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Early V7 Radial Tire Thread

King of Fleece said:
Get the RA3's and ride her bike, too!
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Exactly, I got an RA3 for the rear last summer and I cannot believe how much better the ride is. Smoother, more stable, turn in is quicker and she stays on a line upright or cornering much better. Not just control and such either, but he ride quality itself, almost like putting on better shocks. Hits from expansion joints no longer jolt me half off the seat, just a gentle bump and it's over. I used to have a sore tail bone from hits on the stock Pirelli's, but that no longer happens at all on the RA3.

Perhaps the ride and comfort improvement will encourage her to ride more. I ride more and farther, now that I have an RA3 on the back. First thing this riding season is an RA3 on the front. And then ridding my butt off this summer. :)
 
AZRider said:
Are there any additional options entering the market, especially anything for the Breva750 with radial 110/70-17 front and 130/80-17 rear stock sizes?
I love the sound of the RAIII reports, but I was considering something in a lower price point since my wife rides barely 2,000 miles a year these days, and a longer-lasting tire might age out before it wore out. I saw the Continental Conti-Motion and the Shinko 880-881, but both only offer 140/70 rear.
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The RA3 is available in the B750 sizes. The trade-off for a cheaper tire (to me), isn’t worth it, even for a bike ridden a few times/year.
All of this got me to thinking about radials for my California EV based "1100S" and wondering how radials work on Tonti-frame bikes. I assume Todd is the leading expert on that question, with his Jackal experience.
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My first set of available radials went on my Jackal in 2001 or so, and I never looked back. I was gutted when they discontinued my all time favorite Dunlop D205P- P stood for Police, super-stiff sidewalls, pretty much run-flats. Once those vanished, I laced up a new set of 17” wheels for even more modern rubber. Run radials on every bike you can.
I’m kind of curious as to why anyone would think any bike wouldn’t benefit from modern radials(?). Black magic. ;)
 
When I could no longer get V rated tires for my V7 Sport Bonneville race bike I had Woody's Wheel Works in Denver make me a set of tubeless Excel rims so that I could run radials. They worked great out on the salt but on the street the difference was night and day, it went from being a 70's Sportspile and became a fine handling, good riding, machine, the difference was dramatic. Get those radials!E8D76380-D729-4805-A9A2-3D83858FB825.webpFAE7EEDB-186D-4783-ACE6-9DF84C6751AE.webp
 
GTM® said:
Just looked and I can get the A41’s for anyone here in SoCal that would like to try them. That said, the Conti RA 3’s are still my top pick.
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Todd , what brands of inner tubes can you recommend when fitting Conti RA3’s radials and any sizing difference going with the 110/80/18 V tires ?
 
By reading the suggestions on this forum about the continental RA3, I decided to try them also. Ok, my pirelli sport demons were shot at 10000 km, but, what a difference. Way more comfortable ride, even with higher tire pressures, the tires dont follow the crevices (road snakes?), and the bike gives much more confidence. What a great upgrade.
 
Tires are pretty thin up in Ontario,Canada,does anyone know if a 110/90 tire can be substituted for a 100/90 front tire on a 2013 Stone. Not sure if it will fit. Many Thanks
 
Mel Sparks said:
Tires are pretty thin up in Ontario,Canada,does anyone know if a 110/90 tire can be substituted for a 100/90 front tire on a 2013 Stone. Not sure if it will fit. Many Thanks
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Hi Mel, welcome to the GT Forum. I would encourage you to search each section before starting a new topic. Most questions have been extremely well covered here. Your tire size search would've landed you in this thread of ~14 pages. Please be sure to read the paragraphs in red above.
 
GTM® said:
Hi Mel, welcome to the GT Forum. I would encourage you to search each section before starting a new topic. Most questions have been extremely well covered here. Your tire size search would've landed you in this thread of ~14 pages. Please be sure to read the paragraphs in red above.
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Will do! Mel
 
Hi guys, I'm going to upgrade the tires on my v7 iii racer to Conti RA 3s.

I understand you can fit the Pirelli sportscomp 150 on the rear, so I'm wondering if the Conti RA 150 will fit on the rear?
 
The requisite OEM size tire is listed as 130/80-17. I don't know who said you can fit a 150/80-17.

Where did you get this information from because my cross reference guide here at the shop says
a 150/80-17 tire must have a 3.50" - 4.00" rim.

Permissible Rim Widths / Metric / Standard Inch
2.15, 2.50, 2.75 / 120 mm / 4.75
2.50, 2.75, 3.00 / 130 mm / 5.00
2.75, 3.00, 3.50 / 140 mm / 5.50
3.50, 4.00 / 150 mm / 6.00
 
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Scott, the guys that run the Fast Endurance Series in Europe use a 150.
@Walter Glaser - you would have to compare the tire width specs between the Pirelli and Conti RA3 to see what the stated tire width is. In my experience, a 140/70 with a 3.75 Kineo wheel is pushing the limit in width on the stock swingarm. Conti makes a 150/70-17, which is likely wider than the Pirelli. If it fits, let us know, but as Scott states above, the rim is not really designed for it.
 
I have a 150 Sportcomp on my V7i with Kineo wheels, although I rate the setup, and the tyre... I'll probably go back to stock sizes as it is a pain in the bum to fit them even though once fitted they do not rub or interfere with anything.
 
Apologies but I know nothing about what Todd is speaking. I was just giving you what my reference material gives me.

Best Wishes and Good Luck!
 
I went and got myself a shiny new set of Conti Road Attack 3's installed, only to find the very next day that there will be Road Attack 4's very soon. Ah well, on the plus side my home town has decided to pave miles and miles of roads over this summer and I have lots of brand new road surfaces to carve up with brand new tires! Greene County Tennessee has more miles of roads than any other county in the state, from what I'm told. No complaints there.

It will still be a while before the 4's are available in V7 sizes, I think. Hyper touring tire, they call it.
 
Before anyone yells at me, I did search the forum for a tire discussion and didn't find what I was looking for. I am replacing the tires on my 2016 V7 II Racer. My #1 criteria is good/consistent grip in colder weather. I'm aware I will have to compromise awesome grip in hot weather but I'm not out there racing. I would prefer the consistency through out the year. I live in new England and like to start riding as soon as the salt is washed away in the Spring and keep going until the snow fly's, even if that is December. This leaves me open to the surprise of some slide on ultra cold or wet days if the compound has a highly variable grip based on temperature. In my recent research I found that the Michelin Road 6 (silica bonded rubber) has a super consistent grip through a broad temperature range. I haven't had luck finding them in my size 100/90/18. and 130/80/17. Anyone else out there live in colder/wet areas and have a favorite tire I should look into? Thanks, Adam
 
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