Tyres

[ranton_rambler]

Mine are 2.75-18 on front and 3.00-18 on rear.

Regarding Mitas, they are a brand of one the big names, although I can’t remember which. I have one on my Rudge and would have no qualms about fitting on my other bikes.

I believe Metzeler only make bike tyres, so are also a good choice. I ran their dual sport tyres on my VFR800 based on excellent comparative road test reviews.

[Boxprod]

Please forgive me for disagreeing, but Mitas do seem to be still a proud European outfit, although as they say on their website, "Currently, it is distributed worldwide using global sale network Yokohama TWS."
Probably their largest market is agricultural machines, and they supply direct to folk like John Deere, Claas and New Holland.
Long may they survive.
Pete.

[ranton_rambler]

Yes, Mitas make their tyres in Czechia. We used to fit them as OE on our tractors when I was still working.
I think they were bought by Trelleborg (who also took over the tractor tyre part of Pirelli) and they in turn have been bought by Yokohama.

There has been a lot of consolidation in the tyre business. A lot of people in UK like to use Avon tyres on their old bikes - they were actually owned by Cooper Tires, and are now owned by Goodyear. Apparently Goodyear are going to start making motorcycle tyres with the Avon name again, although not in the UK. The car tyres are a different story I think, although I don't have the details.

Regarding tractor tyres, one of the biggest surprises we had was when we were asked by Purchasing to approve BKT tyres from India for OE fit.
It turned out that all the development was done by ex-Pirelli guys and they were really good tyres for both ride/handling and in-field traction. And if we wanted anything changing or a new size, they would just do it. No chance of that with Michelin!

[LaceyDucati]

As Eldert said Heidenau makes small tyres specifically for classic bikes, link below. They also make some classic race tyres as well. Good tyres and probably my choice for narrow tyres. Tyres are like oil, lots of opinions and personal preferences

https://shop.heidenau.com/de/klassik/motorrad.html

On my own 350 Mark 3 I have Bridgestone BT45's (now aged out by lack of recent use!) They were 90/90 18 and 110/80 18, too large for standard rims but these will run on Wm2 fr, Wm3 Rr rims. These are the sizes used by most classic race Ducati's. They worked very well on my bike, albeit I have very non standard Wm3 and Wm4 rims (optimum rims for those size tyres). Space is tight in the sub frame, but it clears with thinned down heads on the seat bolts. Using the wider rims was an exercise back in the 90's for me, in an attempt to expand tyre choice and to be optimal, rim to tyre . Not everyone's cup of tea, but it worked for me and nobody ever noticed! I would add, my 350 is far from standard and has seen track use in its life.

Regards Nigel

[Bevel bob]

I have ME22 tyres on my 250 and on the 175 Motobi. 2.75 x18 .price was good but took a bit of finding .