Need some advice on replacing my tires

[Mike Curtis]

Allright now I have a 1981 GS850GL with rear being a 130/90 -17 & front 100/90 - 19
What are my options the Dunlop Elite does not show this size. I'm looking for a tire that will get me good handling and I'm not into intense riding.
I'm open to suggestions I stopped by a Yamaha dealer last Saturday and he gave me these prices for some Dunlop 404 $117.22 front & $146.47 rear mounted and balanced & I know I'm getting bumped on the deal. By the responses I see the Dunlop 404 are not what I want.

[JHawkins]

Allright now I have a 1981 GS850GL with rear being a 130/90 -17 & front 100/90 - 19
What are my options the Dunlop Elite does not show this size. I'm looking for a tire that will get me good handling and I'm not into intense riding.
I'm open to suggestions I stopped by a Yamaha dealer last Saturday and he gave me these prices for some Dunlop 404 $117.22 front & $146.47 rear mounted and balanced & I know I'm getting bumped on the deal. By the responses I see the Dunlop 404 are not what I want.

I am not sure what you are looking for. You say you want good handling, but are not into intense riding. I always envision the two going hand in hand. You only need really sticky tires if you ride on the edge. Otherwise most anything should do for you.

I have run two sets of 404's, they were decent and when I rode easy on them they got about 6000 miles. When I rode them hard I got 4500. My current tire is a Cheng Shin Hi-Max and I rode the crap out of it. Hard turns, hard accelleration, high speeds, etc and it is at somewhere around 7000 miles and pretty much toast.

Both of these tires are capable of outperforming the motorcycle in the turns. My next tire will likely be another Hi-Max, it is a quick tire, the bike seems to react good with it and the mileage seems pretty good considering the summer it had!

[Mike Curtis]

I looked at the tires that came with the bike I have a CS HI-Max 110/90 - 19 on the front and a IRC Durotour 310R 130/90 -16 on the rear and I am tire dumb but it seems to me that you would not mix brands or tread patterns. Correct me if I'm wrong the tires are near new condition & I thinking that I would replace the front with a IRC tire. I'm just a guy who likes to cruise down the road and not into knee dragging.
Thanks for any advice.

[JHawkins]

I looked at the tires that came with the bike I have a CS HI-Max 110/90 - 19 on the front and a IRC Durotour 310R 130/90 -16 on the rear and I am tire dumb but it seems to me that you would not mix brands or tread patterns. Correct me if I'm wrong the tires are near new condition & I thinking that I would replace the front with a IRC tire. I'm just a guy who likes to cruise down the road and not into knee dragging.
Thanks for any advice.

If both tires are in good condition and you don't run them hard, then having an unmatched set should not really be a problem. The only scenario that would concern me would be wet roads and possibly having one tire that grabs better than the other.

[Mike Curtis]

We both share the same concern about the grip I have felt this on a ride before. I will go ahead and replace the front with another IRC.
Thanks