Heidenau k34 for Custom

Have you looked for Kenda or Shinko?

reclinedrelic said:

Have you looked for Kenda or Shinko?

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I will ask about those. Any particular type of shinko or kenda?

I put one of their tires on the front of my Eurosport , it developed a bumpy wear pattern in "less" than 5000 kilometers, was not impressed.

If you really want to use them note that the K34 are TT types, tube needed, see manufacturer info here and made for tube type wheel rims. Maybe OK if youŕe going for the really classic look, but personally I would never put K34's on my CX. Fine for say a 1950-ish classic though.

From what ive heard they Heidenau do have a higher reported problem rate than youd expect for the price...

(And i collect cameras and watches from east Germany etc.. so id maybe expected to b positively biased...)

Johnww said:

I will ask about those. Any particular type of shinko or kenda?

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Depends on your intended use on road dirt etc. For on road shinko tourmaster 230 . I've had good use from Kenda Challengers .

How do the Dunlop 404s rate against the Shinkos and Kendas mentioned above? Thanks for the info on the Heidenaus; I will avoid them and probably the dealer who recommended them - shame really because I like to support independent local businesses.

Another tire that developed bumpy wear on my Cx euro , which I replaced with the Heidenua. Might be the bike , orginal tires where the bridgestone spitfires , which handled excellent but wore out the back tire after 15,000 km. Got a Kenda on the front right now seems ok but only have 1000 kilometers on it.cheers

Something to consider: Lower priced tires from companies like Kenda, Duro & Shinko usually grip & handle about as well as higher priced ones but they wear out faster.
The rubber gradually hardens to where it can't flow around the asphalt to grip, especially when it is cool or damp so motorcycle tires should be replaced after 5 years whether they are worn out or not.
Depending on your expected annual mileage it is often wiser to buy less expensive tires that will wear out before they age out instead of ones that you paid so much for that you won't want to throw them out in 5 years (or 6 or 7) because they still have lots of tread.

After two rounds on the D404s, I currently have Shinko 230 Tourmasters on the Grub. In their second season now, grip is still excellent. I got great wear from the Dunlops. I've been told to expect less from the Shinkos. I have less than 2,000 miles on them, I think, so I don't know yet how that will play out.

Sidecar Bob said:

Something to consider: Lower priced tires from companies like Kenda, Duro & Shinko usually grip & handle about as well as higher priced ones but they wear out faster.
The rubber gradually hardens to where it can't flow around the asphalt to grip, especially when it is cool or damp so motorcycle tires should be replaced after 5 years whether they are worn out or not.
Depending on your expected annual mileage it is often wiser to buy less expensive tires that will wear out before they age out instead of ones that you paid so much for that you won't want to throw them out in 5 years (or 6 or 7) because they still have lots of tread.

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This was exactly what I was thinking, the tyres will age before they wear, in my case. I see a pair of 404s for $162, seems like a good deal. Incidentally, does anyone know what was the original tyre circa 1979? Not that it would still be made or that I would try to match it, but just out of interest.
One other thing, just checking the original specs and it states 3.5 for the front. Is this essentially the same as 100/90?

Believe OEM tires were Yokohama, but I bought my 78 new and don't know 4 sure

The parts drawings say Dunlop but that doesn't mean that all of them came with those or even which Dunlop tires they mean.

Going with the 404s. 130/90-16 and 100/90-19.
Should I change the valves/stems too? Never done this before. If so, can anyone let me know what I need, size and maybe a product link? Thx.

I like to change valves with each tubeless tyre change..if its been known to be sitting for some time.....and especially if you are having a shop mount the tyres..... the cost of a tyre re-mount if a leak is evident, by the shop,will exceed the new valve price...

When i got my 750...it still had 20year old tyres on it and shudder to think 20year tubes....the first thing was to replace both....

I agree. I've seen ancient valve stems that were so hard they broke when bent while putting the air chuck on them.

I've installed rigid stems with my last couple tire changes. Angled stems make airing up easier.

So rigid or rubber then? My instinct tells me rubber because any movement stress when airing up would be distributed throughout the stem and not on the joint/seal. Probably overthinking this, as one does on a coffee fueled Saturday.

On the front it doesn't matter as much but on the rear there is a real advantage to having an angled stem to make connecting the chuck a lot easier. That's the only reason I'd change to metal ones and even if I did I'd want to make sure I could replace the rubber seals in the future.

FWIW, I use tube type tires on both of my bikes and with inner tubes you don't have that option but I've wished I could many times while laying on the ground trying to get the air chuck in between the rim and the final drive....