuring out max clearance is the trick..

 

[geol]

Re: car tire up front?

Both motorcycle tires and car tires were measured in inches prior to the current metric system. 450 tires are 4.5 inches wide, fit on 3" rims that are 18" tall. I am guessing this is the approximate size needed for a GL1500. In the early 70s, ALL motorcycle tires were listed in inches.... a standard front tire for a Z1 was 325-19. They obviously had more narrow rims than a GL1500.

 

[shadow]

Re: car tire up front?

Avon is suppose to be looking into a car tire for the front of trikes. Has anyone heard anything on that ???

 

[Lee H. Mann]

Re: car tire up front?

You hit the nail on the head. Dunno about a Wing, but I tried to find a tire that would fit my TG thru several different tire dealers. Just wanted to give it a try. Not a single thing available that would work. All too wide. Just my experience though.

For the TriGlide front I use a 130/90/16 Dunlop 501 GT rear tire mounted in reverse on all my customer's TriGlides and Harley FLH-FLT trikes.

 

[bustedwing]

I know this is an old thread and I would like to see if anything has changed. I have a Gold Wing 1500 trike and just wore out the front tire, a Michelin Pilot. The center 3 inches of the tire has all the wear, but the rest of the tire looks like new. Even the casting nubs are still very prominent. I know this subject has been hashed before, but why should I pay a huge price for a tire that I can only use one third of the rubber? If I can find a car tire that has more of a flat tread so I can use more rubber without wasting it I believe it would work better. Any ideas? Thanx, Bud.

 

[Pegasus1300]

car tires have been used on the front of motorcycle/sidecar rigs in Europe for years. Here is a company in England that will make you a whole new front end ready for a car tire and the hub to mount it on. I am saving my money. I actually found out about them here from a post by a member from England
Wasp info@waspmotorcycles.com

 

[Cougar]

Thanks Paul, just sent them email for more info.
Did you ever find out the cost ?
Jeff

 

[DTR 11TG]

I was just looking for info about Leading Link front ends for Tri Glides & found a place in the U.S. that handles Leading Links made across the pond, thought you may be interested.

http://sidestrider.com/leadingfork.html

 

[Pegasus1300]

Thanks Paul, just sent them email for more info.
Did you ever find out the cost ?
Jeff

By the time you add in shipping and do the Pound to Dollar conversion it came out around $3400.00 and I think you would still need to get a tire.