Tires Megathread

[BergyPatty37]

@Kuro Neko I ended up ordering the shinko sr241 in 2.75-17 and will report back with the same gearing if I feel a difference in acceleration and speed. Sucks because I only put a few hundred miles on the IRCs but I am doing a 600 mile trip in Maine this year and wanted something that I felt just a little more comfortable with. Will report back either way once I get the new tires and miles on them.
Probably won't do that until mid April just to try and get a better baseline this year on the 3.0s for comparison purposes

 

[Kuro Neko]

... Will report back either way once I get the new tires and miles on them. ...

Thanks, as I had read local Japanese reviews, the Shinko looked like a trail tire, but the compound was soft and really for street work and not off-road, but for the old-school custom look.
Interested in your view...

 

[dmonkey]

The Shinko SR241 are a block pattern trials tire. The rubber compound is extremely soft and when compared to a street or trail tire you can dig a thumb nail into the tread pretty good. Picture them on a trials bike running low pressure, lots of grip but short longevity. The straight tread pattern can be an issue on rough grooved roads and metal grates, otherwise I found them to be a great tire for switching between street and trail, with the biggest downside being that a rear might not make it to 2,000 miles without the tread being squared off bald.

 

[BergyPatty37]

Thanks, as I had read local Japanese reviews, the Shinko looked like a trail tire, but the compound was soft and really for street work and not off-road, but for the old-school custom look.
Interested in your view...

I did think about going with the shinko SR244 in 2.50-17. Load index was only 38 and that was lower than I would like to go, hence why I went with the 241 in 2.75-17. I'd be ok with the 2000 miles like @dmonkey has had experience with, since the tires I was able to get around $50 free shipping. Not a big deal to swap the front to rear and put a new one on the front after the rear squares off. I also did look at the Kenda K262 which is supposedly a similar pattern but harder compound, also with a lower index rating but higher speed rating (not a big deal on the CT haha).

 

[dmonkey]

The IRC TR-1 2.75-17 is another option with similar tread to the Shinko SR241 but firmer compound. I switched to those at one point and got the impression they would outlast the Shink SR241s, but didn't fully wear them out as I went back to street tires for a long distance road tour before they got anywhere near 2k miles.

Personally, I haven't bothered rotating tires since you need to unmount them to do so. It may end up being thrifty, but that's one more chance for me to damage a tube and make it not thrifty.

 

[Kuro Neko]

Personally, I haven't bothered rotating tires since you need to unmount them to do so. It may end up being thrifty, but that's one more chance for me to damage a tube and make it not thrifty.

Having just taught myself to change motorcycle tires, this is me!
Whereas for my car, I can clearly define costs/needs/benefits from track through to winter tire options, the combined bitumen / trail need for the Hunter Cub is a new calculation for me.

For way of background, Japan (as do other locales I guess), has a retro scrambler-like scene, and the Cub in general gets street focused tires that look like 1960s' street bikes modded for part time off-road work.
This type of stuff:



Many regular Cubs get their panels stripped off, military-style stenciling, and street compound block tires fitted.
A number of years ago, my local bike shop in Shibuya (Shimo Bros) won a competition at a US national bike show with a Cub so configured...

 

[BergyPatty37]

I contacted treatland.tv to see if they would get the Vee Rubber VRM 022 in 2.75-17 back in stock. This is their response:
"Hello, We may have them again at some point.. everything is a pain to get now tho so we will probably wait a bit since we have so many other options in that size currently. Thank you for checking with us though!!! Sorry again!!"

I wanted to try those out at some point. Let me know if anyone else is also interested.
Here is the link to their website (currently not available). I would estimate that prices would increase from the list of $42.99:

vee rubber VRM 022 knobby tire - 2.75-17

vee rubber vrm022 knobby tire for motos and mopeds! 17' rim diameter 2.5' width rated 47R

www.treatland.tv

I also emailed Vee Rubber to see if they have any vendors in the USA that regularly carries that size, will report back if I hear from them.

 

[Kuro Neko]

I contacted treatland.tv to see if they would get the Vee Rubber VRM 022 in 2.75-17 back in stock.

... and any idea how the VCM 022 compares with the IRC GP-22 compound?

 

[BergyPatty37]

... and any idea how the VCM 022 compares with the IRC GP-22 compound?

I do not. Might be something that I could ask once they respond to see if they give any more details. Sometimes looking at speed rating and load index gives you a decent idea as to whether its softer or harder or similar. But that is just a rough guide.
There have been some people on here that have run the VRM-022 before so I would be curious as to any updates they have. Dmonkey probably being one of them haha.