K12LT sc front tire

[Tourdog]

Can anyone shed some lite on the Bridgestone 020 radial front tire longevity vs say a Metz 880 bias tire? Like most sidecarist I am looking for a harder tire for better and longer wear (economy).
I know this is a "tire question" but it involves a sidecar machine not a 2 wheeler :eek: I know, I know but I visited the "Candy Store there in Kentucky" too many times............. :D

[Dick]

Can anyone shed some lite on the Bridgestone 020 radial front tire longevity vs say a Metz 880 bias tire? Like most sidecarist I am looking for a harder tire for better and longer wear (economy).
I know this is a "tire question" but it involves a sidecar machine not a 2 wheeler :eek: I know, I know but I visited the "Candy Store there in Kentucky" too many times............. :D
Hi, Carl - there's a lotta info on various tires for the front wheel of the LT; sidecar or trike or 2-wheel. One thang you don't read a lot about is folks who have mounted a car-tire on the front wheel. I have no idea of brand, size or fitment issues, butt maybe someone with experience will shed some info. I have a good friend in PA who did this and swears by the 'feature'. If you need further info after the folks here have replied, just send me a PM and I'll see if I can contact my friend and see if he wants to share info.

[Tourdog]

Dick,
Thanks for the info. I did a "search" before posting but nearly all had to do with the 2 wheel and not my recent "sidecar" option. I need to post this over on the USCA site and see what surfaces there! There is a person over on that site that does a "hub mod" to enable an auto rim for the rear tire of the K1200LT. I don't know if the fork angle with its inherent "flop" left and right would do well with an auto tire profile (ie squared off). I think maybe "centerhub steering" would be necessary to handle best such a profile because normal telescopic forks and even leading link roll the wheel up upon turning which would put a car tire up on edge? I have the "easy steer" option and that reduction in trail (I think about 2") makes steering at any speed very quick (easy, no effort) but is after all a modified telelever fork and as you go towards L & R the wheel does roll to what would be a squared-off edge of an auto tire ie (not good).
I hope I am making some sense here but your friend may see this and comment! Thanks again!

[Dick]

Dick,
Thanks for the info. I did a "search" before posting but nearly all had to do with the 2 wheel and not my recent "sidecar" option. I need to post this over on the USCA site and see what surfaces there! There is a person over on that site that does a "hub mod" to enable an auto rim for the rear tire of the K1200LT. I don't know if the fork angle with its inherent "flop" left and right would do well with an auto tire profile (ie squared off). I think maybe "centerhub steering" would be necessary to handle best such a profile because normal telescopic forks and even leading link roll the wheel up upon turning which would put a car tire up on edge? I have the "easy steer" option and that reduction in trail (I think about 2") makes steering at any speed very quick (easy, no effort) but is after all a modified telelever fork and as you go towards L & R the wheel does roll to what would be a squared-off edge of an auto tire ie (not good).
I hope I am making some sense here but your friend may see this and comment! Thanks again!
I'll ping him, Carl. Up to him whether he wants to jump in here, or not. He's not a regular here --- maybe once or twice a year.

BTW - not being good at geometry, butt I would think there would be minimal 'lean over' on the front tire of a side-car'd bike, since the bike itself remains pretty much vertical all the time (unless you fly the car!!! :D ); much like being on the centerstand and swinging front wheel left/right/left. Dunno - I'll leave that to you guyz with hacks.

Carl, I hope you hear from my friend. May take me a few days to make contact.

[Dick]

Dick,
Thanks for the info. I did a "search" before posting but nearly all had to do with the 2 wheel and not my recent "sidecar" option. I need to post this over on the USCA site and see what surfaces there! There is a person over on that site that does a "hub mod" to enable an auto rim for the rear tire of the K1200LT. I don't know if the fork angle with its inherent "flop" left and right would do well with an auto tire profile (ie squared off). I think maybe "centerhub steering" would be necessary to handle best such a profile because normal telescopic forks and even leading link roll the wheel up upon turning which would put a car tire up on edge? I have the "easy steer" option and that reduction in trail (I think about 2") makes steering at any speed very quick (easy, no effort) but is after all a modified telelever fork and as you go towards L & R the wheel does roll to what would be a squared-off edge of an auto tire ie (not good).
I hope I am making some sense here but your friend may see this and comment! Thanks again!
Well, fudge, Carl - I mis-spoke. My friend's cage tire is on the 'rear', not the front. Sorry for my cornfusion. :o

And here's an interesting note that he passed along: "Funny, that the motorcycle tire wears much quicker with the hack attached, on the rear vs. the front. Live and learn."

Hope you find more info on your question, Carl. Gotta be somebody with front wheel info, with regard to using a sidecar.

[GoldenDragon]

Try Jay at Dauntless Motors in Seattle. He does a ton of LT sidecar conversions and can answer your question. Just do a search on Dauntless Motors and follow the links. :cool:

[Tourdog]

Dick and Randi,
Thank you both for the responses. I will be looking into those ideas. :bmw:

[tobiwan]

for info www.Armec.com has several pics on their site with car tires on front, rear, and sidecar