Spring time means new tires - Continentals' new classic bike radial

Paul LeClair

Paul LeClair

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Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hi all

stumbled across a listing for Continentals new zero degree radial for classic bikes. Continental CONTI CLASSIC ATTACK radial.

problem that arise is I have only found a listing in 19 inch front (100/90 19), 18 inch rear (110/90 18 and 120/90 18).

I am wondering about using two rear tires, the 110/90 18 on the front, 120/90 18 on the rear, on my 79 1200.

Has anyone tried these tires yet? Any thoughts on using a rear tire on the front wheel if it turns out there is no 18 inch front? Are there any other 18 inch radials out there that would work on a pair of stock cast triple wheels?

Paul LeClair
 
I don't know anything about the new Continentals, but in general, rear tyres work OK on the front. Just fit them with the rotation arrow pointing the "wrong" way.
Some tyres have two rotation arrows, one for front fitting and one for rear.

Cam
 
I hadn't heard of these before but they look pretty nice. I did some searching and it does look like just the three sizes you mentioned Paul. I've mounted rears on the front on various bikes with an assortment of tires over the years and its not an issue. As Cam said though, if the tire only has a rear wheel direction arrow point it backwards.
 
Tried a pair on an SF and they were not very nice at all. Give a feeling of  poor steering and mild instability which is quite some feat on an SF and does not bode well for use on a triple.



    Keith
 
I m changing to Bridgestone Battlax 110/80-18 58v from a ContI Go front for exactly Keiths reason,

Question for dumb me can I run the Bridgestone with my Conto rear Go for awhile until I match the back too?
 
if we are talking about the BT45, I was told that with our heavy bikes you should stay with the V, as it shall have a stiffer side-wall. Not sure if this is just marketing or true, but that is what the Bridgstone technician told me...
 
I used a V rated BT45 rear on the Monty as it was all I could get locally.
It was noticeably stiffer and not nearly as progressive as the H rated one.
It seemed to take longer to heat up.
I assume that is a function of the stiffer carcass for higher speed rating not moving as much.
 
BT45 has a bloody stiff carcass at the best of times.  I think I'd be tempted to try the H rated as these bikes handle just fine on squidgy radials.
 
Seeing as this is getting a bit technical here is a link to one of the many tyre info sites a search shows up.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-tires/tire-data.htm
These days most tyre manufacturers construct front and rear tyres differently as they have totally different tasks (besides keeping the rim off the road). There aren?t too many rears that are advised for front use today. However for the way most of us ride I wouldn?t hesitate to turn a rear around and stick it on the front if I was stuck couldn?t get a front, I have done it plenty of times in the past.
Sonic mentioned the stiffness with a V rated tyre over a H. A factor with stiffness is both speed and load rating. In that link there is a load rating chart. It pays to check that the load rating is enough for your bike. We have come across issues with discount tyres on the net that are low weight rated, but it is stated in the spec for the buyers info.
Our ?70s Laverdas came with H rated tyres IIRC. These are good for continuous 130mph. Maybe the older I get the faster I was, but I doubt I actually need the Z tyres I run on the 17" rims on my SF, something the dept of roads inspector pointed out when I registered it here and he put H in the rego papers for me.
If anyone checks the link in the side menu there is a test of a manual tyre changing apparatus, a great invention.
 
If you see load and speed indexes only, you are right about H would suit most of us, especially as speed index H is even above what may be ridden in most of the countries (with Germany being one of the few exceptions...) - not looking at track days.

However, the BT45 front is known to have some issues with the edges, which is a function of heat and forces going into it when cornering. Front-heavy bikes like ours even make this worse and that is why the technician recommended to stay with the V (on the front at least), as it copes better with heat and forces.

bt45.jpg


Just my 2 cents - do what ever you feel is good.
 
I have CMA wheels Lawrence

,on the rear can t find any suppliers with Bridgestones150/70-18  70v,  Oponeo sold out .Can find Conti Go"s in that size but its not crucial yet.

Shaun
 
I have Avon Storm STII 150/70 x 18 on the Corsa.
POP wears a Bridgestone. Think it's BT016 or 012 from memory. Same size.
 
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