Tire Fitment

[crazy steve]

I need to buy new hoops for my '78, and before I go shopping thought I would ask the collective wisdom for their input.

I DID search the archives, but my particular questions weren't addressed.

The original Bridgestones the bike came with weren't very good; I switched to Avon Speedmasters (back in the day), but they weren't much better. There must be a better modern choice.

I saw that Dunlop seems to be the tire of choice here, with Conti's a close second. But on another motorcycle forum I'm on, Dunlops are referred to as 'Rocklops' due to their somewhat hard compounds. There, Avons and Metzler seem to be the popular choices, and nobody uses Contis. I've heard good reports on the Metzler's wear, less so on the Avons. I like a sticky tire due to the road conditions I have to deal with. I've also used ChenShin 'Barracudas' on another bike. Not so good for wear (about 60-70% of the other brands) but good traction and at less than half the price pretty good bang-for-the-buck.

So two questions; anybody used these 'other' brands (and what sizes) and were there any fitment issues? I know that ACTUAL tire size can vary in a given size between manufactures by as much as a 1/2", and as there's tight clearance on the shaft side, before I select an oversize it would be nice to know if it will go.

Thanks!

[XSPastor]

Oh goodie another tire thread...

[bikerphil]

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ght=kind+tires

[trbig]

As with the oil thread, everyone has an opinion, and most brands of tires will be someone's favorite. Read through the link posted and form your own opinion...



Tod

[DGXSER]

I've got the Kenda Challengers on both of mine, installed by a PO around 2003 from the tire stamp. Unfortunately, opinions are pretty consistant that they suck, are cheap, not inexpensive (althogh they dont cost much), but cheap.

Come spring, I will need to convince SWMBO that I need to invest in new rubbers for my protection.

[crazy steve]

I didn't put my question quite right. Yes, everyone will have their favorite tire brand for whatever reason. What I'm after, was there any clearance issues with whatever brand/model tire you selected, particularly if you went oversize? And I probably should mention that I have a '78 with a 17" rear wheel.

In searching the archives, I saw a thread where was mention that a 140 would fit (as long as there were no raised letters) and that a few people had even managed to fit a 150, but no brands or rim size were specified. THAT'S the info I'm after as there can be quite a bit of size variation between brands and sometimes even within same brand/different models. As an example, I just measured a Dunlop K491 in a MT90/16, a Dunlop 401 130/90-16, and a ChengShin Barracuda 130/90-16. All of these are mounted on identical 3" wide rims and inflated. Supposedly all 'equivelent' sizes, but the 401 came in at 5" wide, the 491 at 5.1", and the 'Cuda at 5.3". The two that are the 'same' size had the most difference. And to make matters worse, the Dunlop site says the 401 is 5.18" wide (making the manufacturer info suspect), so real-world experience will be king here. I think most of this discussion pertained to a 16" rear wheel (with more size/type availability); with the poorer selection for the 17", all this may be moot.

So..... anybody have fitment issues with their 17" tires?

[DiverRay]

The Dunlop EliteII 140 BLACKWALL will fit on the rear. With the E3 on front, 110 size, it makes a nice handling combo, and I've been able to get 15K miles on that combo.
Just my 2 cents....

[crazy steve]

Well, after thoroughly going over every tire maker's sites, I've discovered that the choices in a 17" rear tire are lousy. Either the tire is the wrong aspect ratio (too wide) or the only thing available is a direct-replacement size in one of their lower line 'budget' tires. Grrrr.

I'll hope that tire technology has improved since '85, but my experience on my other bikes doesn't lead me to believe that. I was on my 4th rear tire on the XS in 15K miles when the bike got parked.....

If I convert to a 16" Special rear wheel, there's a few more choices, but I'll take a hit in fuel economy due to the smaller diameter.

Oh well....

[DGXSER]

Call me Crazy

Ohh wait...thats you. If your worried about MPG, try the 750 final drive mod. it is supposed to do wonders for MPG by lowering the RPM substantially.

[tarzan]

Hey steve,
I average about 39 mpg on my Special.I run sock size 130wide 16" tire.Your mileage shouldnt drop much.

[crazy steve]

Hey steve,
I average about 39 mpg on my Special.I run sock size 130wide 16" tire.Your mileage shouldnt drop much.

The newer ones must get better mileage. I was told by the dealer that my ex worked for at the time that the '78 had the most power (for the 'big splash' in the bike media and to out-perform the KZ1000) and the later bikes were 'detuned' slightly (smaller inside diameter on the head pipes for one thing I was told). The absolute BEST I ever got with mine was 39 MPG and it was usually in the low-to-mid thirties, with a recorded low of 29 when I was overly enthusiastic one time.

[bikerphil]

Mpg

My Special with 16" rim and 750 FD mod gets over 40 MPG no matter what attitude I ride with. Running a Bridgestone Spitfire 130/90/16 and it will last 8-10K miles.

[thewiz]

Well, I don't get nearly ...

the fuel mileage as some of the others here with my SF, but having said that, and being mostly accustomed to Stds with the 17" rear wheel, it feels to me like the motor is screaming at fwy speeds on the Special with the 16" rear wheel. I use Metzler Marathon 880s on it. That tire is also available in 130 90 17 as well.