Tires

[ricmoran]

And now after having gotten the V Rod done yesterday...it took 5 weeks, thanks HD for the parts out of stock and not being produced, I looked at th erear tire and it is about ..................gone. 4,000 miles. It looks like that year I wrote about has gone by pretty darn quick, so now I am searching for replacements. If nayone has a good lead on 400 or 450 18's please advise.

So far in the last month it was 800 bucks for truck tires, 500 for V rod tires and now these....I feel like I am in the rubber business, paying a lot of money for a little bit of rubber. Now the joke is "how come she's pregnant? I could not afford the rubber"

[TimR]

I'm on my second set of Firestone Deluxe Champion 500-16 Coker tires on my 1942 UL. I changed out the first set after 6200 miles rear tire has 4/32 tread left. I was going on an extended vacation and wanted to leave home with new tires. The UL is ridden two up 95% of the time. At first I thought the wear on the rear was not right but I had been riding with air pressure that was called for in all the documentation for 16 inch tires in the 40's. I was told that the older original tires had a stronger sidewall than the Coker Reproductions and to use a higher pressure. I experimented and settled on 28 psi front & 30 psi rear for best wear and performance wet or dry with the 2 up riding.
With our 1950 WL we had an out-of-round tire (Firestone Deluxe Champion 500-16) that showed up after mounting and road test. Coker was contacted and they had me return the tire and sent me a new replacement. They stand behind their products. They have always been great people to work with over the phone or at their Chattanooga location where I was given the Grand Tour.

[sirhrmechanic]

I buy vintage tires from Universal Tire and they have a good selection of MC tires.

Ann Klein, when she started the company, was an absolute sticker for tires that could be USED, not just look good on a show field. And anyone who ever rode with her in her blower Bentley (and didn't die of fright!) knew that she could Drive, with a capital D. She could go up and down the gears w.out using the clutch. And never make a sound from the gearbox. I rode with her a couple of times and it was awesome. It was a real loss when she passed on a few years ago and we miss her. But Universal Tire lives on and carries on her commitment to drivers, not trailer queens.

If it's in the Universal Tire catalog, I'd be fine running it. I have diamond-treads on my JD and DL. I "think" a Goodyear on the EL. I'd have to look. But all from Universal.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[ricmoran]

Thanks guys for the replies. What really makes this more frsutrating is that I am running reproduction hubs and had probelms with the rear hub lugs staying in contact with the taper on the hub. I ended up egging out the holes where the brake drum dowels line up when run on the rear and because of that am now limited to no mere remove and replace front to rear but have to pull the tires from the rim. I still hagve miles to run from the front tire to the rar, perhaps I can get another 2,000 or so as the rear tire has enough on it to run on the front as it is. I have anothe rhub I can use, but am in thought of getting another to have a 3rd extra wheel as a backup. Potholes a hell in Hawaii as the DOT allows th eroads to look like the moon.

It was all good however as when I pulled the tires and took the tube and liner out there was corrosion buildup with scale pressing against the tube and building up under the liner. SInc eI bought this bike complete, whoever assembled the wheels wnet crazy with a grinder to remove the spoke ends that were protruding outside the bottom of the nipple and along the way they ground off the coating on the inside of the rimand in turn rust scale ha sbuilt up as was pressing against the tube on both wheels. So I have the tires, tubes, liners off, the rims cleaned up and coated with a moisture cure urethane that contains corrosion inhbiotrs -CORTEC VpCI 396. We've used this on a lot of projects and the product is pretty forgiving on ill prepared surfaces and provides a long lasting protective barrier against further corrosion.

So I have to let the coating cure for 24 hours before remounting everything. In the mean time I am looking at what to order.

With Universal this is what they show listed:

https://www.universaltire.com/motorcycle-tires.html


I do understand about Cokers and am in thought of ordering these, the 4.00 X 18's which are the same size that I am running on the bike. One thing I did see is that the load rating of the 4.50 vs the 4.00 may mean a longer lasting tire due to a larger tire patch on the ground. Since mos tof my riding is double up as well I htink that might be the best route to go.

A delimma is being in Hawaii, no one stocks them and freight is a killer. So I am thinking about ordering a couple sets of them. Yes, keeping tires longer than a couple of years I understand in hot climate is not wise, but I think with the amount of ridign I can do here, that that is about how long 2 sets might last. Then I thought hey, maybe order 2 different manufacturer brands to see how one would perform against the other. I see the Firestone 4.50 X 18's so perhaps a set of each to see what the difference would be. Money, money , money...........

[sirhrmechanic]

keeping tires longer than a couple of years I understand in hot climate is not wise,

You won't have any trouble with storing a spare set of tires. Wrap them in some bubble-wrap and leave them in cardboard boxes in a garage. Keep the UV sunlight off them. The heat won't bother them, unless your house is on a lava bed ;-) And the bubble wrap will mitigate temperature swings and oxidation. Tires and hot climate are bigger issues in places like FL and AZ where you might bake tires in the sun or have them exposed in a super hot, uninsulated garage. In Hawaii, in a box, they will be fine virtually forever.

Maybe you can get a 'group buy' of fellow riders out there and get a discount on shipping. Probably wishful thinking.

FYI, on my EL, I am running the Firestones from Universal. Can't recall size, but they are the balloon-type (16" rims). I have the exact same tires on my '64 FLF as well and they are outstanding and 'look the part.'

pan 2.jpg Here are the Firestones are w. a preview of a project to come...

Cheers,

Sirhr

[upsrod]

The tires on the 64 look like Goodyears.

[ricmoran]

Thanks for the info Sirhr. Will be ordering the Firestone & Coker 4.50 X 18 and see which ends up with the best mileage over the next couple three years.

[sirhrmechanic]

The tires on the 64 look like Goodyears.

Just checked, in case my memory went kablooie. But they are Firestones. They look just like the old Goodyear patterns. It's one of the reasons I like them. I can't stand the MT90's that so many people put on old bikes. They just look wrong. Cheers, Sirhr

[ricmoran]

2 sets of tires, Firestone and Cokers 4.50 X 18 made it in today.

Hats off to the folks at Universal, they helped shave the freight rate by almost 50% which for someone living in Hawaii is a chunk of dough.


I belive I have about another 1,000 or so miles to get out of the Cokers on the bike as I rotated or rather had to pull the rubber off an remount due to a buggered hub that can't be run on the rear.

Then it's either the Firestone or Cokers at the next mount then moving to either or as needed and seeing what provides the best mileage.

[PSANTORA]

Take a look at this tire, Shinko Classic 240. I believe the tread pattern replicates the Goodyear Eagle tread pattern. Reasonably priced, put them on an Indian Chief last year and was very happy with them.

[ricmoran]

Take a look at this tire, Shinko Classic 240. I believe the tread pattern replicates the Goodyear Eagle tread pattern. Reasonably priced, put them on an Indian Chief last year and was very happy with them.

Hey Phil, how is that 41 coming along? Do you have a link for the Shinko?