Tire info.

[Boozy Creek Beast]

I have a 1980 1100E and need a little information on tire types and what brand is better for my style of rideing. As I said before I have a 1980 1100E with 130-90-17 on the rear and 100-90-19 on the front. I do mostly easy street rideing but I am finding myself road raceing and burning up the corners around my area more and more. I need to replace both tires and am looking for the best for my buck. I expect to spend at least 60.00 to 90.00 dollars for each tire but would like a little advice before I make the purchase.

The Beast

[argonsagas]

If you do a search on this subject you will likely encounter a number of threads.

I believe the most common one mentioned with favour is the combination of Metzeler ME330 front and ME550 rear.

Excellent traction for most riding, and perhaps the best available in rain.

[kevin gs1100e]

i have a 82 1100e and i ride with the new rockets and beat alot of them in the corners.

I am running a 100/90-19 a bridgestone battlax bt-45
and on the rear a 140-80-17 dunlop d205

both of these tires can be had for around $90 at online retailers, and on ebay if you can beat my bids.

I have also run dunlop k591 130-80-17 rear it was a good sport tire.

Ran a Bridgestone Spitfire st11 or something, it was a crap tire and i would not reccoment for hatrd cornering.

the d205 is awesome in a 140-80 17 i had a much better rider on the bike, drag knees with it on the rear, I wish i had a pic of that.....he usually rides a gsxr1100, which i got to ride when he was riding mine, AWESOME BIKE, probably my next bike gsxr1000


Kevin

[oldschoolGS]

Metzeler's are an excellent choice. Dunlop 205 is a radial and should not be used with narrow stock GS wheels. You are limited by the 130 rear size, the excellent bias Dunlop 501 does not come in this size. The Dunlop 404 would not be a bad choice also. Your rim width and swingarm clearance will dictate how much you can go up in size. You should have a minimum 3.5in rear rim to properly mount a 140 size rear. Good Luck, Ed.
1983 GS750ED

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/gs750edbacktolife.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=3199

[kevin gs1100e]

i am running a d205 and ride faster than you probably do, and have had no problems with 140-80 17.


Kevin

[oldschoolGS]

What size rims are you using? Stock GS wheels are not designed for modern radial tires. The reason that modern radial equipted bikes come with 3.5in front and 4.5in (or larger) rear rims is because radials need wide rims as a result of their design and short sidewalls to provide effective grip. as I said earlier, rim width dictates how wide you can go. If you end up mounting a too large tire for your rim size all you suceed in doing is preventing the tire from opening up fully and actually reducing your contact patch.

This is why many GS riders, including myself, have gone to modern wider wheels on their bikes. In addition to losing unsprung weight (a lot of weight) it allows the use of modern radial tires. I have a set of Dunlop 208ZR's in the garage waiting to get broken in on the re-wheeled 750 come spring. I had these on my TL 1000S- they are by far the best street tires I have ever ridden on-after the first 50 miles you will think you can walk on water. Good Luck, Ed.

[Boozy Creek Beast]

Thanks for the information. Dose anyone have any bad info. on Pirelli tires? At this time I am leaning towards a set of 100-90-19 / 130-90-17 Pirelli Sport Demon's. The price fits my budget and I like the tred pattern. Good looking and acording to the information should be a good all around tire for my rideing style. Check them out if you would like at www.discountmotorcycletire.com/ .

The Beast

[oldschoolGS]

Those should be a good choice and they are priced very reasonable. Remember to go easy the first 50 miles or so until they are scrubbed in. Good Luck, Ed

1983 GS750ED