FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

I just got back from Wheel Works in Garden Grove, CA to have my wheels powder coated gloss black and have new tires fitted.
To my dismay they could not find any matches for my FZR's odd 17" / 18" tire combo in a modern sport compound tire.

They are waiting for my tire choice now and I am having a hard time finding what I had on the wheels till now which are:

Bridgestone Battleax BT150/60/ZR18 rear

Bridgestone Battleax BT110/70/ZR17 front

Will a 160/60/18 fit the rear or is that too wide?

I know back 10 years ago when these tires were fitted there were only two choices for sport compound tires I could find in these sizes. Now there are none???
I don't know which tires will fit for clearances in width for the rear and front and height for the front. They said if I could go to a 70 series and 160 width on the rear it would help but I don't know about fit.

They said they would not mount a "new old stock" tire that is over 4 years old for safety reasons. So I am stuck with "new" new rubber as opposed to "old" new rubber :/

My restored 400 is all stock. Any suggestions for modern sport rubber for my bike??

Thanks : )

Nobody? OK.... here's what I found. Again this is for a stock FZR400 W.

The 150/70/18 series rear tires that can be found by Avon in the USA are too tall. 1 1/2" taller to be exact. Funky looking (and handling) at best.
The 160/60/18 width rear tires also found in the USA by Bridgestone, are too wide without mods is what I read. Racers are using 150's max.

So I had to order a set of Bridgestone Battlax 090's from England and have them shipped overseas. Shipping costs more than the tires.
These are discontinued tires and are a few years old.

The only correct sized tires stateside are the Shinko Podiums, which I have been told to stay away from at all costs. They supposedly come apart and handle like shot.
That being said, there are basically no tires available for 1986 to 1990 FZR 400/600's made anymore. Unless someone here has info otherwise.

: /

What about the standard size of 140/70 ZR 18 for the 400? Usually BT45 should still be available with this size...i´ve got them on the second 3BF which i restored for my brother while driving BT090pro in 150/60 on my own 3BF ... bt016/bt016pro should also be available in either 140/70 or 150/60 ....and 140/70 18 is the default size for the Rearwheel of the 1WG and 1WG based 400s...

Edit:Just checked for the 140/70s at http://www.mopedreifen.de:
Bridgestone: BT45r (V or H Index available), BT 54r, T30r Evo
Dunlop: D205, Roadsmart III
Metzeler: ME880 (but its a choppertire), Z8 Roadtec
Pirelli: Sport Demon (Night Draghon also listed but it seems to be a Fronttire)

Bridgestone them selves list also the combination fo S20 for the Fronttire and BT014 for the rear in their certificationlist for the german TÜV (needed to notice the tires in the papers here if no general allowance for sizes instead of tireprofilebinding is given there) but the BT014 is also soon out of production...

For the 150/60 theres really only the BT090pro listed...

Edit2: For running a 160 as reartire on a 400 you will need to do the same as for a 600: Put the rearbrake saddles stabilizer to the outside instead of the center of the saddle and the according mountingpoint of the top of the swingarm (use some hollow bolts as distances to remount it there properly) and there should be at least 5mm space for the tire again before it touches anything...

Edit3: Last option would be a rearwheelswap againts a Suzuki Bandits 17" rearwheel, same procedure as for the more common fzr 600 needed...no wonder as the 600s from 1991 on use the same rearwheelsize as the 1WG/3BF/3FH 400s

I have the stock rear tire size for the FZR400 as 140/60/18. There are no 60 series rear tires I could find. Only the 70 series tires. The 70's are too tall and dorky looking IMO. Not on my bike : )

The BT014's are what I just took off. I can't find any of the BT014's at all in any size.
I guess living in the UK gives you a few more options for a while until they are all gone.
Also, Yamaha may have imported many more of the FZR400's there also, which means more of a market for tire makers.

In the USA where only 200 bikes were imported for 3 years, there is nothing left it seems.

I will look into the Suzuki Bandit rear wheel alternative for the future. Thanks : )
Where would I find the procedure for doing that swap?

http://www.fzr-forum.de/faq/fzr600/3he_Umbau_bandit.pdf but you will have to use google-translate (maybe registration at the german forum would be needed also, don´t remember now if direct links to documents from the filebase there will work or not without registration) or get someone with knowledge about the german language for translation if you´re not able to understand german

Unlikely, the wikiarticle http://fzronline.com/wiki/doku.php?id=s ... r_rim_swap seems to be stucked in the beginning and complete swingarm exchanges for getting another rim inside like http://www.fzrarchives.com/fzr600/work_ ... 0Swap.html or http://fzronline.com/wiki/doku.php?id=r ... ngarm_swap would obviously be an overkill in work

http://www.fzr-forum.de/wbb/index.php/T ... Hinterrad/ <-In the german FZR-Forum a guy actually sells a complete Set of wheels (changed to GSF 600 17x4,5 " Rearwheel) including Sprockets, Chain and a brand new Set of BT016 Tires for the 3HE (European FZR 600) which should also fit to the FZR 400 due to same axle-diameters and same original Wheelsizes on the 1WG/3EN/3BF/3FH Series
Here in germany, only the Tires as standalone items would cost around the wanted price for the whole Set....but i guess as he wrote "including shipment" this would only be included when shipping inside germany and shipping outside will increase the price a bit due to increased shipment-costs

I will be having this issue shortly as soon as the bike is back together. Please let us know what you finally decide on!

The guy I bought my 400 from spoke highly of the tire he had fitted. I will check exactly what they are tomorrow for you in case it's any help!

Please check out my thread if you get the chance
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12876

Just checked. I currently have the same as your original post fitted!

Front
Bridgestone Battlax BT92F
110/70R17 M/C 54H

Rear
Bridgestone Battlax BT090R Pro
150/60R18 M/C 67H

I think I might have to buy some now before they all vanish from the stockists!

A 160 will fit alright. We run 165 slicks on our cbrf2 conversions.The shinko podium 006's are actually a really damn good tire,and Ive even done a few trackdays on them just to prove a point to someone at the track. We currently are using the 18" bt090 rears in 500 supersport with CCS,and the 2 of us on stock 400's love them,and they are available through our b-stone race tire vendors.Im not sure what you are planning with your 400,but anything other than racing,there are a few great choices out there,There is a continental that ive yet to try,but wouldnt hesitate for a second to run them.I gotta check the model name.The avon am26 roadriders are phenomenal all around tires,especially in the rain,and they come in 18" for stock FZR rears. Dont overthink it,just run it and enjoy

Quick search.....continental- conti-road attack 2. its a 160/60-18. I wish I came to this site more and coulda said something sooner for ya

Not sure I'd want to go up 2 widths on wheel, if it's a 4" rear then 140 standard and 150 oversize, it should put 5-10 mph on top speed because "pinching it" onto a narrow wheel makes it taller.
I don't think you'll find a fitting company that will do it due to the liability, it's different on a race bike.

Guys do upsizes like that plenty of times with zero ill effects......even in racing,where its stressed levels are far higher if anything,so just street riding poses no issue

just read someone said the Shinko Podium tires are terrible... Shit. I ordered a set and have them already on the bike but havent gotten to try them out yet

snydes wrote:just read someone said the Shinko Podium tires are terrible... Shit. I ordered a set and have them already on the bike but havent gotten to try them out yet

People talk.....I asked a guy before who was making fun of the shinko podium 006's,what was so bad about them when "he"used them....to no surprise he replied he never used them. Errr so where does the opinion come from???? Some guys get along great with metzlers......some with b-stone.......some with michelin.Dont worry so much about the shinkos,ive run them and wouldnt have any issue getting another set for a streetbike.

The chances of you finding the limit of any modern tyre on a road bike are really remote. When somebody tells you they off "because the tyres ..." you know it was probably them.