ducatipaso.org

Hello, I have been trying to fix the ongoing tire issue, i took my bike to a cuouple local welding shops to see what it would take to get the swingarm modified in order to have clearance to fit a 150-80-16, I think I will be going with the avon azaro sport rear as that is one of the only z-rated tires in this size. The welding shop said they wouldn't weld it unless I found out what material ducati use to construct the swingarm with. They said they had to know whether it was 7 series aluminum or 6 series. They said that one has to be heat treated after welding in order to properly temper the metal, and the other is fine right after it is done without heat treating. Does anyone know what type of aluminum duc used?

this week I had a longer discussion with AVON, but not about the 150/80 but about the 180/60-16.
There`s a new model coming out called AV72 Cobra. This is HR rated but even german vehicle inspection (TÜV) confirmed to me that it`s no problem to use HR tires on a Paso 750 (and they are very strict).
According to AVON the best combination with this tire is a 130/70-16 AV45 Azaro ST. The combination of AV45 ST and AM42 (180/60-16) would also be fine. (both rear tires should not be combined with a AV59 front).

Some time ago there was a german company offering officially approved conversions with an AVON AM23 180/60-16 tire. That tire is not available any longer but regarding width AVON confirmed to me that the AV72 is the same so it will fit in the swingarm also.
I have no personal experience with fitting this tire size but I will go in this direction when the AV72 comes on the german market next month.

The AV72 is a custom/tourer tire used on bikes such as V-rod, Goldwing etc.. As the new Honda for example has 118hp and 167NM of torque I don`t have any concerns about tire performance. These bikes are as powerful as (super)sportsbikes were 20 years ago and also handle like them.

http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/ ... subpage=36

G.

PS: the 150/80 is actually not recommended for a 5.00 wide rim

So, can this be "medicin to Michelin problem" ???

Sorry, that i have to work hole time with my ST2, so i dont have time to read "very carefully" all topics..... very hurry hole time....

So, a 180-60-16 will fit a paso swingarm without modification you believe?

Check this out:

http://paso.enthusiast.co.nz/

http://paso.enthusiast.co.nz/swingarm-pics.html

I have been in touch with the owner and we can copy this info to our site.

So, a 180-60-16 will fit a paso swingarm without modification you believe?

This company did the conversions:

Moto Helmut Thome
Wersch 37
53804 Much
Germany

There was a Paso being sold on ebay Germany like 2 or 3 years ago and I contacted the seller. He pointed me to the company. I contacted them and they willingly gave me more info. They did use a 520 chain, spacers for the sprockets and they also lenghtened the center stand (not sure if that is really necessary). Of course the excenters would have to be rotated a bit back so you`ll lose some of the chain adjustment range.

I`ll only be able to confim this to you personally by mid of next months when I have the tire.
The tire height seems to be a bigger problem than its width.
Checking the Avon website for measurements:
AV72 180/60-16: diameter 630mm, width 182mm (measured on a MT5.00 rim), recommended rim: 5.00-5.50
AV46 150/80-16: diameter 644mm, width 152mm (measured on a MT3.50 rim), recommended rim: 3.50-4.25
AV60 170/60-17: diameter 636mm, width 172mm (only mentioning this as there are guys using this size on a P750)

Unluckily I couldn`t find any corresponding info on the M59X in 160/60 or 160/70-16 (which I also saw on a Paso once).
However, if a 17" wheel fits without touching the front of the swingarm the 180/60 will too. Both are lower than a 150/80.
If you remove the excenters draw a line from each excenter`s hole middle and then measure from the lines center to the front of the swingarm you`ll get ca 320mm. So clearance to the front is small but there is one and if you rotate the excenters back as the company told me it can be slightly increased.
The swingarm width (measured at the weldings of the center section) is 198mm. Theoretically on the sides one should have 5-7mm clearance from tire to the swingarm. All in all I`m pretty confident it`ll fit.

Gerhard

PS: since 2004 in Germany tires with a lower speed index (i.e. HR max. 210km/h instead of ZR > 240km/h) can be homologated as long as the index is higher than the topspeed stated in the vehicle`s documents The rule for 4 wheeled vehicles is: topspeed + 6,5km/h + 0,01 x topspeed. The TÜV seems to use the same rule also for bikes. I guess within the EU there are similar rules.
According to tire infos I found a tire will heavily lose load capacity at speeds excessing its speed index which is the greatest issue. So the higher load index of the AV72s will do no harm and the downside of needing more time to get to temperature may be equalized by lowering tire pressure slightly. Probably to early to talk about this, let`s try it first

The swingarm extrusions are most likely 6061, or 6 series. 7 series doesn't extrude well, and is rather uncommon except in billet parts.

Cheers,

thankyou guys for the info.