front tire...

[Guest]

Anyone else running a Dunlop MM90H19 tire on their GS1100E (or other large displacement GSes)? Any specific reason...if you are? General consensus seems to be the 100/90-19 for these bikes.
Little aged but have plenty of tread left on my new GS1100E's front tire, but am trying to figure if it's more responsive or just a little twitchy?

[bwringer]

The MM90-19 is pretty much equivalent to the 100/90-19.

I used a MM front on my GS850 for quite a while (those Dunlop 491s lasted FOREVER) and it seemed to pretty much handle the same as a 100.

The MT rears have a noticeably flatter profile than 130/90.

[rustybronco]

I used a MM front on my GS850 for quite a while (those Dunlop 491s lasted FOREVER) and it seemed to pretty much handle the same as a 100.

Brian, what is your opinion of the dunlop elite II's
I have then on the '82 gs850 (16k miles on them so far +50% left) I am looking to replace the tires on the '80 gs850.

[bwringer]

Brian, what is your opinion of the dunlop elite II's
I have then on the '82 gs850 (16k miles on them so far +50% left) I am looking to replace the tires on the '80 gs850.

For those playing along at home, the 491 is also known as the Elite II. It used to be available in a 17" rear to fit my 850G.

Anyhoo...

I finally replaced my set after 12,000 hard miles, and they still had a few thousand left in them. They definitely wear like iron, and stick well enough in the dry. They're OK in the wet, but definitely not as good as more modern rubber.

The biggest difference while riding was the feel -- they feel like stiff hiking boots compared to the running shoe feeling of modern rubber like the Pirelli Sport Demons or Avon RoadRiders. You can push the Pirellis and Avons very hard, out to the limits, and still tell what's going on.

You can still corner pretty dang hard on the Dunlops, though -- that's what my 850 was wearing in this photo:


The Dunlops are pretty good in dirt and gravel -- they have much more tread pattern to them than the Pirellis or Roadriders.

The tradeoff is that the Pirellis and Avons don't last nearly as long -- I got 4,200 miles out of the Pirellis (and they felt wonderful every bit of the way) and I'm getting around 6,000 out of the Avons.

If you're headed to Alaska and hitting some dirt roads on the way, the Dunlop 491 Elite II is the way to go.

If you're headed to the track, get the Pirellis.

If you're headed to the twisties, get the Avons.



I'll also add that the new Elite III is an excellent tire, and seems to share the high-mileage mission of its predecessor along with improved wet and dry grip and feel. I know at least one rider (Tim R.) who is very pleased with the Elite III, and they seem to be holding up extremely well. However, the III has much less of a tread pattern, so would probably not be best for dirt roads and gravel.