New front tire

[jimbob35]

I'll be looking for a new front tire soon for my 1995 Kat, im on a tight budget but wont compromise safety either!

Any recommendations?

I was also wondering about some options tire websites give, as well as size (120/70) some sites offer options such as VR, VB, R, ZR, B, V?? and another column has numbers from 4-23?

Edit:
Two more questions, the Shinko's seem to be the cheapest available, they are getting praise on another thread here. are they really that good?

And last but not least, do bikes use inner tubes?


Thanks

[GregS]

Some bikes use tubes but not yours.
The letters are the speed rating and the tire type, B is bias belt and R is radial. There will be a number before the speed rating, like 97, that is the load rating. The info for your original tires appears on the VIN plate on US motorcycles.
Many makers have good information like this on their websites.

[smitty600]

I have the tomahawk T3, it is z rated. It is a little heaver then any of the other tires, it is also a retread. I got them cause I needed a cheap set of tires to put on while i fixed the bike. Now that is running, it handles good and is good the the rain. I also had them up to 125 mph, driven on them so far @ 1200 miles with no issues.. they where $68 front and $74 rear.

Here is the link:

http://www.cycletires.com/index2.html

[katman05]

I don't know about putting a retread on my bike, you see too many truck retreads all over the higways and I just wouldn't feel safe. My life is worth the extra $80 for the set, Just my 2 cents worth.

[thetable]

On a budget, I would go with the Conti Force's. They seem to be one of the least expensive good tires, although, I am pretty sure they are getting phased out. Just under $200 for a set before shipping from americanmototire.

[The CyberPoet]

I would eat ramen noodles for a couple weeks before I intentionally went for lesser tires (i.e. - spend the extra $40 or $50 for the best pair instead -- which IMHO is the Metzeler Z6's or Pirelli Diablo Stradas for your particular bike).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet