Tire help for a 550A?

Hi, first-post noobie here.

My 16 year old son is a new rider and is very proud of his 1982 KZ550A that he bought with his own money and we have fixed up and got on the road. The engine and electrics work fine now, but the tires are ancient and need replacing.

What's a good tire for these older 550's? I'd like him to have something with a modern compound and tread to maximize his safety. Unfortunately all my recent experience is with modern tire designs and offroad tires.

I found the tire size conversion link on this forum. His stock sizes are:
Front : 3.25H-19 4PR (100/90 19 ?)
Rear: 3.75H-18 4PR (110/90 18 ?)

Here's what he has on it now:
Rear: "dunlop gold seal F11" in 110/90
Front: "bridgestone spitfire 11F" in 90/90

Like I said these tires are old and cracked from many years of sitting in a garage. I need to make sure he gets some decent, modern, safe tires for all-around road use.

What do you recommend as a brand/model? How wide can he go on the rear? 110 seems pretty skinny in comparison with modern street tires.

Mike

KZ550 doesn't have a lot of room for wide tires. You can't buy 3.75 tires anymore as far as I know. If it was me, I'd stay stock 3.25-19 on the front and go 4.00-18 on the rear. That's the stock size for most KZs of the era. There are 3 good choices in brands. Contintal TKH24 and TKH23 Contiblitz are a great tire and not terribly expensive. Avon AM26 Roadrider is also great, a little more money. Metzler Lazertec is another great one but more money yet. I would choose any of them. You can go to Dennis Kirk website and Japanese bike section, then shop for tires heading, the search for your tire size 3.25-19, 4.00-18 and see what they have and prices. There are several other brands like Cheng Shin, IRC ect that are still decent enough tire too. Metric 110/90-18 just doesn't cut it, and I'd about guarantee a 120/90 will not fit.

Thanks for the reply, I'm checking out those brands online. I also found the Dunlop D404 thread here, seems that people like that tire... I found them at bikebandit for a good price.

The 110/90 that's on there now clears the swingarm tube by about 20-25mm on each side. I would think stepping up to a 120/90 would fit, as it's only 10mm wider overall (5mm per side). Bad idea? That'd still leave 15-20mm side clearance at the closest part of the swingarm tube.

Check prices here: www.tiresunlimited.com/default.htm