A friend asked me to help him climb over to the Darkside, against my moral standing…. But these big ole hosses  they are making today can chew up and spit out a motorcycle tire in record time. So, we decided to go with a car tire for his 2008 Suzuki C109RT behemoth. We chose the Kumho because of it’s relative low cost and the tread pattern and sidewalls looked like they would do the job quite gallantly, and in the event it was not a good fit, not too much would be lost. I searched the internet mavens and forums for a light in  the dark, but alas, found little for the C109, although VN2000’s and M109R’s dressed in car tires and the reports of triple the mileage abound! The tire is mounted and balanced, but I won’t get a test ride until the sun comes out and the streets dry a bit, hopefully on the morrow. I will keep this post updated as to the results.

Update 12/25/13: We started with 30 PSI in the rear tire and 42 in the front. A friend with a car tire on his VN2000 says that lower air pressure allows the sidewall to flex and lets the bike lean in a normal manner. The first ride revealed the bike wanted to pull slightly to the right, mostly following the crown of the road, but it had a definite proclivity to turn right far easier than left. So we skipped a couple of steps and bumped the air pressure up to 40 PSI which made a marked improvement in handling characteristics while maintaining an acceptable degree of drive-ability. I will continue to make further updates as the weather allows us to get some more miles on the bike.

2008 VLR1800T C109RT

2008 VLR1800T C109RT

2008 VLR1800T C109RT

2008 VLR1800T C109RT

2008 VLR1800T C109RT

2008 VLR1800T C109RT

2008 VLR1800T C109RT

2008 VLR1800T C109RT

The original Bridgestone was 240/55-16 as compared to the Kumho 225/55-16. They are nearly identical in size, both width and height, as you can see from the pics. The car tire fits perfectly, with plenty of clearance all around. The only tight spot is the drive shaft on the left hand side which maintained roughly a 13mm air gap, so a slightly wider tire could be installed if you just want as much rubber under the fender as possible.