Crazy Horse's How to Mount Motorcycle Tires on Schwinn Chopper Bicycle Wheels

[Crazy Horse]

Ok, so yes I've been using the Harley-Davidson Tires on my OCC Schwinn Stingray Motorized Chopper's for quite a while now and just wanted to let others know, that yes it's possible they do fit!

Thanks to Sulley from RatRodBikes, for taking the lead and showing us all that it works!

The Harley tire is the Dunlop D-402 130/90B-16 or D-MT90B16, these tires can be picked up in the trash pile used at most Harley Dealerships or other Motorcycle shops.

Here's the Dunlop Link:
http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tir...dson/dunlop-harley-davidson-tire-series/d402/

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/fitment-guide/search?type=fitment&make=11&model=256&year=282&submit=

The Harley D-402 is 25.70-inches in diameter and 5.20-inches in width.

Here's a couple of pictures mounted on the stock OCC Schwinn Stingray Chopper wheel:





I got 6-used D-402 tires from local Harley Dealership for free in the trash pile with plenty of tread for motorized bicycle use:




If you have questions or need suggestions just let me know!

C.H.

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

Re: Crazy Horse's How to Mount Harley-Davidson Tires on Schwinn Chopper Bicycle Wheel

Very Kool.

what is the outside diameter of the tire in inches?
how tall are they?

 

[Crazy Horse]

Re: Crazy Horse's How to Mount Harley-Davidson Tires on Schwinn Chopper Bicycle Wheel

Another friend over at the FB Spoiler Group mounted a Michelin Slick on his Spoiler rear wheel, which is the same size as the Stock OCC Schwinn Stingray Chopper 16-inch rear wheel.

Quote Dan,

I just thought of something you should know about running motorcycle tires on a bicycle's rim.
Do not inflate the motorcycle tire any higher than the original bicycle tire's "maximum inflation pressure" rating.
The maximum inflation pressure is determined by the rim, not the tire. And a narrow rim can handle more pressure than a wide rim.
My Harley tires say 42psi, but the StingRay tire says 35psi. That's how much the rim will take.
I run my phatt slick at 25psi, it gives a bit of cushion to the ride.

The tire size 130/70-16 has been successfully installed on the OCC Stingray Chopper before, without removing the fender mounts.
You'd need a size 130/60-16 to still have room for the rear fender.


An OCC Stingray Chopper's 24" rim measures 507mm, which is 20".

Motorcycle tires and rim sizes are determined by the rim's 'bead seat diameter', or BSD), it's where the tire seats on the rim, just below the wheel's lip.

But bicycle tires and rim sizes are determined by the approximate outside diameter of the tire.

The tire's overall height, not the rim.
That's why a 16" motorcycle tire fits a 20" bicycle rim.

A 16" diameter equals 406.5mm, which is the same as the OCC Stingray Chopper's 20" wheel. See this picture here:
http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg583/Daniel_Pierson/16inchmetric001_zps7618622d.jpg

Nowadays there's a newer modern method for bicycles, instead of calling it a 20",24",26",27",29", etc., the ISO, the "International Organization for Standardization" has developed a universal tire sizing system that eliminates this confusion.

Learn all you ever wanted to know about bicycle tire sizing right here, from Sheldon Brown:
http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

The B.S.D. of the 20" StingRay rim is 406mm (equals 16")

Here's the link to my Spoiler's photo album:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=htt...er/Daniel_Pierson/library/SPOILER&h=UAQGQS_1l

My slick went on real good, and centered-up fine. Lube it good, inflate, inspect, not good, deflate, lube again, inflate, inspect.
But mine's a racing slick, so it's built different, it's soft and flexible feeling, compared to my hi-speed hi-performance tires on my Harley. They are a real ***** and a half to do by hand!

I found a picture of Dan's Spoiler with Slick Tire mounted:

If any of you are really into the motorcycle tire mod, there is one on eBay, the same low-profile size tire that I have on my Spoiler, a 130/60-16. Let me tell ya, this low-profile size tire is almost impossible to find, all the tire manufacturers quit making this size back in the late 80's. It's now an obsolete size, which pissed off many Ducati owners. If you want one, this used one is only $75
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160923114145?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649


Michelin racing slick
130/60-16 (5.25"), Mounted onto stock OCC Schwinn Chopper rim, Size: 20x100mm(4")

To view and enjoy more pics of Dan's Spoiler with the Michelin 130/60-16 tire mounted click on link below:
http://s1245.photobucket.com/user/Daniel_Pierson/library/SPOILER

C.H.

 

[Crazy Horse]

Re: Crazy Horse's How to Mount Harley-Davidson Tires on Schwinn Chopper Bicycle Wheel

Very Kool.

what is the outside diameter of the tire in inches?
how tall are they?

The Harley D-402 is 25.70-inches in diameter and 5.20-inches in width.

Dan, used a Michelin racing slick
130/60-16 (5.25"), Mounted onto stock OCC Schwinn Chopper, with the stock OCC Schwinn Chopper Rim Size of: 20" x 100mm=(4")

C.H.

 

[Crazy Horse]

Has anyone mounted a motorcycle tire on a 24-inch wheel, are there any manufacturers that even make a motorcycle tire for a 24-inch bicycle wheel?

Motorcycles use the rim size, and bicycles use the tire size. A 20-inch bicycle rim is actually 16-inches for motorcycle tires.

A 20" bicycle tire's are ISO 406mm (with a rim seat of 406mm) and 16" = 406.4mm

24" tires are ISO 507mm, which is 20-inch so a narrow 20-inch motorcycle tire might fit.

26" tires are 559mm which is a 22-inch motorcycle tire.

It's obvious once I start my research, I won't stop till I found all the answers that I'm looking for.

Sheldon Brown website info, the bead seat diameter of 24"x decimal (1.5-2.125-etc.) is 507mm.

The tires I use are Harley Davidson Dunlop 402 or Dunlop 401.

The front tires on my Harley-Davidson Wide Glide FXDWG are D-401 MH 90-21 54H and the dimensions are:
Inside Diameter = 21-inches
Outside Diameter = 27-inches

Ok, we know the width of the Schwinn Stingray Chopper rear triangle is about 5.2-inches between the brake post's and 6.5" between the frame at the rear dropouts.
The only way to use the really fat / wide 150's or the 180's width tire's would be to widen cut, and re weld the rear triangle.

130 is the ideal Motorcycle Tire size / width for the 16-inch Schwinn Stingray Chopper rear wheel / rim.

Still researching and learning what I can regarding the use of Motorcycle Tires on Bicycle wheels / rim's.

Are you using these Motorcycle Tires on your builds, anyone?

C.H.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

I am, C.H.

I'm mounting a Dunlop 404 3 x 21 (80/90-21) motorcycle tire on my cruiser frame. It has a 1987 Suzuki RM80 fork with hydraulic disc brake. The RM80 has a 17" wheel. Last resort is to respoke to an RM125 21" motorcycle rim. If I'm REALLY lucky, I can mix and match wheels, rotors and calipers so the 21" rim bolts right on.

In the rear, I'll be using a Shinko R241 dual-purpose tire. Dunlop PROBABLY too wide. To make sure the Shinko will fit, I cut the outer cleats out. Made the tire narrower. Need to re-spoke a 21" m/c tire to 8-speed internal hub.

Still doing research too.

 

[Crazy Horse]

5-7Heaven, this is exactly why I started this post to show others how easy, well for an experienced builder how easy this setup can be!

Not to mention the reliability and safety factor & speed rating of using motorcycle tires for our motorized bicycle builds.

I almost never use coaster brake rear hubs, I prefer rear wheel / hubs setup for disc brakes, this way I can use a jackshaft to run one chain to rear wheel.

As far as mounting on your cruiser frame, there several things to consider ie.. width of tire , so as not to cause chain rub, answer for this is offset adapter ( gasbike / bikeberry or Pedalchopper sell's these adapter's) it moves your freewheel sprocket out further from your hub, or the complete all in one type offset freewheel sprocket's.

Another factor when considering motorcycle tires is width of chain stay & width of seat stays, for those who don't know what these two parts of the frame are they're your rear triangle portion of the bicycle frame that run from pedal crank to rear wheel & the other is the bar from the seat post down to the rear wheel.

Kudo's to you 5-7Heaven, on using motorcycle tires for your build!

If anyone can add their knowledge and experience of using motorcycle tires on their motorized bicycle builds, it would be appreciated by everyone if you could share you suggestions / tips, on how, who, what, where, and why you're using motorcycle tires on your motorized bicycle builds!

Peace Crazy Horse.
P.S. More Research & Information will be collected and added to this thread for everyone's benefit!

I am, C.H. (LOL I Like This...)

I'm mounting a Dunlop 404 3 x 21 (80/90-21) motorcycle tire on my cruiser frame. It has a 1987 Suzuki RM80 fork with hydraulic disc brake. The RM80 has a 17" wheel. Last resort is to respoke to an RM125 21" motorcycle rim. If I'm REALLY lucky, I can mix and match wheels, rotors and calipers so the 21" rim bolts right on.

In the rear, I'll be using a Shinko R241 dual-purpose tire. Dunlop PROBABLY too wide. To make sure the Shinko will fit, I cut the outer cleats out. Made the tire narrower. Need to re-spoke a 21" m/c tire to 8-speed internal hub.

Still doing research too.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

I shouldn't have chain rub problems. I'm running shift kit with 206mm wide bottom bracket.
It'll be a simple matter of spacing the inner chainring outwardly for tire clearance.

 

[Dadzilla]

Great post, I want to try this, is the schwinn tube used or something else

Thanks

 

[16v4nrbrgr]

How soft are those tires compared to the Stingray V-grooves? I had to switch to Fat Cats on my chopper when I got serious about it because I had the v-grooves wash out on me and almost lowside a couple times on dry pavement because they are a hard silica compound. My concern with motorcycle tire is that is that they are designed for a 400 lb Harley + rider, what happens to the adhesion at the contact patch when you reduce the bike weight to about 100 lbs? Grip is a function of the load on a tire up until the overloading point, at which the tire starts to slide. Sometimes tires cannot achieve their maximum performance simply because they are not loaded as much as intended. If the compound or the tire carcass is too stiff for a light bike it might not have sufficient bite around corners. I think we should look to soft compounds and moped tires since they are meant for a light bike.

Of course it may not be the case at all, just something to consider because lowsiding sucks. That slick you got there should be way grippy.

 

[Marcelao]

Thanks for all the usefull info, now i now how i waant my moped bober

 

[vhatley]

Here's my experience mounting Motorcycle tires on MY OCC. While the 130/90B-16 will indeed fit the bike, I had to remove the fender and mount. BUT as you can see in my photos, BOTH the motor and bicycle chains hit the tire quite hard. The bend and rub was too much, the MOTOR chain broke, (believe it or not.)

and

SO, I did some serious research. here's what I found. Tire sizes work like this, take for example: 130/90B-16. The 130 is the WIDTH in millimeters, (mm,) the 90 is PERCENTAGE of the WIDTH of the tire that the tire comes ABOVE the bead of the rim, not sure what the "B" means, and the 16 is (of course) the RIM diameter. SO in this example the tire is 130 mm WIDE, 117 mm TALL from the rim, (130x.90,) and fits a 16" rim. Not sure WHY they did the inch thing there but...

After carefully measuring the distance between my chains when both were at riding tension, I found I had 125mm space between the chains. This means that tire sizes of 120mm WIDE are acceptable, but I found a new Michelin that was 110. I ultimately settled on a 110/80-16, but knew I could feasibly go with a 120/90-16.

Here's the BAD, TRULY BAD part.

These two sizes are popular on the crotch-rockets....and bike owners tend to WEAR the **** outta them before they get taken off...at least that's according to my buddy at the motorcycle shop down the road told me.

 

[Lee.G]

Here's my experience mounting Motorcycle tires on MY OCC. While the 130/90B-16 will indeed fit the bike, I had to remove the fender and mount. BUT as you can see in my photos, BOTH the motor and bicycle chains hit the tire quite hard. The bend and rub was too much, the MOTOR chain broke, (believe it or not.)

and

SO, I did some serious research. here's what I found. Tire sizes work like this, take for example: 130/90B-16. The 130 is the WIDTH in millimeters, (mm,) the 90 is PERCENTAGE of the WIDTH of the tire that the tire comes ABOVE the bead of the rim, not sure what the "B" means, and the 16 is (of course) the RIM diameter. SO in this example the tire is 130 mm WIDE, 117 mm TALL from the rim, (130x.90,) and fits a 16" rim. Not sure WHY they did the inch thing there but...

After carefully measuring the distance between my chains when both were at riding tension, I found I had 125mm space between the chains. This means that tire sizes of 120mm WIDE are acceptable, but I found a new Michelin that was 110. I ultimately settled on a 110/80-16, but knew I could feasibly go with a 120/90-16.

Here's the BAD, TRULY BAD part.

These two sizes are popular on the crotch-rockets....and bike owners tend to WEAR the **** outta them before they get taken off...at least that's according to my buddy at the motorcycle shop down the road told me.

I know this is an old conversation but i am wanting to use motorcycle tires on my spoiler and would realy like to find motorcycle wheels that would fit. And

the b stands for soft rubber compound an a would be very soft

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

I have 2 of those wide stingray wheels now.

 

[bairdco]

You can get 16" moped wheels (or 17,18,19", too,) and use moped tires. A lot cheaper, not as wide, designed for lightweight bikes, and last forever.

The Pirelli ML75 is a great 16" tire. Looks all racy.

 

[bairdco]

Here's a link www.treatland.tv/pirelli-ML75-moped-tire-16-x-2-50-p/pirelli-ml75-16x2.50-tire.htm

 

[Lee.G]

I would really prefer to have a tire close to the 4.25" I dont think that I would like the looks of a narrow tire

 

[justpedaling]

Alright, after lurking and learning from this post for awhile I'm ready to share and ask a few specifics.

Here's where I'm at. (side note: I'm not trying to make my occ motorized, just a rideable bike that happens to have a giant motorcycle tire on the back for sh*ts and giggles - any rules on language btw? Taking the safer route for now lol)

The OG tire was toast when I got it, had a giant hole burned through it, so I looked into my options and decided on Crazy Horse's trash pile idea at the local Harley spot and scored 2 tires. One is the Dunlop 130/90-16 402F and the other is some other brand but size 140/90-16. Was super stoked to score them for free and I would of taken more but I rode my bike there to get some miles. I didn't take into account how much bigger motorcycle tires are compared to bicycle shoes at all. Could only fit one on my rack and the other I wore home - resulting in newfound respect for the Michelin Man

Anywho, here's what I'd like to know from those who have completed this mod.

1. Did you end up setting up the original rim as tubeless for the new moto tire or did you use a tube?

2. If you used a tube, what tube? did you end up getting the matching motorcycle tube or did you use the Schwinn tube?

3. Was there anything really tricky about getting the moto tire bead to catch on the Schwinn rear rim?

4. What did you do as far as your brakes set up?

I am thinking of leaving the rear brakeless and only putting a brake up front. I'd like to leave the front as stock as possible because I got this as a quick build to just have fun and to pick up food to go in the neighborhood. In case you didn't see from above though, this is not going to be a motorized build hence I'm not as worried about having really good brakes. I plan on going SLOW.

Thanks for your posts & enjoy your next ride

 

[PeteMcP]

Good plan. It'll work.
I'm presently building an e-stretch using a custom stretched OCC frame and decided to go with Crazy Horse's tip and use a 16" motorcycle tyre. In the last couple of weeks I've just fitted a new 4.25-20" tyre to the rear e-hub but have since located a good used Battleaxe 120/80-16" m/cycle tyre which I'll have my local tyre fitters install when I next skip lockdown here in the UK. I'm using a new 4.25-20" bicycle inner tube.
I already measured things to establish the widest tyre I can fit without running into problems with the chain rubbing the tyre sidewall and 120mm max is what I went with. A 130mm wide tyre would be too close for comfort.
My 'Blue Bamboo' stretch cruiser had no rear brakes when I purchased it so I've gone ahead and fitted a rear disc/caliper using the nifty cnc'd alloy caliper mount offered by Pedal Chopper in Florida. Only required minor mods to fit my ride - such as enlarging the mount's 10mm axle hole to fit the e-hub's 14mm axle and filing a slot to accommodate the e-hub's electrical flex. For your application using the original OCC rear wheel, the caliper mount would be an easy fit-n-go as long as you had a disc-ready wheel.

 

[justpedaling]

Preciate the reply and that's gonna be so fun to ride. I used to work at a bike shop and once we got beach cruisers with e-hub motors, we could not stop riding them during the slow hours. Races and swerves in the abandoned parking nextdoor for days. Stretched out? I can't even imagine lol, one day.

I'm taking off my fender and chainguard today and gonna see how the tire looks in roughly the right spot. Hopefully if the 130 is too close for comfort it'll still be good enough for around the block. Unfortunately my wheel isn't disc ready but I'll figure something out. Hope you can finish it soon! That fork is dope too