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Rear tire suggestions...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Phaseman
  • Start date Start date
P

Phaseman

Guest
Looks like it's time for a new rear tire on my 78' GS1000E. I'm on a budget but I don't want bad tires. any suggestions?

Also does anyone know what the max size/width it will take with the stock swing arm?
 
Value leaders seem to be Cheng Shin HiMax the Kenda Challanger. Lots of positive word of mouth about the HiMax. My 850 used to have Kenda's and they seemed fine to me.
 
Don't go wider than 130. Your wheel is too narrow for anything wider.
 
Current Tires...

Current Tires...

Right now the bikes got a Metzler 3.5 19" in the front and a Dunlop Elite SP 130/90 17" 62v in the rear.

As I recall, I had about a 1/4" clearance on each side of the rear tire toward the front narrow part of the swing arm. I'd like to go as wide as possible in the rear. I'd REALLY like to convert to one of the aluminum swings like I've seen done so often on here, but don't think I can handle the investment this year. I assume that the swing conversion gets you more width availability...
 
Phaseman said:
.

I'd like to go as wide as possible in the rear. I'd REALLY like to convert to one of the aluminum swings like I've seen done so often on here, but don't think I can handle the investment this year. I assume that the swing conversion gets you more width availability...
Click to expand...


Nope, you have to convert to a wider wheel first. Your rear wheel is probably a WM 3 and you can't go wider than the 130 on that without distorting the tire and ruining your handling.

So, it's wider swingarm, wider wheel, wider tire -plus spacers, brake adapters, shimming out the front sprocket, etc.
 
Nessism said:
Value leaders seem to be Cheng Shin HiMax the Kenda Challanger. Lots of positive word of mouth about the HiMax. My 850 used to have Kenda's and they seemed fine to me.
Click to expand...


It may be that the Challengers I had on the 550 were just really old, but once I got onto the 650 with different tires the Challengers felt like banana peels in comparison.

I am currently running the HiMax tires on the 650, and they seem to be better than the 3+ year rubber they replaced.

For the 550 I went with a suggestion of IRC DuoTours, which cost just a little more than the HiMax tires, but still came in at around $153 shipped (oh, yeah, that is for the pair..). Dunno personally how they ride yet (hopefully find out tomorrow.. though in the cold I'm sure I won't get a really good feel, esp as it will be a maiden voyage on the rubber as well)


Amos
 
Last edited:
Round things

Round things

Hi Mr. Phaseman,

Looks like the search link I posted earlier has timed out. Sorry.

But I wanted to let you know that I've been using the Bridgestone Spitfire S-11 tires on my bike and have been quite happy with them. I'm a fairly conservative rider, mostly commuting, but these tires also allow me to scrape things on the canyon roads when I want to. My front tire currently has 15K miles on it and still has tread. My rear tire has 9K miles and looks like it could go another 3K to 4K miles, but I had to plug it recently. The tire is still working great but I'll replace the set next week. I think the S-11 tires are pretty good "bang for your buck", not as much "bang for your buck" as the Cheng Shin HiMax, but I hear those are starting to get scarce since being discontinued.

I think the 130 is as wide as you should go with the stock swingarm/wheel.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Last edited:
IIRC Cheng Shin has ceased production of motorcycle tires. Anything you get now might be somewhat dated as the warehouses are cleared.
 
My vote is for Avon AM26 RoadRiders.
 
Bias or radial?

Bias or radial?

Probably a silly question if motorcycle tires are similar to car tires, but you don't see many bias plys advertised for cars anymore...

What's the scoop on Bias Ply vs Radials?
 
Phaseman said:
Probably a silly question if motorcycle tires are similar to car tires, but you don't see many bias plys advertised for cars anymore...

What's the scoop on Bias Ply vs Radials?
Click to expand...

Nobody makes radials skinny enough for our old wheels.
 
tkent02 said:
Nobody makes radials skinny enough for our old wheels.
Click to expand...

Yup, do to the radial belt construction, those tires need to use short sidewalls that are pulled tight. Only way to do that is with wide wheels...which our GS bikes don't have.
 
Nessism said:
Yup, do to the radial belt construction, those tires need to use short sidewalls that are pulled tight. Only way to do that is with wide wheels...which our GS bikes don't have.
Click to expand...

I have a few bikes with radials, have ridden a few others. They seem to stick well, supposed to last longer.
I don't think the difference is as drastic as it is in car tires.
 
tkent02 said:
. They seem to stick well, supposed to last longer.
Click to expand...
I think somebody forgot to mention that to the engineers at Honda. :o

With the GL1500 that ended with the 2000 model year, tire life ranged from about 15,000 to over 20,000 miles (on bias-ply tires), depending on how you rode and how well you maintained proper pressures. The 2001 GL1800 came out with radials. They are the same size as those on the 1500 and the bike weighs about 80 pounds less, but the initial stock tires only lasted 5-6,000 miles. :eek: Other manufacturers stepped in with different compounds and got mileage up to the 8-10,000 mile range, and now the latest batch (I think they might be Dunlop or Bridgestone) are back into the 12-15,000 mile range.

My bike is still doing well with "only" 143,425 miles on it :dancing:, and my last two sets of Dunlop E3s got 23,000 and 21,500 miles on them, so I am in no hurry to "upgrade" to an 1800.

.
 
The IRC Durotours are good tires. They should take the place of the HiMax easily.
 
Also, replace BOTH your tires. Please. We want you to live longer.

Front tires don't wear in the obvious way like rear tires, but they do scallop and get hard.

Put on a matched set and enjoy the much-improved feel and braking.


Honestly, there are few to no bad tires being sold these days. Any modern tire will be light-years beyond the stuff they had in the '80s.


Please leave behind low-tech car-based thinking when you consider motorcycle tires. Radial and wider does not automatically mean better. The stock sizes are the most appropriate for your bike and will give the absolute best possible handling and performance. (I think your bike takes 100/90-19 front and 130/90-19 rear.)

As noted before, the difference between bias and radial is not all that important for bike tires. The most appropriate technology to make tires in the correct sizes is bias-ply, so that's what is used. The Avon RoadRiders are V-rated and very modern bias-ply tires, as are the Pirelli Sport Demons and the Bridgestone BT-45.

As it happens, my other bike, the VX800, takes tire sizes that are available in both bias-ply and radial. The main difference is that radial tires tend to be a bit lighter and they don't last as long as a good set of bias-ply tires would.

Unless you're rebuilding your bike with modern suspension, stick with the correct tire sizes.
 
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