Tire Confusion

Hi all.

I'm fortunate enough to have had an '82 750 Spectre given to me as a gift. As near as I can tell, the tires that are on it, have been on it since at least 1989. I think new tires are cheaper than a trip to the emergancy room so I'm going to replace them. I'm not sure with what. Pirelli Sport Demons and Avons seem to lead the way on here as far as popularity goes. Are they appropriate for this bike? It has Dunlop Qualifiers on it now. The Dunlops are tubeless the Sport Demons are not. Does that matter? This is the first motorcycle I have owned and realize I've got a bit of a learning curve. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

The Sport Demons are tubeless, bias (non-radial) tires. Tubes can be used with tubeless tires, but are not recommended with radial tires. So the Sport Demons can be used with or without tubes. Ed

nice example of an old spectre...you are gonna really dig having new rubber....make sure you start with a base air setting of like 36 front and rear...and check it for a few days...then try going down 2 psi or up 2 , ride it 2 days at 36 ,2 days at 34 ect...ect....i would try changing the front by 2 and see if you like the cruising feedback better at one setting....the rear should be good to go at 36...but may help trying dif settings after you settle on a front p.s.i....2 pounds on good new tires can sometimes really make a nice difference in ride quality and poggo 'n

36 up front sounds a little hard? My KZ650 specs recommend 28 front 32 rear (rider only) or 36 rear (w/passenger). I generally run 30 up front 36 in rear, even though riding solo. I'm sure everyone has different favorite settings. Ed

I am virtually positive that you have tubeless rims. It will say right on the rim. It is cast into either one of the spokes or into the edge. It will just say "tubeless" I love the Avons and they give you many stiles to chose from. The Avon "Road Rider" AM-26 is one of the better choices they are readely available and a very good kick for the buck. You have a 16" rim in the back and a 19" up front. Here is a link to the tire choices.
www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/roadrider

I would go with the 90/90-19 Front and the MT90-16 Rear. I am quite sure that Jeff at Z1E could get them for you at a very good price. You will see his banner in the right hand margin. Also- Do not let the rear gear drive scare you. It is actually much easer to change the wheel on a shaft drive than it is on a chain drive, and MUCH cleaner. I would suggest that you buy yourself a Genuine Kawasaki service manual on eBay. I will cost you ABOUT $15-$30 and is worth every penny. Itis part #99924-1035-03

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationHere is one. I would offer the guy $20

I actually bought a manual for it this week. All goes well, it should be here tomorrow. I also bought another basic motorcycle maintenance manual. I figure the more resources I have, the more I can confuse myself.

If I really get in a pinch, I've got a guy who, between his two KZ's, put about 50,000 miles on them. However, he got rid of his in the early 80's (his 650 had Dymags on it).

Thanks for the suggestion though.

I have bridgestone spitfires. They're best kind.

I'm getting Dunlop GT501's later.

yeah makes sense....every tire and bike and rider are gonna have a different "sweet" psi setting....i am always fairly suprised when i talk to avid riders and even veteran motorcyclists and they have not checked in a while or never make a routine of it......i never used to...then started.....and now i am pretty routine about seeing if my driving feedback lines up with what the after ride air guage reads....often i am able to tell if my tires change ....


650ed wrote:

36 up front sounds a little hard? My KZ650 specs recommend 28 front 32 rear (rider only) or 36 rear (w/passenger). I generally run 30 up front 36 in rear, even though riding solo. I'm sure everyone has different favorite settings. Ed

I run Bridgestone bt45's.Im very happy with these tires.Heres a tip I learned if you wanna run tubless tires on a mag rim that was designed for tubes.PAINT the inside of the rims when you have the old tires off.Some of these old mag rims are a little porous ans will slowly leak down.You can also get some valve stem caps that will indicate a low pressure at any truck shop.