MTFCA Forum

Wanted! Looking for a pair of "Knobby" tires in "decent" shape. 21 inch. Prefer matched pair. Let me know. T.

Check out motor cycle shops.

Allan from down under.

Are the sidewalls on motorcycle/dirt bike tires strong enough to support the weight of a Model T I have considered this option myself. Has anyone ever used dirt bike tires on a T??

When I built a WWI Light Patrol Vehicle, I looked at researched motorcycle tires and even purchased one and decided for several reasons that they were not an option for me. I'll check and see if I can find what I purchased, but they were vintage tires and a very off road tread design.

Knobbies and motorcycle tires on the stripped down roadster a couple of summers ago…

They look cool and the fronts are great on the pavement. I drove it around on dirt 4x4 trails and in the snow like that but the knobbies got beat up fast on the road. These are on model A 19s so they are too dinky on the T with the fenders on. I have ridden in a number of V8 model A’s with front tires made for vintage motorcycles on 16’s that handled great but they are much wider than the normal T tires and would not work well on a stock T front end. Since I had a lot of weight off and the suspension lowered the little 19’s worked great on the stripped down roadster but Im sure a complete car would push them around in an unsafe manner. If they make motorcycle tires for 21’s (which I guess they do, since it came up) I’d think they would work fine at low speeds (parade, or static display) on front and back but they have a smaller contact patch (by a lot) than the average 21” tire for T’s or A’s so I would not try them on the rear of a driver.
Of course, since adding fenders and the pickup bed, id love to find 4 of those old knobbies for 21’s. I’d put them right on and traction on pavement will have to be secondary to the look. Berts does get those in occasionally so perhaps contact them about it but I’ve only seen one or two at a time. I know Dave Huson likes them on his cars for winter driving and is always looking too so if they’re out there getting dusty somewhere please let us know! -Chris, in Boulder
P.S.- Anyone building a dirt track or “trog” type speedster is welcome to contact me about the 19’s as I think I’ll be keeping the fenders and bed on Teezy…