Rear Wheel size

Hi Guys

Cant get a rear trye for my 71 commando in South Africa .Thinking of going for a 18' rim WR3 maybe Any ideas on uping the size to a 120x 18 or I did try a Bridgestone Spitfire front trye on the back but it was a bit unstable to say the least
Thanks

Any other commando owners in the JHB area ?

The Black 850 PR Commando in the U.K. & I.O.M. still raceing 78 - 81 , i think ,
ran wm2 19 F & wm3 R rims , 4.25 TT 100 rear .

You really need that tyre rear with a 4.10 front.

There were American manufactured TT100 ' R ' (for raceing) tyres available in the 80s
with a good stiff carcas , reminicent of the Dunlop ' KR ' raceing tyres.
Alledgedly developed to pass test on a Goldwing refrigerator . . oops , Honda .
At 100 mph at 100 deg. F two up laden , as the std ones went ' POP ',
when some , er ? person tried this . :mrgreen:

Still American know how and can do , then .

If still available they arte a good predictable durable sausage .

Welcome to the forum, ColinC.

ColinC said:

Cant get a rear trye for my 71 commando in South Africa. Thinking of going for a 18' rim WR3 maybe Any ideas on uping the size to a 120x 18

Click to expand...

So, what tyre brands/sizes are readily available in South Africa?

Matt Spencer said:

There were American manufactured TT100 ' R ' (for raceing) tyres available in the 80s
with a good stiff carcas , reminicent of the Dunlop ' KR ' raceing tyres.
Alledgedly developed to pass test on a Goldwing refrigerator . . oops , Honda .
At 100 mph at 100 deg. F two up laden , as the std ones went ' POP ',
when some , er ? person tried this

Click to expand...

Well, there are any number of suitable modern technology 18"/19" tyres available (Avon Roadrider, Bridgestone etc.) so I don't really see any point in recommending some obscure tyre type that may not have been manufactured for 20 years or so?

I don't mean to promote a tire argument here. Many Commandos are running an 18" rear, with excellent results. I run a Dunlop GT 501, 130/90-18 with a WM4 Excel rim. If the rim is laced correctly there is no problem with clearance. My reason for changing from a 19" was strictly tire availability. Lot more 18" in rears than 19" available.

I had an Avon Super Venom (unfortunatly no longer made) 120/90-18 on the rear and a 100/90-19 on the front. Both fit well and worked well. There is now an Avon replacment for these. I recently put a pair of Shinko's on my combat. I havent had it on the road yet, but I am so far happy with the fit and finish. I am running a set of Kenda challengers on my XS 650, have about 1000 miles on them, and am very happy with them. They eaven work well in the wet. That's the extent of my tire usage.

I currently have Cheng Shin Hi-Max and Marquis tires and a Kenda, all 130/90/18's on WM3 rims. Not only do they work well, but the Cheng Shins with minimal grooves last over twenty thousand miles, about five times what I was getting out of TT100's. The maximum load ratings on these tires range from 700 to over 800 lbs at 40 psi.

I keep a TT100 on a 19-inch rear rim to substitute when I get a flat tire, since it will slip past the paddles fully inflated. I picked up a nail just this past weekend. The TT100 looks and feels a little, well, spindly--so I usually put one of the big tires back on immediately. That's the only reason the TT100 has lasted twenty years


Tim Kraakevik
kraakevik@voyager.net
'72 Combat, '74 RH10 850

I've two Combats and switch out rear wheels d/t flats between 19" and 18" rear WM3 and 4.10 to 110 to 120 tires. All work just fine but I can feel the extra mass on plain Combat power compared to hopped up Combat but get about 1/3 more mileage on the 120. On Peel I had to be a bit more careful with 110 on rear when on THE Gravel as it spun out easier than 120 w/o intending too.

Check Harley shops and sites for our proper tire sizes forever more. If not for them we'd likely be out of luck for good tire development. I see in J and P Harley catalog has the Shinko Mastertour tires in our sizes and V rated to 149 mph sustained.

A bigger tire can use a bit more PSI btw and its important to me to get the front to rear air balance right or steering tends to fight against the rear if front not a pound or 3 softer than rear. Its a bit of a squease to fit the mounted 120 into swing arm of course.

For going slow poking and over rough stuff I like the 110 on front but for putting down so much power the front gets light in leans and needs to turn very fast I prefer the lighter 100 now. Seems to help braking too as less spin mass to slow before bike and pilot feels it.

Hi Guys

Thanks for the info Its now down to finding a 18' rim with the right amount of holes. To the guy who put a photo of a home made $130 headsteady thanks I made one up for R130 What a difreance it made Vidration up a bit but handeling is Soooooooooo much better .
Looking for other Commando riders in the Johhanesburg Pretoria area for swoping info and rides at weekend

thanks ALL