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Tires /Fitting different tires / Raising Fender to the V

87K views 259 replies 72 participants last post by  TowerMan 
#1 · (Edited)
Hopefully Chris will see this thread and jump in, he has alot of research experience on this subject.....other folks, please chime in with your research and your experience, everyone's input will be summarized at the end of this post #1.

I found a chart that explained what size tires will fit what rims. I think Chris knows what size rims are on the V. Near as I can tell, the rear is a 4.5" rim. I want to put a 150 tire on the rear. The chart shows that a 150 will fit on a 4.5" rim. I realize the profile may not be exactly as anticipated by the tire manufacturer but I can deal with that, as long as its safe and all that stuff.

17in Tyres Permitted Rim
100/70*17 2.50/2.75/3.00
110/80*17
120/90*17

130/80*17 2.50/2.75/3.00/3.50
130/90*17

120/60*17 3.00/3.50
120/70*17

130/60*17 3.00/3.50/4.00
130/70*17

140/70*17 3.50/4.00/4.50
150/60*17
150/70*17

160/60*17 4.00/4.50/5.00
160/70*17

SUMMARY/DECISION POINTS/RIDER INPUT:

Best tire set for dirt is TKC front and rear. The 150 TKC mounts to the rear with no changes, no mods needed. The front requires the 130/80x17 rear TKC and will require the front fender to be raised and some knobs trimmed on the sides. A smaller 120 trail type front tire can be selected (Shinko, Kenda) and the fender will still need to be raised or a Pirelli MT60 can be used, its the stock size.

Shinko E-705 Trail Master tires on the rear have been reported to suffer from tread separation, knobs separating from the carcass.

I have mounted a 120/90x17 Kenda on the front and the fit is excellent, the tread is wider than the stock 120 but still fits inside the fender. I had to raise the fender 1 3/4", with no change in the cross-over line, I do however, have a mudflap mounted and the cross-over line rides on the flap somewhat. (by Jake)

CORRECTED FROM PRIOR INFO: The Avon Distanzia 150/70 CAN BE used on the rear of a V, it IS rated for a 4.5" rim. (by Chris)

Cont TKC 130/80x17 will work on the front, the fender will need to be raised, side treads may need to be trimmed. (by Jake)

The Avon Distanzia is good for a front tire. Its in our size (120/70) it's a supermoto compound so its sticky but is consistently reported to wear well on the front of these bikes. (by Chris)

The Pirelli MT60 is good for a front tire. Its in our size (120/70) (by Chris)

FROM ANOTHER FORUM Well at almost 3000-miles, my fears came true. The Pirelli MT60 in Versys size are not going much further. Great tire, but look elsewhere.

130/80/17 Anakee II is a rear tire that may be difficult to get seated on the V front rim (from Ednukey)

Anakee2 are awesome on wet pavement, and great on dry pavement. The TKC80s were surprisingly good on dry pavement, but very sketchy on wet pavement, as I experienced a sliding rear-end on multiple occasions in the wet. (from Ednukey)

I'm running Metzeler Roadtec Z6 Sport Touringz6 right now and am happy with them. First set the rear gave me about 9000 miles, the front about 12,000 but was changed because it started to cup (from Marc11)

I put on a set of Pilot Road 2CT at 8,000 miles when the OEM tires wore out. I now have over 19,000 on them and I figure to get a couple of thousand more before I need to replace them, (from Rponiarski)

I had a Scorpion Sync on the rear that lasted about 5,500 miles. It was a good tire that preformed well on pavement as well as dirt roads. (from Brothercannon)

Been riding on Pirelli Angel St's since April and have been very pleased with them good grip and wearing fine so far and I ride every day. (from Ayermedic)

Metzeler Tourance 150/70 r17, original design not the Tourance exp. I heard many people say the tourance exp is inferior to the original. As far as fitment goes there are no clearance issues and the bead is seated well. (from Brothercannon)

I ran Avon Distanzias, and got about 8K miles from the rear, , and got about 15 k from the front (from Miguelito)

1st: Original OEM Dunlop tires: @ 10,438 miles, daily commuting & weekend rides
2nd: Bridgestone BT021 120/70-17 & BT020 170/60-17: @ 5351 miles, daily commuting, weekend rides, 1 up w/ gear secondary highway interstate trips
(I never really felt confident with this pair, especially in the wet)
3rd: Pirelli Angel ST's 120/70-17 & 160/60-17: @7,800+ miles (tread depth at 0.125) daily commuting, weekend rides, 1 up w/ camping gear cross country ride (85mph for 800 miles across Texas's I-10), backroads, fire roads, secondary highways. No complaints great in the wet. (from A2RON)
Avon Distanza, very confidence inspiring, great rain tire. It's the only tire I will put on my Versys and 650 DR from now on. (from Aleeoop)

So far I have gotten 9800 on the Continental Conti Road Attack Sport Mileage Tires and it looks like about halfway on the rear and the front looks almost new. FYI this is the stock tire for the BMW GS models and is designed for large dual sports. I love the feel of these tires on both dirt and asphalt. They corner great and are settled at high speed with the bike fully loaded. Hands down the best rain tire I have ever ridden. I’ll report back when its time to replace for top mileage on both the front and rear.(from Douglasgraham)
 
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#180 ·
I'm running those tires. Not sure what the measurement is but I just moved the bottom hole of the fender to the top hole of the fork along with a bracket similar to what you have. I'm sure it could be done but I've gone about 10k without having a fender/fork brace meeting.

I wanted some extra tire/fender clearance for mud since I do some logging road riding. Once you get that Tourance mounted with air it gets big fast.



There is a guy in my town that runs around with a green Versys named "Kermit"...You're not in K-Falls, are you?
 
#181 ·
Nope, and once I got used to the differences of going to the larger, heavier tire - a 130/80 Tourance (took me about 100 miles, then never really noticed it anymore), it became a "NON-issue".
I have a 120/90 front and forks appear to be in the stock geometry settings, its the only way I have ever ridden the bike but it steers a little like a truck lol so I was seeing what everyone else was doing. I may drop the front end a bit and see how she feels ..... or maybe not as I have been to lazy to do it so far :grin2:
 
#182 ·
...but it steers a little like a truck lol so I was seeing what everyone else was doing. I may drop the front end a bit and see how she feels ..... or maybe not as I have been to lazy to do it so far :grin2:
On mine (two Gen 1s) - the issue went away after about 100 miles of riding to get used to it....
 
#183 ·
Good morning all! I plan on using my V as my daily commuter this year, just as soon as the weather will allow. My shop is 50 miles from my house, with about 5 miles of loose gravel road, and the rest highway. I will also be riding a lot of ungroomed trails (all fairly flat, nothing too knarly), in search of the best fishing spots along the river. I definitely want a more aggressive tire and like both the TKC80 and 705. What's the better all around tire? I like the more aggressive looks of the TKC80, and a knob has to be better on the dirt, right? Will the Shinko's do what I want on the trails, and gravel roads? Will the TKC80's provide at least decent life on the e-way?
 
#184 ·
Good morning all! I plan on using my V as my daily commuter this year, just as soon as the weather will allow. My shop is 50 miles from my house, with about 5 miles of loose gravel road, and the rest highway. I will also be riding a lot of ungroomed trails (all fairly flat, nothing too knarly), in search of the best fishing spots along the river. I definitely want a more aggressive tire and like both the TKC80 and 705. What's the better all around tire? I like the more aggressive looks of the TKC80, and a knob has to be better on the dirt, right? Will the Shinko's do what I want on the trails, and gravel roads? Will the TKC80's provide at least decent life on the e-way?
 
#189 ·
My recommendation with 12K miles of ridden data behind me has to be the TKC80 (stock 120) front and the Mitas E07 (150) Dakar for the rear. I had run a K60 for about 8500 miles and never had any problems with it in the rain, maybe our Alaskan asphalt is different? It did well on and off road, but the Mitas has done better for me. The TKC is the only tire I will run in the front. I've always been an advocate of having the best possible traction in the front. For the simple fact if you loose traction with the front tire you more than likely will be going down, so set yourself up with the best chance for staying upright as you can. The wear on the TKC in the front will be 10K+ miles if properly balanced (I use Dyna beads) and inflated. They do make a TKC80 to fit the rear but you will be lucky to get 5-6K miles on it. Not sure why but that's what I've seen. The K60 or the E07 rear will give you 10-12K easy. You now have my .02 hope it helps :)
 
#190 ·
My recommendation with 12K miles of ridden data behind me has to be the TKC80 (stock 120) front and the Mitas E07 (150) Dakar for the rear. I had run a K60 for about 8500 miles and never had any problems with it in the rain, maybe our Alaskan asphalt is different? It did well on and off road, but the Mitas has done better for me. The TKC is the only tire I will run in the front. I've always been an advocate of having the best possible traction in the front. For the simple fact if you loose traction with the front tire you more than likely will be going down, so set yourself up with the best chance for staying upright as you can. The wear on the TKC in the front will be 10K+ miles if properly balanced (I use Dyna beads) and inflated. They do make a TKC80 to fit the rear but you will be lucky to get 5-6K miles on it. Not sure why but that's what I've seen. The K60 or the E07 rear will give you 10-12K easy. You now have my .02 hope it helps :)
 
#192 ·
Heidenau K60 Scout? Just how bad is it in the rain? Does anyone have any thoughts? Everything the article said sounds great, except for it becoming a water ski in the rain.
Is it bad in the rain? Kinda. It's definitely the slickest rear I've ever had in the rain. I wouldn't call it dangerous but you really aren't gonna be scraping pegs in the rain with that tire.

That said I still freaking love the k60 as a rear. My current setup is a 120/90 17 (rear) tkc80 up front and 150/70 17 k60 in the back. At the moment they both have about 10,500 miles on them and easily have another 3,000 to go and still have great road manners. My setup before this was the same but with a 120/70 front. The 120/90 definitely slows down the steering but it is a lot more stable in the loose stuff. You do have to raise the fender though.

My 2 cents.
 
#191 ·
Heidenau K60 Scout? Just how bad is it in the rain? Does anyone have any thoughts? Everything the article said sounds great, except for it becoming a water ski in the rain.
Is it bad in the rain? Kinda. It's definitely the slickest rear I've ever had in the rain. I wouldn't call it dangerous but you really aren't gonna be scraping pegs in the rain with that tire.

That said I still freaking love the k60 as a rear. My current setup is a 120/90 17 (rear) tkc80 up front and 150/70 17 k60 in the back. At the moment they both have about 10,500 miles on them and easily have another 3,000 to go and still have great road manners. My setup before this was the same but with a 120/70 front. The 120/90 definitely slows down the steering but it is a lot more stable in the loose stuff. You do have to raise the fender though.

My 2 cents.
 
#197 ·
I'll check what's available in the stock size. I don't want to go bigger (except possibly the rear width). Looks like it's narrowed down. I didn't here anything about the Shinko 705's although I trust the members reviews as opposed to the big retailers. Thanks everyone! Go Pats by the way!!
 
#198 ·
I'll check what's available in the stock size. I don't want to go bigger (except possibly the rear width). Looks like it's narrowed down. I didn't here anything about the Shinko 705's although I trust the members reviews as opposed to the big retailers. Thanks everyone! Go Pats by the way!!
 
#200 ·
Does it matter if you run a radial in the front and a bias ply in the rear?
Mixing bias and radial tires has been done ... more often than one would imagine.

For example, in the UK, it is legal to run bias in the front, and radial at the rear. The opposite (what you have mentioned) is illegal.

From Cycle World:

Years ago, back when radial motorcycle tires first hit the market, tire makers strongly advised riders not to mix radial and bias tires. Radials were new and offered significantly different handling characteristics than bias rubber, and neither the bike manufacturers nor the tire companies yet had enough model- and tire-specific data to predict how a combination of the two would affect the handling of any given motorcycle. So the best policy was to discourage mixng radials and bias tires.

Since then, radial technology has evolved dramatically, and the manufacturers have had years to develop a better understanding of the effects of mixing tire types. As a result, numerous production bikes, including two new models tested in this issue - the Harley-Davidson Rocker and the Yamaha Star Raider S - come from the factory equipped with a radial on the rear and a bias-ply tire on the front.


The Indian Chieftan and the Roadmaster run a E3 bias front tire and an E3 radial rear tire.

I have read somewhere that the OEM tires for the Triumph Bonneville and also the Thruxton are radial rear and bias ply front.

There are others but I'm not going to do an exhaustive search for them.

Note: I am not tempted to try it with my Versys but have done it a few times on my Honda Valkyrie without any negative effects. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
#199 ·
Does it matter if you run a radial in the front and a bias ply in the rear?
Mixing bias and radial tires has been done ... more often than one would imagine.

For example, in the UK, it is legal to run bias in the front, and radial at the rear. The opposite (what you have mentioned) is illegal.

From Cycle World:

Years ago, back when radial motorcycle tires first hit the market, tire makers strongly advised riders not to mix radial and bias tires. Radials were new and offered significantly different handling characteristics than bias rubber, and neither the bike manufacturers nor the tire companies yet had enough model- and tire-specific data to predict how a combination of the two would affect the handling of any given motorcycle. So the best policy was to discourage mixng radials and bias tires.

Since then, radial technology has evolved dramatically, and the manufacturers have had years to develop a better understanding of the effects of mixing tire types. As a result, numerous production bikes, including two new models tested in this issue - the Harley-Davidson Rocker and the Yamaha Star Raider S - come from the factory equipped with a radial on the rear and a bias-ply tire on the front.


The Indian Chieftan and the Roadmaster run a E3 bias front tire and an E3 radial rear tire.

I have read somewhere that the OEM tires for the Triumph Bonneville and also the Thruxton are radial rear and bias ply front.

There are others but I'm not going to do an exhaustive search for them.

Note: I am not tempted to try it with my Versys but have done it a few times on my Honda Valkyrie without any negative effects. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
#201 ·
I'll check what's available in the stock size. I don't want to go bigger (except possibly the rear width). Looks like it's narrowed down. I didn't here anything about the Shinko 705's although I trust the members reviews as opposed to the big retailers. Thanks everyone! Go Pats by the way!!
Most decent 17" ADV tires seem to be in the 150 size for the rear, I've seen some 160 stock sizes but they are limited. The front tire selection is VERY limited in any 17" application. There has been a few more added recently Vee Rubber I know added some. As for the Bias & radial combo, it's not ideal but very doable. Many have done it with no problem. Maybe total street high HP and MPH bikes it's probably a bigger deal.
 
#202 ·
I'll check what's available in the stock size. I don't want to go bigger (except possibly the rear width). Looks like it's narrowed down. I didn't here anything about the Shinko 705's although I trust the members reviews as opposed to the big retailers. Thanks everyone! Go Pats by the way!!
Most decent 17" ADV tires seem to be in the 150 size for the rear, I've seen some 160 stock sizes but they are limited. The front tire selection is VERY limited in any 17" application. There has been a few more added recently Vee Rubber I know added some. As for the Bias & radial combo, it's not ideal but very doable. Many have done it with no problem. Maybe total street high HP and MPH bikes it's probably a bigger deal.
 
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