Bad tires

[argonsagas]

Grandpa prefers being upright, loves his GS, and has even had a "deerly beloved" moment with them....

[Grandpa]

Grandpa, so I'm trying to teach my grandmother "how to suck eggs"!
Yes, you should know a good performing tyre by now. How many times did you drop your GS's over that 250,000 miles?

49er, you're unteachable, so I won't bother with you any longer. I'm out of this thread. Go waste your money.

[Griffin]

"Feel Good Crap"! Ask any race competitor who has made the wrong tyre choice on race day how they felt. In many instances they have compomised their safety because of being cheap minded or lacking the necessary budget, to be out front. Most of the road tyres that are now available have morphed from race bred compounds.

Comparing racing conditions to street conditions is like comparing street conditions to off road conditions. Racers also use tire warmers and take several slower laps to warm and scruff up their tires before starting the race. Do you do that on your street bike before commuting to work every morning?

I have a set of Hi-Maxes on my GS750, and they're ok. I prefer the feel of Pirellis, but the Hi-Maxes have never induced any kind of dangerous sliding or wobbles or anything of that nature.

They last a lot longer than most higher priced tires too, so they really cost about 1/4-1/3 as much per mile as the more "elite" brands.

[Sandy]

Comparing racing conditions to street conditions is like comparing street conditions to off road conditions. Racers also use tire warmers and take several slower laps to warm and scruff up their tires before starting the race. Do you do that on your street bike before commuting to work every morning?

Exactly, any race compound tires I've run on the street have been downright the most evil, nasty, slippery and unpredictable things I've ever driven on. Until they get hot of course, which unfortunately doesn't happen when your just puttering around town. Get them hot then you can ride with wild abandon.

[49er]

Comparing racing conditions to street conditions is like comparing street conditions to off road conditions. Racers also use tire warmers and take several slower laps to warm and scruff up their tires before starting the race. Do you do that on your street bike before commuting to work every morning?

I have a set of Hi-Maxes on my GS750, and they're ok. I prefer the feel of Pirellis, but the Hi-Maxes have never induced any kind of dangerous sliding or wobbles or anything of that nature.

They last a lot longer than most higher priced tires too, so they really cost about 1/4-1/3 as much per mile as the more "elite" brands.

Grandpa's right! What's the point? I'm out of here too.

[ChrisLaw]

My bike had some dry-rotted, cupped, and god knows how old Kendas on it when I bought it. It now has a brand new set of Kenda Challengers, (110/90/19 on the front (No fender, no issues) and 120/90/18 on the rear.) They have been throughly scrubbed in and feel absolutely fantastic! I have about 4 months of riding experience though so my opinion means almost nothing. Even so, wet and dry these Kendas are performing admirably enough for me and my riding style, and thats what is important.

[80GS750]

the only tires i have tried so far are the dunlop 404's

i have been extremely happy with them. great grip in the dry and no issues with them in the rain.

they seem to be wearing just fine also...

im also one of those "you get what you pay for" guys

[bwringer]

Get them hot then you can ride with wild abandon.

Er, I think the correct phrase is "reckless abandon".

(Sorry, that will be funny to about 6 people...)




Anyhooooooo... I rode the snot out of a set of those Kendas several years ago on my KZ650. Never a problem, other than my wife was extremely upset when I dragged the passenger pegs with her on the back through a nice little set of curves. Your problem wasn't the tires.

I've also ridden the snot out of several sets of Cheng Shin HiMaxes. Great tires, long lasting, excellent grip wet or dry. I have witnesses. Anyone remember the Brown County SCUBA Ride in 2004 or 2005?

I do prefer and recommend the Pirelli Sport Demons (if cost is absolutely no object) or the Avon AM26 RoadRiders (if cost is something of an object) nowadays. The reason for this is that these tires offer a bit more feel than the CS out at the hairy ragged edge. They also have slightly pointier profiles for a lighter feel everywhere else.

For cost per mile, you can't beat the Cheng Shins, and they are an excellent handling tire wet or dry. If you can't keep up, it ain't the tires.

I don't know how long the Kendas last (sold the KZ), so I'll stay out of that one. But I can vouch that they stick and handle very well wet and dry.

When I tried the Dunlop 404s mentioned earlier, they stuck to the road well enough when new, but they wore out very early, and developed a lot of bad habits as they wore. I won't buy another set, and I do not recommend them personally. YMMV -- if you don't ride with the same, um, reckless abandon as me, maybe you'll love them and they'll last forever. Dunno.

[goatboy]

Tire choices opinions are like Ford/Chevy or Yam/Suz

I've enjoyed reading all the posts here, and I haven't done the math to discern a clear "winner" of one brand over another.

But, I do agree that our lives depend upon our choice of tires.

Let's take heed to the negative posts about certain brands, and vice versa.

IMHO, I've ridden street bikes for 30 years (and dirt/MX bikes for 34.)
In the distant past (late 70s to early 90s), I swore by Dunlop Sport Elites or Pirellis for extreme use, or Continentals for sport touring. I had several near crashes from cheap Chinese tires during that time (on customers bikes at the m/c shop at which I worked.) But times and tires have changed.

I'm very happy with my new Bridgestone Spitfire S11's (dual compound) for now - although cannot give longevity stats. A new set from DK cost $126! Many tires cost more than that PER TIRE.

My riding style is not nearly as aggressive at 46 y.o. as it was when I was 18, but lately I have worked hard to scare myself in the North Georgia mountains (20 minutes away from where I live) several times since the tires were mounted, and I'm impressed. Most of my miles now are commuter miles. Wet performance is also great (have been caught twice now in heavy rainfall when I wasn't expecting it.) Longest ride in heavy rain was 25 mile expressway commute at 70 mph, with LOTS of puddling, and had zero issues.

Just my 2 cents, but shop around, and try to buy a tire you trust (that others have recommended.) Not trying to push DK, but as a 20+ year customer, their prices are still great, free shipping, & generous return policy.

[duaneage]

FWIW I use IRC Duotour RS-310 tires on my bike. Tire wear is acceptable and they are good in wet and dry conditions. Plus they have lots of sizes and are reasonably priced.

[Jethro]

I have heard nothing but good from people I trust about the Cheng Shin brand tires. That is all...

[chuckycheese]

Irc

FWIW I use IRC Duotour RS-310 tires on my bike. Tire wear is acceptable and they are good in wet and dry conditions. Plus they have lots of sizes and are reasonably priced.

I've got a set of RS-310's on the GS1100 and am really pleased with them, so far. I've only got about 1000 miles on them but they feel really good. I've also had very good luck with their tubes in the past.

I'm keeping track of how well they wear compared to the GT-501's I'm running on the GS750. It's no doubt not a perfect comparison but it should be pretty close.

[highmileage]

For the record, I just found this on the CBX club site:

'I just attended the BMW OA International Rally in West Bend, WI where I had a chance to discuss the unusual wear pattern on my Metzeler MEZ6 with a Metzeler Tech specialist. He explained in detail how the Metzelers are supposedly very sensitive to underinflation and recommended to run them above 40 PSI pressure ( I run 38 PSI on the rear) He was very convincing and supported his arguments with illustrations on paper. Excellent service.'

[KennyJ]

Another thumbs up for the Cheng Shin Hi-Max. Been running them for years on the 85 550E and the 85 FJ1100. Good mileage, predictable, inexpensive, good in the rain. Sure they are not "race" compound, and I am sure a few street tires will let you carve that corner a fraction of a second faster, but overall they are a fantastic deal!

Kenny

[Kerry]

Going back to the original poster, I just bought Kenda Challengers - have about 300km on them. I was out for a ride last night, first time on wet roads on the Kendas. (It had rained earlier, the roads were wet but drying.) I was turning onto a side street - regular slow turn in second gear, not braking at all - when the rear slid out on me. I stopped, got off the bike and went back to see if there was anything on the road surface; nothing that I could see except a somewhat wet road.

Makes me wonder. I'll put some more kms on the tires and report back later...