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anyone tried car tires on their vn2000 yet?

60K views 146 replies 59 participants last post by  Tim M 
#1 ·
I am thinking of changing out the rear tire on my vn2000 with a sport car tire size 205/60/16. A friend of mine has done this already with his honda rune and is really happy with the results. any opinions are very appreciated

thanks, phil
 
#115 ·
I am replacing my current darkside tire - 205/60R16 with another of the same. Had put on approx 40,000 km and I honestly don't even think about it anymore. Still scrape the odd floorboard in curves, and the HOG boys that I rode to sturgis with last year, who followed me, were impressed with the amount of rubber still on the road while in curves on our rides. It's not for all... just saying it has worked for me. and I chose a tire with a good rounded edge profile so maybe that also helped, not all tires are like that, some are quite square and boxy looking. It's what works for you, and keeps your confidence up.
 
#116 ·
I found the sidewall on the Gmax to be a bit soft, and have differing opinions on soft vs. Stiff. By soft, I can grab the tire while it's unmounted and push my finger into it pretty easily. I wonder if that soft wall creates that kinda floaty sensation I've noted.....

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#117 ·
I've had 4 different CTs on my bike. The 1st was a Goodyear TripleTred. It handled very quirky (came 'up' on the edge initiating turn, noticeably more counter steering effort, weird at parking lot speeds, sometimes followed parallel road irregularities), but went 40,000 miles, superior wet traction, funny in corners but after a while I was back to scraping pegs. Current tire is General Altimax, really can't tell it from a MC tire, but its discontinued.
The Goodyear was square edged, the General very round edges. The Goodyear weighed 25 lbs, the General 19. I ran 18 psi in the Goodyear, 32 in the General (tried various pressures in each). Both stable at drag strip (110 mph) and even faster on the street a few times.
Really fun when someone tells my group how unsafe it is, then can't keep up with me in the corners! My favorite response when a 'loud mouth know it all' waxes eloquent about how stupid this is... I say "You're absolutely right, it takes amazing skill and daring just to ride this thing. You gotta have huge cast iron balls (or ovaries if you're a lady) to survive even a short ride!"
 
#118 ·
32 psi? I'm running 38, which I was under the impression was the going standard...... Did you try higher pressure, and if so what was the handling difference between high and low?

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#119 ·
I start in the middle, then go to extremes to find differences. The Altimax felt squishy in corners at mid 20s pulling the trailer. So I ended up at 32. Its been so long that I don't remember why I settled on 32. I reason that optimal tire pressure has to have something to do with weight loading, and since my bike has maybe half the weight on the tire as a car, perhaps less pressure that what a car does is ideal?
Anecdote: I hadn't checked tire pressure for awhile and was noticing a 'rear end' noise when cornering at low speeds. I checked brakes, bearings, custom rear fender mounting. Finally checked tire pressure... 5 PSI!!! WTF??! OK, it was a nice difference when I pressured it back up... but 5psi wouldn't get you outa the driveway in a MC tire.
 
#125 · (Edited by Moderator)
every one has there own flavor when it comes to these tires. but my highest recomend is this.

GENERAL Altimax HP 205/60R16 92H Tires Direct

ive done every type of riding you can encounter in north America i live in central kansas and have taken my vn2000 to vegas and back down to Arkansas for rallys every year and more, ive done desert, dry, mountain, ice, rain ( went through a monsoon in Arizona once. ) and i have to say i never felt like i was scared of loosing grip on the rear. i can ham hog the out of in in a corner and fell confident that my back end will stay under me. and the mileage is pretty superb . i pair it wil a perelli night dragon rear MT tire on the front end and it rides excellent.

only word of warning id give. heavy construction zones where they have the roads torn to hell of groves deep in them are scary. with that much rubber on the road the bike will want to follow those lines but as long as you dont ride like a jerk your fine.
 
#128 ·
I've been thinking of doing the same to my V2KLT but I've also heard that you might have to trim some of the inner fender plastic toward the front if running anything bigger than a 205/60/16? Heck I even had a 225/55r16 sitting in my shed for a while waiting for me but I ended up getting a good deal on a pair of Bridgestone Exedra Max that will hopefully outlast the stock crap tires.
 
#129 ·
I've tried several different tires on my crotch rocket and a few different ones on my VN2K. None of them lasted materially more miles than any others.

Only going to darkside (on my VN2K) made a meaningful improvement in tread life for me.
 
#130 ·
I run a 225/55r16 on myv2k, didn't have to trim anything. I am a big boy and ride 2 up with my girl. The shock will bottom out on hard bumps here and there and I have not noticed anything rubbing.
 
#132 ·
I bought a VN 2000 with the car tire installed. It's not for me. The bike doesn't like to lean properly. You have to fight it. And when you go back upright, there is a noticeable jolt, as is to be expected from running a square tire. I have ordered a Bridgestone Exedra Max in the stock size and will be replacing the car tire when the new one arrives. There is just not enough of a cost savings to justify the ill handling.
 
#135 ·
Looks like a 205/60/16. Not everyone likes the dark side which is cool with me. It does take some getting used to and air pressure has a really big impact on the ride. I just ordered my 3 car tire for my 2000. I ride 2up most of the time and working on my trailer hitch now for pulling a trailer so weigh capacity is a big factor along with tire wear.
 
#142 ·
I had a 205/60 16 Cooper tire on the rear and have a mixed reaction to how the bike rides. It does take more counter steering pressure to initiate and hold the bike in a turn. Nothing crazy but it is beyond noticeable. I just took the car tire off and put a fresh set of Bridgestone Excedra Max MC tires on this afternoon. I took about a 60 mile ride to scrub the tires in and I have to say the bike is MUCH more neutral handling than with the car tire. It takes a set in the corner with minimal effort and holds the line without having to keep constant counter steering pressure on the bars. It also does not follow pavement irregularities or react to a crown in the road the way the car tire did. Did I ever feel unsafe while on the Dark Side? No not at all. Is the bike as neutral handling and easy to ride on the back east TN curvy roads? Not even close. SO if you live out west or in an area where your are doing tons of flat straight roads or interstate I would say its a viable option. For me living in an area that has endless two lane curvy roads I will pay the MC tire tax of way less mileage out of a tire. Its awesome to have the car tire on and not feel at all guilty for tapping all that torque whenever you want. I have made the decision to restrain myself more often than not and take the more neutral handling. My two cents.........
 
#145 ·
I've noticed that most of you who are running a CT have gone with a wider tire than the 200 mm MT. Is this just for looks? It's been my experience that the wider the rear tire, the harder it is to lean the bike in turns. My Gold Wing's stock MT was a 200 mm, and when I went darkside I decided to go with a 195 instead of going wider. I'm glad I did. The bike maintains the same handling qualities as it did with the MT, and the 195 actually has a wider tread width than the 200 had, so it's contact patch is larger. If I had gone with a 205, I'm thinking that leaning the bike would've taken noticeably more effort. Sure, it's something that can be gotten used to, but why go wider just for looks if it's going to adversely effect handling?
 
#147 ·
Hi, I switched to a Pirelli car tire all season a couple of years ago, 205/60/16.
Bike is 2004 vn2000 with hard case saddles and pizza box and passenger most of the time.
Terrain here is varied curves hills and straight.
I found that running about 25 psi got rid of any handling issues I felt at first running 35 psi.
Stopping is better, rain is not an issue, no problems with riding up on corners of tires and ruts are ok now with the lower psi, the tire just adapts to the terrain, and you get used to the different feel pretty quick, I'm at 20,000 kms on the tire with no signs of wear.
It does ride straight very easily and gives a nice smooth ride, however cornering is not an issue with the lower psi.
I'll never go back to changing the rear every 10,000 kms, front is an Avon Cobra.
Hope this helps people.
 
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