Tyres

[basketcase]

Hi, can anyone suggest a decent set of tyres to fit on my 550 K3? What are the widest that will fit between the forks and swingarm? I use the `bike for the occasional sunday ride but admit to taking it to its limit quite often I also own a Matchless which is used for `pottering` around on so the Honda gets to be abused a bit more. The ones fitted at the moment (Metzlers) have been on for at least 10 years and can be `interesting` on banding and white lines. A guy at work has suggested Avon Roadriders, does anyone have any experience with these? All suggestions gratefully received.
Cheers Nigel.

[z1100r]

My old z1100r has roadriders and they have been very good. It had BT45's before that and they were good too. My 500 currently has Chen Shin and so far they seem OK, and at half the price they'll do for me. Cant vouch for their wet weather prowess but doubt I'll be riding my Honda much in the wet.

What Matchless have you got...I have a G80 thats been sort of chopperised.

[basketcase]

It`s a 1965 G2 CSR, the tiddler of the pack, but it goes well enough. Twas featured in Classic Bike guide 18 months back, front cover no less!!  It`s won 3 firsts, a second and a highly recommended at local shows (Cholmondeley, Capesthorne and Smallwood).I much prefer the comfort of the Honda though.It was my first `big` bike when I passed my test years ago so it was a no brainer when this one came along 12 months ago.
Thanks for the advice about the tyres, I`ll shop around and see.

[matthewmosse]

Avon roadrunners if they still do them for the front. Sm mk2 Avon rears are my favourite combo if solo. Swap the front hoop over to a sidecar avon for the sidecar. The rears are good for both jobs and also what I use on my bmw airheads

[SteveD CB500K0]

Roadrunners on my 500s. They use modern compound but with the classic tread pattern.

Don't screw with wider tyres as they will make your handling worse. Use the (equivalent) sizes:

Front: AM20 90/90 H19
Rear: AM21 100/90 H18

[basketcase]

Cheers everyone, I now know the correct sizes to ask for instead of 3.25 and 4.00!! Don`t know whether I`m lucky or stupid (or both) but in 32 years of riding I`ve never kept a bike long enough to have to replace tyres! Avons it is then.

[florence]

If you buy Avon SM and Speedmaster they are still sized the old way and, incidently, are brilliant.

[mickwinf]

i agree with Florence my k3 handles great with my new avons and they have the "classic" look

[matthewmosse]

With speedmaster(fr) and Sm(rear) combo I had my beemer reguarly cranked over enough to need to worry about the crashbars touching down quite reguarly with no worrying sensations, in fact it was my friends who told me how extreme I was leaning into the corners. Excellent tyres even did a winters riding in the snow, heading over Brecon in the snow

[florence]

My friend said 'why have you put tractor tyres on your bike?'

Being completely honest I have found my bike to be very firm footed since I put them on and I can lean over far enough to scrape metal and still be confident.  Although square in cross section I think the tyre deforms slightly on cornering and creates as large an area on the tarmac as a rounded type.  Even so, tyres are a very personal decision, I can only say that they suit me and my style (which is very old fashioned) and my bike.  I have not ridden anything as modern as a 550K3 

[s7paul]

I use Bridgestone Battlax on my 500.  BT-45F 100-90 on the front and BT-45R 110-90 on the rear.  I've found them to be very good, and they give you plenty of confidence when you're chucking it into a corner.