What knobbies for a V7 stone?

[dedave]

Anybody have any experience with the mag wheels and tubeless knobbies? What would you recommend? Got any pictures of them mounted?

What do you think of the Kenda Big Block for the back tire?

I'm new to the Guzzi line, and have had my V7 Stone all of one day. The tires on it now don't appear to meet my needs. The rear broke loose on braking way to easy, and the front did not seem to track well with the groves and imperfections of the old tar.

And for some reason, I really want to take this on more dirt roads out here, so I need a bit of traction, without giving up too much on the street.

Pic is of my first ride yesterday, and low and behold, couldn't keep her off the dirt, LOL. I really like the way this bike photographs.



Thanks for the suggestions.

[Wade]

Look at Heidenau K60. They're reasonably streetable, and they're available in the rght sizes.

[Mikecocos]

Actually Heidenau doesn't have an exact fit. Their closest fit front tire is 110/80 18. The stock tires on a V7 are 100/90 18. So based on my calculations the Heidenau is about 2 centimeters taller and 1 centimeter wider.

Not a big difference.

Anyone have them mounted? Both front and rear?

Mike

[Triple Jim]

A friend of mine is an instructor at the Cornerspeed racing school, which also holds the Cornerspin offroad courses.  We occasionally play around on a supermoto track.  The tires he has on his supermoto bike are excellent on pavement, and have enough offroad type tread to work well there too.  They're Bridgestone Trailwings. 

[racasey]

Continental TKC 80s.  I'm currently building a V65 into a street scrambler and plan to run Conti TKC 80s on both ends.  I've run this tyre on my R1200GS year round in the Pacific Northwet, pavement and off-road, and during winters in dry SW deserts in New Mexico, AZ, SoCal.  On the big BMW, the Rear lasts about 3.5K miles, and works amazingly well on road and off, wet or dry.  I'm expecting better mileage on the V65.

Ciao,
Dick

[szasz]

I have the Scrambler tires on front and back.
They feel good on both paved and on the few dirt roads that I have ventured on so far.

Nick

moto guzzi rally 2015 011 - Version 2 by Fukuoka Now, on Flickr

[dedave]

I have the Scrambler tires on front and back.
They feel good on both paved and on the few dirt roads that I have ventured on so far.

Nick

moto guzzi rally 2015 011 - Version 2 by Fukuoka Now, on Flickr

Hey Nick, nice looking bike. I want to get a 2 into 1 like that pipe for my bike.

[dedave]

Last night I was shopping around for that perfect tire. The front tire seems to be elusive in a tubeless and tread design I want. I'm leaning towards the Shinko e805 right now. But for the front, I can't seem to find one with a nice square lug pattern.

[v65tt]

I have got Bridgestone Trailwing TW41/42's on my V7TT




Work really well on dry or wet roads and have done about 5000 miles and still have life left in them

[Mikecocos]

Yeah. There isn't any one brand and one model enduro-type tire that fits both front and rear other than the scrambler kit tires sold by MG, which aren't really enduro tires.

You see a lot of enduro tires on custom V7s though - I am guessing people are either mixing brands or going with tires that aren't the same size as the OEM tires. Curious to know how far people have deviated from the OEM sizing without jeopardizing safety.

Mike

[szasz]

Hey Nick, nice looking bike. I want to get a 2 into 1 like that pipe for my bike.

The Arrow pipe is also from the Moto Guzzi Garage Scrambler kit. Sound good, not too loud and not too quiet. Like it a lot - and of course it also opens up the other side of the bike.

v7II first ride-2 by Fukuoka Now, on Flickr

[Perazzimx14]

Shinko 244's for a 50/50 tire they grip really well on pavement and are good off road save for in real muddy situations. Tend to be a bit loud on road but any open tread tire will be.

Personally I'd only take the V7 on well groomed fire roads where 90/10 tires would suit because there isn't a lot of ground clearance, minimal suspension travel and no sump protection. If you hit some rough terrain you'll likely to be pissing blood and leaking oil in short order.   

[Zinfan]

I put K60's on my V7.

Front tire was too big and I had to raise the front fender to get it to fit.  Didn't like the handling changes to the bike, it made the front end feel heavy and slow to respond, the rear tire was fine if a bit noisy.  I also ran Kenda K761's that were a better fit if not as dirt worthy.

[dedave]

Thanks again all, for the great suggestions. I'm going to go for another ride today now that it's warming up nicely. I'll makes some adjustments, and I'll venture deeper off road.

In Arizona, we have way too much sand. The rear tire I think I'll try is the E805, because it has paddle like square lugs that should dig nice in the sand. The front is elusive. There are sizes, but don't list as tubeless. Monday I may call the manufactures and see what the deal is.

[dedave]

Shinko 244's for a 50/50 tire they grip really well on pavement and are good off road save for in real muddy situations. Tend to be a bit loud on road but any open tread tire will be.

Personally I'd only take the V7 on well groomed fire roads where 90/10 tires would suit because there isn't a lot of ground clearance, minimal suspension travel and no sump protection. If you hit some rough terrain you'll likely to be pissing blood and leaking oil in short order.

The 244 gets lots of great reviews. I bought one for the front of my TR650, just haven't installed it yet. Want to wear the Metzlers down a bit, although I do not like the metzlers all that much.

I do have a bike that is supposed to be for what I am trying to do, explore, but the thing is too tall, and I have lowered it already. I cannot plant my feet and that sucks. This V7 feels good, even with the slicks on it. That and it's shaft drive. I am so sick and tired of dirty nasty chains and maintenance.

Here are the two bikes.

[dedave]

I put K60's on my V7.

Front tire was too big and I had to raise the front fender to get it to fit.  Didn't like the handling changes to the bike, it made the front end feel heavy and slow to respond, the rear tire was fine if a bit noisy.  I also ran Kenda K761's that were a better fit if not as dirt worthy.

That's bad to the bone, is that the 110/80 18?

[Mikecocos]

And how did you raise the fender?

[Scud]

I was very happy with a pair of TKC-80s on a KTM 950 Adventure. They worked well for me on freeways, sporty twisty pavement, and dirt roads including technical and rocky single-track.

I did bury it deep sand a couple times, but I think that was due to having 100hp on tap and just digging some trenches with WOT while going slow. That probably won't be a problem on the V7.

[dedave]

I was very happy with a pair of TKC-80s on a KTM 950 Adventure. They worked well for me on freeways, sporty twisty pavement, and dirt roads including technical and rocky single-track.

I did bury it deep sand a couple times, but I think that was due to having 100hp on tap and just digging some trenches with WOT while going slow. That probably won't be a problem on the V7.

There are alot of good tires out there. The trouble I'm finding is that for the front 18" tubeless wheel, there is not much selection for knobbies.

The k60 looks nice, and I have a plastic fender I can install, and just leave the fork brace on. If the steering gets too sluggish, might be an issue, but since I don't really push hard all the time, the trade off for dirt vs street may be well worth it.

There are guys on KTM's running fatter front tires, as it does seem to help them alot in the sand washes.

[v65tt]

a word of caution if you have a V7II with abs and asr , the system may not recalibrate with incorrect sized tyres on

[rocker59]

a word of caution if you have a V7II with abs and asr , the system may not recalibrate with incorrect sized tyres on

Why not??

[v65tt]

Why not??

if one tyre is too far away from the standard size the abs will prob see as a fault

[sturgeon]

I put K60's on my V7.

Is it mounted backwards?

[leafman60]

I put K60's on my V7.

Front tire was too big and I had to raise the front fender to get it to fit.  Didn't like the handling changes to the bike, it made the front end feel heavy and slow to respond, the rear tire was fine if a bit noisy.  I also ran Kenda K761's that were a better fit if not as dirt worthy.

Be careful with the Heidenau's, especially on wet pavement.  Been there, done that. They also create a lot of roll resistance that will slow you down. 

For dual-sport riding, I highly recommend the Continental TKC 70's as well as the Shinko 705's if these are offered in your sizes.

Just my opinion.

If you want more aggressive, I'd think TKC 80's.

[dedave]

Looks like  a kenda might work on the front

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/guzzi-v7-classic-owners.702667/page-60#post-28591495

I like the K60 better, but this could work, looks like plenty of clearance.

[Skarsaune]

For dual-sport riding, I highly recommend the Continental TKC 70's as well as the Shinko 705's if these are offered in your sizes.

+1 on the Shinko 705's, and the 244's for more aggressive tread. I've run both, have the 244s on the KLR now. Very good value, ie, cheap and work well.

[rocker59]

if one tyre is too far away from the standard size the abs will prob see as a fault

Are you speculating, here, or have you experienced this phenomenon with the V7 II ?

From what I understand, the ABS/TC shouldn't care what size tires are installed.  It's using the tone rings on the wheels to measure changes as the motorcycle rolls.  As in one tire slowing faster, or accelerating faster than the other.

[Zinfan]

Is it mounted backwards?

No.

[Zinfan]

That's bad to the bone, is that the 110/80 18?

Don't see that tire size listed under the tubeless style, this is a 120/90-18 so a big tire as I said.  Fender was raised by putting black spacers between the fender and its mounting plate and using longer screws.  Take a close look at the back of the fender, raising it up does not give much clearance back there, I figure you'd have to tile the fender in addition to raising it. 

[Zinfan]

You have to take into account if you have the tubed or tubeless wheels when describing tires that might work.  In the tubeless I never found a TKC80 or 70 in the 18" rim size.  Shinko 705 also has no tubeless in 18" and 244 are tubed types.  So the choices are limited mostly by the 18" front wheel size.  As I said before I put Kenda K761's on my V7 as they have a 110/60-18 front and 130/80-17 rear in tubeless. http://powersports.kendatire.com/en-us/find-a-tire/motorcyclescooter/dual-sportadventure/k761-dual-sport/