again tire question

[jazzcafe]

Hi, i am new here, based in Germany. Just bought my first xs400 however will pick it up after couple months as its at the moment on the other side of the country. I want to pre order as many parts as possible, before the bike gets here.

The bike has 16 rear wheel (i have only seen the bike on couple photos). I am attempted to go with 16 5 fat rear tire. I see the comments about firestone, coker and shinko classic, just has the looks but no good for riding. What would be the best alternative the these classic tire options? Would avon MKII 16 5 be in the same pot as tire so wide just wont be able to funktion well?

 

[NewHavenMike]

I have Heidenau tires on my bike.. i think they are a German company as a lot of bmw guys seem to choose them..? I have the K34 tire.

 

[jazzcafe]

i take it you have also 18 in back, I think this model is made only for 18 and 19 wheels. What is the width on your rear tyre? I just saw on a german online tire trader that there is a new size available 18 4 for K34.

 

[NewHavenMike]

I have 3.25x18 in the front and 3.5x18 in the back.

 

[jazzcafe]

nice I like it. I think it makes more sense to try to change my current 16 rear wheel to 18. Not sure only if I need a new swing arm because 18 comes with disc brakes.

 

[NewHavenMike]

Dont quote me on this, but i want to say that the 18 inch wheels are just plus sized.. this means that the overall height of the wheel between 16" and 18" is basically the same, except the rim is bigger on an 18 but theres less tire.

 

[arfstrom]

don't know your bike, (yr or anything else) Signature line helps -- I just bought this for my bike off of amazon, I don't think its what your looking for, but notice my front tire is a different size than the rear. There is a lot of threads that go into details about how thick your tire can be, with out rubbing on various rails and stuff.

Kenda K657 Cruiser Front Motorcycle Bias Tire - 100/90-18 56C
Kenda K657 Challenger Street Tire - 120/90H16

Bike info is in signature line

 

[jazzcafe]

Dont quote me on this, but i want to say that the 18 inch wheels are just plus sized.. this means that the overall height of the wheel between 16" and 18" is basically the same, except the rim is bigger on an 18 but theres less tire.

i think so too. And i like big fat 16 rear tire, ideally i would go with firestones but i heard the handling is crap so trying to find best alternative to fat firestone, considering also an option of replacing the rear 16 with 18 inch wheel instead.

 

[jazzcafe]

don't know your bike, (yr or anything else) Signature line helps -- I just bought this for my bike off of amazon, I don't think its what your looking for, but notice my front tire is a different size than the rear. There is a lot of threads that go into details about how thick your tire can be, with out rubbing on various rails and stuff.

Kenda K657 Cruiser Front Motorcycle Bias Tire - 100/90-18 56C
Kenda K657 Challenger Street Tire - 120/90H16

Bike info is in signature line

thanks I will do more scanning in forum.

 

[NewHavenMike]

I almost bought Kenda K70 tires as well.. Honestly if you dont want a vintage look, then youre getting modern street tires. What makes you say that any of the brands mentioned in this thread are no good for riding? Maybe they arent meant to be riden at 150mph, but just about every tire on the market is pretty decent, especially with rubber technology nowadays. Just pick a tread you like and get your size and buy it. Who cares about random bad reviews? They just picked the wrong style tire lol

 

[kshansen]

I almost bought Kenda K70 tires as well.. Honestly if you dont want a vintage look, then youre getting modern street tires. What makes you say that any of the brands mentioned in this thread are no good for riding? Maybe they arent meant to be riden at 150mph, but just about every tire on the market is pretty decent, especially with rubber technology nowadays. Just pick a tread you like and get your size and buy it. Who cares about random bad reviews? They just picked the wrong style tire lol

Agree here with this. Unless you are looking for maximum performance or are planning on riding several thousands of miles a year I would expect any new tires out there these days are as good or even better than the originals that would have come on these bikes. Maybe just stick with a good brand of tires that are the proper size for the bike.

It would be a different story if you were going to put tires on a motorcycle like a Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja or something of that nature!

 

[arfstrom]

Performance? I just drove to work, WOT with my front geared to 17T, 6th gears holds just fine at 70 mph. If I really need to go 83 for what I remember is my top speed. must have been going down hill somewhere... (in 5th gear will get me up there)