Hi, after many phone calls and trawling the internet, it seems there are no 170/70-b16 tyres in the country untill at least october. this size fits the xvs1300 midnight star and i believe the xvs 950. i'm sure somewhere some dealer must have one in stock. does anyone know where there is one? ta

Get in there quick mate

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item415cafcbeb

or if the B makes a difference then for another £50 you can have a bin the sizing

http://www.bits4moto...html?TryeID=298

If you want more choice just enter 170/70-b16 in a google search

thanks for that, i need to check with my tyre person to see if it would do, the second link, they are out of stock, the "b" stands for bias and are designed for belt driven bikes ( so i'm told )

that tyre on e-bay isnt compatible, its the wrong construction, fit it to get you out the sh1t but, it would fail an MOT with it on (SO I WAS TOLD)...i'm in the same boat, desperate for a rear tyre but non....ANYWHERE |||, apparently production in japan was affected by the tsunami.

you got sorted yet Eggar ?

OK, let's clear up the rampant misconceptions here:

B is for bias-belted, nothing to do with belt drive, it's just a carcass layout that's halfway between crossplys and radials.

Dunlop D206 is a radial tyre and, as such, is perfectly OK for the rear of any bike. MOT rules on different construction tyres are basically that the front must be the same or stiffer construction than the rear, so:

Radial rear - any front

Bias-belt rear - bias-belt or crossply front (NOT radial)

Crossply rear - crossply only front.

Here endeth the lecture - hope you guys get your tyres sorted out OK.

OK, let's clear up the rampant misconceptions here:

B is for bias-belted, nothing to do with belt drive, it's just a carcass layout that's halfway between crossplys and radials.

Dunlop D206 is a radial tyre and, as such, is perfectly OK for the rear of any bike. MOT rules on different construction tyres are basically that the front must be the same or stiffer construction than the rear, so:

Radial rear - any front

Bias-belt rear - bias-belt or crossply front (NOT radial)

Crossply rear - crossply only front.

Here endeth the lecture - hope you guys get your tyres sorted out OK.

... thanks for that mate, very informative

SORTED, THANKS TO DANNY AT WOOSTER TYRES LEEDS, HE FOUND ME WHAT IS PROBABLY THE LAST DUNLOP K555 IN THE COUNTRY. ALSO I CONTACTED YAMAHA UK AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE DUNLOPS WOULD BE HERE LATE SEPTEMBER AND THE BRIDGESTONES MID NOVEMBER IN LIMITED NUMBERS IF YOU WANT ONE GET ONE ORDERED NOW. I EVEN CONSIDERED IMPORTING A BRIDGESTONE FROM THE USA BUT FORTUNATELY I DIDN'T HAVE TO GO DOWN THAT ROAD

by the way to import a bridgstone from the u.s.a (off ebay ) would have cost approx £165 including postage and vat and carriers handling fee

ive ended up buying the dunlop d206 radial..., the correct tyre for this bike is unavailable, no stock in UK, ireland, france or germany...what a ridiculous situation. Its not the tyre of my choice but if i want to ride the bike i needed it... , So i'm running a bias belted front and a radial rear, ...out on the road there is no difference, just feels the same.

but rest assured, when the correct tyre is back in stock, i shall be buying a set, and stuffed in a black bin liner in the loft, i aint going through this farce again. Why have yamaha fitted such an oddball tyre size ...?

And lets hope Avon come good with the tyre they intend to produce next january

Be, carefull on your insurance with that tyre. i contacted my insurance company to see if i could fit a 180/70-16, they told me i would have to cancel my policy and requote, this meant after 2 months of insurance i would lose half my money and the new policy would be approx £80 more because of a change of wheel, meaning i would be paying approx £120 more per year for my insurance and i was told by someone else that in the event of an accident the first thing that is checked is the tyres and if they are not the ones specified for that bike the insurance is void, we just can't win what ever we do

I believe Midnight's tyre is the correct size, 170/70 - 16. It's just a radial tyre... after doing some research on 180 tyres I can understand why UK insurance companies would be reluctant [change of tyre profile etc]

I am sure so long as the tyre size is correct and the tread depth is legal it wouldn't be an issue... (at least not unless those EU plans are passed)

It is the same in NZ. The current vogue is for 17" tyres. The selection choice for 16" , 18" and 19inch tyres is abismal. The only 16" front tyre to fit the FJ1200 in NZ is a Shinko. It is almost the case, you grab what ever you can find irrespective of whether it is compatible .

Surely, the manufactures could standardise sizes for any particular any style ( cruiser, tourer, etc).

it's all to do with what the manufacturer specifies for the bike, yamaha specifies a 170/70-b16 for the rear on the midnight star, when i contacted yamaha uk i asked if they could authorise a different tyre ( size etc ) and they wouldn't and as for the insurance companies, it's just an excuse to screw more money out of us

well, it's in now and its tough shit, i'm not gonna waste my time worrying about something that probably wont happen... ive got a motorcycle to ride. .

What do i tell anyone who's thinking about buying a yamaha 1300 midnight star ...?, "dont bother, you'll never get a replacement tyre for it".... the situation is worse than ridiculous and has somewhat put me off the bike...i'd certainly think twice before buying a yamaha cruiser again, and i'm about to tell yamaha uk exactly the same thing.....

Good!! Tell them I think the same... I'd suggest they change the rim to a 180 on future models (or whatever the 1100 uses)

How do you think i feel, the bridgestone sahara is long gone so according to the insurers and possibly the eu logic my bike is illegal and uninsurable..........

How do you think i feel, the bridgestone sahara is long gone so according to the insurers and possibly the eu logic my bike is illegal and uninsurable..........

so's the other bike Jason with the long defunct yokohama 3.50 x 18 and 2.75 x 21 block tread

when i contacted yamaha uk, i asked why couldn't yamaha put pressure on the tyre manufacturers to produce the tyres we need when we need them, the nice polite fellow on the phone couldn't answer the question and i also said i wouldn't buy another yam because of this situation, i got the impression yamaha don't seem that bothered

ive e-mailed yamaha customer care and anxiously await a reply ...i bet watchdog would be interested in this ..."dont buy a yamaha cruiser, when the tyre wears out your screwed"... i still cant believe it