Rear tire question

If my rear tire says tube type, does it mean it definitely has a tube or should have a tube?

 

Also, are Kenda brand tires a good brand?

 

Tube type tires are supposed to have a tube. That doesn't mean the PO had a tube in it, they still might hold air.

So far I'm happy with the Kenda KRUZ I put on my Venture. LtDave feels that the Kenda Challengers I put on his 900 are slippery cold.

 

What kind of cold temps are you talking about? I am more concerned about heat. The summers here get up to the 110's

 

Holy cow! And I thought the redneck riviera was hot.

 

I like my Kendas. I wouldn't expect you'd have trouble with grip at 110 degrees. At that temp, the tar will hold your tires to the asphalt!

 

I'm running Kenda Challengers with no issues Dwatson, but do bear in mind I'm not hanging pegs up on Mulholland drive either.

 

I use Bridgestone Spitfire S-11's and they have great grip at any temp i have ever ridden at. I have found them to be comfortable at any speed whether your the peg dragging kind of person through the twisties or the easy cruiser.

 

Originally i had a Spitfire S11 on the front and Kenda Challenger on the back. Both were fairly new when i bought the bike. The Kenda started developing a flat spot in the middle where it normally rides.

After i had a gas leak the Kenda had to go, so i got an S11 to match the front. Wow, what a difference. She ran so much smoother, didn't freak out in the road ruts, ran straight and true, AND isn't wearing near as fast as the Kenda did.

Just my $0.02

 

This is good to know...makes the price difference worth it...I'm sold!

 

I have and still do run Metzeler ME880 Marathon tires on all my bikes and they have been wonderful. Especially in this Texas heat!

They hold like velcro, track nice and straight, whether SWMBO and I are cruising up an interstate or we are shredding the twisties of the Hill country.

I get good mileage too! You know, I may even get 7k to 10k miles out of them.

FWIW

 

I have Kenda Kruz's on mine, been happy with them so far. A lot better than the Ching Sheng's it had when I bought my bike.

 

I had ME880s on my Venture. I agree on the Velcro thing. They don't even notice rain. A bit noisy in turns. Rear started to delaminate on me. Lots of people having that problem with the touring bikes when 2 up heavy. Near as I can tell they just don't stay together when run at highway speed near their maximum load.

If you're riding 2 up on that Voyager I'd keep a sharp eye on the rear tread.

 

I also have a question about tires I think this would be an appropriate thread for it. This is for a 82 xj550 im looking for.
Stock manual says tire size
Front: 3.00-19
Rear: 110/90-18
So i searched the forums to see if i had more size options. guys said they had
Rear: 130/70-16, 130/90-16, 130/80-16, Some guy says you could squeeze 140's in there. But the manual says I have 18" rim so how can these guys run 16's? and whats the number after the / mean? I've been searching for a guide and all i get is charts that don't have a key to reading them.
Also I read that some guy says he has a 110/90-18 on the front of his bike and thats a 3.5" wide tire right? but how can a 18 tire fir on the 19 rim? or am i missing something?
Also whats the largest and smallest tires i could put on my rims? I just have stock 550 rims.
Thanks in advance,
Krashen

 

The guys talking about 16" rears had Maxims. Your 550 Seca has an 18" rear and 19" front wheel. You do have a Seca, or "Euro" XJ 550 correct?

On the bike with the Dunlop D404's, I have a 100/90-19 on the front and a 110/90-18 on the rear, been thinking about going to a 120/90-18. A more direct size replacement for the 3.00 on the front would have been a 90/90, but the 100/90 fits the fender fine.

On the bike with the Avon AM26 RoadRiders, it's a different story: The Avons come in "old school" sizes for that bike: 3.25-19 front and a 4.00-18 rear.

Check my gallery for pics of both bikes.

I did a lot of my tire size research here: http://totalmotorcycle.com/TotalMotorcy ... eGuide.htm

BTW, when you leave out the "R" everyone here in the States assumes "Maxim."

If you in fact have a Maxim, disregard the above "size" advice. (And check the sizes on the current tires.)

 

Sorry thought i put it in there. I'm from the States in Iowa and its a Maxim so i must have 16's I wasnt able to check my bikes 45 minutes away. i was going to order some so the next time i got there i can change them I still have PO's tire on the back it was in bad shape but I need to replace it. I found how to read the dates on them last weekend.
I think they are from 97! So good thing i didn't have it for long last summer probably ridding on Rotting Time Bombs. I did get the Front one replaced right away though because it was all cracked.
Thanks again for all the help fitz

 

The Secas are the "R" model, but there are some "Euro" XJ550s running around over here too.

OK, for the Maxim: You have a 19" front and a 16" rear.

Factory tires 3.25H-19 front and 130/90-16H rear.

I would go with either 90/90-19 or 100/90-19 front, depending on manufacturer.

You can't go too much bigger than recommended for the rear, but why would you? A 130 is quite a wide tire.

Make sure you get at least an "H" speed rating as that was the original spec for that.

 

Thanks again.
Well one of them i'm going to bob and I like the look of the fat tires on the back not super fat though.
so as long as it says 16H or higher letter for more speed it will fit my rear rim?
and the 130/90 means 130mm across and 90% of that is the height of the rubber?

 

Correct. 16 is the wheel diameter, 130 the width, 90 the aspect ratio and H the speed rating.

Increasing the width is where you could run into swingarm clearance issues, plus too wide a tire on too narrow of a rim is unstable. For any given rim width there is a recommended range of tire widths that work best. Rim diameter and width are cast into your rims.

You have done well, Grasshopper.

 

So to see if i will have issues with my swing arm.. Lets say i have a 130/90 on the rear right now and want to get a 150/80.
I could just take my calipers measure about .5 inches i got from using the conversion chart. Stick my calipers to the side of the tire and thats about were my 150 will sit?
are there any handling problems going up to a 150?

 

You didn't pay attention to what I said about rim width.

The width of your rear rim is cast into it, I can't look it up because the book is wrong. The factory book lists the correct tire sizes for the Maxim but then lists the Seca's rim sizes. You'll need to look at the numbers cast into your rim (the Seca rear says MT2.15x18, yours will be different but similar.)

A 150 may be too wide for your rim; a 150/80 is almost for sure gonna be too FAT.

Get onto the website link I gave you; for a lot of the manufacturers, it lists ACTUAL dimensions, in both metric and inch, for each size tire. You cannot simply go by "130/90" or "150/80" because one manufacturer's 130 will be different from another manufacturer's 130.

Gotta do some research.

 

I've got a 130/90-16 on the rear of my Maxim and there's only a 1/4 inch between the tire and the shaft. So you can't put anything much bigger than that on it without serious mods.

 

hey Brian...

YOURE funny...

130mm is a wide tire. my buddies all have 120s on the FRONT and 160 to 180 on the rear. of course theyre all running litre bikes or bigger. and theyre on serious race bikes too...

 

Dave; He has a 550 Maxim. Imagine trying to stuff anything bigger on the back of yours...

Your buddies aren't riding 28 year old bikes is the real difference. In 1982 parlance, a 130 was a fat somb*tch. Look what came on your 900.

 

Hey Fitz I looked at the link you sent me last night but all it has was the 1982 Yamaha XZ550S for the 550 in 82. Which is not the same size and also is a twin cylinder.
Is there a different site you used also? or am i just looking in the wrong spot? I went through chose yamaha then chose 82 then there was a list but didnt have the maxim.

I'll definately look at my rims before I order any thing.
Thanks for Fitz

 

The XJ550s were the same for '81-'83.

A lot of places don't list anything for '82 for the XJ550.

What I thought I gave you the link to was their "Tire Guide" which gives sizes/dimensions of almost every brand of tire.

http://totalmotorcycle.com/photos/tire- ... /index.htm

You have to know what you're looking for first.

 

OOO I thought it was a guide by motorcycle. Thanks this is awesome!