New tire needed, need some advise

[XS650D]

I currently have the Bridgestone Spitfires need a new rear tire and
would like some advise on other brands. Only other tires I've tried were Dunlop 404,s on my
(now sold) Sportster and hated them, would follow every rut and line in the road.I changed them
to Avon Venoms and found a Hugh difference, handled better,wouldent follow ruts lines ect and wore pretty well
the same a the Dunlops.Thx for any advise. Tires sizes are Rear 110/90-18 Front 100/90-19

 

[fredintoon]

I currently have the Bridgestone Spitfires need a new rear tire and
would like some advise on other brands. Only other tires I've tried were Dunlop 404,s on my
(now sold) Sportster and hated them, would follow every rut and line in the road.I changed them
to Avon Venoms and found a Hugh difference, handled better,wouldn't follow ruts lines etc and wore pretty well
the same a the Dunlops.Thx for any advise. Tires sizes are Rear 110/90-18 Front 100/90-19

Hi XS650D,
unlike a solo bike where adhesion and road-holding are paramount only 3 tire-related things concern us sidecar operators:-
Will it hold air? Is there still some tread left? How long before it balds out?
If your front Spitfire is still in good shape I'd say you are best off buying a new Spitfire for the rear because that way you'll know what to expect.
The best time to switch tire brands is when you finally need to buy new front & rear tires so they'll be a matched pair.
As to which brand, as you say, anything except Dunlop 404s. Try something low-budget, eh?

 

[XS650D]

Thx for the insight Freddy

 

[5twins]

Some front tires are very good as far as matching and working well with other rears, some not so much. My favorite used to be the Cheng Shin C906 Hi-Max. It was a copy of the Metzeler ME33 and matched well with any rear I ever tried it with. Unfortunately, they stopped making it, lol .....

But I've found another, basically a copy of that copy, that I'd like to try next from a company called Vee Rubber .....

I currently have a matched set of Shinko 712's. The rear is fine, I've used it before, but this is the first time I tried that front. I don't like it. It feels a bit "vague" and squirmy going through about the 30 to 35 MPH range. I tried everything to make it better (new wheel bearings, steering bearing adjustment, different tube, rotating tire on rim), nothing worked. Then I swapped on my spare wheel with a still good C906 on it, problem solved, so I know it's the tire.

 

[XS650D]

Interesting info 5T. From what I have learned with the Harley boys when I had my Sporty,the Avon and Metzeler are compatible
and very close in performance.I thought they looked a lil modern on the Sporty but got used to it.They out outperformed my expectations
in every way but kinda pricy. I noticed that the Spitfires are nice but the front still will follow ruts ect somewhat.I realize that the modern
rubber for high performance bikes will be a step-up in performance but they will look weird on an xs650 I think.

 

[mrtwowheel]

I like the Shinko 712 for front and back on my two '81 CB750C's. I have them for my '74 TX but haven't tried them yet. I love the Shinko Tour Masters on my GoldWing, the back tire lets me know when to change it. I was buying Spitfires but had a bad rash of deep sidewall cracks on less than two year old Spitfires. The Shinkos are very comparable to the Spitfires, better sidewalls and same mileage.

I'm not going to blame the tires for the road grooves, never did understand that, don't see how the tires can make the grooves go away, and every groove has it's own character.

Scott

 

[XS650D]

Avons will track strait thru any cracks' wont even know there there, very noticeable to me in 8000 miles I road with them
I cant explain it but thats what I was told by a Harley Tech and he was bang on!!

 

[mrtwowheel]

I just can't get excited about a tire that will float over the grooves, just doesn't seem right.

Scott

 

[jussumguy]

Second for the Shinko 712's
Wear good, last long enough,(you don't want them to hang around too long, right?) and they're not expensive!

 

[XS650D]

Can someone advise if a 4.00-18 is the same size tire as a 110/90-18 (rear tire) if not will
it fit and what is the difference.Thx

 

[5twins]

Yes, they're pretty much the same. The 110 is the metric equivalent to the 4.00, or at least as close as there is in a metric size.

 

[XS650D]

ok thx 5T