74 FLH tires

[otis71]

I run 402s on my 96 FLHR and admit that they can’t be beat. The 74 FLH that was in need of tires is a winners circle bike so I’m trying to keep it looking period. The tires I put on it are a huge improvement over the Speed-grip style tires that were on it. I have Firestone tires made by Coker on a Knuck and I don’t care for them.

[ryan]

I know a couple of guys running Heritage Springers that get 18k on the rear Avon All Americans. I just hit 10k on a Shinko 240 rear tire of my 1969 FLH sidecar bike which is not bad at all.

[41craig]

Got a stack of early '80s Goodyears, Otis!

Handle bad, look 'period' for even more years if you grind off the double-white center line, need cleaning, but reasonable if you dig them out of my "Pit" personally.

They wear like iron, which only matters to sidehackers.

...Cotten
PS: Anybody else remember when the Dealerships liquidated Goodyears with "blem", burnt into them?

I stocked up a lifetime supply.

I found a can of Tire Black on Ebay last year and painted over the ugly wide white walls that came on my '50 EL. You would never know that they were ever white walls. Just an idea instead of grinding the sidewall.

[Jerry Wieland]

I found a can of Tire Black on Ebay last year and painted over the ugly wide white walls that came on my '50 EL. You would never know that they were ever white walls. Just an idea instead of grinding the sidewall.

I have also used shoe polish but tire black is betterr.

Jerry

[T. Cotten]

The early '80s Goodyear "double-whites" , Folks,..

Had a molded-in white wall where the black casement was ground away to expose two narrow white walls.

Grinding away the middle black stripe to white made them the same as my '65s' 1" white walls (except for the tread of course.)
Somewhere I have a photograph of my fixture, as more often it was used to grind eccentric tread.

Grinding the whitewall completely away would be "down to the cord", as it is fundamentally the tire's sidewall.

.....Cotten

[Temple]

If you want to ride the bike, get some modern Dunlops and be done with it. The Conti k112, and Avon Safety Mileage tires look correct, but neither like rain grooves. I have Coker Super Eagles on a 65, and it handles like 1965.
VPH-D s

Does your bike shake on a smooth road at 65 mph?

[BigLakeBob]

Does anyone run a modern tire on a pre-safety bead rim? For example, a Dunlop 402 on a '40-'62 16" rim? My question is, do you need a safety bead rim to run a modern Dunlop? Thanks.

[exeric]

Since no one is responding to your question, Bob, (and I can't answer your question) I'll mention a Youtube video I saw about the safety bead rim. I think it was the Chrysler corp. that developed it (pre-war), and used it first on their Dodge cars. It was a good film, and they wrecked a number of Dodge cars to show how hard it was peel a tire off a safety bead rim. I have to assume that conventional tires were used, and the safety bead rim was the only modification. Of course, that's the opposite of your question I have to believe a modern tire will work on the pre safety bead rim and will probably hold much better than an old Goodyear Speed-Slip, but probably not as well as a modern tire mounted on a safety bead rim. I think this would only be an issue if tire pressure was low, or a road hazzard that caused a rapid tire deflation. I'm only guessing

[otis71]

It is my belief that the difference is solely in the rim and and not the tire but I have nothing to reference that to as fact. In the 70s Sportsters had the tapered bead where the tires and rims were not interchangeable without safety issues but I don’t think it’s the case with pre 62 rims.

[Temple]

If you want to ride the bike, get some modern Dunlops and be done with it. The Conti k112, and Avon Safety Mileage tires look correct, but neither like rain grooves. I have Coker Super Eagles on a 65, and it handles like 1965.
VPH-D s

Do you sometimes get the front end shakes at 65 mph with the Coker Super Eagles and is there anyway around it?

[vph-d]

When I first installed the tires, I had the air pressure too low, and the bike was all over the road. Coker tech guy told me to run 30-33 psi, and the handling problem went away. The 65 is OP which is why I bought the narrow white wall Cokers. My 73 Shovel has Dunlop 402? tires on factory mags, and I'm happy with them.
vph-d

[otis71]

Has anyone noticed modern manufactured 5.00-16s are made a little wider than tires of yesteryear? I have to let the air out and wrestle them off on the rear on rigid and especially swingarm bikes. I’ve encountered this with Coker’s and Shinkos.

[D.A.Bagin]

I use blackwalled K112s on my Panheads and have been through thick and thin without issues. I am a very conservative rider.