Where can i get the cheapest possible motorcycle tires

Ohhhh I can see the blood pressure rising and the rage building getting ready to furiously teach me a lesson at the expense of your computer keyboards. Hear me out first. My father and I have been working on a horseless carriage project (old car replica) for a while now and have decided that we are probably going to use motorcycle wheels. We will actually be using 4 Honda spoked front wheels for the project. Until now we have been using utility cart wheels but they just will not hold up much longer, due to the use of a heavy hit and miss engine in the back. It uses a jack shaft running to two sprockets on the back wheels, in which case we will be mounting the sprockets to the front disc mounts. All that said, it will be a very low speed machine (max out at around 15 to 20 mph) and we are looking to not spend a fortune on tires, as we will probably never wear a set out. Does anyone have a source for very cheap mc tires that would be good enough for this application? I believe the size would be 90/90/19's (for the record I am probably going to run Avon Roadriders on my cb550... just to get that out of the way) =)

Here is a picture of the project (kinda older pictures and not very high quality sorry)

Chaparral isn't bad... www.chaparral-racing.com/
I got the pair of Shinko 712's for my CB750 for (iirc) around $120.00 to my door.

I've used Kenda tires on bikes for just puttering around, at around $130 a set.

Shinko's are good. Kenda Challengers are a spectacular, low cost, tire.

carnivorous chicken said:

I've used Kenda tires on bikes for just puttering around, at around $130 a set.

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Redbird said:

Chaparral isn't bad... www.chaparral-racing.com/
I got the pair of Shinko 712's for my CB750 for (iirc) around $120.00 to my door.

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J-Rod10 said:

Shinko's are good. Kenda Challengers are a spectacular, low cost, tire.

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Thanks guys, I will check into those. Like I said we will never wear them out, they will probably dry rot before they get worn.. I appreciate the feel back and ill look into those I hadnt thought to look into kenda or shinko. Also trying to find something that has somewhat of an old look, but dont wanna spend $150 a pop on firestone champion deluxe tires haha

Treatland

https://www.treatland.tv/sava-moped-tires-s/425.htm

well another question, would these pop on the bead of my 550 wheel? looks like they would fit the bill, and the look, but it think they are a little narrow?

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/18730/i/shinko-sr241-front-rear-dual-sport-tire

Just a stock photo. Order the size that corresponds with your rim.

that is a cool project just be aware motorcycle wheels are not designed for the kind of side loading a 4 or 3 wheeler puts in a wheel, so just keep it down to a relaxed pace try not to go too fast in the turns
just to be clear if you run those 241's on your 550 you will crash, they are a shit tire wont work at all on a heavy, bike fine for that buggy deal tho

xb33bsa said:

that is a cool project just be aware motorcycle wheels are not designed for the kind of side loading a 4 or 3 wheeler puts in a wheel, so just keep it down to a relaxed pace try not to go too fast in the turns
just to be clear if you run those 241's on your 550 you will crash, they are a shit tire wont work at all on a heavy, bike fine for that buggy deal tho

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Thanks! I know they aren't made for side load, but the primary function of the horseless carriage is putting around back roads and tractor shows, not a high speed machine at all. And while they aren't made for a 4 wheel vehicle, either are the aluminum spoked garden cart wheels that are on it now, but heck they have held up for a while, just cant keep tubes holding up. the reason i asked if they would fit on a cb550 front wheel is because that is what were going to run 4 of on the kart. I am gonna run avons on the 550 i think, not the cheapy dirt tires lol

J-Rod10 said:

Just a stock photo. Order the size that corresponds with your rim.

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I guess when i copied the link it didnt keep the tire size that i had selected. The ones i had were 2.75-19's. would they be to narrow to pop on the rim??

I've ran a few different sets of Shinkos on different bikes and you can't beat them for quality vs price. I really like the Shinko 705 tires, tho they probably aren't for everyone. I like them because they handle awesome on the street and also handle very well on dirt roads and trails. They only fall short in mud, they even pass with flying colors at 75mph in a downpour.

hurco550 said:

I guess when i copied the link it didnt keep the tire size that i had selected. The ones i had were 2.75-19's. would they be to narrow to pop on the rim??

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the 2.75 is a narrow tire and quite small, i ran one on my sl350 front(the 241) it was scary ,a terrrible, overly soft rubber compound,,but i am stubborn and wore it out in 800 miles the chip seal roads ate it that fast
it will fit on a 1.85 rim the tube will pop it on

The 2.75-19 is equivalent to a 90/90-19. The CB550 front used a 3.25-19, which is equivalent to a 100/90-19.
You're looking at roughly 10mm-.5" difference between the two tread widths.

2.75" is eaqual to a 70 not a 90 and that 241 is more like a 60 i don't think shinko can read a tape,and all of your conversions/comparisons are way off redbird

I didn't pull those conversions/comparisons outta thin air...
http://www.kgmotorcycletires.com/size_conversion_charts.htm
http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-tires/tire-data.htm
http://www.mad-ducati.com/Technical/TireInfo/TireChart.html
http://www.kendatire.com/en/motorcycle/technical-information/
http://www.weeksmotorcycle.com/tire-size-conversion-chart.html

While yes, tire manufacturers often have different interpretations of sizing. Simple math says the difference between a 90/90-19 and a 100/90-19 is 10mm and the difference between a 2.75-19 and a 3.25-19 is .5".

25.4 MM to an inch.

2.75 = 2.75*25.4 = 69.85 MM
90MM = 90/25.4 = 3.54

The real problem is that Tire manufactures measure funny. You can buy 2 different model tires from the same manufacturer, that have the same siz, yet they will actually be different widths.

On a 90/70, the width is nominally 90mm, and the height 70% of the width, 63 mm
on a 90/90, width is 90 mm, height is 90%, 81 mm.

That is the math, but tire sizes are not as precise as the math...

Have you considered implement tires?
http://m.ebay.com/itm/181671319245

Speedfiend said:

Have you considered implement tires?
http://m.ebay.com/itm/181671319245

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hmm I had not thought of that! good idea and not a bad price.. I may have to look into that closer

hurco550 said:

hmm I had not thought of that! good idea and not a bad price.. I may have to look into that closer

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those tire are extremely heavy and would not be suitable in any way