Current tire options for alloy wheels (tubeless tires)

[Cormanus]

LucienLeFranc, I'm with Karidis: you won't notice the difference if you install a 160 rear. I've run a number of set of Angel-GTs and Michelin PR3s and have no problems and will happily use a 160/60 if there aren't better 140/70 options. I like the Pirelli Sport Demons, but they don't last as long as the Angels.

 

[Randy B]

https://www.denniskirk.com/bridgestone/battlax-bt54-tire.pfp544446.prdf?fs=544446&rs=544447

 

[LucienLeFranc]

I like the BT 54s, but BT46s might work best for me in particular, because I will sometimes be riding two-up with my wife and with top and side cases.

In my case, the bias ply are possibly better than radials, at least from the advice I've gotten.

 

[peterbaron]

Generally speaking, radial tires are more expensive to manufacture than bias-ply tires.
In my opinion, Honda made the right decision by equipping the CB1100 with radial tires rather than bias-ply ones.

 

[Gone in 60]

Anyone catch this Fortnine video about the V65 Sabre?

If I heard right, they claim that radial tires were developed to handle the power of the Honda V4.

I may have been distracted or inebriated where I saw it, so forgive me if I misinterpreted it. Still a cool video.

 

[LucienLeFranc]

I'm not the biggest fan of AI and usually try to avoid it at all costs, but I struggled comparing the Bridgestone BT54 with the Bridgestone T32 on my own and stumbled onto an AI answer.

I'm also not the biggest fan of the Chrome/Google, but resort to it sometimes when Firefox/DuckDuckGo is problematic.

Anyway, I struck out trying to compare on my own using Firefox, so entered "compare BT54 to T32" in Chrome to see if I had better luck--it turned out that Google AI loaded by default without my request, saying:

[attachment=1593]

I then went back to Firefox, asked the same question in DuckAI, and received:

• Given your priorities (damp/wet confidence for twisties + heavy touring with passenger/luggage), choose Battlax Sport Touring T32, and specifically the T32GT line if it’s available in your exact sizes—it’s Bridgestone’s “middleweight and heavy” construction, with the same Pulse Groove wet tech and an extra wear-life emphasis. 
• Why T32 over BT-54 for your use:
•     Wet safety: T32 is designed for improved wet grip and has a reported shorter wet braking distance vs the prior generation, plus more rear contact patch.
•     Loaded touring confidence: T32GT is built for heavier touring bikes, aiming to keep grip/wear appropriate under load.
•     BT-54: it’s more of an older sport-touring direction; if your goal is “safest on wet/twisty surfaces,” you’ll generally be better served by the newer T32 generation.

As I say, I avoid AI and I definitely do not knee jerk trust it, but in this case I think maybe I'm becoming sold on T32 over BT54 for my bike given the riding I do.

 

[Wisedrum]

As far as tires are concerned I only ride and rode Bridgestone until now in more than 12 years and over 83.000km with my CB. The BT54 as a rear tire seems to be an 'everlasting' one and can or could be used for round about 28.000km. Maybe due to my riding style, which is mostly smooth. The BT54 as a front tire wears out too quickly with lasting around 13.000km. The motor is really heavy and it seems, that he put a lot of weight on the front tire. I don't brake hard and always as a combination of both brakes, often letting the rear brake do most of the work. I had now changed to a BT023 for the front with a different and thicker profile. Maybe it will last longer until it is worn out. Experienced no negative aspects of this tire. When streets are wet or I have to ride in rain I pay attention to this weather condition and ride even smoother. But If you want to push your CB hard and harder in a kind of a sportive way no matter in what topography, conditons and weather you are in, I whish you good luck with any tire doing so.

 

[Randy B]

As far as tires are concerned I only ride and rode Bridgestone until now in more than 12 years and over 83.000km with my CB. The BT54 as a rear tire seems to be an 'everlasting' one and can or could be used for round about 28.000km. Maybe due to my riding style, which is mostly smooth. The BT54 as a  front tire wears out too quickly with lasting around 13.000km. The motor is really heavy and it seems, that he put a lot of weight on the front tire. I don't brake hard and always as a combination of both brakes, often letting the rear brake do most of the work. I had now changed to a BT023 for the front with a different and thicker profile. Maybe it will last longer until it is worn out.  Experienced no negative aspects of this tire. When streets are wet or I have to ride in rain I pay attention to this weather condition and ride even smoother. But If you want to push your CB  hard and harder in a kind of a sportive way no matter in what topography, conditons  and weather you are in, I whish you good luck with any tire doing so.

The issue with the BT54 front tire isn't the weight of the engine, it's the absolute lack of starting tread depth at only 4/32". The rear starts out with double that.

 

[LucienLeFranc]

Bridgestone T32 front looks like the grooves may be more defined and maybe deeper?

[attachment=1611]

I've read that a) the T32's predecessor, the BT31 front tire had 10% more tread life than the BT54 front, and b) that Bridgestone claims another 10% longer tread wear for the T32 front compared to the T31, so--if those two pieces of information are correct--then the T32 front would have over 20% more tread life than the BT54 front. 

I'm close to pulling the trigger on T32s front and rear for my next tires for my CB, so I may have actual testimony to give at a future date.

 

[Pete in PA]

Better shop around.
$130 or $257 for same exact rear 160/60-18 tire.
What's going on with Motorcycle tires all of the sudden?
I REALLY want to get a 14 CB1100 but this tire thing is stopping me. Why didnt they just give it 17 in. tires?

T32 Front 5/32nds rear 8/32nds Bstone site.
Front and rear REALLY could start with more.

 

[Randy B]

I know that I got over 9,000 miles in my first front tire and something close to 17,000 on my first rear BT54's. I was commuting 115 miles a day at the time, so most of that was on the freeway.

 

[Pete in PA]

I know that I got over 9,000 miles in my first front tire and something close to 17,000 on my first rear BT54's. I was commuting 115 miles a day at the time, so most of that was on the freeway.

How do you get 17k miles out of a rear tire on ANY bike??!!
Ive never hit 10k miles my whole life of riding.  MAYBE once on a front tire.

 

[Randy B]

I know that I got over 9,000 miles in my first front tire and something close to 17,000 on my first rear BT54's. I was commuting 115 miles a day at the time, so most of that was on the freeway.

How do you get 17k miles out of a rear tire on ANY bike??!!
I've never hit 10k miles my whole life of riding.  MAYBE once on a front tire.

Like I said, I was commuting 115 miles a day, primarily on the freeway. It was a lot a driving between 70 and 75 mph for about an hour at a stretch.

---

OK, I was not quite to 17,000. It's been a while, but I did make 14,636.
Here is my original post about it with some pictures of the tire. I probably could have gone a bit further, but I'm not one to push my luck.

The CB1100 Community Forum

 

[LucienLeFranc]

Close to closing the loop and pulling the trigger.

I took the advice and searched around for better Bridgestone T32 prices, but--dust cleared-- Dennis Kirk not only wins with their excellent website interface, but price and availability also:

[attachment=1648]

I searched a half dozen other online retailers (Revzilla, Chaparral, Cycle Gear, Partzilla, RMATV) and Dennis Kirk has as good or better price, plus fast/free delivery.

If anyone has any advice of other retailers they've had experience with that have traditionally had significanly better prices, though, please let me know!  (I specify "significantly" because unless the price is significantly better, I'm inclined to reward Dennis Kirk for making things easy. )

 

[Pete in PA]

Close to closing the loop and pulling the trigger.

I took the advice and searched around for better Bridgestone T32 prices, but--dust cleared-- Dennis Kirk not only wins with their excellent website interface, but price and availability also:



I searched a half dozen other online retailers (Revzilla, Chaparral, Cycle Gear, Partzilla, RMATV) and Dennis Kirk has as good or better price, plus fast/free delivery.

If anyone has any advice of other retailers they've had experience with that have traditionally had significanly better prices, though, please let me know!  (I specify "significantly" because unless the price is significantly better, I'm inclined to reward Dennis Kirk for making things easy. )

Bridgestone Battlax T32 Sport Touring Rear Tire | ChapMoto.com

 

[Gone in 60]

My best tire prices (and I'm cheap, I look around..) have been Dennis Kirk, Chaparral and Amazon.

 

[peterbaron]

This is cheap, I paid for my 22 years old tire and instllation +- $400CAD

 

[LucienLeFranc]

Thanks, I appreciate everyone's input and advice!

 

[LucienLeFranc]

Twelve-year-old forum tire wisdom that I'd not quite considered before, but am now:

•  [attachment=1656]

• The CB1100 Community Forum
  

Right on the first page of this 53-page thread.

 

[Cormanus]

Red Mist, as I recall, was much more learned in matters motorcycling that me. However, for beetling round the countryside, occasionally in what passes for spirited riding, I've not noticed any great difference between the OEM 140/70 ad the 160/60 rear tyres. I confess I only chose the larger size because of the lack or radial options in the OEM size, but I've mostly stuck with the larger ones because they seem to wear so much better. Unless you're really pushing the bike to it's limits, I wonder if there isn't a danger of overthinking this.