tire size on a 1990 kat 600

[krispstyle]

I am in dire need of tires on my '90 kat 600, i've gone to two different bike shops in town for a price. One shop told me I need 140-80-17 and 110-80-17. the other told me 55-110-19 and 65-110-19. The tires on the bike are 150-70-17 and 110-70-17. Can anyone tell me what size I really need? Also, a good brand for cheap or a possible nice used set. I don't plan on keeping the bike too much longer as I want to trade up. thanks alot

[Court93kat]

I am running 150/60-17's and 110/70-17's on my 93 600. Pretty much any 17 inch tire in the sizes of 140-150 will fit on your rim. Any wider and they will be unsafe. For the front a 120 is as wide as you can go.

I am running Continental Conti-Force tires. They were pretty cheap and have been working great for me. I got them through www.TiresUnlimited.com but you can look around for better prices or different brands.

Good luck on your search.

[The CyberPoet]

OEM tires for your year were bias-ply 110/80-17 and 140/80-17, if I recall correctly. During the meantime, many changes (improvements) have happened in the tire industry and 80's have falled out of development (they still make 'em, they just stopped improving them many years ago). Later Kats ('93-97) switched over to radial tires while retaining the same wheels you are currently using, a very wise upgrade for safety (see this thread for why to avoid bias ply tires on any bike you can: http://www.katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17470 (it's discussed within the thread).

For your rims, the largest "safe" sizes you can run are 120/70ZR17 front and 150/70ZR17 rears. It is my humble opinion that the best tires available for general use (all-weather riding, commuting, standard street-riding) are Metzeler Z6 RoadTechs in the sizes I just mentioned. This isn't because they are the largest tires you can stick in there, but because they are cutting-edge technology matched to the bike and I've tested literally 6 or 8 brands of tires on the Kats (most of them new vs. new, back to back). If you intend to spend most of your bike time on-track or knee-down railing canyons, please ask me for a different recommendation instead.

PS - whoever said 19" tires was way off base and shouldn't be trusted at all.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[krispstyle]

hey thanks alot guys, yeah, i kinda figured the guy that told me 19's was a little off.