ST1100 Rear Tire Size Choices

Greyfox

I need to replace both tires on my '99 ST1100 and was thinking of going with a set of Bridgestone BT-023 as I can both the front and rear in the recommended stock sizes - 110/80-18 front and 160/70-17 rear. One supplier said he'd prefer to see me go with a set Michelin PR2 instead but since the rear isn't available in a 160/70-17 he's suggesting a 160/60-17 which is the same width as the stock tire but smaller in diameter and will drop the bike's rear end .63". I like that idea as I have a short inseam but in a thread I started here asking specifically about the PR2 another poster suggested instead going with a wider 170/60-17 as it will drop the rear end of the bike just .39" and thereby be closer to stock in terms of ride height, have less overall effect on handling, and less impact on being able to safely put the side stand down or get the bike up on the centre stand ... question is, is there sufficient clearance on the 1100 for this 10 mm wider tire?
 
Do not count out the BT-023s. I have them on my 1300 and they are excellent tires. When my present set wears out I will purchase another set for sure.
 
Mixer, stick with stock sizes. Are you looking for sport or touring? If touring, the ol' bt-020 bias is still the best rear tar, last longest of anything available. Check with Tim at Keel Brothers Tires. Or the new Michelin cruiser tar in the correct size (forget the model but Tim knows.) That's what I have on the rear of lipSTick right now and it's worked a charm so far.

As to sport, I can follow anyone thru the twisties using these tars. They don't stick as good as the sportiest tars but last so much longer the $$$s come into play. At ~40K miles a year, that becomes important to me.
 
Hey Mixer there are lots of ideas out there on this bike. From car tires to radials. You have a couple of options. If you are wanting to stay stock then go with the Bridgestone tires The G547/G548 bias are the OEM. You can also run the BT023's which are radials. Very good tires. You can also run the G547/BT020 which are bias, this combo has came undersome great recommendations for George Catt. We also have some Michelins that are being tried by some riders The Activ and the Commander, bias. Michelin will not give their thumbs up to these two tires together they seem to be doing fine from reports.

As far as going wider or a different sidewall height, that would have to be up to you. It will change the handling of the bike for sure. Not sure of how aggressive you are,but those types of things can matter sometime. A wider tire will slow the turn in on a bike and could give you less contact patch. Just keep this in mind when you are looking.

Can't give you any help on the car tire end of it. Ride safe and stay warm up there. Hope it helps and does not confuse you to much. :)
 
Should have mentioned, I've run two car tars on a GL1500 wheel on back of lipSTick, and also have run some bike tars on that wheel on my ST1100. May try another in the future but right now I'm running the stock rear wheel wheel with the new Michelin rear Tim mentions above. I've run every type of bike tar, including each new model of Avon as they've come out, plus those two car tars and never had a problem I would consider outside the norm. Mileage varies wildly, I've gotten as few as 3K and as many as 23K out of a rear tar. When they say YMMV, they ain't kidding. :D

On lipSTick, which is an ABSII, I'm also running a Bridgestone rear on the front in the next larger size (120/70/17 is stock, I'm running 130/70/17.) Mileage is more than a standard front tar but the this tar is also more expensive so not sure it's an economically viable option. Handles good tho.

My STick is set up more for "sport" and currently has a bt-020 bias on the rear and an Avon ?? on the front. Works fine for me.
 
Phil also know of what he speaks.

Lots of tar choices, just stay away from Avons and Dunlops.

Oh, and the 170/60/17 on the rear didn't work for me. It will work but upsets the bike too much, IMO.
 
Hi there... Please don't go the route of a wider tyre your contact patch would be smaller and the tyre would be pinched by the rim thus causing excessive and/or irregular wear issue let alone handling issues.. as for the lower 60 profile that will alter the height of the tyre from 112mm for the 70 profile to 96mm for the 60 profile that's a difference of 16mm while it won't give you more or less contact patch it will affect the handling considerably making it turn slower and more wollowy on the front in slow turns... hope this helps with your decision p.s avon do the storm for the 1100 and its good... but any tyre choice of the correct size will far out perform the wrong sized tyre
 
As has been said more than once, the 170/60 rear makes the ST1100 a lot harder to get up on the center stand, and also it stands up straighter on the sidestand, making it easier to fall over - which is usually about $600 worth of damage - mirror, mirror cover, saddle bag lid, tip-over wing. ;-)
 
I'll give my experience on rear tires. I have run the OEM Exedra that was mounted when I bought the bike. Don't know the milage when I bought it, but I put 7K on that tire, then ran to Avon Storm radials, 11K & 9K, BT-023 radial 8K and the Bridgestone bias BT020 and have around 11K on the tire and it' still got 2-3K left???

Now the nitty gritty. On the radial tires I never slid the rear tire when braking. On two occasions in an emergency breaking situation the BT-020 has locked and slid. The first time I hit the ditch around 10mph because the bike wasn't going to stop in time, the second time the tire locked and high sided me around 60-70mph. That hurt. Did I get on the rear brake harder than usual?????I have emergency stopped before with the radial tires with no problems. I do believe those 3-4K extra miles the bias tires have over the radials made then easier to lock and slide.

I'll be happy when I wear the BT020 out and I'm going back to the bT023 rear, I'm running a Bt023 front. It's radials for me from now on. My part of the medical bills would have bought me all the tires I probably have left in my riding life.
 
I've read for years to stick to the recommended sizes. Had to put on a 160/60 rear in New Mexico once and hated it.

FWIW: I've run the Michelin PR, PR1 & PR2 on the front of my ABSII and the B'STone 020 spec'd for the BMW K1200LT for a few years. No issues except the end of the tire's life they are squared off in a wierd way which REALLY affects handling. This year I used a B'STone 023 front spec'd for the ST1300 & a B'STone 020 rear radial. After 5K, I am very pleased with this combo. (I'm going with the stickiest tire possible since purchasing a No-Mar.)
 
Thanks for all the replies to my query, I really appreciate the advice from you seasoned ST riders! Since one would presume Mother Honda knew what it was doing when selecting appropriate tire sizes for the ST1100 and since many are warning against wandering away from this choice it seems to me I can't really go wrong with my initial choice - a BT-023 110/80-18 for the front and a BT-023 160/70-17 for the rear. I don't expect to do more than a few thousand kms each season so tire wear and eventual replacement cost really aren't a concern but as a returning rider after a 12 yr layoff safe handling and the ability to stick to the road under adverse conditions are far more important. Thanks! :D
 
jfheath said:
It looks like you are going the 023 route, but with regard to having a smaller diameter rear end, this may well fall into the tolerance limits of the TCS and ABS if they are fitted. (I can't tell if you have ABS or not).
Click to expand...

Surprisingly I actually did think about that but in my case it won't be an issue since this particular ST I have is not equipped with ABS. Thanks for the heads up though!
 
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