Hi Claire,

have you already changed your tyres?
Did you choose the BT45? I think they are the best tyres available for the Estrella!

CU
Andreas

Hi Andreas

No not yet, but soon. Just paying off the trip to Fiji then next on the list.

Claire

hi,

Andreas it's right. BT45 it's the best tyre for estrella. 11 000 km no problem !

tranquille

Paris

2012 the game is over

Hi Claire,

does Hubert wear new tyres now? How are they? How do they feel?
Do you notice any difference to the Accolades?

CU
Andreas

Hi Andreas

Yes the new tyres are on. I took Hubert for a really good ride on Friday to get rid of the slippery stuff and then tested them a bit on the way home and they were great.

Definately an improvement on the Accolades.

Hey has "The Worlds Fastest Indian" made it to Germany yet? If it does you really must see it.

C

Kiwis can fly!

Hi Claire,

and? How are the BT45?
Could you notice a difference between the old and the new tyres?
Or does it feel the same?

CU
Andreas

Yes they do feel better. Although that could be because I was terrified the old Accolades were going to let go at any minute

C
Kiwis can fly!

Hi,

I am going to change the tyres also.

Both are 9 years old... and the rear one is dead (5000 kms, at the limit when I bought the Estrela, 6500 now, really dead in the middle). Autumn, with its rain, is really here now, so I must change it!
Is it normal, only 6000kms?

I do not know yet if I will choose the BT 45 or keep the original Accolades. I understand that the BT45 are better, but the Accolades have a better "look" for Estrella old style...

New life for an old post

First thing to do on my new 1994 Estrella has been tires replacement. The bike I bought has still the 25 year old originals (two pieces of glass ... to throw away) but I find that replacing them is a very hard. a) original sizes hard to find, almost impossible. b) at present problems with tire availability due to the logistic international crisis. c) hard to find tires that respect the original diameter in order not to modify bike dimensions (trail, etc...) and final gear ratios.

This is the solution I found. It is a slight illegal, but luckily in Italy it is not such an important problem ...
The stock Bridgestone Accolades have a diameter of 619mm at the front, and 628mm at the rear. Finding two tires that are almost identical in size is quite impossible. Furthermore, the choice is restricted by rim size: many new tires ask for a wider rim, main at the rear.

Bridgestone BT 45, which seems to be the most reliable solution has these problems: out of production from more than 3 years, so you find just old tires.
BT 46 is good, they offer a front 90/90-18 620mm diameter for rim 1,85” (perfect), but the problem is at the rear. Bridgestone have a 120/80 (624mm) or a 130/90 (639mm) both for rim minimum size 2,50” and only tube type. Anyway no way to find the available rear size product.

After a long search between suitable sizes, product availability, tires that were good in pairs, quality and performance, I finally found the solution, at least for me: the excellent Avon RoadRider mk.II.
The front is like the original a 90/90-18 and has a diameter of 619mm, at the rear a 120/80 with a diameter of 629mm. The only problem at the rear is the rim width. For the Avon there is a 2.50 ", that of the Estrella is a 2.15, but when the tire is mounted it has been seen that the profile remains acceptable, even on the narrowest rim.
On the next months I’ll inform forum about my experiences with these tires.

Welcome Silvano,
Thank you for your detailed Information. I will be careful with my 45s - I think they are from 2015 but really good. I am lucky that it is so easy to find 8-Inch tyres for my Lambretta.
Have a good ride
Roger