OK tire guys.... (oh, no)

[Chuck in Indiana]

The new to me Monza came with new tires. Not only new as in unworn.. but new as in 14 and 15 dates.
The problem is.. Guzzi calls for 90-90/18 Front, and 100-90/18 rear.
These are 100-90 front and 110-90 rear.
There is plenty of swing arm clearance.
I can see why the seller did it.. these sizes are much easier to find than what Guzzi calls for.
Will these tires adversely affect handling?
TIA

[oldbike54]

 Yep , it will be horrid , like a pig on roller skates 

 Seriously , I doubt if it makes any difference but slightly slowing down the steering .

  Dusty

[timonbik]

At the risk of being stoned by the faithful, I venture and say no.  Providing adequate clearance for swingarm, fenders etc, all should be good.  Back in my Kawasaki Triple days we always upsized to Dunlop K81's in 410 from 325 and 350.  Bikes handling and ride improved remarkably.  Your speedometer will be a little on the shy side but you should easily find a conversion chart on line so you can determine how much faster you are going than indicated speed or use a GPS to get the correction factor.
Cheers,  Tim

[rocker59]

I don't think there will be a problem.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Dang! These are Dunlop 404s, what I consider to be a "mileage" tire. I'd rather have a "handling" tire, but I won't change them if these are ok.

[oldbike54]

Dang! These are Dunlop 404s, what I consider to be a "mileage" tire. I'd rather have a "handling" tire, but I won't change them if these are ok.

 No worries Chuckie , those 404s aren't mileage or handling tires and will be worn out in a couple of thousand miles 

 Dusty

[Moto]

I've always found that that kind of difference is noticeable. If it's handling you want, and considering that life is short, ....

Moto

[Triple Jim]

Dang! These are Dunlop 404s, what I consider to be a "mileage" tire. I'd rather have a "handling" tire, but I won't change them if these are ok.

I just experienced the same dilemma with my Kawasaki NInja 250.  It came with a nearly new Shinko on the rear and Kenda on the front.  I was planning to wear them out and then go to more performance oriented tires.  During a couple recent rides, I was practicing hard stops, and locked the front wheel too easily.  In fact, when I gradually applied the front brake to get the tire loaded, I expected that bike to do a "stoppie" before the wheel locked, but it didn't.  Since my daughter will be riding the bike a lot of the time, I gave up and bought a pair of Bridgestone BT45s.  Even one minor crash on the old tires would have me wishing I had put better tires on it.

If anyone wants a Kenda Cruiser S/T 100/90-16 (maybe 1/2 worn) and a Shinko 10 SR712R 130/90-16 (about 25% worn), you can have them for the shipping cost.

[RinkRat II]

 I think your spot on Chuck about availability..more of a cruiser and custom tire built for mileage. Not worth the risk for spirited riding in my opinion.
  Congrats on the new to you Monza...

    Paul

[rocker59]

I think your spot on Chuck about availability..more of a cruiser and custom tire built for mileage. Not worth the risk for spirited riding in my opinion.
  Congrats on the new to you Monza...

    Paul

Yep.

I'm pretty sure Dunlop 404 is used by HD as OEM fitment, or was used by them.  For years.

I've always seen it as a cruiser/touring tire.

[Groover]

They went up proportionally, so I'd say it's probably fine. I did the same on my G5 - bumped up to 110/90-18 front and 120/90-18 on the rear (vs 100/90-18 and 110/90-18 factory) and it hasn't been a problem at all. It will be even less of a problem on yours I'm thinking because if the rims are 2.15 then those will accept the 110 perfectly.

But again, tires sizes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer - they shouldn't, but they do and sometimes its quite a bit. I used Pirelli Sport Demons on mine.

 

[Perazzimx14]

My V50 had the same wheels and tire sizes. Went with a 100/90-18 front when it was time to replace do to a bigger selection of cost effective tires. It was a mistake. A bike that once handled very well now lumbered into turns. If I would have kept the V50 I would replace the tire witht eh proper size. Fo rthe record I have done similar tire upsizing on other bikes and the effect was not so drastic or even noticable,

[Chuck in Indiana]

My V50 had the same wheels and tire sizes. Went with a 100/90-18 front when it was time to replace do to a bigger selection of cost effective tires. It was a mistake. A bike that once handled very well now lumbered into turns. If I would have kept the V50 I would replace the tire witht eh proper size. Fo rthe record I have done similar tire upsizing on other bikes and the effect was not so drastic or even noticable,

Good info, thanks.

[lucian]

Pirelli supercorsas, as sticky as it gets.

[drlapo]

When I substituted a 100/90 18 for a 90/90 18 on the front of my BMW R80 the handling suffered dramatically. There was a pronounced wobble in the turns.
A 120/ on the back of my T140 also degraded the handling
I don't know what it will do to your bike but its not something I'll do again

[jcctx]

If they are round and black, and nothing drags they should be good to go. If they had no markings but you were told they were race tires; would you know the difference?? Most would not!!!!!!

[charlie b]

If anyone wants a Kenda Cruiser S/T 100/90-16 (maybe 1/2 worn) and a Shinko 10 SR712R 130/90-16 (about 25% worn), you can have them for the shipping cost.

Don't know about the Kenda but the Shinko 712 on my bike is better than the BT45's.  If you want stickier then Sport Demons.

I have thought about going a bit different size in the front on the T5, from a 110/90-16 to 120/80-16, just to have a different choice in tires.  It might also slow the steering down a bit, which would be a good thing.  Wider rear is difficult.  Current 130/90-16 is fairly easy to get.  Most brands in that size rub on the swingarm just a little.

[drw916]

I didn't think there would be a problem when I went up one size on the front Stelvio.  Close fit but thought it would work.  Ended up ripping off my front fender.  Make sure there is plenty of clearance

[Guido Valvole]

There isn't a lot of choice in the standard sizes. Avons are about it, and are fine if a bit squirmy in deep rain grooves. Still better than Metzler Laser/Lazertech, though.

I was advised to put a 110 on the rear of the Monza when I first got it. Old, now discontinued Avon. It went on ok and the handling was fine but when I needed to take the rear wheel off I had to remove the rear drive as there wasn't enough clearance between the tire and the fender and cush drive assembly even with the tire completely deflated. Standard sizes now.
cr

[Triple Jim]

Don't know about the Kenda but the Shinko 712 on my bike is better than the BT45's.  If you want stickier then Sport Demons.

This Shinko isn't better than a BT45, but maybe that's because it's old.  I'm going to stay away from Sport Demons, because the front one on my Mille is out of round enough to feel at about 35 mph, wobbling left to right visibly.  I would  have returned it, but decided to put up with it until it's worn out and go to something different.

[Perazzimx14]

Avon Roadriders are what was on my V50 and what I'd put on again if I'd have kept the bike. Running a Roadrider on the rear of the DR650 and like it equally as well. For what its worth.

[Triple Jim]

Avon Roadriders are what was on my V50 and what I'd put on again if I'd have kept the bike. Running a Roadrider on the rear of the DR650 and like it equally as well. For what its worth.

Those are what I'm moving to for the Mille.  They have really amazed me on the DT100.

[drlapo]

I have Avon roadriders on my BMW R80, Triumph T140, Triumph Thruxton and soon on a BSA A65

[Triple Jim]

I have Avon roadriders on my BMW R80, Triumph T140, Triumph Thruxton and soon on a BSA A65

How would you describe their handling and braking?

[rboe]

Very limited experience but I've found the profile affects handling more than tire size. Had three different profiles on the Quota (went from Good to meh, to really good, as the profile went from oval, to kinda flat to well rounded).

My CB1100 is much happier in the twisty bits than the Griso, narrower and more rounded tire on the CB compared to the Griso - so I'm playing with size and profiles there - on bikes that weigh about the same.

I'd ride it for a bit if only to give you a base line on how that tire works for your bike.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Glad to see people really liking the roadriders. They are the only ones that I've found in the exact sizes.
Kirby is off flying again, but sent me a PM saying to check out the Conti Classic attacks. He loves them on his CX, and they have a 90-90/18. Pricey.. but as Moto said, life is short. 
I had a set of the early trail attacks on Darth Quota, and they were *wonderful* in the twistys.
I'm still at least a couple of weeks away from being cleared to ride, much less installing new tires..  but I think I have a pretty good feel for what I want to do. I'm chomping at the bit. 
Thanks, all!

[drlapo]

I like the Avons. They roll into a turn smoothly and the "handling" is "light". I have no empirical evidence on braking performance but it seems good to me..in my opinion they perform better than the laser techs on the Thruxton and better than the Conti TK s on the BMW.  I almost put them on the Tiger but went with Distanzias for the look

[guzzibob]

Hey Chuck, how are things going?

By all means, if you want to know how you like the D404s on the bike, go ride it. I do know Sean Fader thinks the D404s suck, too hard-good enough for me.

Stock rims for your V50 are 185 front, 215 rear. By comparison my T3 and other Tonti big blocks of that era have 215 front and rear, and specify 100/90 front, 110 rear. If you check the tire manufacturer specs, they say no smaller that a 215 rim for either 100 or 110, no smaller than 250 for a 120 tire. Didn't see anything on 90 tires, cause most don't make them. That said, I have used 120's on the back of my T3 at times, which other than forcing me to reroute the wiring to the tail light which otherwise got taken out, were ok. Still, I have gone back to the stock 100 front and 110 rear as they seem to handle a bit better. In theory if you use a tire size too big for the rim, that tends to bow out the tire which tends to make the center wear out quicker than it should. I now  use Bridgestone Spitfires on my T3 and get 5-6k front and rear, on a bike significantly heavier and more powerful than a v50. And you know how I ride. I had used Roadriders in the past. No beef with their handling. For some reason got over 10k on the front, but down to the cord at 3500 miles on the rear. Go figure. Maybe I should go Roadrider front, Spitfire rear, try that. Have never had any problem mixing tire brands of the same tire type front and rear.

Another tire choice I tried on my old V65SP (same rims as your V50) were Pirelli Sport Demons, available in 100 front and 110 rear. In my experience there is no better handling bias ply tire-but they were toast in 2500 miles on the V65. Nowhere near enough for me, esp if you go any meaningful distance from home-which may not matter for you on the V50. Just bear in mind that if you miscalculate and need a 18" tire far from home, that can be a real problem.

I guess if I were you I would try the Avons since you can get the "proper" size, but if not happy for any reason, go with the Spitfire 100/110 combo, I suspect that would work fine. The handling on those small blocks is so quick I would think going slightly up might be ok.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Hi, Bob.. thanks for the thoughtful and experienced reply from my favorite riding buddy (next to the Kid). 
You probably don't know, but I went on a weight reduction program, and had a guy take out my kidney and prostate a month or so ago. Lost five pounds.  Still not cleared to ride, so I can't try out those 404s. Need I say I'm really looking forward to that?

[Unkept]

Sorry but every time I read "404 in the thread I think...

404, traction not found.

;)