Need help deciding on tires

[John Harper]

Originally Posted by wedge

Mileage on the tires is the very last thing I would consider. Scratch that, I don't consider it at all. I like tires that can hit a wet manhole cover while leaned over and not skip into the next county. There is an intersection close to the shop that has the perfect testing manhole cover. Metzler 660's

+1

I like my Pirelli Night Dragons for the same reason, but I think they are discontinued. Thanks for the recommendation when needed.

Tire pressures are 38-40 psi front, 40 psi rear. That's more than the previous Dunflops, but went with Pirelli numbers.

John

[wedge]

Originally Posted by jsandidge

Is it just me, or do these pressures seem a bit high?

Depends on the manufacturer. Stock Dunlops were around 32 and 34 if I remember correctly, and the Metzlers are 42 and 44. that concerned me at first but after some reading on this forum that is what Metzler recommends, I found that I agree with those who say it feels better with the 44 as well. (They may have said 46 in the rear but my memory sucks).

[Canuck52]

Yep
Night Dragons for me 36 front 40 rear
Have em on my VRSCR as well that bike sorts out tyres, the Night Dragons are awesome on that bike.

[TherealN8]

Originally Posted by gearhead63

I've been running a 100/90-19 SHINKO SR720F on front and a 130/90-16 SHINKO TOUR MASTER 230 on rear of my 2000 XLH883. Tread depth new- Front-7/32" and Rear- 10/32". AFTER 6,000 miles the front has 5/32-4/32" and rear has 5/32-4/32". I will say that I had leaking valve stem rubbers on the front & rear tire, and they have been losing air. I try to keep them at 45-48 psi, but both have been run with less. And most of the miles are being ridden double. So they will probably get slightly better mileage if ran with correct pressure (ALL THE TIME!), and if riding solo. I'd say that to get 10,000+ miles out of a set of $150 tires is pretty good! Better than ANY Dunlops I've ran.

are these the white wall shinko tires??

[TherealN8]

what company makes white letter tires(outlined or block) for our bikes?? i dont care for my dunlop 404's they get sketchy on the corners so im wanting to upgrade (commander and elites at the top of the list but read good reviews on the scorchers as well). mileage is important BUT traction(dry AND wet) is #1. i only got about 3-4 k on my sportbike tires before replacing the rears (2:1 with the fronts) so any thing above that is good.... what is the best tire for overall traction ??

PS can i go one size bigger on the front with out any mods??

[Diogenes415]

Originally Posted by Milk_n_Cigs

... Anyways, I am curious as to anyone trying different tires on a pretty much stock rear end. I’ve been look at COKER brand tires because I like the vintage chopper look and was wondering if the 500-16 would have any clearance issues (I.e. Firestone ans or champion deluxe)...

The old school chopper tires which have a 100% aspect ratio generally wear out after about 3K miles and that includes the Coker Classic, Treadwell Trackmaster, Firestone Champion, Shinko 270 and Avon Mrk II. They also have parallel tread sipes that make the bike feel squirrely when traveling on grooved roads in areas where the road is going to be resurfaced. However Conti Twins are still around with updated modern compounds, I used them back in the 80s when they were already considered 'classic', and they are a good handling tire which should last at least twice as long as the others.

https://www.denniskirk.com/continent....pfp54185.prdf


BTW, just throwing this out there because of the tire pressures I see some people running. The pressure noted on the tire's sidewall is NOT a recommendation, it's the limit the tire can withstand safely for extended periods. Ideal tire pressures will vary depending on the the bike, weather and riding conditions so a good starting point is the MOCO's recommended pressures but should not exceed what the tire manufacturer prints on the tire's sidewall... that's covered on page 4 of the Motorcycle Industry Council's tire guide.

https://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/mi...ide_2012v1.pdf

[glbsportster]

I put a Commander 3 on my rear tire and have used American Elite for years.....I will put a Commander 3 on the front as soon as my front tire gets worn down for replacement. Before you say I need matching tires (front and rear)....remember I am a very sedately driver (slow)(rarely do I get over 50 mph) with no fast sharp turns....so non-matching tires between the front and rear does not create any problems for me. Here is what I have learned....the Commander 3 seems to be a much more quieter tire.....I actually thought I had a bearing going out.....then got some bad damage from a large nail and had to replace the tire,.,..now I do not have the same type of noise after changing to the Commander 3......very quiet .....how long it will last I do not know at this point I only have about 730 miles on it.....but besides being quiet it seems to have more traction.....the reason I say that ....I had to be very careful with putting my rear brake on so as to not lock up the rear tire....with the Commander 3 I have not even come close to be able to lock up the rear tire.....which means to me it has more traction, not less. I also really like the look of the sidewall on the Commander 3 cruiser tire....As much as I liked the American Elite I like the Commander 3 much more. I don't really worry about how many miles I will get....at my age I don't even buy green bananas. As far as tire pressure goes, I run what my owners manual suggests....36 for the rear and 30 for the front.....although at times I have run 36 in the front and it seems to handle better (seems to) Plus I wonder if that gives me some extra tire and rim protection if I hit a bad pothole.....I don't know.....there appears to be a lot of experts in here.....but remember I have the skinny 21 inch tire on the front and there is not a lot of distance between the outer part of the tire to the rim.....just wondering.

[wedge]

Originally Posted by Diogenes415

BTW, just throwing this out there because of the tire pressures I see some people running. The pressure noted on the tire's sidewall is NOT a recommendation, it's the limit the tire can withstand safely for extended periods. Ideal tire pressures will vary depending on the the bike, weather and riding conditions so a good starting point is the MOCO's recommended pressures but should not exceed what the tire manufacturer prints on the tire's sidewall... that's covered on page 4 of the Motorcycle Industry Council's tire guide.

https://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/mi...ide_2012v1.pdf

You are absolutely correct, however; Metzler does recommend the higher pressures. I had to research it after seeing it posted in this forum, and after reading up on the Metzler recommendations for our Sportster tires I went to what they said, and for a fact, it does feel great, plus it passes my afore mentioned manhole cover test.