Conti road attack 2 Radials

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by DeeBee, Jan 17, 2017.

  1. DeeBee

    DeeBee New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2016
    Messages:
    285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Fort Ooglethorpe , Ga
    Found these from Continental apparently they make these radials and a couple slightly different flavors in 130/80R18 to fit the back of our early vf/vfr's

    Has any one run these ? With a bias tire on the front?


    Wanting to get one of these if I can get away running it with my current bias ply front tire.
    If not I could get a bias high mileage Michelen for the rear. Then hope one of the 2 front radials I have seen and the Conti for the rear were still available when the others wear put.

    I realize there is the F2 wheel swap option that opens up tons of choices for radials, but do commute daily on my old girl and two my budget is pretty tight right now ,at least until I get my rental property going again.

    Thanks
     
  2. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2007
    Messages:
    15,047
    Likes Received:
    52
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Dude needs new rubber.
     
  3. atx

    atx New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2015
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Huh i never even saw those rears in my searches, curious to see what the consensus is on em.
     
  4. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2007
    Messages:
    15,047
    Likes Received:
    52
    Trophy Points:
    48
    The return of "Go For A Ride" ?
     
  5. DeeBee

    DeeBee New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2016
    Messages:
    285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Fort Ooglethorpe , Ga
    Go for a ride??

    Ended up ordering a Michelin Pilot from Revzilla Philadelphia, PA .
    It's the closest too me for ground shipping.
    I ended up going with the michelin as I didn't want to mix radial and bias, that and for an old bike used as a commuter I need high mileage more than super sticky and stable. By the time the back starts getting wobbly I am either going way over the posted speed pray least doubling or tripling a curve.
     
  6. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2007
    Messages:
    15,047
    Likes Received:
    52
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Dude gets new rubber. Goes for a ride.
     
  7. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2006
    Messages:
    9,838
    Likes Received:
    743
    Trophy Points:
    128
    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Map
    Every tire manufacturer's recommendation is not to mix radials and bias-ply together on any bike. :eagerness::playful:

    Also while keeping rim and tire widths appropriate. No use putting a radial rear on an 18" rim so narrow. :topsy_turvy:
     
  8. DeeBee

    DeeBee New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2016
    Messages:
    285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Fort Ooglethorpe , Ga
    Done a bit more research. Some bike manufacturers (often cruisers with a thinner front and fatter rear) ship from the factory and recommend bias on front and radial on rear. Of course this doesn't mean it would work well on my bike, especially with spirited riding. I was hoping to find someone who had tried it.

    I also searched and searched and as far as rim width recommendations go it seems based strictly on tire size, not type (bias /radial etc. For a 130/80-18 a 3.0" wide rim is about middle ground ,depends on which chart you look at. I did note that charts that included older inch and letter tire markings (5.10/5.00 18 etc.) which are used almost exclusively for bias tires did tend to recommend slightly smaller rim widths
    For example charts with older numbering systems might call for 2.50-3.00 for a certain size where systems using only metric marking systems might call for a wide rim 2.75-3.50"
    I don't know if the above is due to the trend for wider rims, or if newer metric only tires are designed for slightly wider rims??

    Anyhow if I had another bike for the daily commute and a 100+ HP 86-87 gear cam vfr motor in my old vf, I would focus purely on performance. But after having my previous tire go pop at under 4K miles basically from wearing through in the middle and with mediocre traction at best. I had to play it smart and buy a tire for what I actually use the bike for 95% of the time, unfortunately that isn't playing in the twisties. maybe one day I will have the time and money to spend my days ripping around various roads and tracks, replacing tires every few thousand miles on a true race bred V4. But until I at least get a few suspension and wheel mods taken care of before I feel like I will see any real benefit from sticky tires.
     
  9. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2007
    Messages:
    15,047
    Likes Received:
    52
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Dude goes for a ride on old rubber and it's one way.
     
  10. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2006
    Messages:
    9,838
    Likes Received:
    743
    Trophy Points:
    128
    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Map
    EVERY motorcycle tire manufacturer warns against mixing radial and bias-ply tires on a bike. Since radial tires are designed to go on specific rim widths and your VFR doesn't measure up, there is no advantage to using them, and they may make handling weird and unpredictable. :numbness:
     
  11. DeeBee

    DeeBee New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2016
    Messages:
    285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Fort Ooglethorpe , Ga
    Manufacturers always error on the conservative side. I never refuted that mixing radial and bias is NOT r ecommended by Tire Manufacturers.
    Mixing brands or even various models withing the same brand is also NEVER recommended by tire manufacturers. If we were to refuse to deviate the idea would lock owners of any bike with a less common tire combination into a very few specific and typically more costly sets. Motorcycle manufacturers also rarely recommend using any tire other than what the bike shipped with, obviously this sound advice from a manufacturer is nothing more than capitalism at work.
    Most of us know that using a different brand or model within the same brand front to rear can produce better results than blindly using what the manufacturers tell us to.
    Anyhow I only stated that some Bikes (typically cruisers) ship with bias tires on the front and radials on the rear. This is not an opinion only a fact that I can support with examples.

    As far as a radial tire requiring a significantly wider wheel versus a bias tire. I can't find anywhere that splits their m/c rim width recommendations based solely on radial versus bias.
    Claiming that a 130/80-R 18 provides no benefit when used on a 3.0" rim versus a 130/80-B18 because my 3.0" inch VF wheel just doesn't measure up is no more that's a bunch of my c@ck is bigger grandstanding.

    If I am wrong then show me where Continental tire or other reputable source calls for LARGER than 3.0" minimum rim width for a 130/80-R18
    The problem is when I say I have done my research all you here is " I want you to believe me", when the truth is that I have verified my information or claims with typically no less than three (often more) resources.

    The Michelin bias I just put on the rear is a good bit stiffer than the cheap Kenda I put on the bike when I bought it. Just as a radial is stiffer than a bias. Did it cause me problems? If you call better handling and the rear not wallowing around in slight curves at speed a problem...... would an even stiffer radial on the rear be so firm that it would cause the front to feel wallowy? Can't say for sure haven't tried it. I venture to say it would be fine just as alot of larger bikes with a tall and wide rear tire are better with a radial on the rear, because it keeps the rear from wallowing around. I may not get a chance to try it as I expect my current tires to wear out at about the same time and intend to put stock(ish) size radials front and rear. And yes I expect those radials to outperform their like sized bias brothers when mounted to the same wheel.
     
  12. thx1138

    thx1138 New Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2011
    Messages:
    963
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    Perth
    Map
    The VF1000R's had rear radial from factory matched with bias ply on the front.
    Not sure why or whether it mucked up the handling but Honda must have had a reason and must have been satisfied with the handling characteristics
     
Related Topics

Share This Page