Anybody with sidecar experience: I,m trying to get info on what tire is best for mileage on a 99 Road King when operating with a sidecar. There,s not much room to change rear tire size from the stock 130/90/16. I have tried a Michelin Commander II and only got about 3,500 miles and its slick. The sidecar was just realighed by a experienced installer and tracks /handles great. The Michelin was put on just before the sidecar was reattached to the bike. Thanks for any info!

Hey Highlander,

I assume that you are talking about the back tire longevity. From what I hear the Michelin Commander II are real good tires several guys I know now run them and like the way they handle and are getting good mileage from them. I think that you need to realize that the side car brings a lot more weight on the back tire. The other question is how fast do you drive off the line ie. red lights, stop signs? If you do fast starts with the extra weight you back tire will certainly not last long.

Motorcycle tires are softer then car tires. If you go to a harder tire compound tires tend to get very slippery. But since you now run a side car it would probably not give you too much problem except for stopping if you use your rear brakes a lot.

Start, stops and tire compound all play a role in longevity. Hopefully this helps.

I'm running the Michelin's now - great tires.
The longest/hardest tires I've ever used were Continentals. I got 11k on a back tire and 20k on the front. I didn't like them that much, they skidded a lot - front & back.
Since you're running a side car and the bike won't really lean, you might look into a narrow car tire. Being squared they might offer more surface on the road.

Thanks for the input/info and it sounds like what i thought. The extra weight and resistance caused by the sidecar will just wear the rear tire FAST. I think I will try a Dunlop 491 and while i usually ride fairly conservative i will try to take it a little easier on the starts and stops. I also have a Valkyrie Interstate and ride it a little more aggressive. I got the sidecar for my wife thinking it would be a little easier for her because she has had some health problems. We use the sidecar rig for shorter rides and riding the Blue Ridge Parkway. I like it but may have to just ride it less. If anybody knows what car tire will work to replace a 130/90/16 I would appreciate the info. Thanks Guys !

Always happy to help a fellow rider. Ride safe.

Yeah easing into it at starts always makes a difference, but added wear is the nature of the beast with a side car. Hope your wife is enjoying the ride - must be a blast in a side car!! Sounds like you have a nice ride that you take her on.
I was able to get my last set of tires online, delivered to my door. Saved me a bunch of money. I usually do all my own work, so I take the wheels off and bring them with the new tires down to my local motorcycle wheel shop and they do the mount and balance for me. I take the wheels home give them a detailed cleaning then put them back on the bike. I've been doing this for almost 20 years. If you know you're going to go through back tires you might want to look into some or all of that and then the cost of tire replacement drops considerably. Ride more - life is short!!

As for a car tire, You might be able to find a cross reference chart some where on the web - you can't be the only one to need that info.

Welcome to the forum.

This past weekend I saw a hardtail with what looked like a car tire - he was leaving as I saw him, or I would have asked him about it for you.