Refused to sell me a tire..........

[Bob Denman]

I take my bike to a shop that specializes in tires for Spyders: Netzley Tire Service!
That way I never have any problems!

[Chupaca]

It all started with Kumho tires back when folks found the right size. Guess it has spread to the others now that there are more brands and sizes being used on the spyders. Shop installs are a hit and miss still and the all around best way is to take your own wheel in and have it installed at a tire shop....

[pegasus1300]

You ran car tires on your Goldwing? Tell us about it. I think this is a first!

Jack

Not Hardly. There are hundreds of Goldwings if not thousands running car tires on the rear and have been for years and thousands of miles with no reported incidents.

[Ex-Rocket]

You ran car tires on your Goldwing? Tell us about it. I think this is a first!

Jack

A lot of Goldwingers run car tires on the rear. I had a Triumph Rocket and I ran a car tire for 25,000 miles, and yes it cornered just fine in the curves. What gets my crow is people saying a car tire is dangerous to put on a motorcycle, when they never tried a car tire in the first place. Also a lot of ney sayers. I agree car tires are not for everyone, but don't put it down unless you have tried it.

[pegasus1300]

I take my bike to a shop that specializes in tires for Spyders: Netzley Tire Service!
That way I never have any problems!

When it came time to put a new rear tire on my Spyder, I took the wheel off and took it to my local tire shop. He said no problem but I can't balance it. I asked him if he new what balance beads were,he said oh yeah that will work. He asked what I wanted on it, I mentioned a couple of tires from here ,he said he couldn't get those thru his warehouses. I asked him what was the best he could get and that's what we mounted. Twenty thousand miles later it is still going strong,probably good for another 20+K

[Ex-Rocket]

When it came time to put a new rear tire on my Spyder, I took the wheel off and took it to my local tire shop. He said no problem but I can't balance it. I asked him if he new what balance beads were,he said oh yeah that will work. He asked what I wanted on it, I mentioned a couple of tires from here ,he said he couldn't get those thru his warehouses. I asked him what was the best he could get and that's what we mounted. Twenty thousand miles later it is still going strong,probably good for another 20+K

Thank goodness I have Spyderpops close by that when it came time to change the rear tire, took it to Harvey.

[Bob Denman]

[Machinegunner]

In Wisconsin, I go to Schierl Tire to get my General Alitimax, no questios asked. I take it to my Spyder dealer to have it installed and balanced, no questions asked, either.

[jwulf74]

Order = tire swing for the kids...

[Bob Denman]

Order = tire swing for the kids...

I LIKE that!
You must have some great kids; if you buy them a new tire!

[ARtraveler]

The solution is to "fib" a little about what the tire is going to be put on. Usually, the car tire fib works.

I am not mechanical, so have to use the dealer--who will only install OEM (as in Kenda). The up side, I get reasonable mileage out of them (20K fronts and 15K rear). So, I guess I am okay.

The argument about side wall not stiff enough--IMO--only applies to leaners--which the isn't.

[3whlLefty]

Discount mounted car tires on my Spyder twice at 2 different stores. The latter one couldn't balance them because their spindle was too large. Hmmm.

I've also had a Discount store refuse to mount car tires on a trailer. I went down the road to the next D-T outlet and they were happy to do it. I put radial car tires in place of those bias-ply trailer ones and improved things considerably.

Keep looking!

[manxman]

You ran car tires on your Goldwing? Tell us about it. I think this is a first!

Jack

I ran a run-flat car tire on my wing for over ten K. Pulling a trailer. No noticeable wear but going into corners was tricky at first.
This was on my 2001 GW around 2006. ........

[michrick]

I bought my Yokohama S Drive at Tire Rack no questions asked, and Filers Powersports in Macedon mounted it no questions asked,

[asp125]

I have no problems ordering tires that fit, problem comes with trying to get it mounted. None of my local bike shops will touch it, and the Spyder dealers won't even talk to you about it. I can see taking the front wheels off and having a small fly by night tire place mount it, with reservations about their ability to balance it and to not scratch the rim. BTW a "big" Can Am dealer in Rapid City scratched my rim a couple of years ago.

[Maddoggie501]

You ran car tires on your Goldwing? Tell us about it. I think this is a first!

Jack

Being an ex Goldwing owner, I can tell you some riders will run a car tire on the rear and swear its better in ride, handling, wear, etc. They call themselves the Dark Siders. I can tell you not to argue with them.

[Peteoz]

I have no problems ordering tires that fit, problem comes with trying to get it mounted. None of my local bike shops will touch it, and the Spyder dealers won't even talk to you about it. I can see taking the front wheels off and having a small fly by night tire place mount it, with reservations about their ability to balance it and to not scratch the rim. BTW a "big" Can Am dealer in Rapid City scratched my rim a couple of years ago.

ASP, the "surefire" way to do it is to buy the tires from your local tire shop (big or small), take the current wheels off and take them in. You'll find that nearly all tire shops will have no qualms about replacing the tires if you bought from them. As far as not scratching the wheels is concerned, that's their job. If they scratch wheels on ANY vehicle, they will soon be out of business. You can then take the wheels to you local bike shop and have them balanced, or just don't balance them and use Lamont's Balancers.

I actually slipped the workshop manager $50 because of how well he handled the changeover, to which his response was......just bring the whole Spyder in next time and we'll jack the front and do the whole thing so you can ride out with clean hands. 😉😉

Pete

[Peteoz]

Being an ex Goldwing owner, I can tell you some riders will run a car tire on the rear and swear its better in ride, handling, wear, etc. They call themselves the Dark Siders. I can tell you not to argue with them.

Why would you even TRY to argue with them, Maddoggie? After years of looking for accidents caused directly because a rider was on car tires, I'm still looking. Some try them and don't like them because of the way they follow road grooves, or because they "feel funny", but that's about it.

Pete

[BajaRon]

The solution is to "fib" a little about what the tire is going to be put on. Usually, the car tire fib works.

I am not mechanical, so have to use the dealer--who will only install OEM (as in Kenda). The up side, I get reasonable mileage out of them (20K fronts and 15K rear). So, I guess I am okay.

The argument about side wall not stiff enough--IMO--only applies to leaners--which the isn't.

With the Kenda's it's not so much a problem with weak sidewalls (though that is true). It's more a problem with a very weak tread area. The tread cords are not strong enough to hold the tread area of the tire flat. So it balloons out with centrifugal force and wears out in the middle. Also, at speed, you're only getting maybe 3" of tread contact with the road surface. Not great for traction but should help with fuel mileage.

[cyclelover63]

I put one on a hotrod with aftermarket wheels that I blew a tire on.

[Fat Baxter]

There's a "tire database in the sky" that contains every vehicle with all the tires certified for it -- that's what trips us up, as "Spyder" is not in that database. I think there's a federal requirement for that database.

IIRC, I ordered my Kumho's from Tirerack.com. When ordering, there was an option (a box to check) that said something like "this tire matches what's already on my car." That's the escape clause. When I got the tires, there was a statement on the receipt to the effect that "owner assumes liability."

If you take the Spyder to a tire dealership, many will balk at working on a Spyder. But if you just take in the wheels, they have no idea what the vehicle is, so they're happy to get the work.

I read somewhere but can't confirm, that the three-hole pattern for the front wheels is the same as for a Smart car.

[willey]

I ordered my rear tire from Wall Mart.Had it the next day,no questions asked.I ran a car tire on my 900 vulcan.It had 60,000 + miles on it when I sold the bike.I ordered my front tires from the internet and Tire Discounters mounted and balanced them for free.

[pitzerwm]

Bought the tire from Tire Rack, no questions, friend had a HF tire changer, had to take to Walmart to inflate it, compressor wasn't big enough. Put in Run right or whatever the goop liquid balance stuff is and not problems yet.

[Bfromla]

Tell them you found that this tire is the best mosquito repellant to have on camp fires.

[Bensonoid]

I bought my Yokohama S Drive at Tire Rack no questions asked,

Me too.