I'm needing to replace the rear tire on my 2001 1800 wing. Anyone know what the best choice for a rear tire? Thanks

I'm on my 3rd set of Dunlop Elite 3's. IMO they are the best for a Wing. Run them with 41# air front and rear and you shuold get 15k-17k miles on them.:)

You will get as many answers as there are tire brands. I have always run Dunlops on my Gold Wings, all 6 of them, but my last set were Bridgestones, 709 front 704 rear. and I love them, the handling is great, no corner noise like the Dunlops. I put a 702 (70 series) on the back to correct the speedo error that all Gold Wings prior to 09 has. Now it's right on with my Garmin GPS.

Hey Joe in Calif,
how many miles do you have on your bridgestones? I mighht try them for my next set. I agree with the 70 series rear tire. My speedo is right on now.

Bridgestone 704; or maybe the Falken 912 size 195-55-16 or Kuhmo of the same size if you want to try the Darkside.

Hey Joe in Calif,
how many miles do you have on your bridgestones? I mighht try them for my next set. I agree with the 70 series rear tire. My speedo is right on now.
I only have 3,000 miles on my front tire and about 1,000 on my rear tire, but right after I put the front on I noticed a big difference in handling, and with the rear tire all the howling in the corners is gone. I read many reviews on the Bridge stones and they were all favorable, that kind of why I went with them.
Check out this link.


http://wingstuff.com/pgroup_detail/39_Bridgestone/2700_Honda_GL1800_Tires_Bridgestone_GL1800_Goldwin g/?goto=%2Fpgroup_list%2Ftires%2F39_Bridgestone%2Fmf g%2F

I run Dunlop E three's. Have 3 sets and average 20K per set. They are usually on sale soemwhere.

I've heard good things about the Avon's and will try them out next time.

Just had a set of avons installed tonight. They are super for my last bike a yamaha straoliner.

Keep an eye on the Avons, they have been know to bubble on the right side wall.

Keep an eye on the Avons, they have been know to bubble on the right side wall.
Great and with all the good reviews too. Live and learn

Does anyone know if you can put a small car tire on the back
of an '05 goldwing. I had heard you could and get 30 to 40k on a tire.

Do they ride good?

Does anyone know if you can put a small car tire on the back
of an '05 goldwing. I had heard you could and get 30 to 40k on a tire.

Your talking about the " darkside " group. Here is a link to a thread started by a new member to the group :http://gl1800riders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=256389

Do they ride good?

they ride good. But not as good as the darkside on my other bike. will be going there with the next tire on the wing

May I ask what is the Darkside? Using car tires?

May I ask what is the Darkside? Using car tires?

Yes darkside is using car tires.

I know of a fellow rider that had put a car tire on the back of his 1800, he stated it felt a little funky at slow speeds. But did it grab in the muck. Personally I would not recommend it as a car tire is designed for differant stress loads than a motorcycle tire. The sidewalls on a 1800 tire are very stiff, stiff enough that you can stand on it and the sidewall barely deflects. I would be very afraid of serious handling issues and since you are only on two wheels and no cage around you, I would not chance it!! I would even try to install a radial motorcycle tire on a motorcycle designed to run bias ply tires due to handling issues. I think this is a dangerous practice using a car tire on a motorcycle!!

I run the Falked 912 195X55X16 on the rear. It has a tendancy to want to stand up a little at slow speeds but honestly I rarely notice it. The bike is extremly smooth now, won't slip in the rain, mud, or gravel as bad, and the weight limit is 400+ lbs. more with this tire(which is tremendous considering the weight of the 1800 and riders and possibly pulling a trailer). Also most people that put this tire on find that it doesn't even need balancing as was my case. Another couple of side benefits is that it will probably last longer and cost about $75 less.

Probably more people use the Kuhmo run flat car tire which has all of the above benefits with the addition of being a run-flat. I decided I wanted the sidewalls to be a little more flexible in the turns with a car tire on the rear. I always carry a plug kit and air compressor.

I'm needing to replace the rear tire on my 2001 1800 wing. Anyone know what the best choice for a rear tire? Thanks

Hi, you will get a ton of answers, everybody uses the best tires and gets the best milage. Everybody rides differently. I have used Dunlop Elite 3's on all my 1800s with good success. Never got high milage on any tire(s) on my GL1800, I go for handling & wet weather performance. I recently put on Avon Cobras front and rear and I am well pleased with them. They handle better than the Dunlops. I would recommend you use a tire you like and are comfortable with and performs how you like it to for your riding style.

E 3s here too. I dont think we have any dark side demons here. Probably you'll have to stay with rated tires esp considering if you go dark on the back, what will you run on the front?
Legion :cool:

Last week I had an Avon Cobra with only 4K miles blow out on the rear @ 70 mph. :eek: Luckily everyone is fine, especially the tow company. I had checked the tire tread and pressure about 500 miles prior (2 days) and the tire looked normal.
After the blow out, the left side of the tire looked badly worn. The right side (from center line to the right) looked brand new. I carry a compressor and Slime nor plugs would slow the leaks enough for me to move it. The tire cracked open in 4 places. The Honda dealer said they have two others on a Goldwing and one on a VTX1800 wear like this and they are not stocking them anymore.
I have Dunlop E3's now.

Does anybody know much about the METZELER ME880 180/60HR-16 "GL" REAR tire??? How about the BRIDGESTONE G704 180/60R16 74H??
The adds read good....looks good...how do they wear and are they noisy?? [I just got off a HD, and I am worried about the sound a tire makes???!!...]
Thanks
Chrisgl1800

Love your post! Now here you are on a wing and you are looking forward to actually hearing the sound of your tires. I love it. I run Dunlops all the time ( 4th set ). I get just over 20K per set w ever so slight cupping on front tire. Cycle tires are expensive as heck but I have always found Dunlops on sale some where which is a big help. I would say these are quiet but i dont hear well either.

Does anybody know much about the METZELER ME880 180/60HR-16 "GL" REAR tire??? How about the BRIDGESTONE G704 180/60R16 74H??
The adds read good....looks good...how do they wear and are they noisy?? [I just got off a HD, and I am worried about the sound a tire makes???!!...]
Thanks
Chrisgl1800

I can let you know by this weekend. Having one put on after an unfortunate incident last weekend, should get it back on Friday. I run the Metzeler on the front and decided to match it with a new rear...

Does anybody know much about the METZELER ME880 180/60HR-16 "GL" REAR tire??? How about the BRIDGESTONE G704 180/60R16 74H??
The adds read good....looks good...how do they wear and are they noisy?? [I just got off a HD, and I am worried about the sound a tire makes???!!...]
Thanks
Chrisgl1800

On June 5th, 2010 I put on a Metz' ME880 180/60HR16 on the rear. To date, I have about 4,000 miles on it . It still " sounds " about as quiet as the day I first rode on it. On August 3, I put a Metz' ME880 130/70HR18 on the front. Only 500 miles on it. It's too early to give a wear opinion, but the " noise " level is nowhere near the level of the stock Dunlop .

[QUOTE=oldsmores;28802] Having one put on after an unfortunate incident last weekend, should get it back on Friday.

WHAT !

I'm currently running bias ply E3's on my GL-1500 and an improvement in handling.
Tires were better on wet roads.

I just ordered a l 704 Stone.....I hope I did right......
Chrisgl1800

Did I say Continental???

I just ordered a Continental 704.....I hope I did right......
Chrisgl1800

Is that a tire or a flight number ?

[QUOTE=oldsmores;28802] Having one put on after an unfortunate incident last weekend, should get it back on Friday.

WHAT !

Well, it could have been a lot worse. After going up to the 1000 Islands for a long weekend (and being detained by Canadian Customs officials, but that's a different story) I had a flat on the rear with my wife riding behind me. Luckily it went down slowly, and after we got off the interstate. Unluckily, we were in Mexico, NY, which if where you'll find if you Google "middle of nowhere". Managed to limp to a Victory dealer in Fulton, who was great and ordered me an ME880. Got it back this morning and it seems to be a great handling rear tire!

I have an 06 wing bought used with 20k on the speedo. It had a new Dunlop elite 3 on the front and really worn and cupped out rear. I put a new rear to match the front and it was great at first but it didn't last, it started roaring going through the curves before they were half worn. Next I bought Avons and they were so noisy and vibrating I thought my bearings were going out. Now they are cupping out with very few miles on them. Guess I'll try the Bridgestones next, hope they perform better.

I have sold auto tires for 30 yrs and I have to say that just because the tire sidewall info says it will carry more weight doesn't mean it will on a motorcycle. When you put a car tire on a pickup you have to subtract a percentage of the weight carrying capacity. You also go by the vehicles weight carrying capacity not the tires. Have you ever seen and impact break on a motorcycle tire, I see them on autos every day.
I also don't understand why people think they know more about motorcycles and tires than the people that actually build both. It's ok if you want to do the darkside but you shouldn't promote it unless you have done the extensive research these companies have done. Just because you can get by with doing something doesn't mean should, there is a good reason companies build a tire to perform best in its specific application.

I just ordered some 704 Stones...I hope that was OK.......

[quote=chopin114;28875]

Well, it could have been a lot worse. After going up to the 1000 Islands for a long weekend (and being detained by Canadian Customs officials, but that's a different story) I had a flat on the rear with my wife riding behind me. Luckily it went down slowly, and after we got off the interstate. Unluckily, we were in Mexico, NY, which if where you'll find if you Google "middle of nowhere". Managed to limp to a Victory dealer in Fulton, who was great and ordered me an ME880. Got it back this morning and it seems to be a great handling rear tire!

Oh. That's how I ended up with my ME880, only I found the tiny screw in it while I was parked in my driveway. Mexico, NY ?????? I would imagine they sell a lot of tires there: " Llantas Usadas ".

I just ordered a l 704 Stone.....I hope I did right......
Chrisgl1800

Did I say Continental???

Yep. You did. We was worried about you for awhile there.

I just bought a set of the Dunlop Elite 3's --60 series in the back I talked to a Dunlop dealer at Indy Speed Way during the Moto GP race and he said to stay away from the 70 series they weren't designed for weight