Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods NEW TIRES INSTALLED AT DEALER

Well I took my bike in to the dealer to get new tires instaled after I noticed cords sticking out of my back tire. I had already purchased the new tires and made the appointment to get them installed and inspected (Thats the only time I ever get it inspected) 2002 only been inspected 3 times and that including it being inspected when I bought it in 2002! Anyway, I picked up my bike and loaded it up in the back of my truck, took it home off loaded it and put it away. I decided to ride it to work the other day and only went a couple miles and looked down at my speedo and it was not working. First thought was OK my speedo went Tango Uniform. Then I thought maybe the shop did something wrong. Rode it the rest of the way to work and when I got there I checked out my front wheel. They screwed something up as the Speedometer cable was stretched to the limit. I left work early and took it back to the dealer and showed them that they screwed it up. They adjusted the cable to where it is supposed to be and they are ordering a new cable as mine is now broken. Well at least they are making it right. It is amazing how much better the ride is with a new set of tires tho.

What brand and type tire did you get?

6k is what I got out of my front tire that was new when I bought the bike 8 months ago.It is a racing slick at the moment.

Mine were definitely gone! I had cords coming thru on almost half of my tire. Luckily I spotted it before my planned ride on Memorial Day weekend. I had a nice long ride planned out and the weather was actually cooperating for the ride too! If I would have went, I am sure it would have ended before I made it back home.

My BMW hasn't been inspected since 85 chopper 93 and my 04 Speedmaster in 04 and Wendy's 04 BA in 04. My chopper only got inspected because it was at my friends shop (I rode there to partake of his free food) and he thought it would be funny to slap a sticker on my springer.

what size venom's did you get fitted? I can only find : front: 120/90-18 or 110/90-19. the rear is ok at 170/80B15.
Let me know as wondering if the 120/90-18 fits.

I got the 100/90H-18. I am not sure if the 120/90H18's will fit or not. Not sure where you are looking but check on Motorcycle Superstore and when you do make sure you start by selecting Cruiser then tires and so on. Where were you looking that you did not find the 100's?

on the avon website in the UK

Well they make them, not sure why they wouldn't have them listed on their web site tho.

Huh. My 07 TBA came with a Lasertec 110/90 and the speedo is inaccurate. After 7500 miles there is tread there, but the sidewalls have started cracking. I just noticed some micro cracks on the back tire as well. Is this common? What can I do to prevent this? I'm thinking of putting on a 120/90.

Great, I'll see if I can get ahold of some here. I ride in the rain a lot. How are they when it's wet out? Also, my speedo is about 3mph fast with the 110/90. Would I be better off with a 120/90 or a 130/80 front?

I love my Wild Flare tire wet or dry.

110/80-18 is the front stock size for Americas and Speedmasters. One of the reasons Triumph used the ME330 and later Lasertech is because Metzler doesn't make the ME880 in 110/80-18. They do make a 100/90-18 in ME880 which is very close to the same size.

My '05 America came with Bridgestone tires which now have over 20K miles on them. I plan to replace them soon and can't decide what to get. They have been on the bike for 5 years. I'll trade a little bit of mileage for better tires, but I definitely don't want anything that's only going to get 6-10K miles before needing to be replaced.

I'm leaning toward the Metzlers (like stock now), but my dealer uses a lot of Dunlop D404s. They admit the Metzlers would probably last longer but cost more. I don't change my own tires and when you add in the cost to get to the dealer and pay labor, more for a longer lasting tire pans out.

If cost were no object, what are the better long wearing tires?

given your favorable review of the mag mopus and excedra, get em agin!

My 2007 America came with 110 / 90 Metzelers. The front tire was shot at 6,000 miles. I was told by the parts guys at Gengras Motorcycles that the OEM tires were not the same as the same tire purchased as a replacement. They said the tire makers cheapen the tires to meet OEM price points. I had never heard of this before, but it sort of makes sense. I ended up putting on a Metzeler 100 / 90 because they were out of the 110 / 90. Initialy I noticed the smaller width tire made the handling more sensitive to the point that I wasn't sure I made the right decision. After riding it for a few weeks, I got used to it and it feels fine.

I had no idea they had changed from the 110/80 to 110/90. I guess that means all from 07 on have that? Maybe they wanted to get the speedos more accurate by going with a taller tire.

My Bridgestones were inexpensive OEM tires and I've gotten great wear out of them. I'll probably have 21,000 miles before really getting to the rear wear indicators. Front are not there yet. I had heard the original stock Bridgestone tires were not very good, but I've only had experience with those. I don't have any complaint with holding ability or wet weather. I certainly would be interested if a better tire made noticeable improvements. Since searching back posts, there's a lot of people saying they only get 6-8K out of tires. That seems really bad to me.

I'm still looking at options and open to input from anyone that's tried different tires, as well as, comments on different front tire sizes.

The Mag Mopus tracks like a mo fo. Then the question becomes what front tire then? The Avon venoms cup fast. The Metz are better at not cupping so fast. The Spitfire fronts last a long time and don't cup. Currently running 880s on Vera Lynn while Cinnamon girl has a rear 880 and a spitfire up front. I like the front spitfire. Don't much care for the rear spitfires. Which front tire next for me? Either a spitfire or an 880 and leaning towards the spitfire.

If longevity is paramount you might try the excedra rear and the spitfire front. If grip is paramount use the avons. The 880s are somewhere in between. Front tire size decisions are made after you decide on a specific tire brand/model.

Happy Birthday Bob!