| Author | Message | ||
     Cgent |
I'm doing some "off season" inspection and work on my little jewel. She's a totally stock 2002 YELLOW bike with almost 7,000 miles on the odometer. I use her for my daily "commute" of a whole two miles to work. I come home for lunch so that's a whopping eight miles daily to work. Add to that a whole bunch of trips across town (population 4600) to Walmart, Auto-Zone and other errands. Often I'll go on a short 30-40 mile pleasure trip ... all solo. Longer trips and two-up riding are on the 2002 Goldwing. I do no "canyon carving" or high speed stuff ... 70 is the fastest she goes with me aboard. The original front tire is weathered and in serious need of replacement. The rear I put on just a year and a half ago. The rear is already down to the wear bars in the center. Both are OEM type Dunlop K330A. Indiana is so flat that I get no wear on the edges ... only the center wears out. Is there another tire that would be better suited to my use ??? I just need a longer wearing tire. I get 21,000 from a set of Dunlop E3's on my Goldwing with two up and full touring load. Suggestions ??? | ||
| Cgent |
How about AVON ROADRIDER AM26 TIRES from J.C. Whitney ??? | ||
| Cgent |
How about Pirelli MT75's ... advertised on Amazon.com ??? (or elsewhere) Actually these Pirelli's look pretty good to me ... I like the tread pattern ... how do they do for mileage ??? | ||
| Cgent |
Hey ... I've got a pretty good tire thread going here ... anybody else care to chime in ???  | ||
| Swampy |
LOL! Just about any front tire will be OK, I would personally go with the Avon Vyperstryke 63 in 110/70/16 and the Avon AM 26 Road Runner in 120/80/16 in the rear. That combination will work well. The Avon AM 26 is supposed to be a dual compound, hard in the center soft in the edges. I found that with the oversized tire in the front that it will take a little more steering imput for cornering, but it will be ROCK STEADY in the corner, no hunting and it will feel really confident in grip. The Magster got a bunch of miles out of her Avon AM26, I thought it was something like 15,000-which is really unheard of. I got 10,000 out of a Pirelli on the back of the Ulysses so 15,000 out of any Tire on the back of a Blast would be astounding as most of every tire I have had on it only got 5,000 or less. I have the Avon AM 26 on the rear of both Blasts but have not ridden them at all after putting them on unfortunately. | ||
| Johneblast |
I've got a Roadrider 110/90/16 on the front (yes it fits, but you couldn't get a gnats ass between the fender and tire! No rub either.) And a Vyperstryke 140/70/16 rear. The front has 5500 on it with VERY LITTLE wear, I mean like new. I put a Roadrider 120/80/16 on the back and only got 4000 out of it. So far the Vyperstryke has 1700 and is about half way to being replaced. I like the stickyness of the Avons. I'm not concerned about getting new ones frequently. I guess the shop being two blocks away and the fact that I only paid $100 bucks for the Vyperstryke keeps me with them. Not once have I felt them want to give in any direction, and, I ride two up every day to work with my daughter! | ||
| Cgent |
The original Dunlop K330's are not designated as RADIAL tires ... the Pirelli MT75's are radials ... can the Blast! use either just as well ??? Most bikes are designed either for belted or radial tires ... and should not be indiscriminately changed ... ??? | ||
| Johneblast |
I'll say what everyone else here has been saying, ditch the Dunlops and any thoughts that may lead you in that direction for the Blast. They are crap! Avon and Pirelli seem to be the best choice for this bike. I'm sure their are others out there like Metzler, but size is the issue. I run Metzler on my softail and love em. | ||
| Roblast |
I've been commuting on 90 miles a day on Illinois county highways - through corn & soybean fields. Turns? What's a turn? Anyway, I've been running a Pirelli MT75 on the front & a ST66 on the rear. They seem fine for my ride and I'm getting good wear out of them. | ||
| Roblast |
OH, right - forgot... The older Blasts came w/ the Dunflop's, but my 2008 had the Pirelli MT-75's when new. That makes me think the radial/belted issue is a non-issue. It's still got the original front tire on - 7.5K miles. Looking ridden, but no wear bars showing yet. I bought the bike w/ under 3.5K on it, and it had a brand new Dunflop on the rear. I barely squeaked 3K from the thing. I've got 1K on the ST66, and its looking great! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
First: The MT 75's were designed for the Blast. They only come in 2 sizes: a 16" for the Blast and a 17" for an Aprilia (I believe). They are superior in grip and price for a stock sized tire. The rears can wear very fast though. Change (or upgrade) the fork oil if not done so already. Though the Dunlops probably would've feathered anyway. Use proven tires on the Blast. Go with what the Magster uses or others who've gotten exceptional mileage. Rears typically max out at 5000 miles no matter what brand the tire. Fronts can easily go 10k or more, so I'd put the stickiest tire you can find on the front (Pirelli). I would bet that Blast tires are easily 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of your Goldwing tires. So tire cost of riding 21,000 miles is probably the same. Lets not forget that the Blast was designed as an entry level bike with high mileage very unlikely. Or, total mileage of typical Blast ownership is probably a fraction of what a Goldwing is expected to cover in a season! | ||
| Ezblast |
The ST66 is the mileage kings in the oversized - 10,000 to 15,000 are the numbers I keep hearing - almost equal to the stock Pirelli in stickiness when warmed up, not so when cold,I stay with the Diablo at 6000 still very usable - been working on the air to run and it is paying off - lol EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
There you have it! 10k-15k is just unbelievable from a 'torquey' bike like the Blast (not saying I dont believe it though). | ||
| Themagster |
I will put my vote in for the ST66. I don't have my log here with me to quote actual numbers but I have gotten some good mileage from it and I have no complaints on how it handles. I plan to stick with it as long as I can get them. Good luck with the chores. | ||
| Cgent |
Thanks for all the great input ... I think in the morning I'll call "Bike Bandit" and see if they have the MT 75 Pirelli's ... I like the look of the tread pattern. Amazing about prices ... a pair of Dunlop E3's at a Honda dealer (taking in my wheels off the bike) are over $530 mounted & balanced ... same tires from Honda Direct Line (Internet seller) are $280 with free shipping and $60 local shop mounting. Two tires for the Blast! are $120 plus probably $30 local mounting. But then the Goldwing tires get me 21,000 miles for a set. Again ... thanks for the comments !!!  | ||
| Ezblast |
Make sure they only torque to speck - f&r - heck bring it with you, make sure they have the tool and use it. Bad torque will destroy your wheel bearings. EZ | ||
| Cgent |
Tires came in this morning ... I like 'em !!! $129.00 for the pair (including $9.00 shipping) of M75 Pirelli's from Bike Bandit. 8/32 (1/4 inch) tread in the center of the rear ... was there that much on the Dunlop ??? | ||
| Ezblast |
Who cares - the Dunflops would have wrecked ya within a 1000 miles anyway - EZ | ||
| Indybuell |
Did you get them mounted up? | ||
| Cgent |
Yup ... got the Pirellis mounted and rode just a bit ... I'm always extra cautious the first 100 miles on new tires so I haven't cornered yet. Heck ... there are no curves in east central Indiana anyway !!! :-) The new tires "feel" better anyway. Balanced them myself on this ,... http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result? keyword=motorcycle+wheel+truing+stand It was cool that I could hide the balance weights inside the "spokes" along the rim. | ||
| Cgent |
http://www.soliddesign.net/~tom/BuellandWing2.JPG | ||
| Cgent |
Can't we post pictures here ??? If we can what do I need to do ??? | ||
| Indybuell |
Do you like the Mickey Mouse mirrors? That bike is screaming for some cheap 3rd Eye bar end mirrors! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Sure you can post pictures. Just use the "upload attachment" button below the post box. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
When you bought the stand were the "Ducati, Harley Davidson and BMW adapters" available? I dont see them listed on the HBF website. | ||
| Cgent |
I was (am) only interested in using the truing / balancing stand for my Honda Goldwing, 1985 Honda CM400A and the Blast! ... didn't pay any attention to adapters for other bikes. I might want to replace the original shaft (axle) though ... it gets beat up riding on the bearings. You want this thing to work really smoothly to balance nicely. | ||
| Swordsman |
My HF balancer went to crap about the 3rd time I used it. Noticed some weirdness trying to get my Ural wheel balanced, and after inspection, realized the balancer shaft had warped! The center was moving up and down as the tire spun around. Junk. I was really disappointed in the quality, considering I was very careful putting everything together, and I always removed the shaft after use. I guess it just couldn't withstand the weight of the Ural wheel (about 35 lbs with tire). I suspect most bike wheels don't weigh as much. Back to tires: are there any cruiser tires that will fit the Blast? Yeah, I know, it won't handle as well, but not everyone wants to ride it like you stole it.  ~SM | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Scooter tires fit the Blast. 140/70x16 rear and your choice of fronts (any style). Pirelli Diablo's are best (actually the Pirelli Diablo scooter 140 and the stock Pirelli MT 75 is the bigger tire combination as the matching front scooter Diablo is actually smaller than stock). But you can go really big in the front if desired. For tires that fit you dont have to sacrifice handling. Just check here first because the rear has very little clearance and many tires while fitting in one brand, wont fit in another. Again check here first before buying. |
