Tires

[stan]

The trouble with these seldom ridden machines is the tires go bad before they wear out. I need to replace the tires on my 37 chief. What is a good tire for my indian. Thanks Stan

[exeric]

I'm using 18" Coker diamond treads. This set has been on my '40 Chief for about 8 years and they seem to be wearing great. I just came back from a good ride today and I didn't notice any handling issues. Just the opposite, they handle fantastic and I push this bike pretty hard. What's wrong with your tires and what brand are they ?

[stan]

exeric, Thanks for the reply. My tires are nankang. When I was airing them up yeaterday I noticed cracks forming in the sidewall, and tread. These tires are probably over 30 years old. I read somewhere different ones had problems with the Coker. I am glad you have something positive to say about the coker since I have a new set of Coker tires I am going to put on my 36 four. Probem is, they are already 9 years old, and it will be a couple more years before my four is done. Maybe I should just put them on my 37 chief. stan

[koanes]

Quote: "I just came back from a good ride today". I'm turning green with envy Eric. At my home in Wisconsin we are only 2 weeks into winter (officially) and we've had around three feet of snow. I don't mind dressing for the cold to take a ride but I have a steep, slippery incline at the end of my driveway, and if I do make it to the road, it is has had much corrosive salt applied. We've always had a sanity saving January poker run around the middle of the month, but the last couple of years it was mostly done in trucks. I'm hoping for dry roads and fair weather this year.

[exeric]

Stan, you're wise to shop for new tires. The sidewalls are everything for a motorcycle tire. There are a lot of opinions about tires and I guess it just comes down to a personal preference, safety, looks, performance, etc, etc., but safety should be your first concern. It sounds like I'm endorsing Coker but that's not intentional. I like Coker because they make tires that look good on old bikes. If I rode my Chief every day in heavy traffic I would mount modern tires even though they make an old bike look stupid. I ride my bike for fun and I think the Coker is more than adequate for the job.

[Coolbreeze]

I am still running the Goodyear rear tire I installed in '69 or so. Last year, I finally discarded the Firestone front tire. It may have been the original on my '48 Chief. It had no cracks and plenty of thread, but its balance was off due to a fire in 1970. I figured it was time to get a tire that would not require me hanging so much weight on it. I have been happy with the Coker replacement. The Firestone was hard as plastic and its traction was suspect; however, it was adequate for the baking loads the weak drum front brake would put on it.
BTW, I am still using the original tires on my 72 year old military Indian 841. They are Goodyears that were recapped with Firestone rubber. That makes them Goodyear / Firestone hybrids!