AN LR55 BLOWS A TIRE ON TKOF. THE GEAR IS RAISED AND THE APPARENT SUBSEQUENT DAMAGE REQUIRES A RETURN LAND AT SFO.

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THE XX00 LCL WX WAS 2500 FT BROKEN AND BETTER THAN 10 MI VISIBILITY AS FO AND MYSELF TAXIED OUT WITH 4 PAX AND FULL FUEL TO RWY 1R FOR A FLT TO MSP. NORMAL PREFLT AND CHKLIST ITEMS INCLUDING COCKPIT CHKS WERE CONDUCTED PRIOR TO ENG START; TAXI AND TKOF. AS WE TAXIED INTO POS TO HOLD ON RWY 1R FO AND I REVIEWED THE TKOF ITEMS AND BRIEFED AGAIN. WE WERE CLRED FOR TKOF AND FO ADVANCED THE PWR LEVERS AS I CALLED 'TKOF THRUST PWR SET.' WITH TWO STABLE ENGS; AIRSPD ALIVE AND STEERING OFF; THE ANNUNCIATOR PANEL WAS CLR AS WE ACCELERATED THROUGH '100 KT XCHK.' (WE WERE AT 20200 LBS ACTUAL TKOF WT WITH FLAPS 8 DEGS AND BUG SPDS CONSERVATIVELY SET AT 21000 LB CRITERIA. DUE TO ADDITIONAL RWY LENGTH AVAILABLE ON RWY 1R; I SET V1 AT VR.) AS I CALLED V1/VR SIMULTANEOUSLY THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL SHUDDER AND NOISE THAT SEEMED TO INCREASE IN INTENSITY UNTIL LIFT-OFF WAS OBTAINED. I CALLED POSITIVE RATE AND FO CALLED FOR GEAR UP. AS I POSITIONED THE GEAR LEVER UP AND CALLED V2 +30; A STRONG ODOR OF BURNT RUBBER WAS PRESENT IN THE COCKPIT ALONG WITH A HARMONIC SOUND AND VIBRATION. AS I RETRACTED THE FLAPS AND CLEANED THE ACFT UP IN THE CLB; IT WAS APPARENT THAT WE HAD BLOWN A TIRE AT ROTATION AND THAT PERHAPS THIS VIBRATION AND HARMONIC SOUND WAS A DAMAGED GEAR DOOR SEAL. WE WERE INITIALLY CLRED TO FL230 IMMEDIATELY UPON TKOF. I REQUESTED A LEVELOFF PRIOR TO FL230 TO SWING THE LNDG GEAR TO INSURE THAT THERE WAS NO IMPAIRED PERFORMANCE OF THE ESSENTIAL LNDG GEAR APPARATUS AND MAYBE TO ELIMINATE THE STRANGE SOUND AS WELL. THE LNDG GEAR EXTENDED AND RETRACTED NORMALLY WITH ALL OF THE GEAR DOOR AND GEAR LIGHTS INDICATING PROPERLY AND NO ABNORMAL FLUCTUATION OR INDICATION IN HYD PRESSURE; BUT THE SOUND AND VIBRATION WAS STILL PRESENT. FO AND I DISCUSSED PROCEEDING TO OUR DEST AND FELT THAT PERHAPS LNDG AT A MINIMUM WT WOULD BE THE SAFER WAY THAN TO RISK AN OVERWT LNDG WITH A BLOWN MAIN TIRE. I WAS THE PLT NOW FLYING AT THIS POINT AS WE CONTINUED OUR CLB TO FL230. SETTING CLB THRUST AND ACFT PITCH FOR A NORMAL CLB SPD; I FOUND THE ACFT TO BE VERY 'ANEMIC' IN PERFORMANCE. LOWERING THE PITCH TO ZERO VSI TO ACCRUE AIRSPD BEYOND 210 KTS WAS FUTILE. SCANNING AND CHKING PWR SETTINGS; ENG AND FLT PARAMETERS REVEALED NOTHING ABNORMAL. THERE WAS SOMETHING AERODYNAMICALLY 'AMISS' WITH OUR ACFT. IT WAS TIME TO RETURN. SINCE WE WERE CLOSER TO SACRAMENTO WE THOUGHT THAT A FLY-BY FOR VISIBLE DAMAGE VERIFICATION BEFORE LNDG WAS PRUDENT. BUT; AS DUSK WAS QUICKLY HEADING INTO NIGHT; WE WERE LEFT WITHOUT THAT OPTION. WE CONTINUED ON TO SFO AND DECLARED AN EMER FOR STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS AND LANDED UNEVENTFULLY.