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Advice on new tires for K75 sidecar rig

walnutz

New member
This is for a 1995 K75 and Velorex 562 sidecar.

I'm shopping for new tires and was hoping someone could advise me on what tires I should get for the front, rear and sidecar. I live in Connecticut USA so I will ride year long. Are there all weather tires?

Also, living in Connecticut, I have to pass an inspection before I can register it because I just bought it. I don't think I will pass this inspection with the tires that are on it now because the front is getting down there and I don't want to have to go back if they fail me. The other thing is that I don't want to go through the inspection with the sidecar because it is not a law that I need to and the inspectors can be *******s and nitpick on small things. The less I bring there for them to inspect the better. My concern is if I put new tires meant for sidecar riding, will it be okay to just ride to the inspection and back with the flatter tires and no sidecar? It would only be for the one trip and I'm sure I'd have to be careful and not lean much at all. Has anyone done this?

The reason the sidecar is off right now is that I am working on the bike in my shed and I needed to take it off to both fit the bike in the entryway and also take off the subframe to rebuild the clutch. I will still have some things to do after I get it inspected and registered.
 
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Not seeing much response here regarding your tire question and no recommendations of my own, you might ask your question on the hack forum at the adventure rider website. It's a good source for hack info, lots of hack smart folks there. Good luck with your project and hope see photos.
 
This post is getting old, but I would recommend with just staying with the stock tire sizes for your bike & rig. In most cases this is what the rig was set up for and will cause you the least amount of handling issues. Over size tires, especially on the front will make the steering heavy. Go with any good brand that fits your bike, and I would stay with bias ply for your initial set. I know on my K100 I can put radials on the bike but I choose to just run bias ply. This is a new to your rig and once your get some miles and wear out a set of stock tires, you'll know which way to go.

I don't know what the rules are in your location for 2 wheel or 3 wheel ( sidecar in this case ) for registration purposes. Where I live the bike has to be inspected if it is out of province and never registered in Alberta. Also here if you have a motorcycle licence then you can drive trikes or sidecars, but you can get a 3 wheel only licence if you don't plan on driving a 2 W motorcycle If you don't have to get it inspected I wouldn't bother.

Inspections are going to be on the mechanical stuff, lights,brakes tires, controls, windscreen condition. Up here they take the bike for a ride. So if you are going to get it inspected, make sure everything is working. The adventure site is a good one for info on sidecars as well as the USCA Sidecar Forum.
 
A friend turn his '94 K100RT into a sidecar rig. He was getting very little distance on the rear tire so he had some changes made to accommodate a car tire on the rear.
 
Listing your tire sizes would help, as size can limit what’s available. I’m currently running Metzeler ME880 BIAS tire on front, and a BF Goodrich car tire on the rear, using an early VW Beetle rim and an adapter sold by Freedom Sidecars (Claude Stanley). If you are sticking with a bike tire on the rear, the ME880 would be a likely choice there as well. But again, sizing will be a factor in what’s available to fit your bike.

Best,
DeVern
 
My bad, I meant 888 but typed 880. I do get better life from the 888 than I did with the 880.
Best,
DeVern
 
888 rears worked great for my K75S (no sidecar) - I was getting at least 20k miles out of each.

I much preferred the Michelin Commander II's on the front, I felt that they were better over tar snakes and better grip compared to the matched Metzeler fronts. They wore down about the same time as the 888 rear too.
 
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