Tire Options for our CB1100

Please help. This will be my first time ordering new motorcycle tires. Sorry, but my local Honda dealer is simply no help...the service counter simply asks "what tire do you want" and then looks it up in an aftermarket supplier catalog...worse, they don't even coordinate their parts order with their own service department ("you have to go over to service and deal with them to get these put on your bike"). Also, I don't think I'm getting a very good price ($165 front and $221 for rear...I think this was a quote on Bridgestones, but he didn't even write down the model number for me). I'm willing to pay for service, but it seems in this case, I'm paying for nothing...it seems that I'm better off souring the tires on my own, and then contacting their service department or any other shop equipped to replace tires.

As you can see, my dealer is no help...or, maybe I'm expecting too much (please advise if this is the case).

Questions:

1) Where on the internet can I source the stock tires?

(a) Dunlop Sport Max Touring (rear: 140 70 R18 MC 67V; front: 110 80 R18 MC58V (taken from my tire sidewalls)), and

(b) Bridgestone (rear: 140/70ZR-18 Bridgestone BT54-R; front: 110/80ZR-18 Bridgestone BT54-F) (copied from an internet post...are these model specs correct?).

2) Are there really any other options (Pirelli, Michellin, or even larger than stock Bridgestone)?
 
Try calling Sportour.com 866-761-0936 They gave me a good price on replacement Bridgestones for my 13. I think Ray is gone but Adam can help you.

Good price on Bridgestone replacement tires

I think there was another thread that someone found even lower prices
 
xpacpal1x_imp said:
Please help. This will be my first time ordering new motorcycle tires. Sorry, but my local Honda dealer is simply no help...the service counter simply asks "what tire do you want" and then looks it up in an aftermarket supplier catalog...worse, they don't even coordinate their parts order with their own service department ("you have to go over to service and deal with them to get these put on your bike"). Also, I don't think I'm getting a very good price ($165 front and $221 for rear...I think this was a quote on Bridgestones, but he didn't even write down the model number for me). I'm willing to pay for service, but it seems in this case, I'm paying for nothing...it seems that I'm better off souring the tires on my own, and then contacting their service department or any other shop equipped to replace tires.

As you can see, my dealer is no help...or, maybe I'm expecting too much (please advise if this is the case).

Questions:

1) Where on the internet can I source the stock tires?

(a) Dunlop Sport Max Touring (rear: 140 70 R18 MC 67V; front: 110 80 R18 MC58V (taken from my tire sidewalls)), and

(b) Bridgestone (rear: 140/70ZR-18 Bridgestone BT54-R; front: 110/80ZR-18 Bridgestone BT54-F) (copied from an internet post...are these model specs correct?).

2) Are there really any other options (Pirelli, Michellin, or even larger than stock Bridgestone)?
Click to expand...
Forget the Dunlops, you can only get them from the dealer at a high cost, and they cup.

What you want is these:
http://motorcycle.chaparral-racing.com/search?w=bt54

You can also fit the BT45 bias-ply and go with the 150/70 rear, or the standard 140/70 rear. But I'd use the BT54, the radials ride nicer.

Also it is standard practice for parts, sales, and service to operate independently.
 
xpacpal1x_imp said:
Please help. This will be my first time ordering new motorcycle tires. Sorry, but my local Honda dealer is simply no help...the service counter simply asks "what tire do you want" and then looks it up in an aftermarket supplier catalog...worse, they don't even coordinate their parts order with their own service department ("you have to go over to service and deal with them to get these put on your bike"). Also, I don't think I'm getting a very good price ($165 front and $221 for rear...I think this was a quote on Bridgestones, but he didn't even write down the model number for me). I'm willing to pay for service, but it seems in this case, I'm paying for nothing...it seems that I'm better off souring the tires on my own, and then contacting their service department or any other shop equipped to replace tires.

As you can see, my dealer is no help...or, maybe I'm expecting too much (please advise if this is the case).

Questions:

1) Where on the internet can I source the stock tires?

(a) Dunlop Sport Max Touring (rear: 140 70 R18 MC 67V; front: 110 80 R18 MC58V (taken from my tire sidewalls)), and

(b) Bridgestone (rear: 140/70ZR-18 Bridgestone BT54-R; front: 110/80ZR-18 Bridgestone BT54-F) (copied from an internet post...are these model specs correct?).

2) Are there really any other options (Pirelli, Michellin, or even larger than stock Bridgestone)?
Click to expand...
Shop around at other bike dealers. You do not have to go to a Honda dealer for tires. Some dealers will not mount tires they did not sell themselves or will charge an outrageous price for mounting. Dealer I use charges $14 per tire including balancing if I bring in the wheels already dismounted from the bike, even if I buy the tires elsewhere. This dealer has also been willing to match any on-line price that I find.
 
My bike came with the OEM Dunlops. I’ve found these tires difficult to source outside the Honda OEM dealer channel. As it was explained to me, motorcycle manufacturers and tire manufacturers sometimes collaborate on a tire and bike combination. In many of those situations, the tire then is only readily available through the motorcycle dealers’ spare parts distribution network. So, that seems to be the case with the CB1100 Dunlops…and that makes them expensive. Don’t know if everyone else knows that, but it was news to me.

Anyway, I looked back on my experience with the Dunlops and haven’t been disappointed…they have never slid out from under me. I’ll ultimately get more than 7,000 miles out of them, and guys who ride the same roads and speeds as I do say that’s a pretty good result. I believe my experience may differ from some posts here on this forum where I seem to recall the Bridgestones being favored. I read up on cupping, and found that it’s not necessarily indicative of any problem with the bike or tires. In fact, some suggest cupping indicates the tire is doing its job. I never experienced any wobble or handling problem relating to cupping on my front Dunlop.

I’m intrigued with the idea of trying the Michelin Road Pilot 3 which would allow a 160 rear tire, but some more experienced riders suggested that I not stray from the manufacturer’s recommended tire options. I’ve been told a good rider can do anything on the CB1100 that it’s capable of, using the stock 140 rear tire. I’ll stay tuned to see if the Michelin’s work out for other forum members.

Final result is that I bought the OEM Dunlops for my first tire replacement…I phoned a Honda dealer and had more luck getting a result knowing exactly what I wanted. I don’t like the front tire center line on both the Dunlop and Bridgestone OEM tires, but don’t hate it so much that I’d choose the Michelin Pilot Road 3 and risk not liking the 160 rear tire.

I think this is a great thread and I hope to come back and see how everyone has fared with their Michelins/Dunlops/Bridgestones/etc.
 
xpacpal1x_imp said:
My bike came with the OEM Dunlops. I’ve found these tires difficult to source outside the Honda OEM dealer channel. As it was explained to me, motorcycle manufacturers and tire manufacturers sometimes collaborate on a tire and bike combination. In many of those situations, the tire then is only readily available through the motorcycle dealers’ spare parts distribution network. So, that seems to be the case with the CB1100 Dunlops…and that makes them expensive. Don’t know if everyone else knows that, but it was news to me.

Anyway, I looked back on my experience with the Dunlops and haven’t been disappointed…they have never slid out from under me. I’ll ultimately get more than 7,000 miles out of them, and guys who ride the same roads and speeds as I do say that’s a pretty good result. I believe my experience may differ from some posts here on this forum where I seem to recall the Bridgestones being favored. I read up on cupping, and found that it’s not necessarily indicative of any problem with the bike or tires. In fact, some suggest cupping indicates the tire is doing its job. I never experienced any wobble or handling problem relating to cupping on my front Dunlop.

I’m intrigued with the idea of trying the Michelin Road Pilot 3 which would allow a 160 rear tire, but some more experienced riders suggested that I not stray from the manufacturer’s recommended tire options. I’ve been told a good rider can do anything on the CB1100 that it’s capable of, using the stock 140 rear tire. I’ll stay tuned to see if the Michelin’s work out for other forum members.

Final result is that I bought the OEM Dunlops for my first tire replacement…I phoned a Honda dealer and had more luck getting a result knowing exactly what I wanted. I don’t like the front tire center line on both the Dunlop and Bridgestone OEM tires, but don’t hate it so much that I’d choose the Michelin Pilot Road 3 and risk not liking the 160 rear tire.

I think this is a great thread and I hope to come back and see how everyone has fared with their Michelins/Dunlops/Bridgestones/etc.
Click to expand...
That's the conservative route and the best one to take if this be your first motorcycle. Burn through another set of Dunlops and then maybe you will want to try something else.

It is true that the Dunlops are a very good, very capable tire. I had them and yes, a solid rider who knows what he's about can certainly get a lot out of the CB1100 with the Dunlops. They provide a more comfortable ride than a bias-ply tire and better grip, although the available bias-ply tires for this bike also provide all the grip one could ever use. The bike's suspension and chassis are so vintage that the latest bias-ply technology is far ahead of it. In fact, bias-ply tires were already beyond the CB1100 25 years ago.

As a first bike you had best creep up on the limits of what you can do on it, so changing to a non-stock tire is only going to potentially confound the learning process. Stick with stock sizes.

My next set of tires will be BT-54s in the stock sizes. The Bridgestone 140/70 looks a touch wider than the Dunlop to me, so I'd like to give it a go.

That said, the BT-45s are also delivering everything this bike is capable of, gripping beautifully on rough pavement, tracking nicely, and riding reasonably well. I can't think how I'd need more stick that what they're providing but when I get tired of looking at them, they'll get changed.

If you are looking at 7,000 miles out of your tires, you are not asking much of them in terms of ultimate grip; you are riding very sedately and conservatively, which is just what you ought to be doing with your first bike, especially one of this weight and power. I just hit a boatload of tight mountain roads today (many 15 mph hairpins, gravel, busted up pavement, long drops with no guard rail) and the bike/tires worked very well. However, the weight and power make it very easy to overreach. I was wondering about this bike as a first bike but it's a free country...as always I recommend to you a track day or six, ASAP. There are plenty of opportunities for these in your neck of the woods.
 
I love the Battle Axe stockers. Even grinding the pegs off they are golden! The mileage on them sucks though, at least the front. I'm gonna have to change it soon after just 6500 kms.
 
Oboro_imp said:
I love the Battle Axe stockers. Even grinding the pegs off they are golden! The mileage on them sucks though, at least the front. I'm gonna have to change it soon after just 6500 kms.
Click to expand...
Yikes! I was disappointed in mine when they started showing wear bars at 5500 mi. (8800 kms). I'm used to getting double that from the Bridgestone BT-45s I've been running on my CB750 for years.

I went to the motorcycle tire store today (yes, we have such a thing in Phoenix) and found nothing good on the shelf. Looks like I'm going to have them get me a Michelin PR3 for the front. It has a dual compound like my beloved BT-45s and I'm hoping that'll return a more reasonable range without sacrificing performance in the twisties.
 
Red Mist_imp said:
CIP57_imp said:
Red Mist_imp said:
BT23, a radial for modern sport/touring motorcycles. They came as OEM on my FZ8. They are a good tire for sport/touring, with touring as the primary focus. They can handle a lot of weight but have a very stiff carcass. Bridgestones typically are quite stiff, as those who follow MotoGP will know. They take a long time to warm up and aren't especially compliant at high lean angles unless the pressure is set correctly and they are fully heated. Bridgestone is the spec tire for MotoGP, so all competitors must use them. My GSX-R had the BT016's OEM, same story, very stiff carcass, poor feel on the street, takes a long time to warm up, and will never warm up on the street at listed pressures.

Both those bikes are now fitted with Dunlop Q3's, a vastly superior tire in all respects. Not a good choice for the CB1100, though, which brings me to the point here.

The CB1100 is an old-school motorcycle that works best with a certain design and size of tire; modern, wide radials are not the right choice for it. Honda chose the 110 and 140 front/rear for the optimum handling and ride quality. A narrow tire provides very neutral handling, as well. The farther the contact patch is offset from the centerline of the motorcycle at lean, the less neutral will be the handling. Anyone who rides the modern machines (those with 120/70-17 front and 180/55-17 rear or larger) knows the handling is quite different from motorcycles with narrow wheels/tires like our CB1100, once the bike gets heeled past 20 degrees or so. The handling is much, much different nearer to maximum lean angle and requires a different riding technique from old-school machines. Bump steer in particular is markedly different, with a lot more of it being fed into the chassis with the modern sizes.

The chassis and suspension of modern bikes are designed to work with wider tires effectively but our CB1100 doesn't have these design features. It's optimized for old-school tires and narrow rims. This is something to keep in mind. Instinct says to us, "Well, let's find a new, modern tire to put on our CB1100", but in truth, today's tires which are made in sizes for our CB1100 are indeed modern in design; they just fit narrower rims. We can get radials or bias-ply tires that are a perfect match for the CB1100 from quite a few manufacturers, Bridgestone, Avon, and Continental coming quickly to mind.

Bridgestone does make tires for our bike, but the BT023 and similar types are not in that group. The 160/60-18 rear, according to Bridgestone's fitment chart, is designed to work best on a 4.50-5.00 inch rim. Our bike has a 4.00" rim, and the maximum size recommended for that rim is Bridgestone's own 150/70-18, which can be had in the BT45 bias-ply or (in European markets) the BT54 radial.

We can put on a wider tire but to what advantage? The contact patch is no larger, as it is determined only by the tire pressure and the weight of the motorcycle. With a larger width on a too-narrow rim, we move the contact patch outward more with increasing lean, where it's less compatible with the bike's design and changes the handling and performance of the motorcycle.
Click to expand...
I have to respectfully disagree. The old school cradle design frame is run on the ZRX1200 which i recently sold. It was running 17" rims and full on sport tires. Although the bike didn't handle that well it was much better with a pair of pilot powers on it. The CB has a more rigid frame and lower center of gravity the the ZRX. The rear rim is 4.25 not 4" ( i have measured it)which is within the limits of a 160 rear. We don't know for sure unless we experiment. I will have a full honest review in a couple of weeks.

I personally do not like Bridgstone tires, i had mine switched out to Michelin on my CB1000RR at 500 mi.

In the north there seems to be more and more liquid tar being put on the cracks of roads. When your grooving a line and hit these with the CB its scary as hell. You either have to slow down or run wide to decrease the risk of sliding outside. I'm hoping a tackier tire will minimize the effect.
Click to expand...
Clearly embossed on the spokes of the CB1100's rear wheel are the markings: "18MC x MT4.00".

That's a 4.00" wheel, measured according to DOT specifications. The manufacturer's recommendations are based on the DOT method of measuring the wheel and the wheel size must be clearly marked on the wheel itself.

We don't need to experiment but we often want to. Motorcycle engineering is a highly-advanced technology and it is now well beyond what any ordinary rider can command or exceed. Because of this the manufacturers can provide exactly the right equipment to allow us to ride safely and still reach our own personal limits.

If anyone here can drag his/her elbow whilst riding the CB1100, please post images; the GSX-R 750 can be ridden at elbow dragging speeds by an expert rider on DOT tires (not I, for whom knee sliders must suffice) and it's a street-legal motorcycle. The CB1100's capabilities are not even remotely close to the GSX-R's, which shows us the gigantic margin for safety that today's equipment provides.

Personally, I say if someone wants to experiment with the limits of what a motorcycle can do, take up track days or road racing. Grinding down a knee slider can do wonders for one's self-confidence, and it can be done with OEM-spec tires these days.
Click to expand...
OEM tires are fine for cb1100, it handles well and changes direction quickly.
 
Hi everyone. After being in a major accident, I'm finally finding the courage to take my cb1100a out. However, I can't find the factory tire pressure listed anywhere. Would anyone be kind enough to let me know what the tire pressure should be. I'm guessing it was 42 rear 37 front, but I don't want to take the bike out until I'm absolutely sure.

Thanks
 
Have a look for the a decal at the left rear ( get down low and move your eyes from the rear wheel hub forward).there is also a decal that advises on the chain tension. The owners manual is full of information that Honda have spent some time on it being just right for your bike. Hope your post accident seat time is all good.
 
Good luck with the riding lccb1100a.
 
ingobohn_imp said:
After 5.500 km the front tire (Dunlop) shows a strong "sawtooth" pattern with about 2 mm difference in height of the outer profile blocks. :( Bad tire, sorry...
When my dealer will exchange the oil at 6.000 km in about 2 weeks he will also throw away these bad rim savers and replace it by Pirelli Sport Demon. The new BT tires in 160 dimension are too broad for me, I like more slim and agile rear tires.

The sawtooth pattern results in a "singing" or "howling" of the front tire when not riding straight. Additonally, there is also a little shimmy recognizable.

The rear tire is still fine, enough rubber for another 6.000 km or so. But the front tire is beyond good and evil. The Dunlop tires seem to be technology from the past century.
Click to expand...
+++UPDATE+++
Now after roughly 3.500 km on my Pirelli Sport Demon, the front tire shows "saw teeth" too. :( Another bike which I saw accidentally yesterday on a parking lot has that too (Bridgestone tires). So it seems that neither the driver nor the tire is the reason but the CB1100.

Does anyone else of you have this issue with the front tire?
 
ingobohn_imp said:
ingobohn_imp said:
After 5.500 km the front tire (Dunlop) shows a strong "sawtooth" pattern with about 2 mm difference in height of the outer profile blocks. :( Bad tire, sorry...
When my dealer will exchange the oil at 6.000 km in about 2 weeks he will also throw away these bad rim savers and replace it by Pirelli Sport Demon. The new BT tires in 160 dimension are too broad for me, I like more slim and agile rear tires.

The sawtooth pattern results in a "singing" or "howling" of the front tire when not riding straight. Additonally, there is also a little shimmy recognizable.

The rear tire is still fine, enough rubber for another 6.000 km or so. But the front tire is beyond good and evil. The Dunlop tires seem to be technology from the past century.
Click to expand...
+++UPDATE+++
Now after roughly 3.500 km on my Pirelli Sport Demon, the front tire shows "saw teeth" too. :( Another bike which I saw accidentally yesterday on a parking lot has that too (Bridgestone tires). So it seems that neither the driver nor the tire is the reason but the CB1100.

Does anyone else of you have this issue with the front tire?
Click to expand...
+++UPDATE+++
Now after roughly 3.500 km on my Pirelli Sport Demon, the front tire shows "saw teeth" too. :( Another bike which I saw accidentally yesterday on a parking lot has that too (Bridgestone tires). So it seems that neither the driver nor the tire is the reason but the CB1100.

Does anyone else of you have this issue with the front tire?
I have the original BTs on mine, and the wear is even. Although the wear indicators are showing, the tire itself is fine...
 
Same with mine.
No saw teeth in the long life of the original Bridgestone tires.

I may be wrong, but it has something to do with the way you drive and brake.:rolleyes:

We discuss the same topic in the German CB Forum with different conclusions,
aren't we Ingo?.

Wisedrum
 
HikerToo_imp said:
I found the stock Bridgestones at Chaparral Motorsports last fall.
Free shipping

110/80R 18 BRIDGESTONE BT54 CB
Item# 330-0370 $99.88 USD
140/70R 18 BRDGESTONE BT54 CB1
Item# 330-0371 $129.88 USD
Click to expand...
Denniskirk.com carries the same tires at considerably less cost and also with free shipping.
 
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