"Cheap versus Safe"
I'm done with this discussion based on that comment. I have played the "cheap" card tires wise and lost the hand with a busted left leg for it. At least I had a great orthopedic surgeon. He installed the titanium rod in early May and that December I was downhill skiing again.
Woodenshoe to Cheesehead
Yes this needs to be locked up no further sense is being made of it.
81 R100RT
Taking from my experience in the auto industry, I know that it is illegal in the US for a car dealership to install a set of tires that have a lower speed rating than what the vehicle was originally manufactured with. It is both a legal issue and a potential liability lawsuit. For instance:Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
If a customer came to us with a VW GTI that had worn Z rated tires and requested a set of H rated ties installed, we would have to refuse. This is even true with snow tires, that are available in W and Y ratings, which exceed the Z specification. Can you find a shop that is willing to install H tires? Sure, but it's your neck.
I expect that it's the same with motorcycles. I just put Metzeler Z8s on my R11RT and I'm confident that the tires will not be the limiting factor, should I find myself in an emergency situation.
Delaware Dave
1999 BMW R1100RT
2010 Harley Davidson ElectraGlide Limited
Bad analogy. Orville and Wilbur, while testing the flying machine, were using the safety standards they had at the time, meager as they were.Wait a minute, so the problem with car tires is that it's risky and perhaps stupid to use them on a bike? But isn't riding risky, stupid to many, and not really a necessity? Imagine how badly the Wright brothers would of been flamed if they posted here 110 years ago!
A better analogy for square automotive tires on a motorcycle would be for someone to build a modern muscle car with 500+ horsepower, yet use drum brakes. Anyone in the street rod crowd would consider you an idiot for it.
Delaware Dave
1999 BMW R1100RT
2010 Harley Davidson ElectraGlide Limited
Shops routinely refuse to plug-patch otherwise perfectly serviceable tires that have a puncture, requiring you to buy a new one. This offends me greatly and I have gotten into hot arguments with shops over this.
Or how about Costco and their nonsense policy of only putting the tires with the least tread on the front, even on front wheel drive autos. They claim that having the more worn out tires on the rear is too dangerous, that the car could spin out. I have pushed enough cars to the point of loss of traction to know that their claim is without any merit whatsoever. Front wheel drive cars especially will loose traction on the front first unless you do some heroics to provoke the rear to slide ( I know how to do this and it's not easy to do, you basically have to get in really hot until the front slides, then snap off the gas to get the car to rotate, then slam the accelerator down to keep it sliding, and even then some cars like a big fat Avalon won't go there, ever ).
What Costco really wants you to do is to grind those tires down on the front and buy new ones. Similarly with speed ratings on tires. On my older Audis, on the exact same car Audi will specify an H rated tire for the Canadian market and a V rated tire for the US market. An H rating is good to 130 mph. WTF? The car is speed limited to 125 mph in one case and the older one can't break 120 no matter how much road is in front of you. Why do you need a V rated tire?
So much of the tire industry and the auto industry is sleazy that you are almost better off NOT believing what any of the big brand tire shops tell you. They want to make money and nothing else. You have to learn on your own, maybe even take a track day or two. Then you can make informed decisions.
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
Just one more thing to add: the darksiders I have talked with insist that a car tire on a bike is safer and the ride more stable than with the motorcycle tire. They claim there is always more tread on the ground even in curves. The lower cost is just a happy coincidence. From what I observed, I don't believe these claims.
Bruce
2005 R1200RT (It's new to me!)
Northern Virginia, USA
If you are not continuously learning, you are slowly getting bored.
And if it's all about saving money...
What about some nice recapped tires? They're even cheaper....
Bill Johnston
If it was all about cheap they would be buying Kendas and be done with it.And if it's all about saving money...
What about some nice recapped tires? They're even cheaper....
No, they are making a statement, so we reply, heh, heh, heh.
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
Kevin Greenwald - Touring Tips Editor
Nationally Certified Law Enforcement Motor Officer (Ret.)
MSF RiderCoach # 121656 (BRC,SBRC,IS,IME,SMARTrainer,THE REF Staff)
Iron Butt Association Member # 34281
ask and you shall receiveAnd if it's all about saving money...
What about some nice recapped tires? They're even cheaper....
Tomahawk motorcycle tires, recapped
http://www.motorubber.com/
They also recap airplane tires
I have to ask.
What is safer recap motorcycle tire or car tire
Anthony S.
2008 R1200RT and soon to be delivered 2012 R1200GS
The answer is likely the same as the answer to this question:I have to ask.
What is safer recap motorcycle tire or car tire
"What is safer, a motorcycle or a car."
Depends on who is operating it...
Gary
Casa Grande, AZ
2011 R1200RT
I read the results of a study some years ago, stating that the roadside tire treads came from predominately original truck tire treads, not recaps as many suppose. I also know that at the largest tire plant in the world(where I worked), Goodyear recapped earth mover tires. Not many car recaps around these days, as likely the Asian stuff has supplanted them in the price structure? Bike recaps, yuk
I would sooner mount and ride a Tomahawk recapped motorcycle tire than a car tire on any of my bikes.
Woodenshoe to Cheesehead
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