tall tires?

Wheels, hubs and tires
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marty
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tall tires?

#1

Post by marty »

Hi I need a little schooling here,I remember back in the late fiftys and the sixtys the sportsters where some of the fastest and best handling on the track and the road, the nortons and triumps also went fast, now for the question these bikes all had taller tires will the height of the tire help in gaining performance and if so what is the best size to use if your not building a total restoration machine also it seems to me the bikes winning races today also use taller tires thanks for
your help ( I hate asking questions but theres just to many thingsI dont know about motorcycles)
Marty
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Re: tall tires?

#2

Post by NightShift »

Dear Marty,
Tall tires are what they are all supposed to be. Only them new fangled swingyarms can handle low profiles.

While were talking tires, anyone know how you get mold spots off? And keep them from molding all over again.

Things grow down in the Pit,
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Re: tall tires?

#3

Post by FlatHeadSix »

Shifty
If your stuff gets moldy in the greater Peoria area you should live down here in the land of high humidity and Gulf moisture. I learned this trick from some of my friends that are "boat people", they use it to keep the mold and mildew off of almost everything on the boats. It cleans it up and the bleach in it will prevent new stuff from growing back (for a little while anyway)

here's the answer:
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NightShift
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Re: tall tires?

#4

Post by NightShift »

Dear Mike,
That might be fine for after they are clean, but Im talking archiological growth.

The bossmans almost out of MEK and hell be POd,
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Re: tall tires?

#5

Post by FlatHeadSix »

honest injun Shifty, the stuff works. Mr Westley obviously missed school the day they had spelling lessons (Bleche-Wite?) but his cleaner is top notch. It even works on tall tires (I had to throw that in so it wouldn't look like we completely stole the thread).

Give it a try, use a stiff bristle brush on the tough spots, the tires will look like they just came out of the mold (no pun intended, well, maybe a small one)

Leave the methyl-ethyl-ketone in the can, that stuff will give you brain damage.

Now, about those tall tires. I have always believed that the 5.00 x 16 low pressure "baloon" tires that were fitted to most of the knucks and pans and even the 45s were actually part of the suspension and engineered into it as a system. They soaked up some of the shock from bumps and potholes and such and cushioned the ride a little on the rigid frames. They also lowered the center of gravity and gave you a comfortable riding height that also allowed you to plant your foot flat on the ground when you stopped. Some of the newer 16" replacements are not full height compared to the old Super Eagles and may cause a little floorboard dragging if you ride aggressively, stick with the original design.

mike
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Re: tall tires?

#6

Post by 51Hog »

"Honest injun"---LOL!!! Haven't heard that one in a while. LOL
That is great cleaner. I think you told me about it a couple of years ago.
Dale
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Re: tall tires?

#7

Post by NightShift »

Dear Mike,
OK, and I wont sand blast them either not yet anyway.
Im sure the bossman has a few half bottles of the stuff in his garbage gold.

He wont even know there gone,
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Re: tall tires?

#8

Post by 59Panman »

As Flatheadsix says, it works great. I use Westley's on my white walls and they come out like new!
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Re: tall tires?

#9

Post by Bosheff »

Viniger....bosheff
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Re: tall tires?

#10

Post by FlatHeadSix »

Bosheff
Vinegar will work to clean the mold off but once all the acetic acid in the vinegar is neutralized the organic residue it leaves behind becomes "food" for new mold growth. The Westleys has bleach in it which kind of disinfects the tire surface, it leaves nothing behind which will support new growth and actually retards or discourages it.

We have a very damp climate here, mold grows instantly on everything. Unless you have a dehumidifier or climate control in your shop it is a constant battle to keep the mold off of your stuff. Mold likes leather almost as much as it likes an old loaf of bread, unless you do something about it.

I don't like the green fuzzy look on my saddle bags and seats either and I tried everything on the shelf over the years to prevent it. I found that many of the leather care products that claim to "nourish" the leather are also excellent mold food. I absolutely HATE any of the silicone based products like Armoral which leave the artificial wet-look on the surface and I refuse to use them, that stuff is for cheezy used car salesmen that think shiny tires look good. Years ago, before any of those products were on the market, we used to rub DOT 3 brake fluid on our tires after cleaning them and buff them out, looked great for a little while. But, the old DOT3 was a mixture of alcohol and glycerine (still is) and guess what?, the glycerine is organic and once the alcohol evaporates the glycerine becomes mold food. Many of those leather care products contain glycerine along with aloe and other stuff just like momma's hand lotion, all they do is turn your saddle bags into a giant Petri dish and after a week they look like a science experiment. Sometimes the old ways are still the best, soap & water, dry thoroughly and buff with a soft cloth. Old fashioned saddle soap is good stuff!

Chlorox also has a cleaner on the market, comes in a hand-pump spray bottle. Its probably about the same as the Westley's, might be cheaper and will work just as good. But don't wear your brand new Levis or that nice black sweatshirt from the Harley Boutique unless you like white spots on your clothes, bleach is bleach and it works on everything.

mike
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Re: tall tires?

#11

Post by Bosheff »

Boy, I really butchered the word vinegar didn't I? Ya know in the old days I never worried bout mold and shit on my tires, cause they usually didn't have enough tread on em to worry bout, or they were so weather checked I knew they weren't gonna last very long anyway. I too used to dump brake fluid on a red rag and rub it on the tires on my ol 67 Chevelle back in the day till somebody told it eats the rubber up. I outgrew all that. The older I git, the lazier I git. Most of the time I just happy that they hold air, much less look purty....bosheff
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Re: tall tires?

#12

Post by Cotten »

I've got at least a bakers' dozen of 1980's Goodyear double-whites stored, and they are starting to resemble the sandwich under the bed.

Is there no long-term storage preservative?
Even for "off-road use only?"

...Cotten
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Re: tall tires?

#13

Post by rrhawg »

I've had the best luck with tea tree oil to kill mold. Bleach works for a short time but tea tree oil keeps it away longer, two or three teaspoons to a gallon of water.
Rich
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Re: tall tires?

#14

Post by PanPal »

I've got at least a bakers' dozen of 1980's Goodyear double-whites stored, and they are starting to resemble the sandwich under the bed.
My buddy had a few of his vintage 20's and 30's tires start to go bad also. We ended up building tire racks in the back of a barn on his property. They now stand up like a bookshelf and seem to be happy. It helps to rotate them once in a while. Stacking them wasn't working.
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