Topic: CB550 tire recommendations?

[harisuluv]

I am to the point now where I need to be getting tires for my build.

My bike is a 78 cb550.  I don't really want old school tires and am looking for something modern.  I would also like something a little wider, specifically for my rear tire.  I don't want el cheapo tires either.  I've seen a lot of cool looking tires on builds here but I can't tell what they are!  Recommendations please, thanks in advance.

[Frostyboy]

Bridgestone Battlax BT45 still come in imperial size for the front 3.25x19 & 110/90/18 for the rear. Rear is dual compound.
If you have a search on this forum you will find lots of advice not to go bigger on standard rims. Good luck with your choice, I'm sure there will be lots more suggestions. 

[dave500]

hey im with frosty here,use the stock width though,all you do with a wider tyre on a stock rim is wear out the centre faster,and comprimise your lean angles,im running a bt45 on the front and a spitfire on the rear,if im keen i scrape both pegs,i did have a bt45 rear but went spitfire when it was changed,i like the solid centre tread,i also have alloy "sun rims"i like my skinny rear tyre.

[Tom in Newcastle......Ontario]

I have a stock 78 550k (My avatar).....and I am running Avon road riders,sizes ..  4.00-18 and 3.25-19

Don't know where you are ,but around here we have alot of Tar snakes and the Roadriders do not get affected by them ..

I think it is because of the non ribbed front,and the broken up center tread

[Fred T]

Avon Roadrider, Bridgestone Batlax, Metzeller Lazertek, or Continentals.
I´m using the Avons on my CB 400 F and they perform very well in wet or dry conditions, good grip.

[IndyFour]

I went with modern size tires simply due to availability and price.  I've been happy with the Dunlop D404 tires I have been running since last summer.  Used the conversion chart on this website to get appropriate sizing.  Nice a grippy and seem to handle well.  If it rains, I don't ride.....so I can't attest to handling in rain, but I've heard from others that they do well in that respect.

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tirecatalog_tire.asp?id=37

[Rlint]

that conversion chart seems weird, as in it recommends 120 size for a smaller rear rim than 110 tires.  I'm not saying that I don't believe it, because I have no experience with it, but I don't understand the fact that wide tires wear out so much quicker.  Half of the modern tires are already rounded profile in the first place, and when you're talking the difference of 1cm between 90/90 and 100/90, which is less than four-tenths an inch, the difference in profile would be almost completely unnoticeable... I guess tires are touchy.

[fastbroshi]

  It's because if you put a wider rear tire on the same size rim, that wider tire has to be pinched more to fit, so it rounds it more and alters the shape it runs while you go down the road.  It gives it a higher peak in profile, so all the weight of the bike and rider is concentrated differently and this tire flattens out sooner.

  Like a running shoe, you know how the place where your foot contacts the sidewalk the most wears down faster.  As your sole wears, it alters how it feels while you're walking and REALLY worn shoes feel odd to walk in after a while.  Basketball players can really relate to this.

  If you were to take that same shoe and add rubber to it so you were just walking on that certain part that your foot wears the most, it would wear down real fast.  But since shoes normally have a relatively flat surface, they wear a bit more evenly. 

 

[Rlint]

Yea, I understand the principle behind it, my point was that it seems like pinching something an extra centimeter would make a negligible difference, as it would alter the radius of the profile by probably a millimeter or so.

[jaguar]

avons or dunlop gt501s

[TwoTired]

Yea, I understand the principle behind it, my point was that it seems like pinching something an extra centimeter would make a negligible difference, as it would alter the radius of the profile by probably a millimeter or so.

...when they are new.  Put a couple thousand miles on them and they loose their crown way more quickly than the stock sizes that properly fit the rim width.  That's when you start fighting the bars in turns to hold your line.
If you want modern tires put on modern rims first.

If you put a way large hat on your head, it may fit down around your ears and impede vision.

[haill]

one has to also think that as the tire gets wider the side wall ratio goes along with it.  making the tire do it's job all that much harder. also increases the ride height, too wide and the centerstand becomes too short, which tells you something right there.
I've been considering replacing the  back with a 19 inch rim and running a 110/80-19 with a 90/90-19 front to get rid of some of the side wall thickness but stay close to the ratio.