things to take in mind when buying tires

[G1100]

on my 80' GS1100e I have a 100/90-19 57H IRC durotour RS-310f up front and a 130/90-17 68H Dunlop K627a in the rear which both look to be aged well and have small hair line sized cracks in the side walls. being the things that keep this bike on the road what are things i should look out for on old tires?

when buying new tires what charateristics should i take into mind? I dont plan on replaceing them soon but i would like to in the near future.

any hints, tips, ideas on various tires, techniques and therories? fill me in!


Pirelli diablo corsa III F/R for reference.

[posplayr]

You should search this site for tire recommendations and then compare what people say. That will tell you want is important. The tires you are looking at are street/track radial tires that are for 17" modern wheels not a stock GS.

I would have suggested the avons, but they are having some cracking issues. Another alternative is t ogo to Dennis kirk and enter your tire size and see what your options are. I'm moving to wider GSXR wheels and radial rubber.

To a certain extent it depends on how much you value milage v.s. handling and wet weather performance.

Pos

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. GS1100,

Click here to learn how to CHECK THE DATE CODE.

If you search for "tires" you will find thousands of opinions here in the forum.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[tkent02]

Look at the date code, if it's more than a few years old don't ride on it. Rubber loses it's grip, strength, it just goes bad. Even if the tire looks unworn it is unsafe if it is old. If there is no date code it is REALLY old. The tire can make the bike handle strangely, can slide when you least expect it, can blow without warning.
For new tires, Avon Roadriders are great, modern tire technology in a old bike tire size. Very sticky, very good handling on the old GS bikes. Some folks like the Pirelli Sport Demons, they cost a little more, handle beautifully and don't last as long as some others. Metzeller, Dunlop, there are a lot of other good brands. Chen Sheng Hi Max have a good rep, although other tires from them suck terribly, like the Marquis. There are no radial tires made for our skinny old tire sizes, but the difference between radial and bias ply is not as drastic as it is on car tires, the bias plies last as long or longer than radials and perform almost as well.
I love new tires, it's like getting a new bike for a fraction of the cost.