Looking for tires..

[bokobob]

I'm not having much success finding tires...

So far have only found rear tire blackwall in Dunlop and Bridgestone brands...

Search of online tire sources comes up with not a single match in checking out several brands...

I want a good quality tire with long tread life..looking for a rear right now....

If you have other than the two brands above in the stock size 170/70B/16, that you are happy with, please point me to your source, including item number if you have it..

]Thanks,

PS..have nothng against Dunlop, but was hoping to find Metzeler.

[dkdixie]

Bob, If you do a forum search on rear tires, you'll find "most/some" of the latest users of Metzlers weren't happy.......myself included! They definitely aren't the Metzler of old.
I believe the number one choice of a rear m/c tire is now the 180/70 Avon Cobra or Dunlop Elite 3's.
Don't have one either myself since I went Darkside, but have been extremely happy with Avon Cobra front. Just installed my 2nd Cobra front few weeks ago.
I'm sure others will jump in with their opinions.

For the best price on tires, Dennis Kirk is hard to beat. They'll beat any advertised price by 1.00. All you have to do is give them the website of competitor with an advertised price.

[dank]

You will have a hard time beating the Elite 3's unless price is your determining factor. Great cornering, great traction when wet, and outstanding tread life. But they aren't the lowest priced, although I think even that is debatable when you consider how many miles they deliver. I sold my Nomad with over 14,000 miles on the rear E3, and it still had thousands of mile left. My guess is that it would have been good for 17,000-18,000 miles, which makes the initial cost much more reasonable.

[cactusjack]

You might have better luck searching for a 180/70/16. The 180 fits just fine in place of the 170. And I agree with dkdixie - I was not the least bit impressed with the set of ME880's I had. I now have a Dunlop E3 on the front and a Dunlop SP5000 on the rear.

Here's some places with good tire pricing and great service:
http://www.sporttour.com/
http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/index.php

[kudzufarmer]

I'm running Avon Cobras front and rear with Dynabeads...have a couple of thousand miles on them so far and pleased.......no issues noted yet.....(I know the dynabeads part will probably start some discussion!!!!!!)

[blowndodge]

Scott, isn't that Dunlop SP 5000 a "car tire"???????

[Top Cat]

Bob, I have had Bridgestone, Metzler, Cobra's and Elite 3's on my 07 Nomad.

Bridgestones work great on my wifes 750 shadow but I did not care for them on the Nomad.
Metz 880's were good handling wise but I did not get the wear I would have liked and they were noisy in the curves. I got 12,000 miles out of the rear but should have changed it at 9,000 or so. the steel belts were showing at 12,000.

Cobra's are a good handling tire as well. I still have the Cobra on the front. I have the Elite 3 on the rear in 180/70x16. that seems to be the best handling so far, I don't know about the wear as it has only been on for about 3,000 miles.

[Cajunrider]

Bob, I purchased my Avon Cobras at this site and was very pleased with the price and the quick and reasonable shipping. I'm running a Cobra on the front and had a 180/70-16 on the rear before switching to a car tire.


http://www.motoxoutlet.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=498818

[bokobob]

Wow, thanks for replies....Dumb question...I looked at owner's manual and also online specs and do not see if the bike takes radial or bias tires....Anybody who can clarify, please to..I gather if you can use either, that it would be better to have both the same type, front and rear.

Thank you for the good leads..

[barrynfla]

Wow, thanks for replies....Dumb question...I looked at owner's manual and also online specs and do not see if the bike takes radial or bias tires....Anybody who can clarify, please to..I gather if you can use either, that it would be better to have both the same type, front and rear.

Thank you for the good leads..



Bob.......you can use two radials or a radial in the rear and bias in the front. Do NOT use a bias in the rear and a radial in the front!

Barry

Edit: Not a dumb question at all. The stock tires are bias.

[ringadingh]

There's nothing at all wrong with the Dunlops, I switched from Metzelers which made the bike wobble to the D404 front and a Cruisemax rear and love the way the bike feels now. On my other bikes that have had Dunlops Ive had very good tire life from them.