Tire Suggestions?

I have an '80 KZ1000 Shaft Drive that is in serious need of new tires. Does anyone have any suggestions for some decent tires for the bigger KZs?

Also, does anyone know of any decent motorcycle shops in the Peoria, IL area? I just moved here, so I don't have anywhere I can work on my bike at the moment and really want to get some tires on the bike so I can ride it again. The only thing worse than looking at it sitting in the back of my truck in all this nice weather is having to drive the truck everywhere at 14mpg:angry:

browz wrote:

I have an '80 KZ1000 Shaft Drive that is in serious need of new tires. Does anyone have any suggestions for some decent tires for the bigger KZs?....

I would say that it isn't about the KZ as much as it is about the rider, eh?

For instance, I've recommended the Dunlop 404 countless times for people who are looking for quality at the most reasonable price. However, if you're just going to rip through them anyway, you might as well go to Cheng Shins. If you want sticky.... and so on...

Cheng Shins are actually what I'm replacing. They're the only motorcycle tires I ever put a lot of miles on so I guess I'm really looking for if the more expensive tires are really much better. I can get a pair of Dunlop 404s for pretty much the same price as a set of Cheng Shins. I wasn't really unhappy with the Cheng Shins...but they were the first tires on my first bike...so I don't really have anything to compare against.

Post edited by: browz, at: 2007/05/29 17:49

Post edited by: browz, at: 2007/05/29 17:52

Related questions:

How do you translate old tire sizes to current offerings? The specs for my '78 KZ1000 LTD call for ML90-19 front and MT90-16 rear. What do these codes mean? I've got the -19 and -16 figured out. But what is "ML" and "MT". When I look at tires online, they generally have two numbers in the size code.

For example, with the above-mentioned Dunlop 404s, for the front tire, I see 100/90-19 and 110/90-19. Which is the right size?

On the back, I see 130/90-16 and 140/90-16. Which is the right size?

I guess I should just look at what's on my bike now, but it's at home.

Next question--If I buy the tires online and take to a local shop for mounting, what do shops normaly charge to mount and balance (assuming I remove the wheels and take to them)?

My vote is for Dunlap GT501's. I've heard good things about the Bridgestone Battle Axe's as well. Some good places to buy are Dennis Kirk, Ron Ayers , and americanmototire.com .
I think you can do a 130 on the back if I'm not mistaken. Good luck.

I'm currently running 100/90-19 on the front and 130/90-17 on the rear on my bike. These were the sizes that the guy I bought it from had put on. It is a shaft drive, so it very well may have different rim sizes than most other KZs, at least it seems like just about everything else is different every time I buy parts.

www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=motorcycle...t&btnG=Google+Search
Read and learn on tire sizes;)

del

I have a set of dunlaps on the 1000, seem to be good so far, I have had great luck with michilen in the past

austin3119 wrote:

My vote is for Dunlap GT501's. I've heard good things about the Bridgestone Battle Axe's as well. Some good places to buy are Dennis Kirk, Ron Ayers , and americanmototire.com .
I think you can do a 130 on the back if I'm not mistaken. Good luck.

Looks like the 501 is out. The closest size they make in rears is 140/80-17. I don't want to put too wide of a tire on and end up with a funny profile. I've had enough of riding on screwy profiled tires for a while. As far as I can tell the 130/90 is already one size wider than stock.

The BT45 Battlax is an option though, or I should say at least they make them in the sizes I need.

JMKZHI wrote:

Skyman wrote:

...But what is "ML"(sic) and "MT"....

Those are part of an alphanumeric sizing code:
. 90/90 = MJ90 .... MJ = 90.
100/90 = MM90 ... MM = 100.
130/90 = MT90 .... MT = 130.

Here's a link - click! . JMK.<br><br>Post edited by: JMKZHI, at: 2007/05/29 18:21

Thanks...except...What the heck is "ML"?

From the published specs for my bike:

You can read tire size info at denniskirk.com or probably numerous other places, however sizes will not always be indentical between different brands and between the different numbering systems. Last tires I used was Dunlop D404s. I wouldn't recommend them. The price is definately right on them, but they won't give you that peaceful "I'm stuck to the road" feeling in turns even slow turns in the city. I thought I was just getting too old and felt like I had very little skills left using these tires. Just last week I put on the Continental TK22 and TK24. These feel a whale of a lot better and now I can ride with confidence again. The Dunlops lasted pretty good, that was nice, but an extra $50-$100 for a better set of tires might just save a crash, at least make riding more enjoyable. I was riding on wet clean pavement with those 404s and every throttle movement, even gradual ones resulted in spinning the rear and trying to fishtale. No more of that now.

Skyman wrote:

...What the heck is "ML"?

I gave up the search figuring it was no longer being used and just went with Dunlop's size recommendation for the specific bike.