Guys and Girls I have been reading this ongoing thread and am so happy that I finally chose the 907ie as my entry into the Paso scene however as a result of reading this I have made a few phonecalls here in the UK.

Sadly it would appear that we no longer have the ability in the UK to produce tyres and as such most of our suppliers come via France and Spain. We do have specialist makers but they are actually linked to the main manufacturers and it would appear they basically use a standard mould and finish in house to their niche market with the tread required.

Re Avon/Cooper if we were to persue this matter it would have to be via the States were it would appear the main decisions get made although the builds would if they did restart be in Spain and France.

Regarding the moulds it would appear that most tyre manufacturers destroy these after 3 years unless there is an interest shown by a specialst supplier.

I reckon the Asian market is were you need to hunt for a supplier - Is there not a fairly active Japanese Paso scene? Maybe they know somewhere?

Sorry, late but not forgotten
I think the discussion about the content of a notice to Ducati or a tire supplier/manufacturer is very easy, regarding the business facts - and that´s all manufacturers are intereseted in. Most interesting is the money, the factory can earn with the tires and the return on invest time for the tooling and D&D costs (if necessary).
So, the manufacturer will make a calculation, based on the market share and the volume/quantity of these special tires.
I there is only one supplier for this tires (even Cooper/Avon or Pirelli or who ever) it will be single source, so the only information, we can provide, is the potential numbers of needed tire sets per anno.
Consequence or us: Collecting the numbers of potential tire sets. Unfortunately, only 7 Paso rides emailed me their needed quantities. I expected much more.


Besides: Company "Heidenau" in Germany rejected the RFQ for the Paso dimensions "missing the market quantities".

cheers,
Bernd

Keep the Paso´s riding

As u very well know, there is only few 750/906 guys, who are looking these sites every day, so its very hard to count right amount of tires needeed.... Anyway if i havent emailed to You, I WANT TO BE in those, who really want new 16" tires! COUNT ME !!!!!!

Please add my name to the list of those in need of tires. I recently scared up a rear in Ohio at the VMD event where the swap meet was huge. It's new old stock, and still in good condition (although I'm sure it's rather more brittle than if made recently).

I was unable to find a front, so had to fit a Pirelli of the wrong size (120/80).

As a result, I want both a new front and a new rear.

Thanks for taking the initiative.

I think maybe a point is being missed here... The big mfg's may well be willing to put out the correct size tires at a loss or break even point if to them it is presented as a loyalty issue. Aren't the tires on the DESMOSEDICI RR exclusive to it? Perhaps if Ducati was to ask Bridgestone in light of the publicity they have gotten out of Stoner and Ducati being world GP champ this past year+. Just sayin..... I personally stick with a brand when I'm happy with it, my paso is the only bike not on Pirelli tires, but was I to have bridgestones on a bike and be impressed with them I may well make the switch on the other bikes as I replaced tires.

I recently bought a 1987 Paso 750 with 3,000 miles that had been in storage since 1991. Managed to find a new rear tire from a shop in Oregon and a new front on Ebay. Just to have a spare or two around I have been looking for used ones but would buy any brand that can produce new tires in the size we need to run our Pasos' as designed. Let's hope Avon or someone from the Asian market can come through for us. This discussion is great!

It occurs to me that we may be able to obtain an estimate of how many Pasos are still in operation from the Motorcycle Industry Council. That kind of number is available for cars, based on an estimate average vehicle life, i.e. after each passing year so many are retired due to old age, accidents etc.

So in preparing our case for the manufacturers, if we could give them a documented estimate of their potential sales volume for replacement tires, we may be more convincing. In Faloon's book, Ducati Belt-Drive Two-Valve Twins pp 204,205) he published production volumes that give us the big number from which to estimate remaining units in operation:

6,665 750/906 Paso
2,607 750 Sports
0,301 '89 400 SS Jr
9,573 Total (estimate)

So what do you think, 10% left, worldwide?

I'll take three sets, please. What about the rest of us?

spaynenda, check the bottom part of page 3 of this thread

G.

G,

Right. I like your number better. I must have skipped over that post or forgot about it. Now the challenge is to get an accurate estimate of Paso's still on the road to present to potential mfrs.

Just last Saturday, I met a Ducatisti from Argentina who thinks there may still be tires there. Also, there may be a tire manufacturer in Argentina willing to re-produce what we need, if the moulds still exist.

Thanks.

found this website.....

japanese guys from what i have understand are working on the same.....

16" club

Hi All,

I've been away from this site too long. Please count me in the numbers for two sets of tires. Hell, I'll even buy three sets at this point. I called Michelin U.S. a couple of months ago and pleaded my issue to no avail and then spent two weeks calling every wholesale distributor they provided me names for. I came away from that with nothing. Here's an interesting tidbit; one of Michelin's customers was a race shop and he told me that the dragster crowd was buying up all the front tires because of their small size and wide profile. He said they ended up with way more rears than fronts when the supply finally ceased. We can thank them for wasting perfectly good sport tires!

I've spent the past year or so refurbishing my Limited in between raising 3 children, keeping the wife happy, etc, etc, and I hope to post some pics soon. I just have to reassemble the bodywork - you know how much we love that!

Thanks to all who post here for the invaluable technical info - and jokes - as it's kept me motivated to finish this project. It truely is a beautiful motorcycle.

here is a list of current specialty tire manufacturers
Alliance Tire Company http://www.alliance.co.il http://www.alliance.co.il/eng/dealers.php
Carlisle Tire & Wheel http://www.carlisletire.com/
China Industrial Company http://zvalve.com/
Denman Tire Company http://www.denmantire.com/
Duro Tire & Wheel Company http://www.durotire.com
I know for a fact Carlise keeps a lot of hot rods in tires..............Just a thought for a new direction
there are still a lot of cottage industry tire makers as well, but they are by no means a cheap option

higgy, You did great job !

I spoke to Coker Tire yesterday and they will not be working on any new development tires to their line for at least a year. So they might be an option down the line.

Please count me in for tires. I would get 2 sets at least.