Need help buying new tires.

I just bought a 1983 Maxim XJ650 and the tires are dry rotted and cracked.

I checked at some shops today for tires and they came up with different tire sizes than what is on the bike. The specs I have for my bike call for what is on there but none of the shops are getting those same sizes.

This is whats on there now:

Front: 3.25-19
Rear: 120/90-18

Can anyone tell me what to buy. I am dying to ride this bike but the tires are just unsafe.

Thanks in advance.

 

I just got new Bridgestone Spitfires for my maxim (this weekend). They are a common replacement for 70s-80s bikes. The tire sizes are:

front: 100-90 19"
rear: 130-90 16"

They run between $70 and $100 per, plus installation in my neck of the woods. They come in blackwall, and raised white letters.

I know people here also advocate a dunlop tire, but I've always had spitfires, with no complaints. This is what they look like on the bike:

 

I'm up for tires this season to get my 900 inspected.

I'm getting the Metzler LaserTec Duo.

 

kenda challenger or shinko's...nuff said

 

The stock front tire is 3.25-H19. The metric equivalent is 100/90-19.
The rear tire should be 130/90-16.

You are listing an 18" tire as currently on the bike. If that's not a typo then that is not a 650 Maxim wheel.

 

A fair portion of my carry in tire mount business is Shinko's. Every one I have seen seems to be almost perfectly balanced. I have no idea how long they'll last or how they perform, but in mounting they seem to be very high quality.

 

I double checked. It is a 130/90-16 on the rear. The 120/90-18 was the tire size one of the dealers tried to sell me. This was also after I explained to them that a Yamaha Maxim is not a dirt bike.

Sorry about that.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I am going to order a set of the Bridgestone Spitfires and see how those work out.

 

Doubt you'll be disappointed. Bridgestone makes F1 tires; I think they kinda have this one, ya know...

I'm running Dunlops, Dunlops, Avons and "to be determined." Leaning toward Bridgestones (Battlax) for the "tbd" myself. Primarily out of curiousity because I keep hearing such good things.

 

thanks guys for the generous information.. I've been putting this off and have no experience as well purchasing something like this (age of only 22). One question though, is it recommended to purchase both new tires or is something like this your own gut feeling and opinion? My rear tire looks definitely newer with no cracks so I would just like to get the front replaced.

 

moellear..Thou it look okay without cracks..look for the Dt of Manf..ie PCA4203...means 42 week of 2003. If tire is more than 5 years old..depending on how it was stored..the rubber might be hard and would make a hell of a difference in handling. I had 2003 tires on my air head XJ700 (spitfires) rear worn but more than safety, front was still good. I just changed both with new ones and i love the riding. I changed the rear shoes at same time. I did the installation after watching some youtubes..ITS doable. I also bought Bridgestone Battlax BT45s for my MAXIM X (had 2003 tires with a nail on rear, rubbers were hard) have put tires on rims yet to install...NOW i can really compare the tires.

 

sorry to steal the thread Ageek.. @ littlegiant, thanks for the details. currently both tires are Kenda (any reviews of them guys?) the price seems to be reasonable so I'm going to replace the front tire dated 2705... 5 years seems to be a short lifespan for tires but again I don't have a lot of experience with automobiles yet concerning my age. the rear tire looks great and was manufactured 1607 so gonna leave that alone. heck if the handling is great I might go back and get the rear swapped. idk..is 3 years too short/long on motorcycles tires or not?

 

i got the bridgestone spitfires for my 550 a couple months ago, so far they are working out really well. only problem is the continuous center groove on the front tire. we have lots of rain grooves in the roads out here and the bike doesn't handle well on those roads.

if you buy them get them from bikebandit.com and use the promo code DUCATI123 you'll get 10% off. i got the set for 126 something shipped, came in a couple days and $20 per to get them mounted locally

 

Dunlop D404 seems to be popular as well. $130 for the pair at bikebandit.
They're suppose to handle the rain grooves a bit better 'cause they have no continuous groove down the centre.

 

Back to tire age for a sec; the absolute cut off should be 6 years. Beyond that is taking too big a chance.

D404's are great too. +1 on the rain-groove thing.

 

Ditto on the D404, i'm running one on the back after a Battlax wore out in 2sec's flat, the D404 isn't showing any signs of flat spotting or wear yet. ride in all weather, had no problems in the wet.

 

My bike has been hardly driven in the last 10 years, between the last two PO's (I saw a copy of the earlier PO's title), it was riden 70 miles...

It had a pair of Metzlers on it that looked almost brand new. I didn't want to replace them but after taking advice here I bought two Dunlop 404 to fit it and the difference was much more than just remarkable. BUT... the one Metzler was made in 95 and the other was before the 90's...

As was mentioned a bit above, old rubber, even from the top brand companies will harden and make handling difficult.