VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Motor Cycle tires on Chevy Wheels

I'm working on a speedster. Basically a '28 Chev with a 22 Overland rearend, and body from the cowl forward, no fenders....
The challenge that I am having right now is the tires. It has 18" wire wheels on the front. I found motor cycle tires and have them mounted... Kind of. It's like the bead is different on motor cycle tires than those old wheels are intended for (DUH).

Has anyone had success with this combination? It's like the tires are twisted, the tire bead isn't where it needs to be on the wheel. As a result, they look OK, maybe even good, but when I go beyond an idle, the car gets a bounce. The wheels appear to be pretty good, maybe not up to 70 mph, but this thing will never see that. The tires are round and the wheels are round. I believe it has to do with the mounting of the tires on the wheels.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
Ed....

Are you mounting a regular tire in a clincher rim?

Have you balanced the wheels? Chevy did not install tire weights to offset the weight of the rim catch until after 1929. Here's a thread where this topic is discussed: https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/192255/1

I've heard elsewhere that the modern inner tubes for our old Chevys are not good quality and have often wondered if using the repro tires, but motorcycle inner tubes might be the way to go.

Cheers, Dean

I suspect that it is just the opposite. Trying to mount a clincher tire on a straight rim. Most bicycle and older motorcycle tires are clinchers particularly the narrow ones.

I talked to a VCCA member out in the pacific northwest who tried motorcycle tires on his and he says it did not work very well. Don't know all the details, but know the guy well enough to know if it could be done well he would have accomplished it.

I'm not familiar with the term Clincher rim. Pretty much a novice at this.

The front wheels are 18" chevy 6 lug wires. While not perfect, they are pretty straight. My interpretation of what I'm seeing is the bead of the tire is not positioned properly on the wheel. The fellow that put them on for me, is pretty familiar with mounting tires and had trouble getting them as good as they are now.

So, to me the issue is "can this be done", "is there a better way", "should I just go buy new tires and be done with it"????

One additional bit of information that I gained, from a local tire store... He gave me about a cup of 'duck grease'. He said it might help if the tire slides a little during installation. This stuff is as slick as... well - Duck Grease! Maybe that will help.

He also contributed that even the guys that mount Motor Cycle tires, have to fuss with them....

Thanks for all of the ideas and thoughts. Keep'em coming. I want to get this thing on the road before it gets wet in Seattle...

Ed......

Clincher tires have a bead molded into the mounting surface that fits into a depression formed in the rim. Non-clincher tires have a straight mounting surface where it contacts the rim or wheel.

I'm going to stop by a tire store tomorrow and see if they will remount the tires. If that doesn't work, then I'll be trying the Duck Grease. Then, I can finish the wiring, then work on the radiator (again), then the head gasket...

I'll have to look to determine the Clincher issue....


Ed......

Good news, guys. I took the wheels to PowerSports, in Everett, Wa. They were able to remount the tire on one of the wheels, but said the second wheel needs more work to get rid of rust on the bead area. Makes sense. Glad they could make one work, and assured me when I get the second wheel ready, they can mount the tire on it.

Getting closer....