Picture help about tires!!

[Toystoretom]

Somewhere, I saw a GTR that had Bridgestone Tires on it that had raised white letters, it was probably a custom bike, but for the life of me I can't find it now. The tires were a modern design unlike the ones that came on our bikes, but I thought it was kind of cool that it had a white "Bridgestone" spelled out.

I found these:

http://www.tiresunlimited.com/images/bridgestone/S11f.jpg

But in a 19" size they only come in fronts and not rears. I wonder if it would make any difference if you mounted one on the back?

Anyway, if you have seen that picture I sure would like to have the link!

Thanks!
Tomo

[Toystoretom]

I found this picture to give you an idea but this is not the picture I was looking for:

http://www.vintagememoriesinc.com/japaneseDET/67_Bridgestone_GTR.html

The picture I saw had a pretty decent close up of the raised white letter tires.

[old smokey]

I watched the video on youtube by "bridgeman11" showing his restored GTR.
At about 2:30 minutes in it you can see where it says Spitfire on the rear tire, and about 5:00 minutes it shows the tread on the rear tire. To me it looks like he mounted a front tire on the back as well. To me the rear tire on his looks a little small for the bike.

[Toystoretom]

Thanks, I'll check that out.

I've been doing a little research and it seems that there are some differences between front and rear fitments. Some say that the sidewalls on the fronts are constructed differently because it has lateral forces to contend with because it steers the bike, and the rear really doesn't. The tread is thicker on the rear because it puts power to the ground. The profile is narrower on the front vs the rear, once again because of its job to steer the bike, and the rear's job to transmit power. The rear holds most of the weight of the bike so it may have a different sidewall construction also.

I saw an article by an Avon tire executive who said that tires are built with an overlap, and you should pay attention to the directional arrows so that the forces applied to the tire won't tear those overlaps apart. Since the front tires do most of the braking, those tires rotate in one direction, and since the rear tires transmit power they rotate in the opposite direction. Then there were a few comments from others stating that if you fit a front tire on the rear you should reverse it. They also said that if you do this the tread on that (front) tire (fitted on the rear) will have a short life.

Many went on to say that motorcycle shops swap these all the time, but I've never seen that.

I'm wondering if it would be all that critical on a light weight 40 horse GTR vs something like a modern sport bike that makes three times the horsepower. I doubt if I would ever wear it out, but you never know, I may go for a 100 mile ride here and there and maybe it wouldn't hold up to that.

Geeze, if GTRs had 18" rear wheels there wouldn't be a problem.

There just aren't a whole lot of tire choices out there. Basically Avon AM26 set of front and rears (modern styling) and a set of Avon Speedmaster and SM Mk II (more classic styling), and that's about it.

The rear tire on my "runner" GTR has good tread but the sidwalls are cracking. It was made by SEARS! When was the last time Sears sold motorcycle tires??

Edit:   I just Googled "Sears motorcycle tires" and they still sell them online and some stores have them. I'm not sure I would let Sears touch any of my bikes....

Look at this link:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512qv9opM9L._SS500_.jpg

Second edit:  After looking at Bridgeman's two videos you could see that he has the tires reversed front vs rear. The rear does look a little small, but not bad though.

[OldSwartout]

Then there were a few comments from others stating that if you fit a front tire on the rear you should reverse it.

It's always been common to put rear tires on the front, just reverse the direction. A lot of riders didn't like the ribbed front tires and would put tires designed for the rear up front.  I wouldn't be concerned about a front tire on the rear on a relatively low horsepower bike.

[happyharvey]

Take a look at the Avon Tyres website and look for AM9 Road Runners. They are a universal classic looking tyre available in 4.10-19. I shall use these on my 350 when the time comes and in my humble opinion they have a better tread pattern and a more rounded profile than the Avon Safety Mileage.

Harvey.

[Toystoretom]

Hi Harvey!

I found a link to the Avon UK website:

http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/gangster-0

I wonder if those would fit and how they would look, going from a 3.25-19 to a 4.10-19 is quite a jump.

Has anyone fitted a 4.10-19 and how did it work out?

[happyharvey]

The 4.10-19 is a bit of an unusual size. You may not have come across these much in the States. I think they are termed as a low profile inch system.
There is a conversion chart on the Avon website which shows the 4.10-19 as being the equivalent of a 3.50-19. This is only one step up (1/4 inch) from the standard 3.25-19 GTR tyre, so should fit on the rim just fine.

Harvey.

[Toystoretom]

We can get 4.10-19's.... I've used them on many British bikes. I have no doubts they will mount up on the rims, and I'll bet they will work on the back of a GTR, but the 3.25-19 barely fits under the front fender. Jumping up two sizes might be a squeeze.

I haven't tried it though, when you get yours on let us know how it works....

[scrambler]

Duro makes a 3.25x19