The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
General Category => Totally Off-Topic Discussions, Rants, Tire & Oil Threads, Etc. => Topic started by: Thorfinn on September 17, 2007, 06:21:17 AM
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- Always a fruitful discussion on Bike forums (fora?)...
The tyres on my rescued R65 RT are about 17 years old so for safety's sake i need to replace them, shame as the treads indicate that they were barely used when the bike went into storage in 1990. :o
My preferences would be for stickiness and handling, durability isn't such an issue for me a s i don't cover colossal mileages.
What do we think? [smiley=undecided.gif]
Cheers,
Simon
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WooHoo ADTT!
I have the H rated Macadams for longevity and comfortable ride. If I was to build a Cafe R65 and press my luck deep into corners I would probably go with V rated Avon Roadriders (AM26).
But either way, buy the best tire you can afford of one of the main brands for the reasons you think are important and be happy with your choice and then religiously maintain the tire pressure where you want it and inspect you tires for *FOD before every ride.
Sizes that work:
90/90 - 18 or 3.25 - 18 (stock) 100/90 - 18 (first oversize) for the front.
4.00 -18 (Stock and easier to mount) 120/90 - 18 (first oversize - check for clearence with swingarm after in place) for the rear.
Now let the fun begin....
*Foriegn Object Dammage
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I've been using Metzeler ME33/ME99, and now Metzeler Lasertec tires for the last 20 years, and if you live in a region that has mild winters, and no wet weather ( think Phoenix), they are good tires. They need a good warm up before you ask them to get serious about cornering in temps below 45 F., wet weather is not overly confidence inspiring , but my OEM brakes are pretty bad in wet conditions, so I try not to get caught in any serious wet riding. But they stick like Velcro in hot weather. Average mileage is 8-9,000 miles on a rear, and 10-13,000 on a front. But they are pricey compared to other popular tires.
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This thread:
http://suraklyn.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1183347780/6#6
which also has a link to yet another tire thread in it, should give you plenty of ideas/suggestions.
Enjoy !
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This is fixin' to be moved to the "Rant" section! [smiley=behead.gif] [smiley=evil.gif]
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Partypooper!
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I would use any of the offerings from the major tire manufactures. They all offer bias belted sport tires. Just buy the cheapest and you will do fine....Dew.
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I've gotten really good mileage and performance out of Bridgestone BattlAx tires! ;)
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I second the Bridgestone Battleax tires. I switch from Metzeler ME99/ME33 to Metzeler Lasertec to Bridgestone BT-45 tires. I am still on my first set of BT-45's and have ridden a few thousand miles on them. The bike feels much better and handles better with the BT-45 tires. The bike does not seems to get the wobbles in high speed corners, like it did with the Metzeler tires. The setup of my bike has not changed, but that does not mean everything is working the way it should.
my two cents,
Paul
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I prefer Dunlop Elite II for very long wearing (may be NLA due to labor issues) and for all-around I like the Macadam 50/50e combo...
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Justin, I was thinking (always dangerous) that maybe we should put this thread into the either the tech tips
section or as a sticky in the tech forum - that way (maybe ?) more of the new comers might more easily find
the info, and we have links to (2) other tire threads in this one, also. Whadda ya think ?
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So, this weekend I am getting some BT45s put on Tillie to replace the older, hardening
rubber Metzlers that have been on her since I bought her, and which appear to have been
on her for quite some time. They're not even weather checked yet, but I can tell that the
rubber has developed a stiffness/slipperiness that is not normal for these tires.
Maybe I'll be able to drag some more exciting bits in the corners afterwards - will try to post
a before/after ride report after this weekend.
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Do more burnouts and stoppies. It keeps the rubber supple.
Hah, like I would know!
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Just got back from 1000 mile trip. I think the Metzlers on my bike came on it when new (5800 miles when purchased). They stuck like glue and didn't wear very much at high speeds on mountain roads. So much for tires getting hard with aging.......Dew.
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Well, I've come down with a bad cold - which often happens this time of year after my wife
resumes teaching at the public school - so I've only ridden about 60 miles on the new
Bridgestone BT45 Battlax tires. I went with the 100/90-18 on the front and the 110/90-18
on the rear. I like the 100 on the front as I think it makes the bike a little bit more
stable in straight line/highway use, while the bike's geometry and wheelbase already make it
very easy to turn in. With the 100 instead of a 90 on the front, it still can turn in a bit but
is pretty close to neutral steering. I went with the 110/90 on the rear as that seemed the closest
to the original 4.00 H 18 stock size, and it is easy to get on/off.
The rubber on these tires is DEFINITELY softer and more pliable than the 5+ year old Metz's that were
on there. While I know that new Metzlers would have been an improvement too, these BT45s seem to
ride a little quieter/smoother, and they seem to stick very well even though I'm still scrubbing the nubbies off.
So far, I am very please - hopefully this soft sticky rubber won't wear itself out too quickly - I'm expecting
less mileage life from these as compared to the metzlers, but this bike is so lightweight maybe there won't be
much of a difference.
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Let me ask a question: I've been all ready to buy a set of Bridgestone BT-45s too, and finally started looking at prices & such, only to see they're rated as "Tubeless" tires. Most other brands that fit (Michelin, Dunlop, even Bridgestone Spitfires) are listed as "tube or tubeless".
I know the standard snowflake wheels require tubes, so everyone is just running tubes with these tires, I take it?
Aren't there some issues with heat involved? :-?
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It is my understanding that it is perfectly OK to run tubes in these tires. An old rule of thumb
(I never found out whose "thumb" it actually was) basically stated that if you're running tubes,
then derate the speed rating of the tire by 1 grade, so if running a Z (149+ mph) derate to a "V",
"V" -> "H", "H" -> "S", etc. Since the tire can't dissipate internal heat as well with a tube as it can
without, this seems to make practical sense to me.
Since so few new bikes run with tubes these days (though at least a number of the retro-spoke wheel
cruisers do) this seems to have been forgotten. OR perhaps it was never widely accepted, but I'm
sticking with it !
8-)
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Thanks, Mike, I had some vague recollection of such a formula too, but wasn't sure what it was. Since the R65 will never, ever, never find itself running past maybe 90, I should be safe with whatever speed downgrades are necessary. ;)
Now, though, another question/problem has arisen: Bridgestone also lists the BT-45 as a "radial construction", verses the bias- ply common to it's competitors and own other tires. Is this in fact true, or is Bridgestone just messing with my head tonight??
I've heard nothing but good things about these tires, but radials are "bad" on such a stone-age machine, aren't they? :-/
Grrrrrr!! Anyone have experience with Bridgestone's cheaper, tube-type, bias ply Spitfires??
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Hi Steve -
Not sure where you got your information, but there are many different tire models from Bridgestone
that begin with "BT", so that could be confusing. The tires you want for the R65, or other airheads, would
be the BT45, which are bias ply tires. I just lifted the following text directly from their website (including
the spelling error):
"BT45
Sport Touring Bias-Ply tire designed for older sport bikes and mid-sized sport-touring bikes.
Features a Dual Tread Compound (DTC) rear tire which offers longer mileage and stability from center,
while also maintaing a excellent grip and performance while cornering. Available in H and V-rated sizes."
I got the H-rated (130 mph) tires as there really is no need to go with the V (150 mph) speed rated ones
on the little R65, even with downrating for tubes, the H rating -> S or T rating still allows for at least 112 - 118 mph.
Here is the Bridgestone website with the sizes, ratings, etc.
http://www.motorcycle-karttires.com/glamourindex.aspx?productID=3&LookupID=8
another thing to note - if the tire is a radial, there is *almost* always an "R" in the tire model number, since no
manufacturers rate tires to an "R" speed rating anymore ("R" = 106 mph rating) that I know of.
One can run radial tires on the older bikes, but in many cases there isn't much practical benefit to be had. The
key thing to remember is to never mix radial and bias ply tires on the same bike - while it has been done, it is
(strongly) not recommended !
Hope this helps.
Mike
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Thanks a lot Mike, I had been mislead by an unscrupulous, unnamed (Dennis Kirk) online parts peddler.
Upon checking your chart and looking around further, it appears the BT-45 is indeed a bias-ply tire.
Still, though, anyone familiar with the Bridgestone Spitfires?
Same sizes, H rated, quality tire (I would think), about 25 bucks per tire less...
Thanks again.
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Thanks a lot Mike, I had been mislead by an unscrupulous, unnamed (Dennis Kirk) online parts peddler.
Upon checking your chart and looking around further, it appears the BT-45 is indeed a bias-ply tire.
Still, though, anyone familiar with the Bridgestone Spitfires?
Same sizes, H rated, quality tire (I would think), about 25 bucks per tire less...
Thanks again.
Bridgestone Spitfires, had them on my Z1 Kaw. They stuck like glue even while grounding out the case guards. Can't tell about the longevity though, I sold the bike (at a great profit) after one riding season......Dew.