2001 Nomad

I finally moved to the darkside. I installed a Bridgestone 195/60/16. The tire is little shorter than stock and it is approximately 6 5/8" wide. It clears the swingarm by nearly 1/2". The ride is so much more smoother and the bike seems to handle better. The braking is better. I have put over 300 miles since installing it. My wife even noticed that the ride is smoother and seems more stable. i think that it was a wise decision. i have went through 3 MC tires in the last 15,000 miles. i am looking forward to getting better mileage out of this tire, since I do alot of road trips during the warmer months.

Congrats and Welcome!

I love the feel of my CT and wish I had done it a loooong time ago.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the darkside. My wife had the same reaction...what did you do to the bike??? It rides so much smother! LOL


Congrats.......................bobby

did you have to do any mods to put the tire on? my son has a 01 nomad and wants to go with a ct. weve been looking for one for with little or no mods . thanks

I did not have to do any mods to the bike, just mount the tire and ride. I am currently running 35 psi and the dyna beads for balancing. The bike is smooth as silk. Welcome and enjoy.

Which Bridgestone tire did you use? I'm thinking that if you have 1/2" clearance with a 195, I should be able to mount a 205 which should be less than 1/2" wider (1/4" each side) which would still leave lots of room on the driveshaft and still be the same diameter as the mc tire.
I'd like something with a little bit stiffer sidewall than my Goodyear Eagle LS.

Critterslave, First I need to clarify something. I posted the wrong size tire. I am currently running a 175/65/16 Bridgestone Turanza EL400 on the rear, not a 195. Sorry for the misinformation. The 175 gives me about 1/2" clearance. From info that I gathered the 195 will just barely clear the swingarm, that is why I chose the 175. I am running 40 psi to cut down on the amount of flex in the sidewall. I have about 8,000 miles on it now and it shows NO signs of wear. The tire looks like it did the day I installed it. I do not believe that the 205 will fit between the swingarm.

Bud2Rat wrote:Critterslave, First I need to clarify something. I posted the wrong size tire. I am currently running a 175/65/16 Bridgestone Turanza EL400 on the rear, not a 195. Sorry for the misinformation. The 175 gives me about 1/2" clearance. From info that I gathered the 195 will just barely clear the swingarm, that is why I chose the 175. I am running 40 psi to cut down on the amount of flex in the sidewall. I have about 8,000 miles on it now and it shows NO signs of wear. The tire looks like it did the day I installed it. I do not believe that the 205 will fit between the swingarm.

You've got to be careful about the 205 on a Nomad. It will mount ok in some, but I've seen two where a 205 rubs the drive shaft housing, making them not usable. The 195 will fit all of them.

I have a 2004 Kawasaki Nomad 1500 and installed a 195/60R-16 Hankook Optimo H426 on the back. It barely fit but it’s in there and does not rub the shaft drive. In fact, had to take the air out in order for it to get under the fender and between the swingarm and then re-inflate it.

I put 1100 Florida miles (straight) on it and then took a trip to the NC/TN/GA mountains that included the Dragon and many other twisty roads.

At first it felt very strange but once I got the hang of the tire the “square-ness” was not an issue. The tire performed very well under wet and dry conditions including tight curves. People riding behind me told me that the tire’s contact patch would remain almost constant. It seems the sidewall compresses enough to keep most of the tread on the road. I don’t remember how many psi are in it but I’m sure that overinflating it would reduce the wall-flex and cause the outer corner of the tire to lift off the ground more.

The tire now has about 3500 miles on it and looks just as it did when UPS delivered it to my door. If you ride the Dragon every week , you are obviously better off with a traditional motorcycle tire. But if you do most of your riding on highways or touring on interstates, I believe this is the way to go.