Topic: Race tires for a CB360 or 350, same diff

[Skonnie Boy]

Heya, I got the fantastically bad idea to race a CB360, and now I'm on the hook for tires. Anybody got low-cost favorites, or at least good experience with a type/brand? Running 18" rims, probably looking for 90/90 Fronts and 100/90 Rears. Probably just not looking in the right corner of the interweb, thought I'd seek advice.

[bwaller]

A lot of guys use Heidenau race tires. Seems they are a little more reasonable than Avon or Dunlop.

[Skonnie Boy]

Yeah, had never heard of said brand till now. But I'm game. Tricky finding smaller tires with less unsprung weight. I trust the skinny ones in a hard lean, don't need monster rear tires. Any particular source, site, etc? The scarcity of product around suggests I've been beaten to the punch and should've gotten on this earlier.

[bwaller]

Yeah you don't need really wide. TimV races with Heidenaus on his 350's and likes them. I'll check with a friend in NY where you might source them.

[Skonnie Boy]

Any leads definitely appreciated.

[turboguzzi]

continental are doing classic race radials these days, they just dont have a 90 front.

http://www.conti-online.com/www/motorcycle_de_en/themes/motorcycletires/race/contiroadattack_2_cr_de.html

BUT, Ari Henning was VERY successful running on his CB350 a 100/90-18 on the front and the 110/80-18 (which is a front tire) on the back. 

and yes, no need to worry about the skinny sizes, i race my Gpz750/810 on 110 front 130 rear... these are 50-125 c.c. widths these days 

I already have a set mounted on the Gpz and in a month time ill be racing on them contis myself for the first time, so will have better info on how they behave.

[Skonnie Boy]

Those look great. Now to begin the interweb hunt. Tough sledding sourcing all this. Guess it's not the most high-volume seller for lots of sites.

[bwaller]

Those Conti's are great but beware, some assn's don't allow radials period so check before you buy. Honestly I don't care what you buy, I use Avon, but in case here's the Heidenau info.


https://www.google.com/url?q=http://heidenautires.com/find-a-dealer/&sa=U&ei=MtMxU_6qCMKiyAHOtoGwBQ&ved=0CAUQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNEmdzmMrFGS6uphigKfEBJWpM21mg

[turboguzzi]

Those Conti's are great but beware, some assn's don't allow radials period so check before you buy. Honestly I don't care what you buy, I use Avon, but in case here's the Heidenau info.


https://www.google.com/url?q=http://heidenautires.com/find-a-dealer/&sa=U&ei=MtMxU_6qCMKiyAHOtoGwBQ&ved=0CAUQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNEmdzmMrFGS6uphigKfEBJWpM21mg

brent, Ari was doing AHRMA so guess that means they are kosher at least for them, and then there were those cycle-X guys running michelin 17" radials too no? no issues this side of the pond...

what i already like about the contis is that since thye are made on proper production line tools of the normal tires (with just a different compuond) they are so perfectly balanced, they don even have a "heavy spot" mark like those hand made avons/dunlops.

skonnie, quite important that you see what rim width you have, the contis need a 2.15" for the 100 and a 2.50" for the 110

[Skonnie Boy]

Good question. I can say the rims are just the stock rims. Some of the local opinions are that BT45's will be good enough for my AHRMA venture. I raced a 175 in the CB160 and GP200 classes last year with Avon stickies, so I don't know how non-race tires stack up. I don't want to throw good money after bad, but I'll spend on something that'll make a real difference.

Of course, the joke is that they're going on a bike that well might not propel them far. But I am determined that "Team FAIL" will bring respectability back to the maligned 360.

[bwaller]

Your right TG. I just breezed the AHRMA rules & they mention nothing about radials. Our rule book clearly states "No Radials" so I don't even want to ask.   

[Old Scrambler]

for HEIDENAU tires, try Kevin at scramblercycle.com..............

A 360 can be built and shaved...........but has to run in the larger classes.

[seanbarney41]

Revzilla carries the Heidenau brand...

[turboguzzi]

BT45 are a good sporty option. conti has some classic sporting rubber too which is quite cheap:

http://www.conti-online.com/www/motorcycle_de_en/themes/motorcycletires/conti_classic_en/tkv1112_en.html

its a very wide range so you will certianly find sizes to match your rims.

if you are running stock rims i doubt very much that you have a 2.15 / 2.50 combo on a 360. more likely they are 1.85 / 2.15

[Skonnie Boy]

Went with the Conti's you mentioned. Just a few bucks more than the BT45's, cheaper for the rear actually. Thanks for the advice, we'll see if I can get some some serious track time on them.

[freedomgli]

what i already like about the contis is that since thye are made on proper production line tools of the normal tires (with just a different compuond) they are so perfectly balanced, they don even have a "heavy spot" mark like those hand made avons/dunlops.

I wouldn't say they're perfectly balanced from the factory.  My freshly built wheels were nearly perfectly balanced prior to installing the Continentals (I did find and mark the heavy spot on the rim for posterity).  After installing the tires I had to add 1/4oz to the front wheel and a little less than 1/2oz to the rear.  So not perfect, but not really bad at all.