Best tyre's for Zed??????

[jonhunt]

My Roadriders took meto Germany last year & that was hardly dry.

[graham peters]

A big thank you to you all i have ordered a pair of BT45s i know they will be as good as you all say,
Cheers Graham.

[tlc]

Red Arrows for me

And when was the last time you actually rode a bike ?

[malmojoe]

Been researching tyres for my H1 and came across new radial tyres by continental for classic bikes.

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/motorcycle/themes/motorcycletires/classic/conticlassicattack/conticlassicattack_en.html

here's the info from a triples forum which lead me to search for them. Pretty interesting.

I have to admit to being in Neil and Tartan's camp on this subject. If it's a little-ridden resto then going the TT100 (or similar) route is fine and I completely understand why many make this choice. And while anyone who rode in the '70s can tell you how good the TT100 was against most of its opposition that was 30+ years ago and tyre technology has moved on considerably and it can't possibly hope to compete against a more modern design.

Improvements in tyre design and materials have led to better side grip, increased braking and acceleration traction performance, improved high-speed stability, better handling progression and much more feedback. In short, a safer product to ride on and because of more uniform profiles, tyres such as Avon's Roadrider are just so much nicer to use.

And it's not just Avon that makes good tyres in the 3.25-19 and 4.00-18 sizes for the H1/H2. Sure, for the moment the Avon is the performance king but Bridgestone's evergreen BT45, Continental's ContiGo, Dunlop's GT501 and Metzeler's Lasertec are all very close behind and in our experience also last longer than the Avon - durability is not the Roadrider's strongest point.

And as Neil points out, Metzeler's ME11/ME77 pairing is still available for someone wanting a more classic-looking tyre (althought these days the ME11 front is only available in S speed rating, for speeds up to 112mph). And even though it's not quite as "period" as the TT100 it does have a more uniform profile that gives better handling progression.

There's also Continental's RB2/K112 pairing. These designs pre-date the ME11/ME77 so could be considered slightly more "period". The tread pattern (to my eye) certainly looks more like an early '70s designs. But crucially, like the Metzelers they have a more uniform profile for nicer handling progression.

However, all of these tyres are cross-ply (aka bias-ply) design and there's no hiding the fact that even though the newer designs are far better than older tyres, cross-ply design has not advanced as much as radial tyre design. This should come as no surprise as the vast majority of sport, sport-touring and naked bikes over 500cc have used radials for years so that's where the tyre manufacturers have poured the majority of their road tyre development budgets.

But there is some news on the horizon. Some of you may have noticed a small report in MCN a few months ago. Continental has developed radial tyres in sizes to suit H1s and H2s and in the 23 years that I've been in this game this is potentially the biggest news I've heard of for the classic bike tyre scene.

For those that don't know, radial tyres use fewer components and therfore run cooler, which means compounds that are less stiff can be used for increased grip. But outright grip isn't the only advantage the radial. The casing design doesn't suffer from the same levels of dynamic growth as cross-ply tyres. Dynamic growth is the increase in the tyre's overall diameter the faster you go. This is virtually eliminated by the radial's design and means that the contact patch isn't constantly changing shape and size and this leads to far better stability at speed. You'll also find that braking traction should be on a different level to cross-plys. But one of the things where radials really score over cross-plys is in shock absorption. The results will be a smoother ride and the potential for increased corner grip. This is because when a bike is leaned over the suspension cannot work as efficiently as it does when the bike is upright. Greater demands are then placed on the tyre to absorb the bumps and keep the tyre in contact with the road. A more compliant casing, but still with good lateral control will enable this.

The great thing for classic bike riders is that from the late '80s, when they were launched, radial motorcycle tyre development has been gradual. But if you rode a modern radial back-to-back with a 20 year old radial you'd certainly notice the huge difference in overall performance. With all of this radial development already done, and after many years of incremental gains in cross-ply performance, it looks like tyres for classic bike could take a big step forward in the not too distant future.

[chrisu]

Red Arrows for me

And when was the last time you actually rode a bike ?

that'll be 1977 then............

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dunlop-Red-Arrow-Tyres-Motorcycle-1977-Magazine-Advert-1036-/290598584871

[wilsonsjw11]

Mike
Are going going to stand there and take that
Regards
Steve