Another Tire Question (and I searched first)

[WesV]

'81 GS450L
Current Tire on Rear:
Cheng Shin MS90-16

I need a new tire and everything I have come across says the MS90 translates to 120/90-16. On the same note everyone seems to think a 130/90-16 will easily fit. Well right now my chain gaurd is VERY close to rubbing the tire and I am positive anything wider will rub. I guess I could take the guard off and bend it so it would clear....

My choices for 120/90-16s are rather small in fact the only one I could find on the net that isn't a jap tire is Continential Conti-Blitz TKH 24 for about $70. Does anyone have any expirence with this tire? Does anyone think I ought to try and clear a 130 so I can get a Dunlop?

Thanks Guys

[SqDancerLynn1]

On a 450 I would probably stay with the 120 ????? MS ???? It may be oversized already MT90-16=5.00/5.10=130/90H16

[jimcor]

No, don't go the 130 route. It will probably hit the brake stay rod or the chainguard. That Continental is a fine tire btw. Very reputable German company.

[bwringer]

Cheng Shin makes a 120/90-16 HiMax. I use CS tires on my GS850, and I ride like a bat out of hades in all weather. CS used to make crappy tires, but the HiMax tires are good rubber at outstanding prices. I have close to 20,000 miles on CS HiMax tires.

The Continental would also be a fine tire.

By the way, Cheng Shin is a Taiwanese company, not Japanese.

(In case you're wondering, I know my GS850 doesn't use this size tire. My wife's Honda does, though -- I've been through the same search.)

[Anonymous]

Re: Another Tire Question (and I searched first)

'81 GS450L
Current Tire on Rear:
Cheng Shin MS90-16

I need a new tire and everything I have come across says the MS90 translates to 120/90-16. On the same note everyone seems to think a 130/90-16 will easily fit. Well right now my chain gaurd is VERY close to rubbing the tire and I am positive anything wider will rub. I guess I could take the guard off and bend it so it would clear....

My choices for 120/90-16s are rather small in fact the only one I could find on the net that isn't a jap tire is Continential Conti-Blitz TKH 24 for about $70. Does anyone have any expirence with this tire? Does anyone think I ought to try and clear a 130 so I can get a Dunlop?

Thanks Guys

I've had experience with the Conti Blitz & put them front & back on my old 79 1000, I like the pattern & it worked fine in the rain. I also liked how the tread pattern would climb up the sidewall giving alot of tread at extreme lean angles________________Rick........

[Anonymous]

tires

I had the conti- blitz's on my XS1100 I didn't like them they were real bad on bridge grates an real slippery going over road stripes when damp

[WesV]

Well I wasn't really wanting to go back to Cheng Shins because this one didn't quite last 10K, but it are also about 10 years old too so I imagine ther designs have improved. Thanks for the input! I will stick with the 120/90 and try to cough up the cash for the continetal

[earlfor]

Didnt quite last 10K? :-) :-) Only in my dreams. The best I have been able to get on the 1150 rear tire is 2500 miles. The shortest lived was a Bridgestone battleax BT45 that lasted 1500 miles. LOL

Earl

Well I wasn't really wanting to go back to Cheng Shins because this one didn't quite last 10K, but it are also about 10 years old too so I imagine ther designs have improved. Thanks for the input! I will stick with the 120/90 and try to cough up the cash for the continetal

[jimcor]

I usually get about 8 thousand out of a rear tire on my 550. Less if I take a major ride of 2000+ miles with my camping gear. Looks like I'll be lucky to get 5 grand out of the latest rear tire, a Cheng Shin Marquis 130/90X17. But over 2200 miles went on it in less than 2 weeks with me and my gear. (can you say GVWR?) 8O

[WesV]

Whoa, so I should be calculating in a new rear tire every 7 months or so!?! (I put about about 1250 a month on them) That is a much bigger expense then I anticipated..... oh well. Maybe I will go with the Cheng Shins then.... Anything else I need to have done with the wheels off? Bearrings packed etc??

[Anonymous]

Wes, to be honest with the compounds they are manufacturing motorcycle tires from these days you are lucky to get 5 to 6,000 miles off a back tire. You don't want stiffer rubber since motorcycle tires are stressed far more than a car tire is. My ZRX gets only about 3.000 per rear tire and the front about 6,000 and I am not a hard rider. The road surfaces you ride on make a big difference on tire wear also. Concrete seems to wear them less than some asphalt aggregates do. Also a larger tire is not automatically a better tire. Using one larger than spec will affect the handling and steering of any bike.

[jimcor]

Also a larger tire is not automatically a better tire. Using one larger than spec will affect the handling and steering of any bike.

This is correct!

It also affects wear. Part of the reason I'm expecting poor mileage from my current rear tire is it is a 130 instead of a 120/90X17. The 130 was the 'maximum but not recommended' size for my rim. Forcing that tire on to the rim distorts the shape, in this case it gives the tire a 'pronounced crown' (squeezes it together and makes it pop up in the center) so with a bigger tire I've actually a smaller contact patch with the road. (Hey, the parts house didn't have my size in stock and the window of opportunity was open for a major ride...and flies were getting in 8O )

Yes, Wes, I usually go thru 2 sets of tires on my 550 a year.

[DMPLATT]

This all brings up a question for me. When I had my Nighthawk a few years ago, I put new tires on and away I went. Not a care in the world.
A guy I work with bought a new back a year or so ago and layed it down in the first week. He complained about being "New" Tires. I've also heard this before from others who warn to be careful on new tires. I'm getting new ones after the first of the year.

What's the deal?

Dave

[jimcor]

Very good question Dave. New tires come to you straight from the manufacturer's mold. OK, they might have been in a warehouse for a while. The point I'm making is they come out of the mold and away they go. In the manufacturing process the substance that makes it easy to get the tire out of the mold is called, TA DA, mold release ( well on the forums that's what it's called, the industry may call it something else.) It is slippery. There is no step between mold and shipping, that's right, no cleaning, that is where the trouble lies. Until a new tire is cleaned/worn in...it's dangerous, because of this mold release. It 's not such a big deal with cars and trucks so the industry ignores it with bikes. Yes. I dumped a bike back in 1971 not 3 city blocks of mounting a new rear tire on it.

[Anonymous]

Dave,

The folks who provided my latest new tires, at SuperTireGuy/Subterranean Cycles in San Francisco, warned me from experience to be gentle for the first 100 or so miles on new road tires. Their reasoning is that there is a mold-release compound left over in the rubber from manufaturing that makes it more slippery; this works its way out and evaporates as the tires heat up during regular use in that first 100 miles.

Nick