A bloke here has a Pan and says it's got a Bridgestone Excedra on the front which he thinks is a x-ply. He wants a new rear but is concerned about putting a radial on. Are our modern tyres all radials now? And can he safely mix a radial rear with a x-ply front? -- Paul. CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird (Buen mueble de patio) And a pushbike of some sort. BOTAFOT #4 BOTAFOF #30 MRO #24 OMF #15 UKRMMA #30
If by 'modern' you mean 'big tyres for modern superbikes', then I think they're all radial, yes. There are still loads of crossplies for bikes that don't need low-profile wide tyres (like my BMW). And it's illegal to mix radial and crossply, although I can't see what the problem is on a bike.
This backs up my understanding. I can still remember the governmebt TV adverts featuring, IIRC an Austin 1100 just like my dad's that and that ex Met Chief Constable. He also featured in the Goodyear adverts of the same era, c1970.
Go like that on a public highway, you deserve to be called a raving maniac. 25 years I've been in the police force, and I have *never*....... -- Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3 Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply) 116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 156 TS 166 V6 2.5 145 2.0 Cloverleaf 156 V6 2.5 S2 Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see. www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
Only on the same axle, which is only a problem on a trike. Fwiw, I've had radials on my SOBs with a x-ply front (bike fronts aren't true x-plies, afaik) and the roadholding has improved measurably. So any bike might benefit from it. Radials still exhibit a tendency to catch out the unwary, but this has been known about for 40+ years. If you're used to the gradual breakaway characteristics of a x-ply the tenacious grip of a radial then relatively sudden breakaway might be a problem if you're not fully attuned to the car/bike with them on. -- Dave GS850x2 XS650 SE6a Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the river cleaned out in a day.
I wasn't asking about legalities though (I live in a different country to you lot), rather safety/integrity ie; should he do it? -- Paul. CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird (Buen mueble de patio) And a pushbike of some sort. BOTAFOT #4 BOTAFOF #30 MRO #24 OMF #15 UKRMMA #30
In most cases, I think that's crap advice. If there's a radial fitment, use it. I remember a radial tyre launch some 20 years ago (Michelin), and we were all offered pairs of identical bikes: one fitted with x-plies, and one with radials, so you could hop straight off one and onto the other. You could really notice the difference. Obviously, for really old bikes, you won't be able to get radials anyway.
Nope. See elsewhere in the thread. I remember I bought a brand new cheap tyre for my Ducati at an autojumble, and then the fitter wouldn't fit it (or something - it was a few years ago) because it was an x-ply and the other tyre was a radial.
Wouldn't fit it to where? The rear? If so, then fine. You cannot have a radial front and x-ply rear on anything. -- Dave GS850x2 XS650 SE6a Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the river cleaned out in a day.
It turns out that I also knew nothing. Does my Italian classic have crossply tyres? How do I tell? So a web search revealed that the dash in 100/90-18 means it is a crossply and the R in 100/90HR18 would mean it is a radial. Does anyone know if radial tyres are available in such narrow, high profile sizes as 100/90 and 110/90?
Gawd knows. I doubt it. That said, Pirelli did make early radials for the original K series BMWs (rather bigger tyres, but still fairly narrow). I think just about all SOB tyres are crossplies.
That's the badger. Thinking about it, it was early 80s as I put a set of those Goodyears on my first car. Probably doubled the value of the car!