New member here
 

Hello to all. I'm a new member, 75 yrs of age, retired, who likes to restore old motorcycles, mostly smaller ones, that youngsters can learn to ride on as my sons did years ago. They learned on an old kd100, but its been long gone. My current project is a '78 KM100. The front tire on this bike is a dry-rotted 2.50 - 16 and I'm having trouble finding a replacement for it. The rear is a 3.00 - 14. Not as bad as the front, so will do for now til I find a replacement. Does anyone have a suggestion of where to find tires similar to these old Nittos? Thanks, Jack

Welcome. Sounds like a nice retirement gig.
Wish I could help on tires. Someone over here on ADV in Old's Cool may have some advice. https://advrider.com/f/forums/olds-cool.35/

2.50 inches is roughly equal to 100mm but from what I've found, the sizing in metric is more like the 80mm sizing, but you need to verify actual inflated width.

Duro makes some, click here for a pdf catalog the street tires are near the end of the catalog, then check with a local dealer or on-line. The 80/100 width on their Excursion tire shows 3.2" width on a 1.85 rim. On page 61 the HF308, which is a Pirelli MT53 tread style comes in a 2.50-16 and is 2.6" wide. I have a 4.00-18 HF308 on my street tracker 500. Decent tire. Here is at $32.36. It's a 70s period look tire.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for your help, guys. I did some more searching and found the tire I was looking for on ebay. Kenda K262 comes in the correct size and tread pattern of the old Nitto. Its an on/off road type tire.

Old trials pattern should be easy, but make sure to look up the tire's actual size when inflated. I checked Kenda's site and they didn't show the K262 in the 2.50-16 so if you can buy one do it now in the event they quit importing them.