Maxxis promaxx 130/90b-16 rear

[RobC]

The 850GL I bought last year included a set of the same Maxxis tires brand new. As far as handling they grip the road quite well in both dry and wet conditions. Cornering is good to as they still are holding on the road when I'm scraping parts of my bike/feet on pavement.The 850 is my first street bike so I can't really compare to other tires, as they are the only tires I've ridden on.

So far I have put just over 4k miles and the tread is holding up great, even with my 230lbs and all my gear strapped to it.


Hope that helps,
Rob

[Steve]

...And, Steve Mr Giblet is talking about different spoke patterns? What? Huh? 'splain to me, please. Apparently I am ignorant of something here.

... The G wheel (star) spokes actually cross forming a star. The GK wheel spokes do not.

Okay, now that I look at photos I have of the 80 850G I had, yah, I see a different spoke pattern than I have now on 82 GK (not crossing, like Brain picture of 83 850G). Had not noticed that before, or if I did; I had forgot that I did (probably the more likley situation) Oh, Man.

Pic of 80 850G with Spoke pattern crossing, and 82 650G with spoke pattern not crossing.

So somewhere between 80 and 82 it changed (regardless of 17 or 16 inch), I would guess at 82.

Suzuki used the "star" pattern through the 1981 model year. Starting with the 1982 model year, they used the "spoke" pattern that did not cross. This was regardless of model or size. The Katanas had their own pattern that was distinctly different.


Now, back to tires ...
Although they will cost you more to purchase, you will probably not find a longer-lasting tire that also grips quite well, giving you more miles per dollar than any other tire, if you get the Dunlop E3. Not available in a 17-inch rear, but the 16-inch rear is no problem.

How long will they last? The first set I had on my Wing lasted 23,000 miles and you could still see the tread. It wasn't deep, but it was still there. The second set only lasted just over 21,000, but I got a third set anyway. No doubt they might last even longer on a GS.

When you factor in shipping, the top vendors are usually within $5 to $10/set of each other.

http://americanmototire.com

http://tiresunlimited.com

http://denniskirk.com

TiresUnlimited has a huge variety of tires, and orders usually show up the next day for me here in Indianapolis (they're in Dayton, OH.)

Some day I might look into comparing prices between tire suppliers, but Tires Unlimited is just up the road from me. The in-store price is just a little more than the on-line price, but I only have to pay tax, not shipping, so it adds up to about the same amount. Now that I have a new air compressor and a decent selection of balancing weights, I am more likely to start mounting my own tires. I have mounted a few for GSs, but have not done my Wing tires, yet.
I have heard too many horror stories on the Wing forum about mounting them.

[RobC]

I have heard too many horror stories on the Wing forum about mounting them.

I have a friend that mounts his tires on his wing, and does so quite easily, of course we both work on an Air Force base and have access to the hobby shop and it has a pneumatic tire mounting machine. He also has his own static balancer. He has mounted all his tires since he bought his wing 4 years and 98k miles ago, so has gotten to be quite a pro. Got him to mount my tires and from start to balanced was about 20 min.

[Steve]

Yeah, some of them work OK, others just can't seem to get the beads to seat.
Might have something to do with how the tires were stored, and whether the beads have been pressed together.

.

[Nessism]

Yeah, some of them work OK, others just can't seem to get the beads to seat.
Might have something to do with how the tires were stored, and whether the beads have been pressed together.

.

Using proper tire lube really helps. Bwringer was always talking about the stuff so I got me some.

[Giblet]

Got it put on this weekend, in addition to getting "MY" PC set up in the garage. My wife just stuck her head out the door and said I could use the PC in the house. Why would I go inthe house? I have practically everthing I need out here now .

Any how, I had noticed that the GT501 on front had started "tracking" with grooves in the road and seemed to be getting worse as the rear wore down. It was basically slick when I dismounted it Sunday afternoon. Rode to work this morning and the groove tracking was gone and the Maxxis seems to be a good match for the Dunlop.

[rodm850g]

tires

Guys,

Always a good thread starter and a place to hijack from and back...When I'm puttin on a new tire...specially on my ST1300 {I know brand X and agree its not a Suzi} but these new fangled Sport-Tourers tires are sortta likened to the Wings...STIFF side wall. I try to let it rest in the sun some.
Seems to help and as mentioned LUBE that sucker up. I felt froggy and leaped upon a NoMar tire changer, makes the install go quicker, not as easy as seen on the net but tecnique is about 75%.....then push.The kit I got came with a bottle of lube and a jar of lube paste......makes a difference..
Rod

[Joe Nardy]

Another good place to use for online tire ordering is Southwest Moto Tires especially if you're ordering two or more tires. Their prices are a few $$ more than American Moto Tire but they ship free with two or more tires ordered. They usually end up being a few dollars cheaper than AMT in the end.

I just used my shiny new No-Mar tire changer to install a set of Avon AM26 RoadRiders on my GS1100. The full delivered price from SW Moto Tires was $162 for the pair. (Pirelli Sport Demons run $223 for a pair.) If they handle and wear as well as Mr. Wringer says I think these might be the best bang-for-the-buck tires out there for the GS series......

Thanks,
Joe

[Giblet]

The last two times, I just removed the valve core and used my blow nozzle with the long skinny snout held tightly against the valve stem and it's set the bead easily. I also balance with ceramic beads from these guys. I've had them in the last 5 or 6 tires I've run.

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/?gclid=CNjTt86T5JgCFSEgDQodLXmgdQ

They work great, not so much as a tremor out of my tires. I can't say that they extend tire life yet as the manufacturer claims but, I haven't run the same tire with weights vs. beads. My brother, who is fleet manager foor a large industrial linen company is using them in several of his delivery trucks and says he is seeing anywhere from 6K to 8K miles better tire life.

Yeah, some of them work OK, others just can't seem to get the beads to seat.
Might have something to do with how the tires were stored, and whether the beads have been pressed together.

.