What kind of tires?

[bubba]

I am looking at putting new tires on my 850L. I am thinking of Metzler touring type. Any Ideas on this? I don't want any of those cheapo made in china things.

[Nessism]

Everyone has their own opinion regarding tires. I won't waste your time with mine other than to say Metzler makes a first rate tire. Make sure you keep to either the stock sizes or one size up in width and you are good to go.

[gsgeezer]

On my 850 and 1000, I have used ME880 on the rear and Lazertech on the front

[Steve]

Most Metzlers are good, but they had a few of them in the Gold Wing sizes that spit chunks out of the center of the tread after a few thousand miles. I think they have found all the bad ones, as I have not seen any more negative posts about them on the Wing board.

My wife's 850L is currently running a couple of "those cheapo made in China things". Cheng Shin Hi-Max. Not bad tires, but will be putting on Dunlop E3s when they wear out. If you go with a 100/90-19 on the front, speedometer error will be virtually ZERO. 60mph indicated on the speedometer is right at 59 on the GPS. \\/

The reason we are going to E3s is that I just changed the tires on my Wing. Took off a set of E3s with 23,000 miles on them. :shock: You could still see the tread, but there wasn't much to measure. Yeah, I put on another set of E3s. 8-[


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[salty_monk]

The Dunlop Elite II 491's on mine seem to be very long lasting.... TomMLC has them on his red hot rod too.

Kent had Mettzlers on his L at Yosemite. Brand new & took him a little while to run in but I think they were ok towards the end of the trip.

I will probably try the Avon's on Sport Demon's next... not so many miles out of them!

Dan

[txironhead]

I normally sing the praises for the Cheng Shin Hi-Max, as I've had really good results with them in the past, but 23,000 miles? On a Goldwing? I'm going to start pricing the E3's.

[49er]

Pirelli Sport Demons. After strong support from GSR members, I put a set on my 850, 2000kms ago. They stick to the road real well. They won't last as long as some of the harder compound tires, but are safer on wet or dry surfaces. Also, they have good sidewall support with the higher recommended pressures(34psi front/38psi rear).

[harry69koi]

Ill be fitting avon`s on mine when i get to that stage :-\" Get good reviews over here in the uk,good grip and good wet weather grip

[vwdoctor3]

I had run metzlers for ever and I just put on a set of sport dunlops. I guess they work fine. I have gotten close to the foot pegs on a couple of occasions. no complaints yet.

[koolaid_kid]

I have Metzlers on my Kawasakis, and Dunlops on my GS. I have been pleased with both brands; traction and life have been very good for both.
Haven't run Cheng Shins, so I don't know about those.

[Steve]

I normally sing the praises for the Cheng Shin Hi-Max, as I've had really good results with them in the past, but 23,000 miles? On a Goldwing?

Yup. I don't know the exact mileage on the bike when the tires were installed, but the previous owner (a good friend) put on the new tires and took a trip to the panhandle of Florida, about a 1500-mile trip. I bought the bike with 90,950 miles on it, replaced the tires at 112,510 miles. Add it the PO's trip of 1500 miles and you get 23,060. \\/

My wife's 850, has has about 10,000 miles on the Hi-Max tires. There appears to be enough tread to do our trip to Nebraska in a few weeks. That will be 2,000 miles plus side trips. Overall, not bad tires.


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[Grandpa]

I don't want any of those cheapo made in china things.

What a snob! Those cheapo made in China (notice the caps) tires may be the ones that give you the best tire value for the money, particularly the Cheng Shin HiMax.

And it's Metzeler, not Metzler.

[bwringer]

Yup, the Cheng Shins are an outstanding value and excellent tires. I usually got about 7,000 - 8,000 hard miles of everything from dragging the pegs in the twisties to commuting.

If you want and can use that last 2% of feel and grip (or just feel better knowing it's there), the Pirelli Sport Demons are sublime. And twice as expensive... :? . My Pirellis were down to the wear bars in 4,200 miles (yow!), but they handled blissfully the entire way. Very few tires grow old this gracefully. The difference is more feel than grip.

I just mounted up a set of Avon's new RoadRiders, and so far, they seem to pretty much equal the incredible handling of the Pirellis. They were $60 cheaper a set, and if they last any longer, I'll have a new favorite. More info will be posted after the WV rally...

The Dunlop Elite III/491 (for my bike, the rear MT90-17 is only available in the 491) is the acknowledged GS mileage champ -- I had over 12,000 hard miles on my set before I yanked them off to mount the Pirellis. The would have easily made 15,000 or more miles, but I was impatient to try the Pirellis. The Dunlop 491s stick extremely well, but they do feel a bit wooden -- you don't have that marvelous neutral, light feel and lively communication like the Pirellis or Avons.

It's hard to go far wrong these days, really. When I had a KZ650, I rode the snot out of a set of Kendas with never a slip or problem, even though everyone said they were crap.

[BassCliff]

Fear the bwringer!

Mr. bubba,

Please heed the advice of Mr. bwringer. Or else:

Some misinformation is floating around: the correct size on the front of a GS850G/GL, GS1000G/GL, GS1100G/GL, and many other GS models (usually came with 3.25X19 size OEM) is NOT 110/90-19.

The correct tire size is 100/90-19.

A larger 110 tire DOES affect the handling negatively. It is not dangerous, but it is noticeable and annoying. It is also a little harder to install.

Whatever you do, DO NOT get Bridgestone S11 Spitfire tires, and heaven forbid if you get the wrong size.

Save yourself! It's too late for me. But I'm such an inexperienced idiot that I'll never notice the difference anyway. I'll probably die soon because I got the wrong tires in the wrong size.

Mr. bwringer is right in that tire size conversion charts list the approximate equivalents between "stock" sizes manufactured 20-30 years ago and those manufactured today. I think there could be a slight difference between the "stock" size equivilent and the "correct" size (your mileage may vary). Even though I ride slowly and easily, my speedometer is more accurate now that I've got a 110 on the front rather than a 100. And I never turn very much so I don't have to worry about the awful negative handling of the larger tire.


So listen to the big boys. Because if you don't...



they will just yell louder!


When I grow up I want to be a hard-riding, peg-scraping, brake-squealing motorcyclist just like Mr. bwringer.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[bubba]

What a snob! Those cheapo made in China (notice the caps) tires may be the ones that give you the best tire value for the money, particularly the Cheng Shin HiMax.

And it's Metzeler, not Metzler.

No snob here Grandpa, Just my life is worth more than saving a few bucks on cheap tires. Besides after correcting my spelling and caps, who is the real snob here? Thanks to all for the great feed back on these tires. I will look at all those mentioned. I wanted to hear from those that have tried other brands/styles and get their opinions before making my choice.