[mjohnson]

imported post

I don't want to start another oil/ deer repellent thread.. . Which has less wobbles Radial Dunlap's or regular? I am pretty sure I want Dunlap's - although lots of good talk about bridgestones. Did the 1989 wing have radials? Where can I get them cheap? Is it real hard to remove the rear wheel - I can save $$ if I take the wheels in and have the new tires mounted etc. The front I am familiar with. Thanks guys



Mike

 

[SilverDave]

imported post

 Be  Very Very cautious about mounting Radials on an older wing../forums/images/emoticons/mad.gif. The 1800 had rims to suit... but unless you change the wheels, I do not think you CAN safetly  add  radials  to  an older wing... Radials will pull themselves off a non radial designed wheel /forums/images/emoticons/shock.gif... Best bias tire (IMHO) if you ride highway miles, is a Dunlop II .if you can find them ...............................................                         Best tire, if you have a red bike ./forums/images/emoticons/wingemoticons/15red.gif.. is apparently a Bridgestone (Right, Red Wing ??) SilverDave /forums/images/emoticons/emoticonsxtra/cooldj.gif

 

[exavid]

imported post

mjohnson wrote:

I don't want to start another oil/ deer repellent thread.. . Which has less wobbles Radial Dunlap's or regular? I am pretty sure I want Dunlap's - although lots of good talk about bridgestones. Did the 1989 wing have radials? Where can I get them cheap? Is it real hard to remove the rear wheel - I can save $$ if I take the wheels in and have the new tires mounted etc. The front I am familiar with. Thanks guys
Mike

The only Goldwing that can properly use a radial is the 1800. About the cheapest you can find them is around $250 plus shipping. If you have a shop that will mount them for you the savings on pulling the wheels your self is worth the effort. Get a Clymer manual if you don't have one and it will give you the step by step procedure. It's a good idea to know how to do it in case some day you need to repair a tire on the road.

 

[mjohnson]

imported post

Thanks guys - I had a feeling radials would be a bad idea. My local dealer said if I bring in the wheels he would mount/balance my new dunlops for about 35 bucks each. I have both a clymer and a Honda manual so I think I'll wait till the season end and bring them in then.

You guys are the best.

Mike

 

[twisty]

imported post

mjohnson wrote:

I don't want to start another oil/ deer repellent thread.. . Which has less wobbles Radial Dunlap's or regular? I am pretty sure I want Dunlap's - although lots of good talk about bridgestones. Did the 1989 wing have radials? Where can I get them cheap? Is it real hard to remove the rear wheel - I can save $$ if I take the wheels in and have the new tires mounted etc. The front I am familiar with. Thanks guys



Mike

Mike, sometimes Radials work good on the older bikes & sometimes not.. You just won't know without trying & if they don't work out it is a costly lesson..

I'm not sure any tire will remove the older Wings wobbles for the life of the tire.. Almost any new tire will improve the wobbles for a while but due to the front end geometry of the older Wings the tries will wear & the wobbles will return.. My personal Wing is very critical to front tire pressure & just 2 pounds below what I usually run will allow the wobbles to even be felt with hands-on-bars..

Personally I like the Michelin's for wet traction & dry road curve control but they do wear pretty darn fast so it's a trade off for me..

Twisty

 

[flashga]

Radial tires on GL1500

I have run 9000 miles on Shinko radials and they simply out handle and are much quieter than bias tires. As far as radials "pulling off" the rim, I have never heard such a thing and other than picking up a nail in the rear tire, I have had no issues whatsoever. Unless someone corrects me, there is no difference in a standard cast rim and a radial rim, just as there is no difference on a car rim.

 

[JerryH]

I don't recommend using radials on any bike that did not come with them. I also don't recommend changing sizes. I would stay with the stock size. But surprisingly enough, I like the idea of using car tires on the rear of a motorcycle if they fit properly. Especially a touring bike that gets ridden straight up a lot, and tends to eat motorcycle tires.

 

[RandyHut]

Radials

There are several companies making and advertising radials for the 1500gl. They would not advertise and sell them unless they knew them to be safe on the 1500gl.
I have the CT radial on the rear, MT Exedera radial on the front. Will never go back to bias. Bike rides much smoother! and is glued to the road!

 

[FM]

Some say AY others NAY. They all have different stories.
Mine?
JUST removed my 2 radials.
Front, was a used Metzeler.
Rear, I bought new, (discontinued) Michelin Pilot.

NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL. Even hauling a 500# trailer up to 75 mph.
Guess that puts me, "on the AY side of life."
LOL, sing that one Monty Python. . .

NOW that I re-read your post, less wobbles?
Wobbles as in handlebar slap (HS) or road grooves (RG)?
Simply put,...
'HS' is usually due to loose steering head bearings and out of balanced tires.
'RG' can be overcome with wider tires.

 

[JerryH]

The problem I see with radial tires on vehicles that were not designed for them is that they can stick TOO well. This applies to vintage cars as well. The steering and suspension on these old cars were designed around the belted and bias ply tires of the time. If you put radials on them, they can actually overstress the steering and suspension, because the don't slide the way the old tires did. The effect can be like hitting a curb. Suspension and steering parts can actually be bent by radial tires. I am running belted tires on my '72 Pinto wagon (from Coker Tire, they cost a fortune) partly for that reason, and partly because I wanted vintage narrow whitewalls. Using non radials on a sportbike designed for radials will have the opposite effect, they will slide when they are not supposed to, and down you go.

 

[FM]

"Suspension and steering parts can actually be bent by radial tires."

. . . I am trying to wrap my mind around that one.

Our BIG TOURING BIKES are built rather stout. I highly doubt the stiffness difference between Bias/Radial is an issue.
I'm rather astute to feeling the difference in things and on my GL1500 I felt very little to no difference between the Bias & Radial. But I'm a tour rider not a racer.

GL1800 are designed for radials.
If I were to get into the material specs, I believe you'll find little difference between 1500 & 1800 front suspension.

Cars are a different animal. Now days suspensions are pressed sheet metal or thin tubes. That I can see bending with radials but still have my doubts.

 

[newday777]

And there are 1800 riders using bias ply on the front tires with no problems doing it with the CT radial rear, double Darkside, me too, I don't think I have crashed and burned yet as I'm still stuck here.

 

[morriscatt]

I thought in past discussions about this subject, some said the rims are designed differently for radial versus bias? Anyone chime in on this.. I really like this discussion, and would sure like more mileage if can get it from radials..

 

[newday777]

Radials do fit the bias rims, the only one there has been a problem with is the GL1200 15" rear tire rim size,
but not a problem reported on the GL1500 16" rear & 18" front rims.

 

[tnoort]

Had a radial on the installed on the front of my '98 SE when that was all that was available in the middle of nowhere, USA. Rode on that tire for two years with a bias on the back - experienced no problems whatsoever with that combo!

Gave up the radial only when I ran over a piece of sheet aluminum trash on the road - gonna miss that tire!

Based on my experience, if radials are now available then I, personally, am going to give them a try - both front AND back this time. My personal experience has removed any marked apprehension on my part!

Cheers!

T.

 

[Doc Egor]

Back around 1975 when radial tires first hit the US car market there also was much wringing of hands when it came to the question of fitting radial tires to vehicles originally designed with bias belted tires.
I remember many of the reasons cited at that time were the same as have been brought up here.
Over time it was proven 99% of these concerns were in fact unwarranted and radial tires were safely used and continue to be used on hundreds of thousands of those cars & trucks without issues.
Today the automotive/truck bias ply tire market is relegated to very specialized applications or ultra low cost applications.
I would expect the motorcycle tire market to follow the same path in the next few years.


I notice a lot of motorcyclists border on being severe hypochondriacs when it comes to the mechanics of their rides.....which is absolutely hysterically funny when those same individuals are worried about spending $2.00 more on a oil filter so they buy a china knock off at a discount department store and put it on their $20K motorcycle...really...lol?

I believe a lot of the hypochondriasis comes from lack of knowledge and the continual string of wives tales spun at coffee shops and on the internet.
Add in the fact that the average driver today is far less knowledgeable about their vehicles then prior generations and a large majority will never ever even lift the hood themselves....si it's not surprising they are so easily frightened.

Modern motorcycles are reliable and safe when given reasonable care and they would never make it 10 miles down the road if truely as fragile and fickle as some would portray.

Educate and inform yourselves boys and girls....then go enjoy the ride!

 

[morriscatt]

Just a short comment Doc, back in the 70's when the Radial Ta first came out I got the first set in Kansas for my 68 Z-28. The Tire rep warned me not to mix these tires because the radials would grip too good and could cause a spin out.
Well I could not wait, and one sat night got only the new front ones on and took off for a date. 1/2 way there I hit a small spot of slick road and spun her around a few times at 70 MPH, right in front of a semi that just missed me as I slid into the east ditch... Never mix them again.

 

[96aspencade]

I don't recommend using radials on any bike that did not come with them. I also don't recommend changing sizes. I would stay with the stock size. But surprisingly enough, I like the idea of using car tires on the rear of a motorcycle if they fit properly. Especially a touring bike that gets ridden straight up a lot, and tends to eat motorcycle tires.

I hope my scraped & worn out boards & pegs don't see this :readit:

Morriscatt- , I have a Goodrich Radial TA on my Shadow, it's never gone around :?

 

[morriscatt]

Morriscatt- , I have a Goodrich Radial TA on my Shadow, it's never gone around :?[/QUOTE]
Not sayin I won't try radials on my GW, however, I will be sure both front and rear are radial.