ordering tires (n00b edition)

[cobrasneverdie]

Good day fellas,

So I am ordering from this website canadas motorcycle I am ordering Avon AM6 Speedmaster Mark II tire. The front tire on my current bike reads as 3.25/3.50 19'
where as the rear reads 4.50 18

the options it gives me on the site are for the front:

the options it gives me on the site for the rear:

1) so my question is will the rear tire fit? it's not 4.50
2) for the front, which do I choose? 3.25 or 3.50

 

[jd750ace]

The 3.25 3.50 and 4.50 refer to the width of the tire in inches.

3.25 to 3.50 is approximately the same as a 100/90

4.50 is approximately the same as a 120/90

Your call on the front sizes really. Not a great big difference but if it was me I'd go with the 3.25. On the rear I'd wait for some responses from some of the guys here running the 18 inch rear, but if it were me I might lean toward the 3.50.

 

[cobrasneverdie]

bumpin for knowledge

 

[chugg]

I would go with the 3.25 on the front. The difference is so slight you wouldn't feel anything between the 3.25 and 3.50. I have the 16 inch rear on mine, so I can't help with that, but my advice to you would be check out the manufacturers website for fitment charts, or give a call to the folks you're purchasing the tires from. I did just put on a 3.25 x 19 front which replaced the 3.50 x 19 stock size, and I like the look of it.

Philip

 

[cobrasneverdie]

they were closed, I'll see what I can do. Been asking around. I just don't want to order something and it not fitting properly. Seems to be the theme this year

 

[cobrasneverdie]

so to anyone that was wondering, I talked to the customer service rep on the phone. He looked around for me to find tires for my wheels. His best advice was for me to go with the Avon Roadrider:

which I have ordered. But my question for anyone that can help and this would be a future purchase. What wheels (preferably spokes) do I buy to purchase the Avon MKII
the following picture may not represent those exact tires I want but damn I want something like this:

please any help or steer in the right direction would be great

 

[cobrasneverdie]

halp prease

 

[5twins]

You need to help us. Is your bike a stocker or some Sawzall hardtail bobber? If it's the latter, it doesn't much matter what tire sizes you use, whatever will fit without rubbing. If it's a stocker with an 18" rear wheel, 4.00 works best on the back (or 110 in metric size). A 4.50 or 120 (metric) will slow down the steering and handling. On the front, I run a 100 metric size.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

The rear tire in that pic is like the vintage old-school square-profile harley pattern. Jc whitney used to have those in 4.00x18 years ago in their 'vintage' tire section. They sometimes still have old stock that doesn't appear in their catalog, have to talk to them to find out...

 

[cobrasneverdie]

sorry 5twins my bike is a stock bike as of now.

is there any sites I can find 4.00 that I can look into?

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Maybe some help here: http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29069

 

[jd750ace]

I'm not understanding. You want the blocky ancient square tire, or a modern round tire? A tire defined as a 4.00 will have a 100% aspect ratio, meaning the side wall height is equal to the tread width. This is one reason they handle poorly. Too much sidewall, and this design does not lend itself to having a curved tread block. Newer tires in this range will be slightly shorter, as in a 110/80 or 110/90-18. In this "metric" tire sizing, tire designers started to wisen up. These sizes define the aspect ratio of the tire, I.E., a 110/80 tire will be 110 MM wide, and 80% of that tall, or 88MM tall. These tires hold rounded profiles much better and roll with a turn instead of pushing a tall sidewall sideways. There's good advise above for good handling, which is essential on any bike for me. Good luck.

 

[cobrasneverdie]

jd750ace thanks for that input, you see I'm still new and learning stuff. Yeah I was referring to the look of a square tire, I guess I wasn't taking into consideration of practicality. But that's always good to hear. What I bought was the Avon Roadrider, which is rounder. I was intersted in the last picture the tire looks more square but I never really considered thinking about the handling on it.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Oh, yeah, you should've heard the handling horror stories from guys that ran wide car tires...

 

[Tomterrific]

The Avon Roadrider is a great tire. Stock tires were 3.50 front and 4.00 rear. The bit smaller 3.25 front would be okay giving slightly quicker handling.

 

[jd750ace]

Yes, very good choice with the Avon.

 

[osteoderm]

I run those Avon Roadriders, and love them However, I can totally dig how they could look out of place on a more traditional bobber. The Avon SafetyMilage/Speedmaster combo is classy, and a world better than those played-out Firestones!

The UK Avon website has links to datasheets for all their tires. Here's the link to their "Classic" tire datasheet: Click here.

The datasheet will show you the actual diameter and width of each tire, along with recommended rim widths, etc. Very handy.