Bikes Tyre Discussion

[ilango[speed thirst]]

I felt we badly need a seperate discussin for bike tyre discussion.

My bike was wobbling most of the time. Almost close to a year. I adjusted the steering column , but no help . fork redone 2 times. One was due to accident.


Atlast , found the issue. its the tyre.

This much time as i am not intrested in bikes that much. Also i left highway driving in bike for last 2 years.

After many reference i bough the rear tyre from mrf

Zapper Y 120/80 r 18 . The stock for my apache was 100/80 r18

I was interested in buying a soft rubber one esp from micheline but the price was too high to be spend on a bike(I dont like spending in a bike)


Got this zapper Y for 1750/-

Gosh tyre prices are so up.
My front one too need replacement. Still have not decided that.


The stock front was 90/90 r17
So which company i must go in

 

[blackbeauty]

I will suggest you to go for stock spec tyre for front. Heard some models from CEAT is good for front tyre.
BTW, how come your rear wheel is 18" and front weel 17".

 

[jalex]

I will suggest you to go for stock spec tyre for front. Heard some models from CEAT is good for front tyre.
BTW, how come your rear wheel is 18" and front weel 17".

Apaches come with that set up. And MRF is the best indian rubber for two wheelers!

 

[blackbeauty]

Apaches come with that set up. And MRF is the best indian rubber for two wheelers!

I dont agree with you in that.
Zapper offers worst grip while braking in highways coz of the hard compound. Its good for cornering.

 

[ilango[speed thirst]]

Yeah apache comes with front 17 inch and rear 18 inch.

I bought the same model zapper some 3 years ago for my friends pulsar. It was 1300/- then. Now i bought for 1750/-


For front after a hard search got a continental tyre. but its spec was 80/100 r 17


stock front was 90/90 r 17 ,

So i have widen the rear and shorten the front width. Feel something different when i ride.


One thing about the conti tyre at front. Its soft compound tyre. It was so soft , can be easily twisted like. The rubber was smooth to touch than the rear. Rear was so hard.

Over i felt the ground clearance is high like. Cant find the reason for that. except the front is increased bu 1 cm


(About the tyre wala , i asked for 90/90 or 100/80 for front. he took the conti and said this is it. on asking him abt the 80/100 spec , he immediately said in conti tyre all are reversed HAHA , had a good laugh and bought it as no tyres were found in pondicherry.)



The continental front 80/100 r 17 cost 990/-
The MRF zapper Y rear 120/80 r18 cost 1750/-

Fixing charges 50/-

Still i would be a happy man if i had spend on car .

 

[jalex]

I dont agree with you in that.
Zapper offers worst grip while braking in highways coz of the hard compound. Its good for cornering.

But you also need to consider the fact that most accidents involving bikes happen while cornering. To do a dead stop in a straight line is the easiest part in riding the bike.

 

[deville_56]

Zappers cost almost the same here. Paid 1800 for P200 tyre.


2.5k for FZ tyre :(

 

[ilango[speed thirst]]

Omni/800 tyre cost the same

Oh very bad day for me 3000 for a 2 wheeler . rest 300 for rear wheel bearing change

 

[blackbeauty]

But you also need to consider the fact that most accidents involving bikes happen while cornering. To do a dead stop in a straight line is the easiest part in riding the bike.

Its the stopping distance which does matter. If its a soft compound tyre, the stopping distance and skidding will considerably decrease. It was even mentioned in FastTrack Magazine while giving a report on P220. The older 220's were with hard compound and newer one with soft.
And soft compound tyres are not at all bad at cornering.

 

[ilango[speed thirst]]

The front conti tyre is so soft. feel good to touch it , even after filling air in it.

What would be my result as i have fixed soft on front and hard on rear


And a note , the chain cover was not able to fix , so running without the chain cover

 

[blackbeauty]

The front conti tyre is so soft. feel good to touch it , even after filling air in it.

What would be my result as i have fixed soft on front and hard on rear


And a note , the chain cover was not able to fix , so running without the chain cover

Many people have fixed soft on rear and hard on front. Dont know what'll happen if its fixed in the other way.

And my friend has removed chain cover after fixing 120/80 tyre in his pulsar. We were fed up with cleaning the chain as chain would get mud very easily which results in less perfomance.

 

[ilango[speed thirst]]

Many people have fixed soft on rear and hard on front. Dont know what'll happen if its fixed in the other way.

And my friend has removed chain cover after fixing 120/80 tyre in his pulsar. We were fed up with cleaning the chain as chain would get mud very easily which results in less perfomance.

I am worried now. i should have stick to 100/80.

when i travel with a pillion the tyre touches the mud guard at top.

today i removed that part too

 

[jalex]

Its the stopping distance which does matter. If its a soft compound tyre, the stopping distance and skidding will considerably decrease. It was even mentioned in FastTrack Magazine while giving a report on P220. The older 220's were with hard compound and newer one with soft.
And soft compound tyres are not at all bad at cornering.

You only mentioned that zappers are good for cornering and not good at braking. There are definitely better tyres of other international brands,but its not practical nor wise to go for them as the costs involved are exhorbitant and too soft compounds will wear out very fast and are meant for track use. I have a first generation unicorn and the zappers(2:75-18 upfront,3:00-18 rear) are more than enough in all situations wet or dry. I used to ride modded RX 135s powered to deliver around 26bhp and with 3:25-18 MRF nylogrip rubber in the rear. It could cross 135kmph and still the tyres provided ample grip. The zappers that come on the Unicorn and pulsar are far better than the nylogrips of the yester years and I dont think its necessary to go for tyres with more stickier compound unless youre using the bike for stunting or racing. For ordinary use on bikes with lesser than 18 bhp on tap,factory tyres are sufficient.

 

[blackbeauty]

I am worried now. i should have stick to 100/80.

when i travel with a pillion the tyre touches the mud guard at top.

today i removed that part too

May be you should try adjusting your rear suspension. I think, it'll solve this problem.

@Jalex
Even I'm comfortable with stock tyres in my Unicorn. But I've seen many people who complain about stock tyres braking. And I dont think all soft tyres are that expensive. Being a soft compound, naturally, it'll wear out quickly. Its not necessary to go for soft tyres. But any day, it'll be more wise to go for soft tyres.

 

[jalex]

May be you should try adjusting your rear suspension. I think, it'll solve this problem.

@Jalex
Even I'm comfortable with stock tyres in my Unicorn. But I've seen many people who complain about stock tyres braking. And I dont think all soft tyres are that expensive. Being a soft compound, naturally, it'll wear out quickly. Its not necessary to go for soft tyres. But any day, it'll be more wise to go for soft tyres.

Softer compounds are definitely the best for bikes,but the reason soft compounds are impractical for daily use is that they wear out fast. My stock Unicorn tyre at the rear ran for 10,000 Kms and were worn out,not completely but there was like 20 percent left to be completely bald. Also I dont use tyres that are worn more than 80 percent at the rear. If I use soft compounds,it'll be over within 3000-4000 kms of riding as I ride hard. And the Unicorn is one stable bike even with the 3:00-18 rear tyre.

Also when you use wider tyres,you mess up the entire dynamics of the bike and it may actually be a larger con and a lesser pro that you will be looking at after the mod. A wider rear tyre means lesser pick up,lesser fuel efficiency,lower top speed and premature chain and sprocket failure. Most Indian bikes nowadays do not have the performance factor to go with the wider spec tyres and its best to stick to the original specs. Many a times I see kids with fat tyres on Pulsar 180's and 220's trying to race when I'm on the road,sometimes I accept their invitation but their bikes lose out due to the fat tyres slowing them down.