Your Latest/Best Tire Recommendations

[tkent02]

The $100 you mention will more than pay for that Harbor Fright tire machine.
You need to grease your splines anyway.

[Carter Turk]

I'd say stay away from the 16" front BT45's. I put one on my wife's 1150 and its horrible. I had a Michelin Macadam 110/90/16 on there previous and really liked it. Since they discontinued the MEZ2 Metzler, my previous favorite, I found the Michelin to be confidence inspiring.

I didn't like the 501 front 19", but maybe the 16" is better. I think the Harley 591 Dunlop is the best gripping tire for a 19".

I guess the Pirellis would be the best bet if you like your tires in pairs, I'm a mixer. I've had one Avon in the past and liked it, but it was expensive.

[doctorgonzo]

Front "looks" good, but is of unknown age (bridgestone) and the handling is terrible on this bike (don't even think about both hands off bars, and better hold on tight if you go to one). I'm going to check the front end this weekend (air, bearings, etc...) and eventually get progressive forks, but step one (for me) is new tires of known age and mileage, professionally balanced.

[twistedwankel]

I think most tires are really quite good but a lot depends upon exactly what you're looking for and how you ride. I consider myself to be an extremely experienced rider....but I'm not a very sophisticated rider. I'm not sure I'd be a very good judge of tires, as a result.

Ditto Cheese and:

I can't imagine wanting/needing really sticky tires (little or no tread) for other than strictly track racing on a perfect surface?

For what it's worth the 19" Metzler front tire that I just couldn't wear out was really noisy (actually howled at hwy. speed) so I got rid of it and treated myself to a matched set for the first time in 5 years last month. Went with Dunlop 404 because they were in stock locally (which BTW are made in Japan by Sumitomo - which has an agreement with Goodyear too) and they are really quiet (reasonably priced also) with great street stick in FL where it's always 60-90F. As mentioned earlier ambient temp extremes would be a MAJOR concern on your tire choice (tread pattern and composition). I never ride in the rain either - hate that. My 19"F and 18"R skinny tires aren't available in a lot of variations anymore either so I try to stick with tires that hopefully will be around long enough to buy two rears for one front life too and not end up with a mismatched set again. (Kawasaki dealer charged $27each on the bike while I waited but it took 2 hours - worth every minute.)

Anyhow they equally/predictably stick as far as the heavy 81-750E bike can lean at reasonable excessive speed once the mold release is worn off them on dry clean pavement - with only one 220lb person on board of course - and set on soft spring fanny setting + lowest psi with no more than 20lb in each saddle bag

Hope that helps.

[Kratzer]

I've got a maxxis on rear, and its a fair bang for the buck I must say.

[80GS1000]

My riding style is "spirited" in the twisties so hopefully I'm qualified to answer a question on sticky tires.

Bias ply- my vote goes for the Pirelli Sport Demon. Great grip wet and dry, cold or hot weather. Neutral handling. The profile is nice and oval so holds a line very nicely in a corner. Doesn't complain when you add more lean angle midcorner. The front provides lots of feedback and the sticky compound improves braking.

Radial- my vote would go for the Michelin Pilot Power. Same compound Michelin used for their 2003 MotoGP race tires. INSANE grip in the wet or dry once warm, you'll be dragging knee long before these tires lose grip once up to operating temperature. Long lasting too, the last rear made it to 6000 miles before going off. The front tire grip makes for quick braking. Triangular profile, these tires fall into corners faster and change direction faster than the Pirellis but once you've set your line they're quite neutral steering. Quick warmup (as in a couple of miles), albeit a bit loosey goosey when cold. However, I rode to work this morning in 39 degree temps and grip wasn't an issue as I let the tires warm before pushing them.

The stickiest sport tires with the widest selection nowadays are radials so the biggest bang for the buck IMO is to put new rims on your bike so you can run sport radials...

120 front and a 150 or 160 rear with some sticky modern radial rubber on a 550 would be a fantastic improvement...

[Planecrazy]

For maximum traction and feel, get the Pirelli Sport Demons.

End of discussion.

Who has used both Sport Demons and Road Riders on the same bike???

I have used the Avons and they are great but are the Pirellis better?

How about at cold temps, on crappy, rough roads with sandy wet spots from melting snow?

Some tires excel in colder temps, some in hotter temps. I'd go with the ones that work in the cold.

Too bad Brian didn't expound further in this thread (though he's done it before and if you search you'll probably find his earlier comments) - I believe he's used most of the listed tires and he is as "spirited" a rider as I've ever met. He likes and uses the Avons but as I recall he stated the Pirellis are a bit less "squirrelly" and more predictable in the twisties.

Perhaps he will come back to comment further or link to his earlier statements.

I'm on my second set of Sport Demons and love 'em! They literally transformed the performance of my 1100G.

Regards,

[salty_monk]

I think Brian rated the Avons about 99.5% against a pirelli 100% in the twisties... for me the chance that they will last at least 30% longer probably more & are a bit cheaper I can live without the .5%!!

Also it means I'm supporting the brits rather than the Italians...!

[bakalorz]

Yeah, $45 front and $55 back is remove wheel, install tire, balance and re-install. I have no way to balance, and at this point and as many long hours as I have put in on this bike, ready to have somebody else do it, be done in a couple hours (they say "while you wait") and drive away. Especially since I have shaftie and it would be first time pull that unit off the wheel.

If you have a pair of sawhorses or a bunch of milkcrates, or anything that lets you support each end of the axle with the tire spinning in between you have everything you need to balance. And if you take just a bit of care it will be every bit as well balanced as anything coming out of the dealership. I get them to less than the smallest size lead piece (1/4 ounce) with two sawhorses and nothing else.

The only hard part of the tire changing is breaking the bead.
Someone here showed a clever easy setup using a car and some 2x4s
I've heard a suggestion to try a carpenter' wood clamp too.

I built a bead breaker out of 2x4s that didn't need a car ...
After that it was easy.
Woulda done the car thingy if it were posted back then

Of course if you'd rather spend money than time ... thats another story ...
I'm not trying to change your mind as much as tell you that though its tedious, its actually fairly easy (and yep I have a shafty too)
(Btw, make sure the dealership actually greases the splines if they do it)

On the other hand again ... if you are going to ride sticky tires hard ... your gonna wear out lots of them ...:-D
You're going to be feeding the dealer a LOT of tire changing money.
Money you could spend on better tires \\/

[doctorgonzo]

I probably will try it on my own at some point, just not this set. After carb re-build and jet, new coils, new wiring harness, etc... I am ready to spend the time riding instead of fumbling through it this time.

[tkent02]

I probably will try it on my own at some point, just not this set. After carb re-build and jet, new coils, new wiring harness, etc... I am ready to spend the time riding instead of fumbling through it this time.

You can fumble through it quicker than the trip to the dealer and waiting for them to screw you over.

[tkent02]

Also it means I'm supporting the brits rather than the Italians...!

Probably both made under license in China by now.

[Dogma]

The $100 you mention will more than pay for that Harbor Fright tire machine.
You need to grease your splines anyway.

Eh? A balancing machine or a bead breaker / installer? You've got me thinking about changing my own tires now, instead of just getting the wheels off.

[tkent02]

Eh? A balancing machine or a bead breaker / installer? You've got me thinking about changing my own tires now, instead of just getting the wheels off.

Bead breaker and Tire taker offer/puter oner...

Costs about forty bucks and the motorcycle attachment was about thirty...
I just looked at their website and it doesn't come up?
Maybe they discontinued it?
You can remove and replace a tire in about a minute by yourself.
It works like the kind in the shop except you provide the power with your arms.


Still have to balance by hand, but if your bike comes with wheel bearings and an axle you have all the equipment you need to balance.

[MelodicMetalGod]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. Great dialogue of experience and opinion!

My riding style isn't all that "spirited" right now, but that's very intentional due to the tires that I've got currently - my best estimation/read is that they're 5 years old! :shock: They're virtually new in terms of tread and there are no signs of compromised carcass, but I just can't get to agressive on these tires since they're probably hard as a rock just due to age.

I think I'll go with the Pirelli Sport Demons! Woohoo! Ron Ayers has the right sizes for about $95 front and $100 rear. I've never changed my own tires, so I'll probably have my local dealer do the job. They charge $145 to "out the door" for two tires. If I buy the tires from them, they'll cut that price to $125 and give me 15% discount on the tire cost. That puts me in the range of about $325 for all new rubber. Sound reasonable?