Factory Specs for Tires

[mrquadriga]

This is part of the "laundry list" of things to do this winter. Could someone please tell me the "official" rear tire size for an '80 GS 1100L? A new tire is a must before the next riding season. (thanks to all that post on here saying "when in doubt-throw it out!") I'm an inexperienced middle aged rider that has occasional passenger (and my wife makes the bike look better and the ride more fun!) I'm not much on speed, grip and stability are more important to me. The current tires on right now are as follows: Front- (not bad, no cracking, seems to have plenty of tread) Dunlop F 14 100/90-19 57H. Rear- (bad, cracking, no tread left, almost square) Dunlop Touring Elite MT 90516 K291T. I've been trying to find the K291T on various Dunlop web sites but haven't been able to track it down. I bought my first bike this spring from the original owner and these might even be the original tires on this machine. Thanks to all that reply and to be honest with you, I trust you folks more than the cycle shop just down the road from me. - Pete

[earlfor]

Re: Factory Specs for Tires

I would use a 110/90-19 on the front. The rear is a 130/90-16 for the L model. My preference is Metzeler 33 110/90-19 front and Metzeler 55 130/90-16 on the rear. Traction is excellent and rain handling is also excellent.

Look on the sidewall of your front tire. Tires are manufacture date stamped with three numbers. For example, if you saw the numbers 362, that would mean the tire was made in the 36th week of either 1992, 1982, or 1972. Tires manufactured from 2000 on have a 4 number code. For example, 3601 would be the 36th week of 2001. I do not consider tires older than three years safe to ride on. Blow a tire on a car and you probably will coast to a stop and maybe bend a rim. Blow a tire on a motorcycle and chances are considerably greater you will spend some serious time in the hospital, particularly if a new rider.

Earl

This is part of the "laundry list" of things to do this winter. Could someone please tell me the "official" rear tire size for an '80 GS 1100L? A new tire is a must before the next riding season. (thanks to all that post on here saying "when in doubt-throw it out!") I'm an inexperienced middle aged rider that has occasional passenger (and my wife makes the bike look better and the ride more fun!) I'm not much on speed, grip and stability are more important to me. The current tires on right now are as follows: Front- (not bad, no cracking, seems to have plenty of tread) Dunlop F 14 100/90-19 57H. Rear- (bad, cracking, no tread left, almost square) Dunlop Touring Elite MT 90516 K291T. I've been trying to find the K291T on various Dunlop web sites but haven't been able to track it down. I bought my first bike this spring from the original owner and these might even be the original tires on this machine. Thanks to all that reply and to be honest with you, I trust you folks more than the cycle shop just down the road from me. - Pete

[mrquadriga]

you 'da man Earl. Thanks for the advice. What costs more, my body or a new tire? Point well taken. -Pete

[earlfor]

Heh heh, good tires arent cheap, but their cost pales in comparison to emergency room cost of aprox $100 per minute. LOL

Earl

you 'da man Earl. Thanks for the advice. What costs more, my body or a new tire? Point well taken. -Pete

[Anonymous]

tires

I bought Avon Venoms, not cheap but boy do they stick in this washington rain, I would do the front if it is dated and I would do the front also if you can not match it, front and rear thread designs are meant to work to gether and complement each other in performance, I told the guy at my cycle shop I would buy from him if he would give me half off on the mount and balance, if not I would mail order them and mount them my self, (didn'r register on him that I coildn't balance them) so he gave me $30 off labor

[mrquadriga]

Another point well taken Gee. Haggling on a price is something I enjoy doing and I'm just waiting for the shop to open before I go down there to see the price of the Metz's so thanks for the tip. I won't say money isn't a concern with this new obsession/project, but I do have at least six months to pay for it all. I'm planning on replacing both now, I couldn't see the date number in the dark last night to check. Looking around on the 'net I've noticed the name Michelin coming up quite often. I know Michelins are good for auto's, what about motorcycles? Anybody had/have them? Thanks. -Pete

[earlfor]

I had Michelins on the 1150 once. I really cant say anything specifically bad about them, but I wasnt happy with them. The bike never felt like it was really "planted" on the road. The handling felt vague with them.

Earl

Another point well taken Gee. Haggling on a price is something I enjoy doing and I'm just waiting for the shop to open before I go down there to see the price of the Metz's so thanks for the tip. I won't say money isn't a concern with this new obsession/project, but I do have at least six months to pay for it all. I'm planning on replacing both now, I couldn't see the date number in the dark last night to check. Looking around on the 'net I've noticed the name Michelin coming up quite often. I know Michelins are good for auto's, what about motorcycles? Anybody had/have them? Thanks. -Pete

[bwringer]

One thing to remember is that pretty much any decent brand of tire is going to be a vast improvement on what you're used to. Given two decades of improvements in tire technology, they're also going to miles better than what the bike was wearing from the factory.

I currently use Cheng Shin HiMax tires, and I ride like a bat outta Hades in all kinds of nasty weather. They're cheap enough that I can replace them the moment they start to square off. Cheng Shin got a bad name a few years ago with some really terrible tires, but I'm happy with the grip and life (7,000 to 8,000 hard miles for me, usually) of their current HiMax tires.

Next spring, I'm going to pony up for Dunlops before the south/east GS hoo-raw in North Carolina. I've tried Continentals, Bridgestones, and Metelers before, and been reasonably happy with all of them. All had plenty of grip, but the Bridgestones wore out very quickly. All were hugely expensive, and I rode around unhappily on square tires far too long while I scrimped and saved for the next set. No more of that.

Nothing like the feeling of new rubber!

[bwringer]

To potentially answer your question...

Here's a chart converting the old style "letter" sizes to the new "number" sizes:

http://bwringer.com/mc/tire_sizes.html

Never mind the info on my bike and my wife's bike below -- I needed a safe place to scribble this stuff down...

You can always find out what size is recommended for what bike on Metzeler's site:

http://www.us.metzelermoto.com/product_info/fitment_chart.asp

[mrquadriga]

Thanks bw, that chart was very helpful. Easier to understand than anything I could find on the 'net. Right now I'm working two shops against each other on the price of Metz's, we'll see how that goes. Stay tuned and thanks for all the help.