Rear tire blues

[CROSSBOLT]

Got tire mounted! Seated beads at 60 psi, easy-peasy. Now have to relocate air filter box to clear side of auto tire. Plan to space it laterally about one quarter inch.

No tire abrasion with BB's. Some evidence of impact inside of rim.

Second picture is TWI just being touched!

[Stig / Major Tom]

 Good job Karl!
Looking forward to your ride report.

Stig

[CROSSBOLT]

Assemble, disassemble....repeat. Found that air filter housing will need two bolts, M6-1.0x40 mm and two 10 mm long spaces for clearance to back tire. The tire huggy thingy will not fit so if this set up works half-way decently there will be a flap added to keep road grit off engine. No pictures on this. Too tired by puttin' together and takin' apart....

[CROSSBOLT]

Got the bolts, made the spacers, put it together and RODE IT! RPM's a tiny bit lower at 60-70, no noticable handling differences, ride over rough stuff VASTLY IMPROVED! Much less harsh with the auto tire. Started in the recommended "sweet spot" tire pressure range of 33 psi. Half hour ride at mid 80's ambient, pressure increase to 38, a gain of 5 psi. Tread was quite warm, sidewalls not so warm. Big difference: the whole scooter tire would be HOT! Cornering was the biggest surprise as it felt no different. I will try some pictures later...nap time!

[Stig / Major Tom]

Well alright then! (Latin: Cool Beans!)
If you was gonna die with this set-up it woulda happened before your nap.
Well done you!

Stig

[CROSSBOLT]

Thank you! 150 mile trip coming up and maybe pictures...

[Stig / Major Tom]

Thank you! 150 mile trip coming up and maybe pictures...

Most likely there are other 300 owners who will be interested in photos of your modifications needed to make that tire fit.
Stig

[john grinsel]

Good luck with car tire---hope you don't kill yourself---might be  fun in rainy curves.   Make sure your insurance is still valid with rear car tire.

[CROSSBOLT]

Good luck with car tire---hope you don't kill yourself---might be  fun in rainy curves.   Make sure your insurance is still valid with rear car tire.

Thanks, John! I needed that. Actually, there are so many who have been doing this car tire on two wheel fun machines WITH NO PROBLEMS to be wrong. I will be killed by some other means, I reckon...

[CROSSBOLT]

Near center there is the head of a socket head cap screw with a washer, the air box tab, the 8 mm spacer and to the right is the metal tab of the CVT. This is duplicated forward. This scheme allows some clearance between the back of the airbox and the tire. No marks on the tire...yet!

[john grinsel]

Remember in the EU and UK car tires on solo machine with bike rims are illegal----ok with sidecar, provided there is special car rim.  Remember how the bike goes down the road under calm conditions one thing......but what about emergency situations----sign me BSc safety here.

I find my 2019 XTown 300i very sensitive to rear tire and handling and feel---Michelin City Crip in proper size there now=works ok, but not perfect.

[CROSSBOLT]

EU and UK have forgotten Captain Blighe, "We are not talking justice, we are talking LAW!" Prior to hanging Billy Budd. The UK in particular gave us Lucas electrics, two fuse cars and completely unreliable ignition systems while the Japanese were showing the way to really modern electrics that were reliable. They did give us Dunlop and hydoplaning empirical speeds. Not really interested in what either EU or UK lawmakers say about anything considering some of the really stupid laws they have foisted on their people. So how many miles have you with a car tire on a motorcycle/scooter? What are your EMPERICAL results? Or is it just comtempt before investigation?

[john grinsel]

Mid 50's I bought very used Harley WLA 45 with junk yard 18 inch car tires-----not much fun to ride until proper 18" MC tires were mounted

80's in Germany, MZ sidecar outfit---15 inch 2 CV tire, special tube with outset stem, spoked a little outset for clearance, legal for sidecar car use----expensive way to avoid changing cheap MC drive tires.   Bike worked ok and looked fine----this mod had to be recorded in title to be legal.   Once tried bike solo, just down the street=no thanks for me, just too goofy handling.


My take: after 11 new maxiscooters since 1990 and over 400,000 miles with them----best to stick with OEM recommended rear tire size MC tire, proper speed rating and load rating.


Reason for strict tire wheel/tire regs in EU----the high speed there----most Americans would probably fill their pants using these speeds----Harley riders don't have to worry....their engines blow up run wide open.  I lived/worked/rode for 25 years in Europe.


Having had 2 new SilverWings/2 new Burgman 400's, where car tire conversions where common.......but really never saw one being used for serious long distance riding.


One last thing, once in WI, saw Yamaha  FJR1300 with car tire rear unable to make turn to gas pump, without backing up.  Couldn't lean.

[CROSSBOLT]

Well, with all that experience, mostly negative, I am going to remove that lethal thing and go back to changing tires every 4 to 6 thousand miles! I WILL report my exeperiences with this project whether good or bad. By the way, you have a counterpart on the Suzuki Burgman forum, one guy who has an educated reason against nearly everything.

[de dee]

has any one tried a winter tire for the soft rubber for better grip , I could not find one to fit my scooter  a 150/ 70 14 with a 4 " rim width, most car tires require 6 " rims or more,.  how do you get around that ? the right size rim would cost a fortune if it waS AVAILABLE,.  I bumped the cap key,.  fat fingers! cant be old??