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Showing results for tags 'tires'.
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I was just about to push the button on a new set of Pirelli Diablo for the duckie when I noticed the rear was stamped “Made in China”. Sorry but not trusting my life to that. Ended up going with Dunlops made in Japan.
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I need some help finding long distance touring tires. My Yamaha dealership swamped me into a Vons claiming they would rival Michelin long-distance tires. The michelins claimed double the usual expected mileage. That would equate to 40,000 k. I have since learned my Yamaha dealer may have totally lied about the capability of the Avon tires. Not wishing to rely on them for advice I'm asking here. The Dunlop Elite 4 tires seem to claim amazing range. What is my best option and does anyone know where I could get them installed in short notice.
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Ya'll have convinced me. Once again I've read great advice from the many experienced riders/owners on this forum. Took my bike in for routine maintenance (do most of it myself but sometimes you just want a certified mechanic to look things over) and asked if they would lower my front forks. I'm going to go with 3/4". I'm 5'11" and can reach the ground with flat feet but the seat is a little wide so I do have to put them down solid. This will help that a little (as opposed to raising the rear) but mainly I'm looking forward to the greater agility at low speed and the feeling of less weight I'm hearing about. I should get it home this Friday (shop is very busy this time of year in NC). I'll let ya'll know how it feels for me soon as I can.
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It is time for me to ride SOUTH. I was supposed to be leaving tomorrow morning, but...as we all know too well...weather at this time of year dictates when we can ride. Finding that we have a perfect window of clear, dry weather for the next several hours, we have decided to leave Washington state now, and make it down to Eugene, OR., and stop for the night. We could easily go farther, but we have a large hill to go over at the Oregon/California border, and there is usually lots of snow and ice on the road this time of year. We want to do that hill in the daylight, after some sun has hit it. Have an appointment in Redding to have our tires changed out, for the ride down to much warmer/hot weather down in South America. We will leave our winter tires at this shop, as well as most (not all) of our heated clothing. Then on the way back north, we will have the same shop take off our summer tires, and re-install our winter tires, and give us back our heated clothing that we left with them. Total ride down to Bolivia/Chile' should be about 15,000 round trip. We plan to do some sight seeing in Bolivia, retrace the steps of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and then take in day # 10 of the Dakar Rally in Chile'. I will be riding my 2012 Super Tenere', and my riding partner is riding a 2005 R12GS. We are well prepped and planned for this ride, but..."IF" anything goes wrong, well...my friends, it has been lovely getting to know many of you. Hope to be back on here in 4 weeks. Stay safe, and be nice to one another while I am gone. Adios,
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Need to get new tires for the cage (08 Taurus) Went to Sams Club, where I can get BF Goodrich Touring T/A tires for a little over $100 each, ....more like $140 each installed and out the door. Michelin Defender XT tires would be a little over $155 each, plus the add on charges, which I didn't get a quote on, but should take the price to around $190 each installed and out the door. Are Michelin's worth the extra two bills for the set? This car (great car) has 120 k miles on it, so this will probably be the last set of tires I'll put on it. I anticipate this Taurus will easily run 200K, but at that point I'll probably want to get something a bit fresher. So, the question is: are Michelins really that special?
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This is not a question of whether an Avon is a good tire or how good their customer service is or warranty or how long they last or how they handle. I like the way Avon's handle on my 91 VR. I am on my 6th or 7th SET of Avon Venom's in the last 5 years. And frankly it could be the 8th. I have lost track. I have yet to get more than 5000 miles out of either a front or rear tire before the sidewalls have cracked extensively and usually I get more in the range of 1000 to 3000 miles. All of the tires were mfg'd within 6 to 9 months of mounting. Understand that I maintain the tire pressure per the techs at Avon, bike has been garaged, I do not wash the tires with anything but rain water, I haven't washed my rims in 10 or so years. I use no chemicals or products on the rims or tires. I put the tires on and ride. The bike did sit for a few months after I had a hip and knee replaced but otherwise I try to get out and ride (ie: exercise the tires ...) when ever I can. I have found the Avon reps (and I have been through 2 different companies that rep for Avon here in the states) agreeable and out of all the Avon's I have had, I have only paid for one (1) set and mounting twice. Good for Avon. Whoopie. The bike has a touch over 200,000 miles on it. No problems that would affect it's ride or tire wear or condition. Period. Once again after a short time on this set I am experiencing rather extreme sidewall cracking. So here is my question: Has any one actually heard of or experienced a sidewall blowing out as a result of this type of cracking (not related to age rot) or is this just cosmetic? I am getting tired of putting tires on this thing every 3000 miles.
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I tried looking for this specific question but could not. When I had my Suzuki Boulevard, I got new tires. I asked the tire guy about whether I should go by the pressure on the side of the tires or what was in the manual. He said always go by what the tire says. I had a new set of Kenda Kruz tires. Really great. I did 40 psi. front and back. So which is the correct pressure to go by? I have an 06 RSTD. Thanks in advance Dave
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On CNN today.... cool ! Hopefully one day on bikes ! http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/09/self-inflating-tires/
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I have some good used tires that I would like to give away to someone who could use them. They are all about 50% or better. Best if you could pick them up as shipping could get expensive especially if crossing the border. 1 Avon front black wall 1 Avon rear white wall 1 Dunlop rear white wall
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well I finally after 25 yrs of riding I finally got a nail in my back tire. I went ahead and put in a plug and I'm thinking it should get me to the end of the year. I plan on new tires next spring so the 1,000 miles or so left in this season seems like no big deal. I have plugged car tires with good results so hoping this should be the same. what sez all you wise people.
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I've got 2 Ventures, an '83 with YICS and an '88 without YICS. Twisting the throttle wide open, the '83 accelerates briskly and without delay from a starting slow rolling speed, but the '88 seems to pause a moment before full on response, with no popping back through the intake or other indications. Almost like the machine is thinking about what the twisting of the throttle is all about. The carbs are clean and well balanced, pilot screws adjusted well, fuel level correct, engine starts quickly cold or warm, and has a nice steady idle. Is this delay just the nature of the beast, or should I expect instant response like my '83? -Pete, in Tacoma WA USA '83 46K miles Avon tires '88 52K miles Bridgestone Spitfire tires
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I've always ran Metzler tires on my sport bikes. So now that I have a 85 Venture project I have to decide on a set of tires. As always budget is a concern, but are the Marathon 880's good. Its only a few bucks more than the Kenda Cruz @ Royal Distributing?? Or is there somewhere better to get tires in Ontario??
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After getting putrid miles out of the Brickstones that the bike came with, and then slightly better out a set of Pirelli Rt66's, I then went with ME 880's. I now have 15K miles on them, and have been totally happy with them. The rear tire is right at ready to be replaced, but I swear there's another few thousand left in the front. Having said that, my question is, why do I see a fairly large number of folks bashing the Metzler ME880's, and instead recommending tires like Avon Venom, Dunlop E3's, and Michelin Commander II's? The reason I want to know is, if I'm fixin to buy knew tires before the 2 week trip we are taking in September, then I need to know why these other tires are so much better than the Metzler's. I might consider them if they are way better. It's not like the Metzler's we currently have are doing light duty either. Besides the weight of the bike, I'm a pretty good sized fella too (6'6" 300lbs), and my wife adds a bit at 130lbs. Just wondering.
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Before I alter my rear wheel, I thought I better ask this collective of experienced minds, if any of you know of a better way to get a 16" rear wheel onto the back of a newer RSTD ? I want to run on radial tires. Period ! So we all know that no one makes a quality brand radial tire in a 15". You have to go 16" or bigger, to be able to buy radials for the bikes. Therefore, I am looking at sending my rear wheen down to Kosman Industries, to have the make my OEM rear wheel into a 16" rear wheel. Their website explains all the procedures, and costs. http://kosmanspecialties.com/ I would do this in the Winter, when I am going to be needing new tires anyway, and I can afford to have the bike down for a couple weeks. So, before I do this, does anyone else have ideas of an available 16" wheel that will correctly fit on the rear of a second gen bike? Or something else to do ? IMHO, I believe I can make this bike a better ride on good radials, versus the bias belt tires. Please let me know...what you know. Thanks, Miles:detective:
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My 84 came with a Kenda on the rear & a Dunlop 491 on the front. Both tires are in excellent shape & I have no issues whatsoever on the Interstate or the streets. I remember the p o told me he changed the rear tire but not the front because it was in good shape. Since the wife & I are planning to take longer overnight trips I decided to check the tire date codes. The rear was in fact replaced as it had a date code of 0711. The front although perfect is 8 years old with a 2304 code. SO... Although I am happy with the current performance of this tire combo, I was wondering should I match the the front tire with a Kenda as well? At least for the life of this set. Has anyone had issues with Kenda tires up front? I hear that Gen 1's are fussy about tires. The next full set I will ask you guys again for what would be top of the line, but for now I always like matching tires, but if the Kenda is problematic up from, I will just get another Dunlop 491.
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finaly made it home from roosterville (Marion) NC. thanks to 1rooster for selling me the 84 venture my daughter and i left NC sunday late afternoon and with the hickups of trailer tires going flat along the way i finaly made it 500 mi to gulfport with the bike in one piece will post pics soon :cool10: i dont think the venture liked the trailer for as many tires i went thru on the trailer
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This is a question to those that change their own tires. How do you recycle the used tires? What I have been doing is to wait until my son has a car headed for the junk yard, and just put it in the trunk. Trouble is, he hasn't had a car to junk lately. Frank D.
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Anyone warranty their avons? Tires bought last year, Venom X tires, premature cracking on both tires. Rear has one crack at the tread that looks deep and appears to be leaking air slowly.
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Got new tires for the krusing the Kootenays. Removed the wheels last night and took it all to shop to swap over. All was good, they took the tires right away $55 for both to mount and balance:cool10:. Picked them up just before closing and ran some errands, alls good. At 9:00 I've cleaned and greased the splines, mount the rear tire and start tighting everything up. Huh? Castle nut won't torque? Shoot! Lost the collar going between hub and brake caliper bracket! Searched all over garage floor, nope. Now I'm a little crazy, shops closed on Sundays I can call them Monday but if they don't have it I'll have to order one. Going to bea little antsy till then, and hopefully can get one by Thursday. . Next time I remember to check for lose parts before moving to far. Thanks just needed to rant. Markus (calgaryrider)
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I've owned this 84 Venture Std for almost a year now, and this spring she got a new set of tires. I searched this site for recommendations on tires and found as many opinions as members. I finally decided on Dunlop D404s because they are common to similarly sized bikes and priced right. One of the tires must have had a slow leak...which started this learning exercise. A week or so after installation, the bike began to have a really pronounce wobble from the rearend at any speed over 50, and worse as you speed up. I checked and found the rear tire to be quite hot and the pressure to be ~20 psig . Pressurized up to 50 psig and rode home. I'm guessing that the hot tire and elevated pressure finally seated the tire properly, because the leak has now disappeared. That's what I was hoping for. Lesson 1: The low pressure led to a weak sidewall, which allowed the tire to wobble around...increasing the pressure stiffened the sidewall and returned the ride to normal. Not too long after that, I got comfortable with the new tires and began to push the bike a bit. I then noticed a slight wobble from the rear, while in a sweeping turn at any speed over 75 mph . I played around with the rear tire pressure and found that 50 psig was a bit more stable than my usual 40 psig in those sweepers. That sent me on a search for an explanation of tire ratings. Lesson 2: The rear D404 is rated for 761 lb @ 41 psig, while the bike weighs ~1000 lb with me on it. I should have checked the load rating prior to purchase. My opinion now is that the load rating of the D404 is too low for a bike of this size. Based on my experience and riding style, I will not be putting another set of D404s on my 1st Gen. If you ride slow and take it easy, these tires will be fine...but I like to push it a little bit more. My next set of tires will have a stiffer sidewall and higher load rating. Just thought this might help someone out there that's trying to decide on new tires for a 1st Gen.
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Two quick questions for those who trailer often. I have an '86 VR and Piggybacker trailer. 1 - What air pressure to you run in the trailer tires? 2 - Getting some sway when I hit 75, below that is good. Any adjustments I can make? Dave
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My local shop wants 65 labor to change the tires each for me---is that a fair price? Thanks everyone chris
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Having reviewed all the previous questions on this forum regarding tire sizes, and having a lot of knowledge about tires...I am willing to ask if anyone has tried a lower profile rear tire on their RSTD or Venture yet ? I currently have the newer Dunlop E 3 bias belt tires on, and they are relatively new...but...given my propensity to eating up tires, I am always looking for my next set of tires. In 2003 I went through 10 (ten) sets of tires (front and rear) in ONE year, on a 2003 GL1800. Yes, I rode that many miles in one year. I currently have my own Snap On electronic computerized wheel balancer, and a Snap On fully power tire changing machine. That means if anyone is in my area and need emergency tire work, come on down. What I want to put on the rear of my '06 RSMTD is either a set of bStones...with the rear size being a 180/70-15 (G-702), and the front being a 150/80-16 (G-703). If someone tells me that they have tried those, and they will not fit in between the swingarm and driveshaft, then I would try the Avon Venom AM42 on the rear, with a size 170/80-15, and a AM41 front, with the size being a 150/80-16. What I want to do...is put Radials on this bike. What say ye, all you experienced tire mod people??? Thanks, Miles Million Mile Rider:bighug: -
can bigger wheels and tires be put on this w/o a lot of trouble?
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It has been a while since I anounced my intention to replace my Venture's tires with the New Bridgestone Exedra Max tires. So here is the latest on that. I finally got the Exedra Max tires mounted today. I think they are a good looking tire. At least as good as a black-wall tire can be. Their profile seems a bit rounder than the old Exedra. That should improve cornering quite a bit. The tread on the rear is really deep. Tire pressure is 41 and 42. Since it was cool I put them at 40. I will see where that takes them when they warm up. Also Bridgestone rates them highly for rain and the tire groves look like they can move some water. Being in Seattle it won't take long to discover the truth in that. On to the road test. For break in, other than rocking back and forth on the straight aways, I didn't do anything special. The first thing I noticed was the loud noise from my old tires was gone. For now at least these tires are very quiet. Yea. At freeway speed handling seemed normal, good. Lane changing and maneuvering is exactly where I like it to be. Long sweeping turns were quite enjoyable. I didn't pick up on any unpleasant traits. Another yea. Now for the acid test. Off to the parking lot. Lock over u-turns and sharp cornering was exceptional. A much better feel than either the old Bridgestones or the Dunlop 404s. That's three yeas. Summary It is difficult when comparing new tires to old ones. And I would have preferred white walls. But for the initial ride these tires seemed to meet all of my expectations. Only time will tell if these early perceptions will hold up. Or if the multi compound rubber provides the additional tire life I am hoping for. But for now I think the Max is a winner. And it comes in the right sizes. Mike
