Converting to an automotive tire on a sidecar rig has many advantages. Motorcycle tires have a round profile due to how solo bikes lean into turns. With a sidecar outfit the rig stays basically flat when cornering compared to a solo rig. This translates into quicker wear for the rounded motorcycle tire profile. Converting to an auto tire allows the rig to have more rubber on the road due to the flat profile and tire wear is much better as a result. One of the most common tires we use on our conversions is a 165R15. This is a long wearing tire and retails for around 50 bucks give or take a little. Compared to the cost of a quality cycle tire the economics begin to make sense. Up to a reported three times the mileage with less cost per tire adds up to a good thing pretty quickly. Factoring in the wheel conversion still makes it appealing in most cases. Typically for instance on a BMW the rear wheel conversion is typically in the 700 dollar range plus tire. Do the math and if you are planning to keep the bike for a while it begins to make sense. We typically utilize aluminum auto wheels with no welding being done. Most of our conversions use various types of adaptors so it makes it a bolt on assembly. The advantage to this system is that a tire can be mounted and balanced by any automotive service center. This is not the case as a rule with a solid specialty wheel. Also with our system if a wheel gets damaged for any reason only the damaged part can be replaced. Lots of options here dependant upon the bike in question.
