[i.candide]

Good Morning - well, it's morning here...

I am struggling with the task of finding the right tire size vs rim size for Rocinante (2012 C5 Teal). The front rim is 19 inches, the rear rim is 18 inches. That's the easy part, now comes the difficult: What is the rim width?

The front 19 inch diameter, by popular consensus, is 1.85 inches, but is the rear 18 inch diameter also 1.85 inches? If so will the Dunlop K70 4.00 inch width tire work well, or be squirrelly in the curves.

Dunlop offers the  K70 in 3.25 and 3.50 inch widths in the 19 inch diameter tire. The 1.85 inch width will take either if the front mudguard and struts allow it. But the rear remains a puzzle to me - I may be a little dense minded.

All help is greatly appreciated.

[GSS]

Rear rim is wider. 4.0x18 Dunlop K70 works perfectly. I have a 3.5x19 in the front but had to make new struts for my 2010 C5. The 2012 probably has longer struts since it came with a 19" wheel. Mine had an 18". The 3.5 width will just fit in the mudguard, but 3.25 will obviously give you more clearance.

GSS

[Craig McClure]

From my 50+ years riding experience, in K70's, a 3.50X18 rear, & 3.25X19 Front will Handle best of any size on your C5 Enfield. No need to go any wider, Unless of course you are a easily influenced by every the latest style, & paint everything Flat Black, & wrap the pipes.

[barenekd]

Both rims are WM2s, 1.85" They are made for a max 3.50 tires. WM3s, I think are 2.15", are made for 4.00s. Technically 4.00s and 4.10s are too wide for the WM2s and will distort a bit if used on them.
There are plenty of people that use the 4.00s though and I've never heard any complaints.
Bare

[i.candide]

In reality, I recently read (this morning) that K70's have a problem with California freeway rain grooves. A good non-ribbed tire is the Shenko 705. In the 18 inch diameter, the sole width I could find (that might fit) is 4.10.

I bought Rocinante because she is not black or black wrapped. But a wider rear that does not turn squirelly is what I am familiar with.

It's still a toss-up between the K70's and the 705's. I cannot afford to buy two set of tires to experiment. 

[Arizoni]

I think all motorcycle tires   have problems with California freeway rain grooves.
The AVON ribbed front tire is probably the worst.

[barenekd]

I never had any problems on the SoCal freeways with the K70s. And I've been on all of them.
Bare

[Ducati Scotty]

The width of the rim (and the diameter) are usually stamped on it.  It's small but you should be able to find it.

Scott

[GSS]

Older Enfields and G5/B5 have WM2 front and rear and these work well with 3.25/3.5 front and 3.5 rear.

C5 on the other hand is WM2(1.85) front and WM3(2.15) rear, therefore a 3.25 front and a 4.0 rear will give you a perfect fit like the factory intended.  Stock tires in the new bikes in India are 90/90-19 and 120/80-18.

http://royalenfield.com/motorcycles/classic-500#!technical-specification

GSS

[i.candide]

Thank you all.

I have decided to go with the Dunlops.

Bare - in the past (early 70's), I ran Bridgestones on an Yamaha XS650. All kinds of problems with rain grooves. In the mid 80's, I had no problems with what ever was on my Harley (but I cannot remember what tire I was running). I agree that some tires are bad on California freeways, and some fare far well.

GSS - The information you gave is not easy to find - it should be in a 'sticky' readily available to everyone.

i.candide

[High On Octane]

FYI I just installed the Shinko 705s on my bike and I love them.  They are really tight in clearances in the front and rear, but they do clear and man do they ride great.  They handle so well I've been railing corners TRYING to scrape the foot pegs and they just bite the road so well.  Also, they have no issues with the rain grooves here in Denver.  I was doing well over 75mph on grooved pavement the other night and had no stability issues what so ever.  I honestly think they are the best tires I've ever run on a bike.  Amazing handling on and off road and a fraction of the price of the K70s.  I got both my 705s with new tubes and rim strips for $140 in stock locally.

Scottie

[GSS]

Scottie,
This is good to know and your photos look great. Thanks for sharing.

GSS

[AgentX]

If you look at Dunlop's manufacturer info, they recommend the WM3 (2.15) rim width for both the 3.25 and 3.5.  Same with Heidenau.

Myself, I had thoughts of trying to out-smart the engineers and going with a WM2 up front, to try and keep a rounder tire profile in the leading tire, but after some cogitation, I realized that the engineers probably know the 3.25 is mostly used as a front tire (in fact, I think it's marketed as such) so the profile is probably optimum at the width they recommend. 

Imagine that...following the instructions.  It's hard for me to do but I think I'll manage to make it happen. (for once...)  So it's WM3s with a 3.25/3.5 combo for me.  19" rims for my bike both front and back, though.