"Goldwing Specific" Tires??

[peejmeister]

I bought a 130/70ZR-18 Bridgestone Exedra Max Radial Front Tire online but the Honda shop told me it was a 'regular cruiser' tire and not the Goldwing-specific Bridgestone Exedra Max Front Motorcycle Tire 130/70ZR-18 (63W) For Honda Gold Wing 2018-2021. Is this snake oil? What's the difference, rim width?

[Rambozo]

What I have noticed is many tires do not have the weight rating required for a wing.

[C-dub]

The Bridgestone site doesn't even list an actual 63W for the GoldWing. They are all just 63. It appears the W is the speed rating up to 163mph. The dealer might be thinking the W stands for Wing or some odd thing. I think the tire you have is correct.

[peejmeister]

After further research and talking with the guy in the service dept at my local Honda shop, apparently several tire manufacturers have Goldwing-spec tires. Bridgestone has their Exedra G853, which on their site specifically calls out the 2018+ 'wings. The tire is described as 'On-road High Performance Type “Exedra American Radial” Compatible with radial-installed American flagship models requiring high performance.' High performance is not mentioned on the Exedra Max. So, unless it's just a marketing gimmick to charge more, although the tire sizes are the same, there is supposedly some difference related to performance.

For the extra $7, I went and bought the Exedra G853 (which is what the Honda shop wanted to sell me, but for $50 more). Given the weight and power of the 'wing, if there is any additional 'performance' built into the tire, I'll take it. I do ride mine more like an "ST1800", similar to how I ride my ST1100.

[Captain Steve]

I own a 2021 GW Tour. The original front tire is Dunlop with the following designation on the sidewall: 130/70 R18 M/C H.

[Sadanorakman]

It's common in the UK for there to be manufacturer specific versions of certain auto tyres, particularly BMW. I guess throughout Europe too.

To be clear then, the exact brand, and main model name, size, profile, load rating and speed rating, but then carries a BMW or Audi designation in its naming. Of course they tend to be a little more expensive too.

All I can think is that the tyre and car manufactures work together to tune a specific tyre model for a specific brand of car. I can only assume there may be a slight modification in part of the make-up of the tyre, or it's compounds. Who really knows?