Might be buying an R3T

Sorry about that errant tire recommendation, Mike. It seems that my old friend, Al Zheimers, was messing with my head.

A couple years ago I had the pleasure of riding with Fingers, a former New Jerseyan who was up here visiting with family, and I told him how dramatically improved the handling and maneuverability had become on my standard after reducing my front tire size down to a 130 (too light/skittish with 200 rwhp) and then back up to 140 (just right). Fred (Fingers) has a Tourer and he rides the ever lovin' life out of it - an elegant and skilled Captain is he.

After I made the recommendation he switched both his front and rear to Michelin Commander II Bias Ply tires (I use their radial), fitting the 130/90 16 up front and their 180/65 16 on the rear. I just spoke with him and he said that the improvement in the ride is totally stupid good/night and day vs the OEM set up. He has 15,000 miles on the front tire and still some good miles left in it. Personally, I prefer radial tires, but I'm fairly certain there are good choices of either type.

Mike, you may want to have a conversation with Fred, because I believe that different tires will allay your concerns re: weight and ponderous handling.

Thanks for the information Phil. I cut and pasted it into my Rocket Tech document file. I have one for every bike I've owned for the past 10 years or so.

After getting out on the Touring a bit more my initial impressions were wrong. It's actually fairly nimble for the monster that it is. However, if it can be improved with different tires I'm all for that.

Mike do you remember me(you still owe me breakfast) still living in Fort Walton Beach also still have the red rocket along with a black one , good to see you on the site again.

Navigator said:

Thanks for the information Phil. I cut and pasted it into my Rocket Tech document file. I have one for every bike I've owned for the past 10 years or so.
After getting out on the Touring a bit more my initial impressions were wrong. It's actually fairly nimble for the monster that it is. However, if it can be improved with different tires I'm all for that.

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Mike,
Just FYI -
A 140/90R16 front tire actually has a .33 inch taller radius than a 140/75R17 tire (raises the front axle) = NOT GOOD!

scot in exile said:

Mike do you remember me(you still owe me breakfast) still living in Fort Walton Beach also still have the red rocket along with a black one , good to see you on the site again.

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How could I forget you my friend.

In the "You meet the best people riding a Triumph" category, I met and rode with Scot (not his name) many years ago. He visited my Air Force daughter's home back when she was a Captain and he and another great Rocket rider, John, was visiting from Pennsylvania. The three of us had great breakfast (that Scot paid for) the day I departed from Navarre, FL to home in Washington. My daughter was having a plumbing problem with the house she was putting up for sale and the Scotsman took out time from his busy backed up schedule to fix it.

Scot, she's now a Lieutenant Colonel , looking towards a 20 year retirement, l with a beautiful home in Niceville on Blue Water Bay. She is now married after the loss of her fiance in Iraq in 2006.

We need to hook up on PM conversation to exchange information and get together when I visit this winter. Alicia is transferring to Colorado Springs in May, to the Air Force Academy Hospital, and I'll visit her in Florida sometime this winter.

It's good to hear from you my friend. Thanks for posting.

1olbull said:

Mike,
Just FYI -
A 140/90R16 front tire actually has a .33 inch taller radius than a 140/75R17 tire (raises the front axle) = NOT GOOD!

Click to expand...

Interesting information and another perspective. This is something I have to investigate thoroughly before making a decision. The best persuasion for me is the experiences of friends, like Phil's, who have made change. I'm not sure that a .33 inch increase = not good.

130/90/16 for the commander II Front

Navigator said:

Interesting information and another perspective. This is something I have to investigate thoroughly before making a decision. The best persuasion for me is the experiences of friends, like Phil's, who have made change. I'm not sure that a .33 inch increase = not good.

Click to expand...

If you raise the front axle, you are increasing the trail which in turn will slow down response to counter-steer [cornering and especially low speed manuevering].

Steve's point should be well taken, i.e. it is virtually always a bad idea to elevate the front axle height at the expense of the rear axle height. However, I believe that his math is off due to his missing a calculation when comparing two 140 series tires, as he used in his example.

Fingers didn't just change the aspect ratio of his front tire - he also reduced its nominal width by two sizes (from a 150 to a 130). Do the math and I believe that Fingers lowered the front geometry by 3mm and raised the rear by 1mm vs. the stock set up. If I'm correct (too lazy to check the math over), not only did he commit no harm/no foul, he improved the geometry and therefore improved his overall handling and maneuverability vs. the OEM set up.

Steve, I think that you fouled up the math in your example a second way in that a tire has a top and a bottom, hence the height differential you provided in your example has to do with the and we're talking about altering the tire's height by manipulating tire dimensions. Fred did not change the rim radius of his wheel. He changed the diameter and section width of the tire, thus changing its height and said difference needs to be doubled because a tire sits on both the top and bottom of wheel(rim).

Please correct me if I'm wrong, because this is all pertinent not just to rider comfort, but, most importantly, it is vitally pertinent to rider safety.

Everything one wants to know about Rockets, tires et al. Great discussions. I have to say again that the compelling argument is from those who've made the mods and are most satisfied with the results.