In this weeks issue of MCN, our very own Bryn Phillips has been helping a Yamaha V-Max owner identify suitable tyre options for his machine.
The gentleman in question had recently seen the ‘Tyre Special’ pull-out supplement in the weekly paper, and wanted to know if some of the latest tyres like Continental’s RoadAttack 3 were likely to become available for his bike in the near future.
Yamaha’s V-Max uses a unique combination of sizes with a 120/70 R18 front and 200/50 R18 rear, not found on any other motorcycle currently in production.
The three tyre options currently available for the V-Max are as follows:
- Bridgestone Battlax BT-028 – Original Equipment
- Metzeler ME880 Marathon
- Dunlop RoadSmart II
With a relatively small number of V-Max machines on the market, there will be little appetite for manufacturers to produce a tyre for the bike as they may deem it difficult to sell sufficient volumes to recoup their investment.
A tyre maker will only gear up for production if they have an Original Equipment contract, as Bridgestone do in this case, or when they think they can steal sales as owners look to try something else, but that becomes more and more difficult as the market becomes more diluted with increased options available to riders.
If in doubt about a fitment, always speak to your local motorcycle tyre dealer!
