Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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18 UCW JANUARY 21-27, 2015 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM I recent ly asked some of my Facebook f riends what I should w rite about and Vince f rom Raleigh suggested t hat I cover t he grow ing number of people t hat are put t ing car t ires on motorc ycles. I do not have any first-hand scientific facts to back any of this up; however, a motorcycle is a very highly scientific machine. Motorcycle manufacturers spend millions of dollars in research and development on almost all of their bikes because they want their product to be safe and reliable. From what I can see, motorcycle manufacturers will sacrifice comfort over stabilit y any day. Every part of the bike is highly engineered. So why are people put ting car tires on their bikes? More than likely, it is cost. A car tire may cost as much as a motorcycle tire, but a car tire can last thousands of miles longer than a motorcycle tire. A motorcyclist is luck y to make it 4,000 to 10,000 miles depending on the tire, bike and riding st yle. This variance has a lot to do with dynamics and design of the tires. A motorcycle is designed to work in harmony with a limited selection of tires. The owner's manual will specify tire size, construction (radial or bias, tube-type or tubeless), load range and speed index, and may identify the brand installed as original equipment. Once someone changes those specifications, this changes the way the bike will move, ride, operate and handle. This includes everything from braking to cornering to gripping. There are several videos on YouTube showing a car tire on a bike. They appeared to do fine. To be honest, I have never read where people are dying from riding while using car tires, but I think the risk is equated pro- portionately to the riding style. If a rider likes long straight roads, then putting a car tire on their bike may be fine. Depending on the width of the tire, when riding straight, most of the tread is displaced evenly. When rid- ing fast and taking curves, motorcycle tires are designed to take the pres- sure and apply that pressure around the contact patch. To easily under- stand what the contact patch is, imagine looking at your tire and seeing white paint as if you have ridden across fresh paint on the road. As the rider corners and adds speed, the apex for the rider and the bike changes. For those that are not familiar with the apex, the apex is that invisible, vertical line when a bike corners and the speed and position remain upright although the rider is leaned over. As the apex changes and the tires roll, the rounded part of the tire insures a smooth transi- tion. If you are using a square car tire, the contact patch is minimal at that part of the tire that is squared off where the tread meets the side- walls. This may not be a problem at lower speeds, but at fast speeds, a rider is certainly taking a chance in rain or if they hit a bump. The grooves on car tires do not extend up the sidewalls of the tire, nor are the sidewalls designed to be ridden on. At this point, you have changed the tire size, construction (radial or bias, tube-t ype or tubeless), load range and speed index of the bike and thus disrupted the harmony and specifications of the bike. Not only are car tires not designed for the dynamics of motorcycle riding but the section of the tire in contact with the rim (the "bead") is incompat- ible with motorcycle rims. Have you ever seen someone start a fire with a stick and little kindling? The bike's tires heat up, with friction. Change during and after a ride is called the "heat cycle." After each ride, the tire changes just as it does over time and distance as it ages. This is why a motorcycle tire gets less mileage than a car tire. I don't think that you will ever see a NASCAR team put normal car tires on their race cars nor do I see me put ting motorcycle tires on my car. If there is a topic that you would like to discuss you can contact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com. January 24th "No Run" Reverse Raffle For more information call 4624 BRAGG BLVD. JANUARY 25 • 2015 CHARIT Y RIDE at For t Bragg Harley- Dav idson. Registration at 10 a.m. $35 per person includes lunch and a T-shir t . R iding to R ichard Pet t y Museum and Pet t y 's Garage. Benef it s the R ichard Pet t y Museum. Rain date Feb. 1, 2015. Call 910-850-3298 for more information. FEBRUARY 1 • NAM K NIGHTS OF AMERIC A MC SUPER BOWL AND CHILI COOK OFF at Nam K night s of America MC "Tarheel Chapter" 327 Grogg St ., Spring Lake. Call 910-514-8614 or v isit ht t p://w w w.t arheelnk .org for information. FEBRUARY 7 • AFMC NC3 ANNIV ER SARY PART Y at the AFMC NC3 Club House, 2663 Everit te St ., Fayet tev ille. Free food, pool, music and enter t ainment . Call 910-897-8861 for information. PATRIOT GUARD RIDER S The Patriot Guard R iders is a diverse group of patriot s from ever y st ate that come together to honor fallen soldiers at f uneral ser v ices across the countr y. Visit w w w.patriotguard.org for more information about the group. JIM JONES, Motorcycle Enthusiast, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. Car Tires on Motorcycles? by JIM JONES There are safety issues to consider before putting a car tire on a motorcycle. Be sure to see what we have in store for you! News, views, arts & entertainment. Coming Every Week.... Exciting features on timely topics that matter to you! www.upandcomingweekly.com 484-6200