Tires

[DDDDDMORGAN]

So I believe the consensus is to use Dunlop Elite 4 tires, yes? no?

The service manual states my tire size for the front is 130/90 - 16 67H, and the rear is 150/90 15-74H.

I'm looking at some online sources and they have a different "H" number, what does this stand for?

And I'm looking for bias ply tires correct?

[ekap1200]

When it comes to tires , it depends on who you talk to... I used Dunlop but changed over to Avon tyres..
The service manual is correct...
As for the rating, H = a tire rated at 130 mph , Google in ( motorcycle tire rating chart ) and you will have all the info on tire specs.
No radials........
Gene Kap.

[SgtSlag]

Well, to add to the maelstrom on tires... You can go Darkside, and put a car tire on the rear. You can even go Double Darkside, and put a car tire on the front, as well! There are threads here, on Darkside tires, if interested.

Personally, I've run Pirelli MT66(?) tires which had fantastic grip, control, etc. The Pirelli MT66's seemed to be built for lighter bikes, not heavy touring bikes. Ran them on a 440cc and my old 750cc: amazing traction, wet, or otherwise. That convinced me to run them on the Voyager; worked great until they wore out... Unfortunately, they only lasted 8,000-10,000 miles. The tires I am currently running on are Michelin Commander II Tires. I like them, overall. Good traction, even wet. I've never been a fan of Dunlop tires of any persuasion, but that is just my personal feelings. Ran Continentals, decades ago. Cheers!

[GrandpaDenny]

When it comes to tires , it depends on who you talk to... I used Dunlop but changed over to Avon tyres..
The service manual is correct...
As for the rating, H = a tire rated at 130 mph , Google in ( motorcycle tire rating chart ) and you will have all the info on tire specs.
No radials........
Gene Kap.

The number on motorcycles refers to the weight rating of the tires. The higher the number, the sturdier the tires. Stronger is better on a heavy touring machine like ours. Don't go with a tire with a lower number, it won't hold up under the weight.

[drtechnology]

FWIW my friend went darkside on his honda, and he told me years ago when he hit a nail or who knows what, going 90 on the freeway, it blew, andf by blew I mean shredded BLEW and he went down. (Made it out from that safe, he had good gear on) I was not there but he said it was not fun. The issue is and I have been looking, there is no "run flats" on 15" tires :(

so back tire looks like most on here who go dark use car tires, are 15". So stuff, no thanks I am good. Maybe others here will chime, but without a runflat I would not trust a car tire on such a heavy bike, especially 2up if you are going to be doing that.

Just my .02 maybe I am being a total scardey cat lmao

[GrandpaDenny]

Just my .02 maybe I am being a total scardey cat lmao

Nope, sounds to me like you're being smart. Car tires are for cars, motorcycle tires are for motorcycles.

[drtechnology]

I like in my last reply sh*t got auto replaced with stuff lmao

[Molalla+Voyager]

I purchased my Michelin's from Bike Bandit. They also have the front Progressive springs, which are also setting on my shop floor waiting.

[Barry]

Order Avons. They've changed model names over the years. ex: venoms, venom X, etc... If you're comparing to other brands, look at load rating. You will be happy with the Avons. Note I put Elite 4's on last winter. They're discontinued now.

[cushman eagle]

Order Avons. They've changed model names over the years. ex: venoms, venom X, etc... If you're comparing to other brands, look at load rating. You will be happy with the Avons. Note I put Elite 4's on last winter. They're discontinued now.

I am running E-4s also,and like them,but as you said,they are discontinued,and I appreciate the advice,Barry.

[KPAX]

I recently purchased a 2003 Voyager 1200. It came with Dunlop 404's front and back, they are in great shape (approximately 80% life). Prior to owning this Kawasaki the only touring bike that I rode was a 2004 Goldwing with Dunlop e-4's. My local dealership let me ride the Goldwing for a couple of hours (I have purchased a bike from them before). I was impressed with the handling of the Goldwing; it didn't take long before I was scrapping a few hard parts in the corners. I am new to touring bikes, up until now I rode mostly sportbikes.

The Goldwing was out of my price range so I bought a 2003 Voyager, unfortunately I was not able to test ride it. The handling is significantly less inspiring than the Goldwing. I don't have enough experience on large touring bikes to say if it the tires or the suspension or both. I guess in a nutshell I'd say the handling is sensitive. It turns in very quick for a large bike but it doesn't hold it's line well and needs constant small corrections to stay on track. I have 36/40 psi in the tires F/R and 10/40 psi in the air suspension F/R with the rebound set at #4. It weaves in medium/fast corners, it kinda likes to fall in.

Ironically the faster I go the more planted it feels (in a straight line). I feels good at 140 km/h but frigidity at 110 km/h. The tires are old (2012 date codes), even though they are in good shape I going to replace them. I could not order E-3's or E-4's up here in Canada (not available), the only tires I could find is the Michelin Comander II's, the Comander III's (cruiser version) or Bridgestone Exedra Max. I went with the Exedra Max (please tell me these are a good match for the Voyager 12).

In the fall I will change the oil in my rear shocks and replace the air-front with progressive springs and 10 or 15 weight oil. I am not a big fan of the plush ride; it feels like a Jello mold. I am 200 lbs, my wife is 155, from what I have read the front springs are responsible for the majority of the sloppiness (the rear's are supposedly not bad?). I have heard good things about race-tech gold emulators but I am pretty sure they have to be removed to make setting adjustments?

Other than the sloppy handling and an occasional loud cam-chain tensioner and a ticky ticky lifter (I am aware of the 3.5 liters 3G/22Oz oil requirement) I am happy with the bike. It is very smooth, quiet and comfy. My wife will not ride on my sport bike anymore and I am very happy that she enjoys the Voyager; there is something magical about riding with my wife - I love it.

[KPAX]

I should note that the Bridgestone Exedra Max's are stock size: 130/90-16 67H & 150/90-15 74H bias ply; not the radials like the 1700 uses. My guess is that the Bias ply have very little in common with the radials.

[cushman eagle]

Welcome,KPAX,to the AVA family. As you probably already know,there is quite a wealth of friendly,free advise on this forum.
Feel free to ask any questions.

[KPAX]

Thanks

[SgtSlag]

The Progressive Fork Springs will make a huge difference... Make sure to read up on the procedure, here. Note that you will need to remove the spacers! Also, with the Progressive Dual-Rate Springs, you will not need air.

Others have reported that an oil change, in the OEM shocks, makes a world of a difference. I replaced mine with Progressive sealed shocks, with dual-rate springs -- no air. They sell air assist shocks, if you really want them.

If you decide to buy Progressive Shocks, make certain you buy the Heavy Duty Springs! I bought the regular, riding two up, 98% of the time... Blew out a shock within two months. Bought new shocks, and Heavy Duty Springs, and no issues since (9+ years/20,000+ miles, and counting).

I test rode a 2009 Gold Wing 1800cc bike... The salesman was demonstrating the suspension compressor, lowering the air to nothing. Never paid attention to the suspension being bottomed for pressure, then we took off on our test ride, two up. Thing was on a razor's edge for balance! Could not wait to get off that pig! It was horrible. Never tried one since. I hate the opposing six engine: no place to put my feet, as on the highway pegs, my legs were split uncomfortably far apart! I will never ride a Wing, even if the suspension isn't dorked by a salesman's error.

I agree, my Voyager is top-heavy. I rode a 1979 Honda 750 for over four years, two up. It was top-heavy when we loaded it for circling Lake Superior, but that was our fault. We got better at loading it, and the balance improved. Unloaded, it was a dream in balance, compared to our Voyager. Our Voyager is still too top-heavy for my liking, unloaded.

My brother-in-law said the same about it, after he wheeled it around his driveway. Later, he got a Harley touring bike: that, too, is much more top-heavy than his other Harley. I suspect most touring bikes, are more top-heavy than we would like. You will get accustomed to it, though. On the highway, the Voyager handles extremely well (better than that 2009 Whale Wing!).

Welcome aboard! Cheers!

[KPAX]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. One of the reasons I choose the xii was because of this forum, I was impressed with the level of knowledge and all around friendliness of the members. Now if I could only figure how to send my $20 for full membership (it said to send a cheque, I havent had one of those in over ten years!). I'll figure it out. If worse comes to worse I'll just mail them a Tim Horton's gift card - that ought to be worth twenty bucks.

Once I get the suspension sorted I am sure I will love it more. I am ok with a high center of gravity bike, they are usually more fun in the twisties. It just means that I have to pay more attention at low speeds, maybe drag my rear brake or go a bit faster in the parking lot (or slip the clutch arghh).

Any feedback on the Bridgestone Exedra Max tires? I keep reading that the trick is to get a tire with a stiff sidewall but this is typically something a tire manufacturer does not advertise.

[GrandpaDenny]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. One of the reasons I choose the xii was because of this forum, I was impressed with the level of knowledge and all around friendliness of the members. Now if I could only figure how to send my $20 for full membership (it said to send a cheque, I havent had one of those in over ten years!). I'll figure it out. If worse comes to worse I'll just mail them a Tim Horton's gift card - that ought to be worth twenty bucks.

Once I get the suspension sorted I am sure I will love it more. I am ok with a high center of gravity bike, they are usually more fun in the twisties. It just means that I have to pay more attention at low speeds, maybe drag my rear brake or go a bit faster in the parking lot (or slip the clutch arghh).

Any feedback on the Bridgestone Exedra Max tires? I keep reading that the trick is to get a tire with a stiff sidewall but this is typically something a tire manufacturer does not advertise.

I did my membership right on line. As for the tires, look for the weight rating such as 74H, 80H, etc. Twisties, ah, yes, these bikes love the twisties. About the same level of comfort as the Gold Wings of the time, plus a cassette player, substantially lighter, substantially more powerful, yeah.... ar ar ar (Tim Allen)

And yes, you will have to relearn and get used to those things they taught us in rider class - feather the rear brake, slip the clutch, and yes keep the speed up a little bit. Every time I've dumped Gertrude it's been in a parking lot. A non-level parking lot. Because I... didn't keep the speed up, and didn't straighten the bars when she started to lean.

Which reminds me... someone recently was talking about wobbles at low speed. I sometimes have that, but it's all me, like when making a U-turn, turning the bars hard to port, get going, but getting nervous and bringing my head back towards straight, which brings the bars back to straight, so I turn my head again, bringing the bars back to hard port, then get nervous and straighten my head, which straightens the bars, etc. So I take Gertrude to the nearby college parking lot and practice, practice, practice. I'm getting better. What's weird is when I first got her I was really good at U-turn. Somewhere along the way I lost that skill. Probably because I didn't practice, practice, practice. One thing I have come to understand is that my turning techniques have changed. When I first got her, I was counterweighting at all speeds like you should do at low speeds. When I realized that, I corrected it. Now I've realized that I've stopped counterweighting at low speeds. Counterweight and look where I'm going and don't get nervous (straightening out my head) and she goes perfectly. I never noticed these problems on a 400 pound bike LOL

[mayhem8]

Saw the comments about the Dunlop E3's and Googled them. Noticed in the online reviews that people that liked the E3's liked the E4's even bettter, and they are apparently also a high mileage tire.

Just curious how many people here change them themselves?

I currently have a Metzler 888 on my front and Kenda Kruz on the back. That's what it had when I bought it. Both still have very good tread left and the bike rides OK (to me) and I'll likely get at least another season on them. I do NOT do a lot of highway driving though where a better tire would probably be more noticable.

The Kenda Kruz are inexpensive tires but the reviews on those were surprisingly good. However the load rating was really low on them if I read it correctly (like 46) so probably shouldn't be on a bike this size. The Metzler 888's had good reviews too and were a bit more expensive and had a load rating of 77 for a rear.

When I'm seeing a cheap tire and wondering why, the load ratings are generally lower on the cheaper tires. One exception seemed to be the Shinko 777 that had a load rating of 74, which was decent in comparison to some of the other less expensive tires. Based on reviews it looks like I could expect to get around 10K miles, which is less than the Dunlop E4s. It would be about $200 for a set of Shinko's vs $350 for the Dunlop E4's.

The price per mile works out to be about the same, but actual cost would depend on if you replace your own tires or was having someone else do it. If the latter, the Dunlops are a better buy assuming they last 17K miles like I read here in the forums.

[madmax142]

Gene or Barry or anyone else for that matter,

I am looking for Avon's. I have the Venoms on my Victory and would like to put them on my Voyager (still thinking of a nickname). I have been on two sites that sell Avon but they don't have the sizes for the Voyager. Anyone have suggestions where I can find the sizes I need? I was planning on doing it myself after seeing the Norcal tire video. Already have the rims off, just trying to find the tires.

Thanks,
Ken

[Barry]

Well, that was a fun exercise. Some places have fronts, others have rears. I found both at J&P Cycles. They claim they have them in stock. Cobra Chromes.