Best tires for a metric cruiser? - Page 3

 



Quite. I remember my Duke came fitted with Michelin Macadams - a
dreadful rock-hard touring tyre.


This is another good point that I hadn't considered. According to
Krusty's logic, if you have a 30 year-old bike, you should seek out 30
yer-old tyres for it.


--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Triumph Street Triple  Honda CB400F
Suzuki TS250  Suzuki GN250  chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom
Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a
can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools

 



That's a dated story from the mid-1970's. We live in the 21st century,
if you haven't noticed.

The bean counters at Japan Inc. used to buy tires in mass quantities
because they could save a nickel on each tire and a Honda CB750 only
had about 50 horsepower and would barely go 120 mph.

Japan Inc. could, and did, get way with selling motorcycles with
capital-C Crappy
tires.

But, as demands for performance and higher continuous speeds
increased, the demands on tires became greater and Japan Inc.
requested tires to be built to meet those demands.

So, if you go to the Bridgestone web site looking for aftermarket
replacement tires, you will find that there is a generic BS tire of
many offering, and there is
a *model-specific* version of a tire with an otherwise generic set of
model numbers.

IOW, there are versions of Battle Ax tires that are specifically
designed for BMW's or Kawasaki ZX's, etc., but you wouldn't know which
Battle Ax was specific for a particular machine if you were browsing
the tire rack at a discount
parts outlet.

And, when the online catalog stores are offering deep discounts on MC
tires, you
need to know whether the tire you're mail ordering is a generic
aftermarket replacement or model specific part number.

 

Nagarjuna's Catuskoti clawed me! wrote:

That was from experience as I used to work for Bridgestone
in the sales and engineering group. I don't know what
article you are referring to either way.

As I said tires are engineered into the bikes according to
the needs of the bike and riding type. Then, and this IS a
fact even today, the specifications are sent to the tire
manufacturers and they BID on the project.

You are correct too in that model specific tires are used.
However, the model specific tire are in fact a CHEAPER
version of the same non model specific in most cases. In
cases that the model specific tire is not a cheaper version,
then they are the SAME as all the other tires of that type
and model.

 

frijoli wrote:


I don't think this is true in all cases.  My FJR came with model
specific Metezeler Roadtec Z6 tires with a "C" suffix.  These tires are
significantly more expensive than the ones without the "C" suffix.  I
suspect the reason is due to heavier construction.

METZELER Z6 ROADTEC 180/55ZR-17 REAR [03020012] $140.07
http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath3_165_170&products_id405

METZELER Z6 ROADTEC 180/55ZR-17 (73W) C REAR [16-03040033] $167.68
http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath3_165_170&products_id423

 

Mark Olson wrote:

http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath3_165_170&products_id405  

http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath3_165_170&products_id423  

Fair enough.
My comment was a little too broad, and was directed at the
post that you should always use the exact same tire as was
put on at the factory.

In your case and in others there are no tires that fit the
stock product lines, and special tires are developed to meet
the engineering criteria for the motorcycle. I stand by what
I said though, that the specs are given to the
manufacturers, and the lowest bidder typically gets the
business.

That doesn't mean there isn't a BETTER tire available.