New tires equal new bike

[macroars]

I got a new rear tire yesterday - without the chicken rims left by the previous owner. A completely new experience at winding roads! Marvellous!

Through some older postings, I have seen that you are riding 90/90 front and 110/90 rear. The euro version should have 90/90 front and 4.25/85 rear. To my knowledge it is not uncommon that manufacturers put on different tires in different markets.

At least according to one conversion table, 4.25 is somewhere between 120 and 130. So I could choose between 120/90 and 130/80.  Back in 82, 4.25 was rather wide, so I fitted 130, and it presents the bike in a way that suits it well. 

Now I am riding 100/90 Promaxx front and 130/80 Pirelli rear - and it works well.

[GT @ oh.]

Didnt think it could fit 130s.

[Tiger]

 :) There is a fairly new 130 x 90 on the rear of the "new" Vision that I've just brought home...it fits...just!!!

                              8).......TIGER....... 8)

[macroars]

Didnt think it could fit 130s.

The previous chicken rimmed tire was 130/90. When worn down, there was plenty of space between collector and tire, but I can imagine close fit when the tire was brand new.

With the current and new 130/80 profile, there are a little less space, but it should not be a problem.   

[jasonm.]

130/80 is actually shorter that a 120/90. But the 130 width can be an issue at speed when the tire DOES Change shape. Look at the tire cafefully after a ride.  Also the 130 is getting squeezed a lot to fit on the rim. So you are actually putting less rubber on the road than a 120 tire.

[Walt_M.]

If I remember correctly, the 130/90 clearance problem is the outside diameter of the tire. At speeds above 80 or so it will actually contact the inner fender or front of the swingarm, kind of an auto speed limiting device.
My next tires will probably be back to a 100/90 front and maybe try a 120/80 rear. My staying with a 120 rear is due to excessive wear on the original 110/90 rear. Mine was trash at less than 4000 mi.

[thisandthat]

Hey Macroars what type of Pirelli do you have on the back? I've read that tires sizes can acutally change quite a bit from different companies as seen at this link...
http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-tires/sizes.htm

I need a new set of tires for my vision and having next to no experience with motorcycle tires, I'm trying to do some research before I drop my much valued money on some rubber.

A question about Jasonm post on how the 130 would get squeezed more then a 120 therefor resulting in less contact with the road, what is the downside to having more contact, and why is everyone trying to fit the widest tire on if its less contact? I would imagine this is a tire by tire bases, and not something that could be generalized as much, but any incite on this would be great.


From the costs I've been looking at on the net, Dunlop GT501, Pirelli Sport Demon, Metzeler Lasertec, Bridgstone BT45 are all pretty close together +/- 25 bucks. Now that the Avon Super Venoms aren't made anymore is anything else recommended by them? I understand everyone has the tire that is there preference, and I've been reading the posts on tires, but perhaps you can help me narrow it down. I mostly ride during the summer but since I live on the Westcoast of Canada, it rains quite a bit, and tires that can grip in the rain is important, although even snow hasn't stopped me and my bald tires yet :) . I'm looking for a tire thats going to last a bit, I'm a student and have to think of the wallet as well. That doesn't mean I want some super hard touring tires, but something that I'm keeping in mind. Whats a good front tire size? I remember reading that 110/90 was maybe to big for the front and slowed steering down to much?

Does anyone one know which tires are manufactured in the USA or Canada, lots of these companies are from other countries but I think I'm allowed taking rubber across the boarder if its been manufactured in the USA or Canada. I'm pretty sure I can get tires much cheaper by ordering them from the states. Thats really a side note, mostly I just want someone to make my mind up when it comes to tires. Any help would be great, thanks

Jon

[h2olawyer]

Stay at or very close to the stock size.  Putting a wider tire on our skinny rims puts the tire beads too close together, causing the tire to take a shape other than intended by the manufacturer - in this case, the radius around the tread decreases, making it too curved.  Thus, when you are at any point on the tread it actually puts less tread in contact with the pavement.  You want the most you can get.

Avon makes the RoadRider, which replaced the SuperVenom.  I got 5,000 miles out of my SuperVenom rear.  The front could last through a second rear.  Others have made it to only 2500 miles.  Great tires, though.  The RoadRiders are significantly less money.  That's what I'll be installing on mine in the next week or two.

For good wet traction, look for tires with high silica content.  Metzeler Lasertec, Pirelli Sport Demon and Avon RoadRiders are all advertised as good wet riding tires.  The Bridgestone BT-45s are also a well known tire & you wouldn't go wrong with it, either.  I've never been a Dunlop fan, but the GT501s look pretty good.  The Metzeler does not come in a 110/90-18 rear & to stay with stock sizes in the Pirellis, you need to get a V rated front & an H rated rear.  Probably not a big issue.  The Metzelers are also a lot more $$ than the others.

If you really want a recommendation, I'd say to go with the Avon RoadRiders, but I haven't ridden on them yet.  Decent price, good brand & several here are running them.  If they are anything like the SuperVenoms I had, they will be great.  I had them in 2 - 3 inches of slush when they were new & they held great.  I had it narrowed down to the Avons or the Pirellis & decided on the Avons purely on cost.

H₂O

[Tiger]

 :) Go Avon, you wont regret it 8) 100 x 90 front, 110 x 90 rear. Good on wet as well as dry Canadian road's... 8)

                 8).......TIGER....... 8)

[macroars]

What I am getting more and more sure of, is that tire brands grow from mundane tool to object of affection together with the V. The case is that expensive tires are usually better than cheap ones. Still I am sure that any tire made by any known brand is better than those the bike was designed for.

What you prefer has to do with your driving and the roads. And the only thing here is own experience. And since I cannot afford (actually, I do not consider it as worth it. For if it was important enough, I am sure I would find a way) spending money on several sets, just to find out. I am happy with those I have, and it might be Pirelli next time, might Avon, might something else. But it will be 130/80! It suits my style. 

[kiwibum]

110 x 90 rear is the one to go for but as the article you reference states it depends a little on the manufacturer. Problem with 120 or 130 is they are designed to go on much wider rims than the tiny XZ ones (2.5" if I remember, someone will confirm that). When you force a tire that is designed to fit on a 3.5" rim it is squashed by 1" this makes it rise in the center oval like an egg rather than the expected round profile. This effects road height and contact plus cornering due to the egg profile. As much as a fat tire looks cool on a bike, for something the size power of the XZ, all it does is create more rolling resistance sapping power and changing ride characteristics away from normal.

I went through all this deciding what tires to put on my bike last year (as a cheap skate student too) wanting to get the best traction available. Having raced sport bikes I was all for bigger is better but then a bit of research and conversation with the guy at the bike shop I settled for a cheaper 110x90 tire made by the company in Taiwan that bought/makes/made Yokahama (I think it was a Kenda but can't remember). Part of that decision was made on the fact that I had two other XZ's with 120's on the back (I hadn't ridden these bikes just part of my collection of 7 at the time) and the wear on them made for a very ugly riding profile this being due to being squashed into the narrow rims. The other was the guy at the shop saying "look I don't mean to be harsh or anything but the XZ isn't really a high power sport bike and your not going to see any benefits over the standard size". Which made me remember watching a sidecar race with two guys on a vintage triumpth with skinny tires finishing ahead of guys on their F3's with 8" or wider slicks. It's all about having the right size tire for the power you have to put down.

In my opinion if you can get over the cognitive dissonance of "I need fat expensive tires that makes my bike look cool against, I have skinny tires and my bike looks dumb" you are going a long way to making a good choice on tires. It took a lot of soul searching for me to realise this is what I was really fighting in my decision, then I think far too much. :D

[kiawrench]

macro
  factory rims,  try to stay near factory tires ... as for wear ,, with 120 90 rears i buy three for every front,,,, so i too switched back to spec tire size ,,, so far 7k on a set and they can take a lot more .  on my black bike ,am going absolute stock size,, and i dont care if they look "skinny"  the bike has it's own personality, may as well be able to back it up .

[macroars]

macro
  factory rims,  try to stay near factory tires ..

Yamaha equipped the bike with 4.25/85 in the Euro market in '82. Near factory tires is then either 130/80 or 120/90....

[don_vanecek]

I now have several hundred miles on new Avon Roadriders, I had about two years on Dunlap 404's.  The Avon's are better. Haven't gone in the rain yet but one thing I have noticed on the Avon's is their ability not to get pulled around by irregularities in the road, a difference I can really feel from the Dunlaps.

Another 2 cents worth!

[Rick G]

I' ve had several different brands brands , the worst were Dunlop Elites , took for ever to bed in.
Bridgestone spitfires were OK , but no better than Taiwanese tyres and a lot more money. Kenda's have a very solid casing and wear very well ,but don't offer exceptional handling . Of the several flavours of Cheng Shin's I like the Marques best . IRC are pure junk , went through the rear tyre in 1800 miles. 
All in all ,for me , any tyre is OK , my riding style doesn't stress the edge of the tyre very much , most wear occurs in the middle of the tread.
All except the Kenda 's were 100 90 front and 110 90 rear , the Kenda rear was 120 90 and the handling was the worst of all of them.

[thisandthat]

Well thanks for the input everyone

[Shop Rat]

Until they left the MC market, I used Goodyears (local racing tire dealer sold bike tires at cost as a favor to riders). I then went to Dunlops, which were long wearing enough, and I thought good handling. (This was on Honda CBs) When the Dunlops on my CB1100F needed to go, I couldn't find sport tires in my size anymore. Only brands that made them were Metzeler and Pirelli. I bought Sport Demons (cheaper) and what a difference. Handling is far better and no more tail-wagging on tight fast corners.  When I'm ready to put the plate on the Vision, it's getting treated to new Sport Demons.

Frank

I now have several hundred miles on new Avon Roadriders, I had about two years on Dunlap 404's.  The Avon's are better. Haven't gone in the rain yet but one thing I have noticed on the Avon's is their ability not to get pulled around by irregularities in the road, a difference I can really feel from the Dunlaps.

Another 2 cents worth!

[Rick G]

When I raced a Suzuki  X6 , in production racing , in the late 60's , I was given a set of Goodyears  by a friend who was sponsored on a Yamaha TD2 , They were great ! He had an 8mm movie shot from a helmet cam. Actually two ,one was at Daytona  and one at Willow Springs. Watching the Willow movie really helped me lower my lap times there. I never got to Daytona , so that one was just enterainment to me.