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Tires

blu600

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Hey guys just wanted some input on tires for my 2010 shadow phantom. Has dunlop front and exedra max in the rear. 160/80/15. Looking for input on if the exedra max are the way to stay and i was going 170/80/15 next. Im used to pilots on my sport bike and I do ride the phantom pretty hard so any good cruiser slash performance tires?


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You can go 170 however you will lose a bit of performance if you keep an aspect ratio of 80. If you want a little jack in performance, go 170/70. It will shorten your gears by a little over 2%. Personally I,d go with a Kendra K671 -- a Shadow doesn't have the power or lean angle to challenge a motorcycle tire no matter how hard you flog it. Unless you riding a power cruiser, your best cruiser tire is one that can take miles and performs well in the rain.
 
Hey guys just wanted some input on tires for my 2010 shadow phantom. Has dunlop front and exedra max in the rear. 160/80/15. Looking for input on if the exedra max are the way to stay and i was going 170/80/15 next. Im used to pilots on my sport bike and I do ride the phantom pretty hard so any good cruiser slash performance tires?


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Michelin Commander 2 tires worked awesome on my V Star 950. No slipping, no sliding, not even when it was cold out.
I sold the bike before I found out how long they last, but they’re supposed to last upwards of 40,000kms.
They’ve recently come out with the Commander 3 tires which I’m assuming are better, but I don’t have any experience with them.


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You can go 170 however you will lose a bit of performance if you keep an aspect ratio of 80. If you want a little jack in performance, go 170/70. It will shorten your gears by a little over 2%. Personally I,d go with a Kendra K671 -- a Shadow doesn't have the power or lean angle to challenge a motorcycle tire no matter how hard you flog it. Unless you riding a power cruiser, your best cruiser tire is one that can take miles and performs well in the rain.

Thanks appreciate that. My thought with the tire was more for long distance benefit or the very slight rpm lowering at highway long distance riding. Its def not a power house but with the longer wheelbase it actually handles better than the normal shadows i test drove and I think the big front tire helps


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Michelin Commander 2 tires worked awesome on my V Star 950. No slipping, no sliding, not even when it was cold out.
I sold the bike before I found out how long they last, but they’re supposed to last upwards of 40,000kms.
They’ve recently come out with the Commander 3 tires which I’m assuming are better, but I don’t have any experience with them.


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Thanks will look into them as well


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Something in a radial might be nice, but unless the market has changed recently I doubt you can find radials in the sizes you need.
 
I say if you want a performance tire go with the radial (y)
wherever possible.
Tubes are fine but really should accompanied by a rim lock of some kind for safety imo.
 
I say if you want a performance tire go with the radial (y)
wherever possible.
Tubes are fine but really should accompanied by a rim lock of some kind for safety imo.
Unfortunately there are no (as far as I know) manyfacturers making radial tires for midweight cruisers -- there isn't really a need as they typically see most of their miles on straight roads at moderate speeds, often with heavy loads. Also, most cruiser chassis are softly sprung and as stiff as a rubber band negating the need for the tires to be flexible.

A Shadow puts a peak 35hp and 38lbs of torque to the wheel at full blast, not bad for a bike in this category but it's never gonna break a bead loose.
 
Rim locks are only required on off road tires running very low air pressure.
What happens if you get a soft tire or flat when riding, you don't care if you pull on the brakes and the rim slides on the tire?
... if you had a valve stem that sheered off and left you with non-repairable garbage. assuming you got it stopped before impacting something.
 
You do not need a rim lock on a road going cruiser ffs. Just makes it a bigger PITA to balance the rim and tire anyway with no real upside.

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If it is a tube type tire it will not fit as tight on the rim as a tubeless profile tire, tube tire on tube rim can slide on the rim if all that is holding it from sliding is high air pressure, if the tire slides on the rim and you have a tube it will sheer the valve stem off when it slides the first few inches and that is a certain blowout feeling situation :| If you have no rim shoe locking system, or no counter-measures in place to stop the tire sliding it will slide, even worse compounded by a wet tire.
If the tire slides on a rim that is the same as having no brakes on that wheel, stop the rim all you like that tire slides brakes are gone. Brakes is huge upside :/ is also why we ride tube tires on trials bike front and tubeless spoke rim rear only, front brake is very important even riding on a flat like tire! Vintage bikes and vintage MX bikes had multiple rim locks and sometimes the valve stem still ended up crooked.
 
A Shadow puts a peak 35hp and 38lbs of torque to the wheel at full blast, not bad for a bike in this category but it's never gonna break a bead loose.
It is the brakes that can generate the force required to break the bead loose. usually the front!
... or you can just go for it and if you should survive please come again :)
 
It is the brakes that can generate the force required to break the bead loose. usually the front!
... or you can just go for it and if you should survive please come again :)
OK, but remember were talking about a 19" 110 street tire using a single 295mm disc (most sportbikes have more than that on the rear). If you manage to lock her up, there isn't enough road grip to spin a bead.
 
Correct and we still have no idea what tire he is looking at yet and the rim looks like a plain ol steel hoop,
can't tell from here if it is a safety bead rim or no :|
easy test, if the tire can be made to slide on the rim when it is soft or flat that is not a good thing.
 
Bridgestone Exedra Max (bias ply) - they are kinda oddball tire sizes, not a huge choice.
Front Tire (Full Spec) 120/90 R17
Rear Tire (Full Spec) 160/80 R15
 

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