Need Advice!! Best Tires For a 99??

[zcon4707]

Have a 99. Need tires pronto, rear was made in 04 front in 02. Currently have the oem dunlop qualifiers but I am not partial to them at all. Did lower the bike 1-1/2" in the rear and 1" in the front. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Fire-medic]

Have a 99. Need tires pronto, rear was made in 04 front in 02. Currently have the oem dunlop qualifiers but I am not partial to them at all. Did lower the bike 1-1/2" in the rear and 1" in the front. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Consider getting a 17" or an 18" replacement rear wheel, and running radials f & r. You can use the OEM front wheel for a same-size front radial, the width of the wheel isn't ideal for a radial tire, but it's better than a bias-ply tire, to run radials f & r. If you ever got a chance to run a relatively new (<1K miles) radial tire equipped bike against a comparable-mileage bias-ply tire bike, you'd never want to use bias plies on a Gen 1 again.

If it's not in the budget then I'd say a pair of bias-ply Shinkos and as an alternative, Bridgestone Battlax. Get the sporty rubber and not the touring rubber, our bikes make too-much HP to safely use touring tire rubber, unless you never hit VBoost/never-see the red 'oil' light flicker. An exception to that is the Shinko 230 Touring rubber, they're fairly-soft, so you won't get really-long use out of them, but they stick better than other touring rubber. I've used 'em and like 'em. They come in the OEM sizes and the V speed-rating for a Gen. 1. One source: Shinko 230 Tour Master Tires - 87-4172 | JPCycles.com

Front V rated OEM size, from J&P Cycle $65
SALE
SHINKO
★★★★★656 Reviews
Shinko 230 Tour Master Tires
$64.99
$83.99
Save $19.00 (23%!)
Starting at 0% APR or $16/mo with Affirm. Learn more
In Stock
Ships in 1-2 business days.
J&P Part #: ZZ26267
Mfr Part #: 87-4162


Rear V rated OEM size from J&P Cycle $89

In Stock
Ships in 1-2 business days.
J&P Part #: ZZ26272
Mfr Part #: 87-4171


You have to select the rim size/tire size/aspect ratio & speed rating 110/90 X 18 V & 150/90 X 15V

$137 and they have a 10% off coupon on the website. Another $15 tax for two tires, $152 delivered, free standard shipping, that's pretty-good pricing. That's the price of a rear tire alone from some manufacturers.

Bridgestone BattlAx V rated speed tires


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BRIDGESTONE
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Bridgestone Battlax BT-45V Tires
$139.99
$193.99
Save $54.00 (28%!)
Starting at 0% APR or $12/mo with Affirm. Learn more
In Stock
Ships within one business day.
J&P Part #: ZZ26151
Mfr Part #: 072486

I didn't see a 15" rear BattlAx tire in the J&P listings. If you cannot find a rear BattlAx somewhere else, I wouldn't recommend 'mix/match' among different manufacturers. You could end-up with an evil-handling bike.

 

[zcon4707]

Thankyou very much I really appreciate the info. I would consider changing the rear wheel to a 17" but not sure if my giant 5'5" height would allow me to touch the ground anymore

 

[Fire-medic]

Thankyou very much I really appreciate the info. I would consider changing the rear wheel to a 17" but not sure if my giant 5'5" height would allow me to touch the ground anymore

You actually will be closer to the ground with a 17" wheel/tire, and even with an 18" wheel/tire! The overall height of the wheel/tire for either of those wheel diameters (17" or 18") is less because of the aspect ratio of the tire on the wheel. The 17" and 18" tires are something like 50, 55 or 60 series, compared to the 90 series of the OEM rear wheel/tire combo. What that means, is that the height of the sidewall is 90% of the width of the tire for the OEM size, and just 50, 55, or 60% of the tire's width for the height of any of those aspect ratios. It's been awhile since I measured what the actual difference is in inches, but I believe it was about 2" for a 17" wheel, and about 1/2" for an 18" wheel. That would be, the height of the wheel/tire combo is that much less than the 90-series aspect ratio of the 15" wheel/tire OEM specification.

Since the Gen. 1 is all-about the acceleration, running a shorter height wheel/tire aids acceleration, but it cuts-down on your achievable top-end speed (on a closed-course). It's the equivalent of running different, 'shorter' gearing (higher numerically) on a chain-drive bike, or in a car. Say in a car, you had a 3.08:1 gearing, and then you went to a 4.11:1 gearing, your 0-60 mph or your quarter-mile time would greatly decrease, but the rpm you turned at the end of that would be much-higher, compared to the 3.08:1 gearing.

Since the VMax is supposed to be capable of 149 mph stock, many people don't mind the loss of top-end, because few ever-venture to that speed with frequency. The VMax, with its upright seating position, doesn't have the preferred aero style to hit its highest-possible speed, with comfort for the operator. If a guy can gain say, 5 mph in the quarter-mile, by going to a 17" rear wheel, with stickier sportbike rubber, and the benefit of an effectively-lower gearing (higher-numerically) and maybe using straps to pull-down the front-end downtubes onto the sliders for lower aero drag (not-sure if that's allowed at the dragstrip) that's a trade-off many riders may choose to-make. Who does 149 mph on a Gen. 1 anyway? Hitting 130 mph a bit after a quarter-mile is a big-enough thrill for most who choose to perform exhibitions of quickness/speed.

 

[mzbk2l]

+1 to Fire-medic's response about the tire height. When I changed to radials on my '85, I spent the first year trying to upshift into 5th when I was already there! Noticeable change in ratio with the shorter tire (even though it's on a larger wheel).

 

[Fire-medic]

+1 to Fire-medic's response about the tire height. When I changed to radials on my '85, I spent the first year trying to upshift into 5th when I was already there! Noticeable change in ratio with the shorter tire (even though it's on a larger wheel).

You could go to a Venture differential to lower the rpm's at cruising, but your acceleration would be less in a top-gear roll-on, because of the lower numerically gear ratio in the Venture final drive. Sean Morley has a spreadsheet with the potential top-speeds of different gearbox gearsets and final drive units. However, the theoretical speeds are limited by aerodynamic drag, the engine doesn't make enough HP to redline with some of the combinations possible.

I've posted on-here before, about the shop where I spend time, the owner has built power-adder VMaxes of many different types, some mix & match: large-displacement, supercharged, turbocharged, NOS, extensive headwork. He did a bunch of work for a couple of guys who wanted UFO speed equipment, which he installed, making the bikes quick off the mark and in the quarter-mile, However, Miami being an area of relatively straight roads, an OEM bike will run faster on top-end, though it takes longer time to get there. In say a half-mile, a bike with a power-adder and 17" tires is probably about topped-out, while a OEM bike will still be accelerating to what is a higher top-speed, due to its longer effective gearing, given its taller wheel/tire combination.

That's just what happened, the UFO Performance modified bikes were beaten on top-end by a stock bike over the long-distance, and they called Jon Cornell to complain. Jon called the shop proprietor (my friend) to inquire, "what's going-on down-there? Customers are calling me, complaining!" The shop owner told him just what he'd told the modified VMax owners, that they would be accelerating faster, but their top-end would suffer. Jon acknowledged that was indeed the case, and they both had a good laugh.

 

[Zeus36]

Have a 99. Need tires pronto, rear was made in 04 front in 02. Currently have the oem dunlop qualifiers but I am not partial to them at all. Did lower the bike 1-1/2" in the rear and 1" in the front. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You have been given excellent advice, but your post said you needed tires pronto; the title reads the best tires. Radials would be the best tires, however you have to convert the wheels. The quickest way (and least expensive) would be to order a set of stock size Shinko tires off Amazon with free delivery.

Rear, $96.19: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CDAEA0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Front, $54.82: https://www.amazon.com/Shinko-Tour-...131683011&rnid=6131673011&s=automotive&sr=1-5

 

[VMAXXIMUM]

Thankyou very much I really appreciate the info. I would consider changing the rear wheel to a 17" but not sure if my giant 5'5" height would allow me to touch the ground anymore

I’m 5’4 so I can relate.

 

[zcon4707]

You have been given excellent advice, but your post said you needed tires pronto; the title reads the best tires. Radials would be the best tires, however you have to convert the wheels. The quickest way (and least expensive) would be to order a set of stock size Shinko tires off Amazon with free delivery.

Rear, $96.19: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CDAEA0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Front, $54.82: https://www.amazon.com/Shinko-Tour-Master-Front-90-18/dp/B001CDALP8/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=Shinko&qid=1621527389&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin:6131683011&rnid=6131673011&s=automotive&sr=1-5

I guess I should have rephrased that. I did take Fire-Medic's advice and went with the shinko's, but will definitely accept any info as to what is necessary to upgrade to a 17" rear and put radials on. As always thankyou to all for the help, the knowledge on this forum is awesome.

 

[TBrooks47]

Have a 99. Need tires pronto, rear was made in 04 front in 02. Currently have the oem dunlop qualifiers but I am not partial to them at all. Did lower the bike 1-1/2" in the rear and 1" in the front. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Obviously radials are the way to go to get the best possible handling, if your ready for the additional cost of upgraded wheels and the radial tires are more expensive then bias.
If your not ready there are some other upgrades (suspension, frame braces, mounts) that are easier to afford one at a time and things I would think you would want to do to your bike anyway if adding radials. just depends on what order you want to do upgrades.
My experience with bias ply tires. From early Spring until late Fall I ride to work most days usually 29 miles on Interstate and rural hiway to work and 32 miles on country back roads on the way home. Occasional trips to town and some weekend two up riding.
Shinko’s are definitely the best handling and the tire I would choose if all I cared about is corners however they do not last long at all. I would easily go through two sets and be close to needing a 3rd set.
I liked the Metzler’s ok, better miles and pretty good performance when warmed up. The rear tire would ware out before the front
I personally like the Michelin Comanders the best. They last a long time. I ran them last year and they still got some miles left. Going to change them out pretty soon.
They perform well, I make sure there good and warm if I’m going to be riding a little more enthusiastically.
Cost wise is going to be about even give or take. 3 sets of Shinko’s is about equivalent to a set of Metzler’s or Michelin’s for just the tires not counting mounting and balancing.
I’ve been using the balancing beads which I like very much and mounting my own. From experience I can say mounting wise the Shinko’s are the easiest which is good because you will be mounting about three sets to one set of the Met/Mich.

 

[norcalAF]

I guess I should have rephrased that. I did take Fire-Medic's advice and went with the shinko's, but will definitely accept any info as to what is necessary to upgrade to a 17" rear and put radials on. As always thankyou to all for the help, the knowledge on this forum is awesome.

There is a radial rear tire set up for sale right now in the sale section, username is el canadiese