Need new tires = NEED HELP

Jim Van said:
I guess if it's good enough for a BMW, it's good enough for a Honda, even if it's a bias tire. :lol:
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Jim - So far it is the rear mileage winner for me - probably because the carcass is so stiff. They are a real pain in the anatomy to dismount/mount but it will get me to the Alaska or the West Coast without a tire change. I guess you noticed that if my math is correct and BStone numbers are right, the 'height' difference between the 160/70 and the 170/60 should be .0137 inches or .35 mm which explains why I've not had a side stand issue or center stand issue with them. With the ABSII front rim which is the same size as the ST1300, you can then run all the 'tire flavors' available for the ST1300 which opens up your choices quite a bit! ;-) I ended up putting an ABSII front rim on my 97 standard so I would have the same size 'takeoffs' between the three bikes. The ABSII front rim fits fine on the standard with plenty of clearance with the 120 tire - you just have to put the standard rotors on it - and they have the same bolt pattern. So far I've tried the PR3s (underwhelmed) and the BStone T30GTs. I may try the Pirellis just for grins to see. The front on my ST1100 standard with the ABSII rim is a Dunlop Sportmax II. Not enough miles on it to see, but so far so good. I'm just not a Dunlop fan, but you can't knock 'free'! :D
 
Uncle Phil said:
Al - That looks good for Bridgestones. Just wonder if it is the same for other brands like Michelin or Avon. I know an ST1100 rider that got some Shinkos in the 'correct' size and the rear rubbed. And ME880 fronts were notorious for rubbing the front fender under speed years ago (one guy melted his fender through). Even in that list of BStones, the rear diameters for 160/70 17s appear to vary from 25.7 to 25.8 mm and the 170/60 17s from 25.0 to 25.1 mm, not that .1 mm matters too much. I guess it depends on tire construction and tread thickness at the end of the day as to the tire diameters. Thanks for another good link. And really, having run several sets of the 170/60s rears in various flavors, I still have not noticed a big difference - my hair is still gray and my ST1100s have not blown up .... :D BTW, the difference from the axle to the ground between the 160/70 and the 170/60 would be .0137 inches (.35 mm) if Mr. Bridgestone says the diameter differences is .7 mm ... So my tire calculator was not off by much ;-)
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Uncle Phil,

Please double check the units on the tables. I read the units as inches and not mm (25.4 mm = 1 inch => the units must be inches by visual inspection of the tire) So by my reckoning, the axle to ground difference is in the 0.35 to 0.4 inch (9 mm to 10mm). This tends to agree with 160 times 0.7=112 versus 170 times 0.6=102 (difference of 10 mm).

Neal
(dumb farm boy)
 
Neal - Well, you are a bit brighter as a dumb farm boy than I am! :doh1: So the difference is .7 inch which is .35 inch actual difference which is less than 3/8" (probably closer to 22/64") assuming my math and understanding is correct this time. You gotta remember, we just got shoes in Tennessee a little while ago and this metric stuff is a whole nother deal ... :D At the end of the day, maybe the thickness difference of about two sheets of cardboard - not enough to affect the side stand, center stand, ABSII or handling for me. YEMV. ;-)
 
I misjudged how much tread was left a few years ago, and limped into Stockton Honda with a LOT of cord showing on the rear. The only tire they had was a 160/70 Bridgestone - can't remember which one- so I grasped my ankles firmly and told them to put it on. Since I use the tach more than the speedo to watch my speed, there was a small period of adjustment (the difference at 65 was about 3mph), but the major issue I had was the centerstand. It was an absolute bear to get it up on there. That, and the fact that I got less than 5K out of that rear...
 
just put 4000 miles on 160/70zr17 t30 rear tire and is showing a lot on wear. The tire is getting flattened out. The front tire a exedra max 130/70zr18 is showing little wear and handles great. T 30 wont last in my opinion
 
Al st1100 said:
just put 4000 miles on 160/70zr17 t30 rear tire and is showing a lot on wear.
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I am on my third set of t30s on my 1991 ST1100 and the first two I got 9000 miles each set. This is a combination of riding little slab mostly 2 lane roads, loaded, unload, pillion, etc. I am running 38 front and 42 rear for psi. 160/70/17 rear and 110/80/18 front.

I also ran a couple sets of Meltzer Z6s and got 2500 miles on a set.
 
This is the funny thing about tires. Regardless of the tire everyone seems to have a different experience. I guess that is why there are so many to choose from.
 
Grabcon said:
This is the funny thing about tires. Regardless of the tire everyone seems to have a different experience. I guess that is why there are so many to choose from.
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And I find it varies from one of my ST1100s to the others. I got 12,500 out of BT020 rear on another, and only 8,600 out of the same tire on a different ST1100. My mileage seems to be all over the place, even though the suspension is good and I watch the tire pressures. The worst so far was a rear PR3 with 2,575 miles, followed by a rear BT023 with 2,647. You'd think mileages would be similar with the same rider on the same model of bikes. :think1: I have to assume the road surfaces make a lot of difference on tire life as the lower mileage rear was cross country and the other one was mostly local.
 
Brant said:
:rofl1:.....know EXACTLY where that was headed ;).
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...down... :scared2: :lol: (expensive fireworks no one was able to observe though...)

IIRC are the US of A converting to metric since the early 70ies now... 25 meters of 5/8x1 anyone?
(to those who are not in a/c: a 25 meter ring of 5/8" CU pipe with 1 millimetre wall thickness... :bannana)
 
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