Kawasaki 1500 Classic going DS

Hi
I'm new here, and I've decided to try the DS because I'm tired of wasting money on MC tires at ever 10k or so.
I've been doing a little reading on here, and it appears that the only size of CT that will fit my 2003 Vulcan Classic 1500, is a 195/60/16. With that said, according to the DS database, my brand choices are limited due to the size I need. I would have a few more choices if I were to go to a 195/55/16, but that would be a little narrower, which I don't know if that is recommended my 1500 riders here or not, so if you have any input or advice on this, please let me know.
I don't need a high performance tire, nor am I looking for a tire that will last 80k or more...in fact, I don't mind sacrificing a bit of longevity, for a tire that will give me easy handling, without too much effort or counter steering. Again, any advice you can give me will deeply appreciated. As soon as I get my facts together with the proper info, I will buy a tire, which hopefully will be in the next week or two, as my Metzler ME880 mt is coming to and end. I was referred here by another forum (Kawasaki Beartooth forum), and I look forward in getting to know some of you here. Thanks in advance for your input.
Later.

The 195/55 will actually be a little wider and a little shorter than the 195/60 of the same tire.But actual measurements will vary sometimes greatly from one brand to another. You can go under tire rack and look under the specs.on the tires you are considering and get actual sizes.

Thanks Larry, I'll go take a peek on Tire Rack and see what they say there. So a 60 is narrower than a 55 ? Which then would mean, a 65 is narrower than a 60...right ?
Ray

Yes it will be narrower.The 55/60/and 65 are actually the height measurement but the width changes with it.And you are welcome that is what the people on this board are here for.

I think you are going to want the 60 series....it rides a ton smoother than a 55 series. The taller the side wall the better the ride and I think handling. (Well to a certain extent...hehehehe) I don't ride a performance tire, but a rain and snow tire! I love mine!


.........................bobby

Thanks guys, much appreciate the feed back. Bobby, what brand of rain and snow tire do you use , and do they make it in a 195/60/16 ? I was looking at the Blizzak tire, but I thought a snow tire would be too noisy and would flex too much with the deeper grooves. Sorry for all the stupid questions, but I would really like to know as much as I can, so I'll be able to make the proper choice of tire for my bike and I. Thanks again gentlemen.

Dudester60 wrote:Thanks guys, much appreciate the feed back. Bobby, what brand of rain and snow tire do you use , and do they make it in a 195/60/16 ? I was looking at the Blizzak tire, but I thought a snow tire would be too noisy and would flex too much with the deeper grooves. Sorry for all the stupid questions, but I would really like to know as much as I can, so I'll be able to make the proper choice of tire for my bike and I. Thanks again gentlemen.

Dudester,

It's the Douglas Rain and Snow tire from Walmart. Not sure what other sizes they come in. I got to tell you, I don't think I could get a better tire for performance and handling. Also...never hear a sound out of my tire unless I do a burn out!!! LOL Other than NOT being a directional tire and it cost me $54 with tax and I have ridden it for 3 years and I still have 1/2 of it left. That's pretty good, I think!

Now mine does flex a little (only slightly in very hard corners) but to me that means it's gripping! JMO You can only flex a tire if the thread it stuck hard and any rough or unforeseen ruts doesn't upset my turn and really make for a smooth ride. I just keep my head and bars aimed to my exit and all is good. Well great actually!!! I can up the air pressure and not feel any flex at all, but I found after 5 years on the darkside...I don't mind the flex because it has NEVER stepped out on me, so I trust the tire!

....................twin


.

I'll check and see if I can find a Wally tire up here in Canada, sounds pretty good. I found this tire http://www.treadepot.com/tire/M30401.html?CID=21 and I kinda like the tread on it. However, I don't have a clue if the tire would be suitable as a darksider. Thanks

Dudester60 wrote:I'll check and see if I can find a Wally tire up here in Canada, sounds pretty good. I found this tire http://www.treadepot.com/tire/M30401.html?CID=21 and I kinda like the tread on it. However, I don't have a clue if the tire would be suitable as a darksider. Thanks

Looks like a great tire! Hey, most of us in the beginning was trying untried tires because I put the very first one on a 1300, so we had no experience to fall back on. Just do it and after a couple hundred miles...give the tire a review.

Good luck................bobby

Yah, you're right Bobby, I gotta eventually shit or get off the pot on this. I could probably read about this stuff till I'm blue in the face, and I won't be any further ahead, cause one mans point of view and experience may not necessarily be the same as mine if I put on the same tire as him. So, it's time to bite the bullet and just do it I guess. I'll do a little more reading though and try to make the proper choice for me lol. Don't worry, I'll post on here as soon as I have it installed and tried out (whatever the brand may be) I just want to make sure that I buy a car tire that will fit my Kawi Classic 1500 with no rubbing issues. Thanks again.

Dudester60 wrote:Yah, you're right Bobby, I gotta get eventually shit or get off the pot on this. I could probably read about this stuff till I'm blue in the face, and I won't be any further ahead, cause one mans point of view and experience may not necessarily be the same as mine if I put on the same tire as him. So, it's time to bite the bullet and just do it I guess. I'll do a little more reading though and try to make the proper choice for me lol. Don't worry, I'll post on here as soon as I have it installed and tried out (whatever the brand may be) I just want to make sure that I buy a car tire that will fit my Kawi Classic 1500 with no rubbing issues. Thanks again.

I love it!!! You are a darksider already and you don't even realize it!!! The car tire thing is really just an attitude. You can be a darksider and not ride a car tire as far as I am concerned!

Have a blessed weekend...................bobby

Yah, I feel like a Dark Sider too lol....I'm really excited about this, and can't wait to get a ct on. However, I want to do my homework properly, which I feel I have pretty well completed, and take the next step, which is to buy the damn tire lol.

A couple of questions though, did you notice your gas mileage decreasing after going DS ? Seeing there is more friction on the asphalt, I was wondering if MPG would go down a bit. One of the tires I like, is the Kumo tire, in fact I was seriously looking at the Kumo Solus, but the closest size they make is the 195/55/16, instead of the required 195/60/16 I need, so don't know if that would be an issue or not. There are also tires out there that are 195/65/16, but again, don't know if that would work for me.

So do any other 1500 Classic riders know if a 195/65/16 ct would fit my bike ?

Just to settle the issue about the gas mileage! Nothing changed on my bike mileage wise! Secondly, there isn't any friction because the grip is so much better because of the softer rubber on the CT. The MT is where all the friction is and that's why they were so badly!


........................bobby

Thanks for clarifying Bobby.

Well, after a lot (and I mean a lot) of searching, I finally was able to find a car tire for my 1500 Classic. I ended up buying a Hankook Optimo H426, 195/60/16.



It's ordered, and I should have it by next week, and I have also found a bike shop that will install and balance it on the bike for $45.00, so things are looking good.
I had a hell of a time finding the a 16" tire in the 195/60 size, and those I did find, were out of stock or production was stopped for another 6 weeks. Thank God of the Internet, I was able to locate a company in Toronto Canada, who had the Hankook, and they had a sister company in Ottawa, which is only an hour away. So they are shipping the tire to Ottawa (no charge to me) and all I have to do is pick it up.
Anyway, can't wait to get it installed and give er' a try. I hope I won't be disappointed after all this.
You people and the people on the Beartooth Kawasaki Forum have been a great help.
If anybody is darksiding with a Hankook H426, please let me know what you think of it.

I hate to be a wet blanket but I had a set of those on a mustang on 17" rims.Three out of four were bad out of round and didn't have very good traction on wet pavement.Would not recomend that brand to anybody .Good luck.

Well, I appreciate you're review, but I'm not discouraged of my choice yet, based by that. Here is just a sample of reports I read on line : http://www.tyretest.com/summercar_tyres/hankook/optimo_h426/index.html
Prior to buying, I did some real intensive research and read tons of reviews on this particular model of Hankook, and you are the very first one that has been negative. This is the review that sold me on the Hankook --> http://www.tirepath.com/tires-by-type/all-season-tires/hankook-optimo-h426-all-season-tire-for-sports-cars/
Maybe you just got a bad batch, that all brands have been noted for having had in the past at one time or another. Hopefully, mine will be that good one lol.
If it does turn out to be a crappy tire, I'll take it off and buy another brand.
Prior to buying this Hankook H426, I came very close to purchasing a Bridgestone Turanza EL-400, but I would have had to wait 6 weeks or more for the company to get back into production in my size....hence the choice for the Hankook, which is readily available and being shipped to me as I type this. Once my decision was made, I did a consumer review search to compare the Hankook H426 vs Bridgestone Turanza EL-400, and guess who had the worst reviews ????......the Turanza EL-400.....yet I also read several reviews of consumers who had nothing but praise for the Turanza El-400's.
The perfect tire does not exist in my opinion, and it happens that we all get lemons in life once in a while, which is what I'll consider what you got, although I admit 3 lemons out of 4 is not a good sign....but again, out of all the car owner tire reviews I read, none of them gave that kind of negative review about the H426 Hankook.
All the Hyundai models use the Hankook tire as their stock tires.....I don't hear of too many problems with tires on Hyundai's these days.....just sayin'
This guy seems to think it's ok too...see video --> http://www.expotv.com/videos/reviews/5/66/Hankook-Optimo-Auto-Tire-P19565R15/169651
However, if it weren't for bad luck, I would have any luck at all, so who knows, maybe I did buy a bad tire brand.
Time will tell, but you could have waited until I had the tire mounted and tested before making a negative comment lol (just kidding)

Well today is the day I find out if I'll enjoy being a DS'er or not. Got an appointment for noon today to have the Hankook installed on the bike, Wish me luck, as I really don't know what to expect after it's installed
I'll be picking up a motorcycle tube with a 90 degree valve on my way in to the shop. All the installer had left were bike tubes with straight valves, which I didn't want.

The straight valve stems would work better if you are using beads to balance.

Good to know...thanks. I'll call the installer and ask him how he plans on balancing the tire. Thanks again.
Wouldn't a 90 degree make it easier to add air though ???

Larry I put a KurvyGirl 90 degree valve stem on my wheel when I changed tires a few weeks ago
and the Dynabeads went through them better than the OEM 90 degree valve stem or the front straight valve stem.

It was like they literally poured in.

Mine are factory 90's and are metal that is the only reason I didn't change and go straight stems.Mine were slow with a lot of tapping to take the beads and would be a lot easier to check and air up with straight stems.The lock on air chucks are a real pain to get on or off the way these are.

Well,.......It's done....I am now officially a Darksider LOL. Installation went surprisingly well, took about an hour, and the bead set at about 60 psi. Today had to be the windiest day I've ever had to ride a motorcycle in, and I while my tire was being installed, I was nervously wondering how the 58 mile trip home would be like. Riding to the garage, it took all I had to stay on the road, and I couldn't go any faster than 60 mph....trust me I tried, but it was just too risky with the gusts of wind hitting the bike from every direction it seemed. Anyway, they had to install the tire with no air in it, because it wasn't fitting between the swing arm, but once they let the air out, she went in fine. So we get the tire installed on the bike, pump 40 psi into the tire, balanced it with 3 ozs of dyna beads, pay the man, and off I go.
I still can not believe how good the bike rides and handles. Right from the get-go, it felt ...dare I say,.....safer lol. I could take the curves with no problems, although I did hit a dip in one of the curves doing around 65 mph, and it felt kinda weird when it felt like the rear tire slipped out or something. I didn't panic, kept a loose grip on the handlebars, looked at where I wanted to come out of the curve, and she corrected herself nicely. However, I will try to figure out why it did that. Perhaps it has something to do with the sweet spot everyone says they find after the tire is broken in. But for now, I'm very impressed with the ride, and as windy as it was, I was able to ride home at 75mph, which I couldn't do with the bike tire on the way up....so that says something right there. I had read somewhere that slow speed turns or figure 8's in a parking lot might take a bit of relearning.....phhhht !!! The bike has never been this stable at slow speeds, so again, a major improvement there for me, cause I can turn this thing on a dime now, because for some reason, it's just that much easier and well balanced.
I think I chose the right tire for me, the Hankook Optimo H426, 195/60/16.
I really don't know why so many people have been against this, there's nothing nail biting or scary about it. I felt safer on this tire than I have on 'any' motorcycle before. I know I had a little bit of adjusting to get use to it and be as one with the bike again, but that's no different to when you buy a new bike, you have to get familiar with her first.....no different here.
If after riding it, I thought for one second, that I was risking my life or that the tire didn't feel comfortable, I'd be the first one to admit it, remove it, and go back to a bike tire....however I feel this won't be the case. I only did about 100 miles today due to the weather conditions, but I plan on really testing it once the winds calm down.
Thanks for all your help.

Play with the pressure 2 psi at a time, you'll find that sweet spot.