Author Topic: What tire is this ? (Read 2032 times)

greenjeans · « **on:** February 17, 2015, 06:10:02 PM »

Anybody know what tire this is based on ? It's by Vee rubber (Tiawan) They call it the TT

Kinda looks like a Dunlop K81 ? or TT100 ?

Which is which ? http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1693

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2015, 06:42:21 PM »

k81 is front? tt100 is rear? ...never understood why Dunlop does not offer the tt100 tread pattern for the front

I had a set of Vee-Rubber(was not the tire you posted though) on my 550 last year and they worked well.

Rookster · « **Reply #2 on:** February 17, 2015, 09:05:53 PM »

The K81 is the TT100. They are the same tire. The race K81 tire was used on the first bike to lap the I.O.M. at 100 mph (Malcolm Uphill at the 1969 TT on a Triumph Bonneville Thruxton) and was branded as the TT100. The sidewall has both markings K81 and TT100. The Dunlop K81 is still available for the front or rear.
Scott

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 17, 2015, 09:16:46 PM »

Rookster, do the front and rear k81's have the same tread pattern?

754 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2015, 09:33:26 PM »

I think they did, they were the hot #$%*e in the mid and late 70,s

Rookster · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2015, 10:09:39 PM »

Quote

Rookster, do the front and rear k81's have the same tread pattern?

Yes.

Bodi · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2015, 03:02:39 AM »

That does look like a K81 - the "trigonic" profile is there and the tread pattern is identical or a close copy. They were good tires in their day but normal street riding flattens the centre and the turning response gets weird. Unless you really like the look, use a modern tire: they are much, much better than any from the 70's. Probably these are better than 70's K81s because rubber technology has developed a lot in 40 years... but the profile will still be a problem as it wears, more so than a typical round profile.

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 18, 2015, 03:14:52 AM »

Quote from: Rookster on February 17, 2015, 10:09:39 PM

Quote
Rookster, do the front and rear k81's have the same tread pattern?

Yes.

Would it be too much trouble to ask to post some links? I have never been able to find a K81 front for sale with that tread pattern...

Bodi, I hear you on that '70's profile versus modern.

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #8 on:** February 18, 2015, 03:28:15 AM »

Quote from: Rookster on February 17, 2015, 10:09:39 PM

Quote
Rookster, do the front and rear k81's have the same tread pattern?

Yes.

They never used to, Originally the K181 was the TT100 and the back tire was a different tread pattern to the front...

http://img.inkfrog.com/click_enlarge1.php?image=Scan-111202-0061a.jpg&username=Greedo&aid=863904491

kmb69 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2015, 04:02:50 AM »

Maybe this helps:

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.eu/dunlop_euen/mc/tyres/on_road/K81_TT100.jsp

bwaller · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2015, 04:19:29 AM »

I always used K81's both racing & on the street. The originals wore quickly but were the hot ticket for grip. Tread pattern was the same front & rear. RR, I remember the K181 was a different tire, maybe available later

Rookster · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2015, 05:47:39 AM »

Here is the K81 on the front of my T140. It is 4.10H19. The rear K81 wears very quickly (3000 miles) but they are nice tires for vintage bikes. Like Bodi said the rear will flatten out in the center. The K81 comes in 3 sizes:
4.10H19
4.10H18
4.25H18

Scott

ekpent · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2015, 05:58:35 AM »

I've changed out a couple of those old 4.10-19 fronts on a couple of 750 projects. Must have been the hot tire in the day.

Old Scrambler · « **Reply #13 on:** February 18, 2015, 07:39:36 AM »

Sean...........I have a set of TT100s on my K3.............

pickle fart · « **Reply #14 on:** February 18, 2015, 10:12:53 AM »

The Dunlop K81 or TT100 were great tires – back in the day. I raced Norton Commandos for several years using 4.10-19 K81R rear and 3.60-19 K81 front. Both had the same tread pattern. The ‘R’ was race compound, and didn’t last long racing - wore out the edges not the center like on the street. Dunlop called them ‘trigonic’, and they were shaped kind of like the triangular Dunlop KR73 and KR76 race tires. I also raced with KR’s too, but went just as fast with K81’s, which were cheaper.

The K81 required a different technique than today’s tires. With the triangulars, you abruptly flopped over onto the edges, today’s tires you just roll over smoothly. Today’s tires are fantastic, they are like Velcro.

The K81 was also available 3.60-18, 4.10-18, and in 4.25/85-18, kind of a fat tire for the time. The other tires available back then were Avons, GP rears and Speedmaster rib front. I raced both Avons and Dunlops and found the Dunlops were much better.

I think a couple of the Taiwan tire makers have made replicas of the K81. Still be a good tire for a British vintage look I guess. Not sure I’d put them on my CB750 though.

PeWe · « **Reply #15 on:** February 18, 2015, 12:00:41 PM »

K81 TT100 was THE tire when I bought my CB750 end of 70's. The other tires after it felt better. This tire for vintage look. New Metzeler, Bridgestone etc for driving today.
I should buy it front/rear IF I had an old Norton Commando or similar English bike

BUT, the dimensions look tempting.
Rear is too wide for correct OEM CB750. But could be fun on a CB750 vintage modified style. Nostalgic model

18" 130/80-18 66H TT K81 ROADMASTER TT100 GP
19" 100/90-19 57H TT K81 ROADMASTER TT100 GP

EDIT:
One again: My bike how it looked like 1980-1982. Slippery Avon Roadrunner rear on 16" fatter rim, K81 front
Very flexible (wooble) handling that did not stop me driving very hard evrywhere. Passing cars on either left or right side. (Slalom). Dunstall front fender without bracing did not improve handling either

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 18, 2015, 01:11:12 PM »

Quote from: Old Scrambler on February 18, 2015, 07:39:36 AM

Sean...........I have a set of TT100s on my K3.............

ok...I see my confusion now...for some reason I could never find a k81 front when I wanted it, possibly because of the limited sizing available...and then it seems like lots of guys will pair the k81 up with a k70? I ended up running a k81 on the back and an Avon Speedmaster front a few years back, seemed to work good, but yeah, the rear disappeared fast.

ozpacman · « **Reply #17 on:** February 21, 2015, 02:13:22 AM »

Ah yes - the mighty K81. Back in the day I found the hot set-up on my first K7 was to run a K81 on the front and an Avon Roadrunner on the rear.

A K81 on the rear would have disappeared a bit too quickly for my meager pay packet as an apprentice body man back then!

Russ.

oldhatt45 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2015, 06:34:04 AM »

For what its worth, Bike Bandit has a sale going on for tires.
http://www.bikebandit.com/tires-tubes/street-tires/t119k1yw

If you're buying one of their closeout tires, the promo code for an extra 10% off is "BANDIT10"

Hope this helps somebody.

Charlie

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Author Topic: What tire is this ? (Read 2032 times)