Found frount tire thats the size of the rear

Metzeler ME 880 Marathon Front 140/70-18 thats the size of whats on there now, any thing wrong with using it on the rear?

 

Well, I can tell you the ME 880 is a touring tire designed for cruisers, so its not gonna handle very well, but it will last a very long time. As far as how the front/rear bit works, I can't help ya.

 

trouble finding suitable tires? Bridgestone BT-45 work well on the stock wheels and won't break the bank.

 

The BT 45x is wahat i have on my 86 they are a nice tire.. and like RC said.. they won't break the bank....

 

Yes. From what I recall the plys are laid down opposite front to back. The front tire sees far more braking force, pushing the tread backwards in braking, and the rear tire of course sees the driving force, pushing the tread the opposite way of the front under hard acceleration.

Putting the wrong tire on the axle can lead to issues. Also a rear tire is generally flatter across the tread, and the front more 'arc'.

 

Thanks to the The_Hamster for a great explenation of rear vs front. How about 140/60-18 for the rear?

 

Check ou the Continenal Conti-Go's. Nice tires that will fit and work well on your bike.

 

I'm not a hard or wild rider, but my GT501's came in stock sizes, weren't expensive and I have no complaints about how they have performed. Got them from motorcycle superstore a couple of years ago.

 

How about a DUNLOP 140/60 ZR/18 rear Sportmax Radial? I'm trying to save some money and found a nos for cheap.

 

Not sure what others experience here has been running a radial on these bikes, as they were 'designed'/came with bias ply. Somebody who has done it can hopefully say if any bad effects were felt?

BTW, how old is new old stock? They say about 6 years is when a tire starts to degrade from age, so you might want to find that out before buying it.

 

also if you put a rear ont eh front and have a catastrophic tire failure...well , not covering it would be a way that the insurance company would save a ton of money... besides that I don't think a shop would even mount a rear tire on the front...

the battle ax tires IMO are the best bang for your buck.. I have been really happy with them... good grip, no wobble at/above freeway speeds and I believe I have about 7000 miles on mine right now before I get the bike ready for spring inspection they will be replaced and I will have the same tires put back on...

Check out motorcycle Superstore for deals.. they will ship them either to your house or to a shop to have them installed ( you just need to make sure that the shop you choose is in the "network"..

Cheers and good luck

 

Shit the nos Michelin Macadam front tire I just bought says DOT HBMK 188T 0200 guess I need to through it away. Oh well $45 gone that not too bad a loss.

 

as a former member of buying cheap ass tires...the first set I put on the vfr after I got it road worthy I paid 90 dollars... for the set.... front and back....both tires... they got me around the cheapness of said tires were part of the reason I ate it down in San Diego at Longs a few years ago.... my advice don't buy the cheapest tire... you get what you pay for...

 

The Michelin Macadam wasn't a cheap tire and although it is NOS its 11 years old.

 

As others have said, never use a front tire on a rear and vice-versa, and don't fit radial tires on Gen 1 or 2 VFR rims since they were not designed for them.

Your bike will handle better and more predictably with quality bias-ply tires.

 

I ended up getting a deal on a battax 045 140/70-18. and a 110/90 for the front. Got them mounted and replaced the front pads to find I have a sticking caliper.