What tires for my bike?

[Pac-Man]

So I been researching JCW lately & they dont have the tires that come on my bike originally, being a newb to the bike scene i'm still learning here so go easy on me now,lol. My tire size for the front is 90/90-19 52S & rear 120/90-16 63S, I cant find these anywhere. Is this a discontinued thing or can I go w/ different sizes such as These here? Every tire I see in this list is totally different in size. Could someone help me understand the measurements on these in comparison to what I have on now? And my bike has tubes yes? Sorry just trying to learn what I can here from all you GS vets.

I have looked VERY closely at my tires that are on my bike & they are NOT dry rotted they show no signs of bad wear anywhere aside from normal wear that is. Some say I shouldnt even change these tires BUT they ARE the original tires from 1985,lol. I wanna be SAFE!

[tkent02]

Tires are only safe a few years, maybe five tops if the bike is stored indoors, maybe less. Those 26 year old tires are not even going for a test ride around the block with me on it. Suicide is not my thing.

Any modern tires are light years ahead of what they had in the eighties, what kind of performance do you want? Wet traction? Handling? High mileage? Low price? There are a lot of great tires out there now.
As far as size, stick with the 90/90-19 or whatever is recommended for your bike, wider tires on a skinny wheel will decrease performance and traction.

[Pac-Man]

handling & high mileage is my getup/hopes! I wanna spend 70-90ish a piece.

[tkent02]

Try the Shinko 230, they are made by Yokohama, supposed to be good tires.
Very inexpensive too.

[Pac-Man]

but what sizes? i dont see my stock sizes in the list?? all i see is 100/90 or 110/90 and up?

[Pac-Man]

and all i see for the rears are 120/90-18's and mine are 16's. I guess all the different numbers and what not are confusiing me. car tires are so much easier,lol.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Seems like the stock sizes for your bike are close to 90/90-19 for the front and 120/90-16 for the rear. Yes, not all manufacturers make all tires in all sizes. You'll have to shop around.

From the Tire Info/Changing Tires page on my little website:

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http://www.americanmototire.com
Excellent service and prices.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/
Located in Oregon. Ships quickly to the West Coast. Free shipping for orders over $75.
http://swmototires.com/
Great service, cheapest total cost (free shipping on sets of 2 tires). Slightly limited selection of oddball vintage sizes. They are located in Arizona, so tires take 3-4 days to get to the Midwest/East. They actually stock the tires they sell -- not just a middleman like most.

http://tiresunlimited.com
Huge selection, great service, total cost with shipping very low -- usually still within a few bucks of SW. Located in Ohio, so very fast shipping to Midwest and East. They also stock what they sell in a huge warehouse. They have a phone number you can call if you have a question or want to know if something is in stock. Hideous web site, but it works well.


http://denniskirk.com
DK stocks what they sell, has a huge selection, they ship the same day from Minnesota, and their site tells you how many are left in stock. Their tire pricing used to be completely outrageous, but it's now much better -- often the same or lower than others. Free shipping when your order goes over $100. Definitely worth checking, and great when you just gotta have your tires by a certain date.


http://bikebandit.com
http://ronayers.com
http://tiresexpress.com
These have been mentioned positively before, but keep in mind that they and most others are simply middlemen -- they do not stock tires. No way of knowing exactly when you'll get your tires, and in my experience, their pricing with shipping is not that great.
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Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Nessism]

I'd go with a 100 front and 120 rear. Unfortunately, a 120/90-16 is an odd size so there are not many choices. Found a few that look okay but you might want to search harder... http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...5-1-0-0-2-14-4

[Big T]

Motorcycle tires use the exact same rating system as cars

This could be helpful

http://www.steelthundercc.com/tiresizes.html

[Pac-Man]

thanx everyone, much obliged. made life a bit easier on me.