Tire Options for our CB1100

[jikemenkins]

Believe me....Ive looked into a 17" wheel conversion for our bike from many angles. The cost is high enough that you might as well buy a different bike.

Interesting. PM sent.

[misterprofessionality]

I did not get a PM.

[Yata-Garasu_imp]

I thought I had posted about this earlier, but I think I just intended to post but never got around to it....

My 2014 was purchased new by the original owner as NOS in 2018. He had changed the rear tire to a Bridgestone T54, but it was still running the original Dunlop on the front.

It had 8900 miles when I bought it two years ago. I just replaced both tires at 20,000.

So the Dunlop front made 20,000 miles, and the BT54 rear was likely around 12,000. I think that's respectable for motorcycle tires.

I never had any complaints running mixed tires as long as they're the correct size, type, and from quality manufacturers.

This time I went with a Pirelli Angel GT on the front, and a Kenda Cruiser K671 on the back.

I was pretty sure I would like the Angel GT due to their popularity here on the forum, as well as previous experience with a Honda Nighthawk 750.

I took a chance on the Kenda K671, due to the low price and good reviews, and frankly I'm very impressed. It's made in Taiwan and looks and feels similar to the Michelin Commander 2's that I have on one of my Shadow 750s.

They're priced similarly to Shinkos but the fit and finish is much better, in my opinion.

It's still early days yet, less than 500 miles on them, but they're broken in now, and it's definitely a huge improvement over the tires they replaced.

I know that you "can" use a 160 on the rear, but if I wanted a sport bike, I wouldn't have chosen the CB1100. If you're not married to having the same tire in both front and back, I can vouch for the K671. Good rear tire in the original stock 140 70 18 size.

https://a.co/d/gqnWpWf

[misterprofessionality]

More bad news for our increasingly wretched 18" wheels.....The bridgestone T32 is a great tire and it's being improved and advanced with the upcoming release of the Bridgestone T33 sport touring tire. but guess what? no 18" rear options will be made. only the front. The entire tire industry hates us.

[peterbaron]

The T33 front is only available in size 120/70/18, not 110

[soulmachine_imp]

Welp, I think with that news, I'll be working on converting to 17's this winter.

I did that with my old 2006 Concours. Worked out wonderfully! Handling was night and day.

[Race_ca1]

From the Bridgestone website more 18” sizes will be added in 2026, front 110 and rear 160.
From the Bridgestone website more 18” sizes will be added in 2026, front 110 and rear 180.

[misterprofessionality]

Welp, I think with that news, I'll be working on converting to 17's this winter.

I did that with my old 2006 Concours. Worked out wonderfully! Handling was night and day.

If you succeed I may be willing to pay you to do the same thing to mine, because honestly I'm fed up with it too.a set of spoked 17" wheels would be a godsend.

[Whoops]

Browsing the motorcycle tire section of the Michelin website this morning, I noticed they do carry a tire that has the same dimensions of the "alternate" tire sizes that fit the CB1100. Apparently the Scorcher 11 does come in both a 120/70 18 and a 160/60 18 size. However, when I search some websites that sell tires, it seems both of those sizes are designated as front tires.

Is it possible to run these on our bikes even though they seem to both be front tires? It would be interesting to see if they would work as it would be a way to put michelins on the bike which hasn't been an option for quite some time now.

https://www.michelinman.com/motorcycle/t...corcher-11