CB77 Tires

e3steve · Post by **e3steve** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:42 am

Thanks Jensen. Sounds like a good tyre.

e3steve · Post by **e3steve** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 2:33 pm

I currently have a Heidenau (German) front and a Kenda rear. Handling isn't bad, and I never ride in the wet. They just have a shite profile; ugly and, well, a bit Eastern European! Sort of Skoda-from-the-'70s look.....

Vince Lupo · Post by **Vince Lupo** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 5:32 am

e3steve wrote:
jensen wrote:Hi,

Bridgestone B45, the best tyre I've ever ridden on a cb72 on the street.
Good enough in the wet, and very, very good in dry conditions.

jensen
Interesting, Jensen. How do they look on your CB72? I ask because this is a bit of a dilemma for me too, as I'm looking for a grippy tyre that suits Majorcan roads (few are actually flat, the surface contains a high proportion of granite & stone -- very slippery -- to cope with the summer heat, plus Majorcans are loony drivers with little skill and no foresight or respect for others!) and looks reasonably 'period'. My last CB77 (and my old BSA A7 Shooting Star) that I had back in the UK was shod with a pair of Dunlop K70s -- practically unstickable in the dry and respectable in the wet -- but, sadly, no longer available. Wheelhouse Tyres offered me K82s but then told me that 2.75 x 18 is no longer made.

Also interesting is that Bridgestone have come a long way with their tyre compounds. Back in the late '60s and early '70s, when they were OEM fitment on most Jap bikes, these tyres were derided -- we used to call them "Sensitol lubricated" (taken from the Durex description) as they were sooooo bad in the wet! I'm an avid Formula 1 watcher, so I know that their car tyres have gained something of a reputation these days.

Thanks for the info!

So now you had to ruin everything by telling me that 2.75x18 Dunlops are no longer available. So, question is whether a 3.00x18 would work on the front, or is that a really bad idea?

e3steve · Post by **e3steve** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:29 am

Ha! No Vince, I think Wheelhouse meant that there's just no Dunplop K82 (newstyleee TT100) in 2.75.

Vince Lupo · Post by **Vince Lupo** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:03 am

Well I've been checking around to see what tires ARE available in 2.75x18, and there really isn't a whole lot out there. There's Cheng Shin, of course, and those Michelin M45 and Pilot Sporty, and that's about it. Domiracer has 'Duro' tires and K70-type versions, but I haven't seen much else in that size.

If it gets to a point where 2.75x18 becomes impossible to find, would 3.00x18 fit?

deaddog · Post by **deaddog** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:14 am

Vince Lupo wrote:If it gets to a point where 2.75x18 becomes impossible to find, would 3.00x18 fit?

Yes, but some schools of thought are that performance will suffer. Time to stock up on 2.75X18

jensen · Post by **jensen** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:27 am

Hi steve,

As promised earlyer, close up pictures from the profile of my bridgestone BT45.
(the pictures are from my CB400f, but like I said I have the same profile under my CB72.

I know that the profile is not classic, but handling, grip and safety are more importend to me.
Here in the Netherlands it's almost impossible to avoid highway, so safety first.

jensen