Is the Dunlop kt977 the original rear tire on an 87 zilla 500? I have a 91 and 92 250r with the kt977 so not sure what tires should be on my early 87 zilla? I keep my bikes STRICTLY stock original and low hour so I wanna make sure it's perfect. Thx, Ken
Mine has original fronts. They are Dunlop's.
They are Dunlop, but I don't think it's kt977. They have "L" lug.
This is factory 87 rear.
Pretty sure 250 and the 500 had same tires, I got a 87 zilla with kt977. More of a diamond tread.
Believe it or not, the zilla came with two different sets of tires from the factory. Some had Dunlops, and some had Bridgestones. Either would be factory correct. From the research I've done, it doesn't appeat to be an option, but more what region the quad was purchased in. Most zilla's in the midwest came with the Dunlops. Most zillas purchased out West and down South came with the Bridgestones from what I've seen. Not sure about other regions.
Also, the 250 and 500 did not have the same tires. The Bridgestones were close, but not exact. I'm at work late right now, but I can get exact tire models for you if I think about it tomorrow. I have a mint stock '87 250 at home with Bridgestones, and two mint stock '88 zillas at home, one with the Dunlops (purchased new in MO), the other with the Bridgestones (purchased new in CA).
The Zilla Dunlop tires are the same as what Toydoc posted. Zoom in closely to this pic to see both sets of factory tires on two mint '88 zillas. You can see the Dunlops pretty good. Pretty sure '87 was the same.
Here is a close up of the factory Bridgestones.
Here's a good side by side of the two different front tires that came stock on the zillas.
Left quad is the same 1987 factory Dunlops front and rear.
Never seen any Bridgestones till later years.
Tires can be switched at the dealer to make a sale. So they may have had sale pending on a left over 87 but the guy wanted the Bridgs tires. They would switch as long as it's new to new
Actually, I totally forgot that I have an '87 zilla that I bought from the original owner years ago with very low hours that was missing the entire top end. It was ice raced up north years ago when it was new. The top end went out, and the owner took the whole jug off and took the piston out and it sat for years. He misplaced the top end and lost it.
At any rate, that bike is an '87 and it had the factory Bridgestones on it when I got it, and I'm guessing they were original based on the shape of the bike. The only problem with the tires is that they had ice studs installed in every lug. Not too useful for me, and the tires are swiss cheese without the ice studs. But they still have decent tread if I can find them. (I took off the tires years ago to put normal tires on it so I could roll it around without tearing things up.) I could look for a date stamp on the tires if I can find them. I'm guessing they will were produced late '86 or early '87. Also, '87 250's came with a very similar Bridgestone tire, so I would sure think the zilla's did too.
I am the original owner of two 1987 and they only came with Dunlops.
When Suzuki did press release they would brag about the special tire Dunlop made just for the quadracer.
They had to compete with Honda H-Trak tire made just for them by Ohtsu
I bought a 1988 LT-500 a few years back from the 2nd owner (who bought it from his brother). This quad came with the Bridgestones as well.
I'm not really sure on the 88, I didn't buy one new.
Remember when your looking to by a new toy. You research it, shop it, go to the dealer 5 times, kick the tires (for real
).
Thats what I was doing when the 500 just came out. I went from a new 85 Zuki 250, to a new 86 honda 250r. Now looking to go back to Suzuki that I really didn't need. So to help kick myself over the edge, I found a deal and bought a pipe for a LT500. But I didn't own a LT500, so only one fix for that. Off to the dealer I went. The pipe went on the day it came home. So I have a new factory 87 pipe and silencer in the attic that was never run outside the factory / dealer
BTW,
You have some beautiful bikes Yagerzzz
Actually, I totally forgot that I have an '87 zilla that I bought from the original owner years ago with very low hours that was missing the entire top end. It was ice raced up north years ago when it was new. The top end went out, and the owner took the whole jug off and took the piston out and it sat for years. He misplaced the top end and lost it.
At any rate, that bike is an '87 and it had the factory Bridgestones on it when I got it, and I'm guessing they were original based on the shape of the bike. The only problem with the tires is that they had ice studs installed in every lug. Not too useful for me, and the tires are swiss cheese without the ice studs. But they still have decent tread if I can find them. (I took off the tires years ago to put normal tires on it so I could roll it around without tearing things up.) I could look for a date stamp on the tires if I can find them. I'm guessing they will were produced late '86 or early '87. Also, '87 250's came with a very similar Bridgestone tire, so I would sure think the zilla's did too.
You are correct Yagerzzz. I was wrong.
I went back to my owners manual that came with my 1987 and it clearly shows FACTORY stock Bridgestones on 1987 LT500 photo shoot that went into the owners manual.
