Firestone Returns With A Trio of Tires

FIRESTONE RETURNS WITH A TRIO OF TIRES

Firestone is making motorcycle tires again, some 25 years after bowing out of the market. The company produced motorcycle tires for more than 40 years before concentrating on car tires, and was once a supplier to Indian and Harley-Davidson. Appropriately enough, Fire-stone has introduced three tires designed for Harleys. Firestone is owned by Bridgestone, makers of a wide range of motorcycle tires, but a Firestone spokesman

says there wil be no direct competition between the two companies.

Firestone’s new tires, the VT-01 line, will be made at Bridgestone’s Tokyo, Japan, plant, says a spokesman, but there are plans to move production to the U.S. in as soon as two years.

Now available at dealers: a 19-inch front, and 16-inch tires for the front and rear. Both front tires are slightly narrower than their original equipment counterparts, which Firestone

says will bring about quicker, lighter, steering. A 21-inch front tire will be introduced later this year.