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Thread: Are motorcycle and car tire beads the same?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Back in Hunt Valley, MD
    Posts
    2,745
    My Cars
    96 ACS S3 CLS, 02 540iA

    Are motorcycle and car tire beads the same?

    Does anyone know if the beads used on car tires/wheels are the same as the beads used on motorcycle tires/wheels? Why am I asking? Well, I have a spare 17" AC Schnitzer Type II 3-piece wheel that I want to use for my spare tire. It's a 9" wheel and since I want to cut as much weight as possible (but want to retain a spare in the case of a flat) i'm thinking of having the width cut down from 9" to 5" and putting a motorcycle tire onto it. This would give me a spare that has as minimal weight as possible. So, my question is...would a motorcycle tire work on an automotive wheel if the wheel was narrow enough? Or does a motorcycle tire use a different shaped bead than the automotive tire? Yeah, it's kinda a weird question, but does anyone know? Thanks in advance.
    Alvin Caragay
    Mpire Automotive (https://www.facebook.com/MpireAutomotive/)
    '96 AC Schnitzer S3 Sport CLS Replica (https://www.facebook.com/ACSS3SportCLSR)
    '02 E39 540iAT

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Orange County
    Posts
    148
    My Cars
    '97 M3,'04 GSXR600
    The beads are the same I believe,but as far as what your doing i would check the load rating of a motorcycle tire first before
    performing the swap(car-2-4000lbs, motorcycle -300-1000lbs)
    hope this helps.
    Theres A Difference between being Brave and being Stupid...

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Back in Hunt Valley, MD
    Posts
    2,745
    My Cars
    96 ACS S3 CLS, 02 540iA
    M Junky...thanks for the reply. Yeah, I was gonna get the highest load rated motorcycle tire that I could find that was the right size. I actually got the idea from AC Schnitzer. This is what they used as their spare tires in the cars that were actually built by AC schnitzer like the S3 Sport CLS and the CLSII. Anyway, thanks again.
    Alvin Caragay
    Mpire Automotive (https://www.facebook.com/MpireAutomotive/)
    '96 AC Schnitzer S3 Sport CLS Replica (https://www.facebook.com/ACSS3SportCLSR)
    '02 E39 540iAT

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    South Bend, Indiana
    Posts
    6,823
    My Cars
    BMW 525I
    Motorcycle tires do not fit on cars. They are different construction and do not have the load capacity.


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