"tired" yet

[earlfor]

Squirmy pretty much describes my initial impression of the handling of the Pirelli Sport Demon on the rear. The rear end went ga ga four times in one week under very mild handling conditions. The first time was at 15 miles an hour making a turn in a parking lot and the bike was instantly pointed 90 deg to where I wanted. Damn near dropped the thing from complete surprise.

Earl

I had a set of Michelins years ago on the S and didn't like them.
Seemed to squirm around too much.

[fast eddie]

I have Bridgestone Battlax's on my GS1150; there is a limited selection given the wheel size, but I am quite happy with them. Granted, I'm not exactly out there doing track days, I guess I am an average rider with a fair amount of experience, but I have yet to pucker up as a result of these tires losing it.

[earlfor]

I tried a Bridgestone BT45 on my 1150. Handling was fine, but the tire was worn out in 1300 miles. :-)

Earl

I have Bridgestone Battlax's on my GS1150; there is a limited selection given the wheel size, but I am quite happy with them. Granted, I'm not exactly out there doing track days, I guess I am an average rider with a fair amount of experience, but I have yet to pucker up as a result of these tires losing it.

[Jethro]

Tim Garry Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 5:11 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Metzler front and back, and who would use an H rated tire on a GS1100E?

Whatever is rated to 130mph. V rated? I don't know. I just ask for a high speed tire (thought that was where the "H" came from)

[mcycle-nut]

I've been using Metzeler 33/55 and have found nothing I like better. The only negative to the ME55 is that I wear them out in about 2500 miles.
I changed the rear a week ago (worn out ME55) to a Pirelli Sport Demon as some here have reported milage in the 6k miles range. I have about 500 miles on the Pirelli now and I am not at all impressed with the grip of this tire.
On a wet surface, grip is about nil and the rear end fishtails if I so much as touch the throttle abruptly. The tire also drifts out easily on moderate curves
at speeds I would consider "sit up, do nothing, and drive it through" when I had the Metzeler 55 on the rear. I dont consider the Pirelli any improvement over a Chen Shin and I dont have a high regard for Ching Shin. :-)
(I wish I could remember how to spell chen shien/ching shen/ wing when or whater the H it is LOL )
I will probably try a Dunlop next. If it doesnt grip the way I like, I will go back to the ME55's and just live with the low milage.


Edit....................... I've put another 200 miles on the Pirelli and it seems the traction is just now starting to come up and the tire is breaking in. Sheesh!, thats the most miles I have ever needed to break in a tire. :-)
Hoping it continues to get better.

Earl

How is it now?

[earlfor]

Well Kev, the weather has been rather cool and raining lately, so my milage is not what it usually is. I just checked and I have 1200 miles on the tire.
From my tread depth measurement when new, its worn down about the thickness of a medium ball point pen line. :-) Traction seems to be OK on the center of the tread where with all the straight roads, I get the majority of wear. On lean angles, I have to be careful, as it will slip easily when the bike is leaned over (dry pavement) To be fair, I expect as I wear down the sides a bit, traction will improve somewhat. I dont consider the grip acceptable even on the "good traction" center for decent braking in the rain. Basically, when it rains, you have no brakes and no traction. I will not buy another one even though the wear rate appears to be very low.

A good tire for those that ride in a desert.

I'll probably go back to the ME55 and accept the high wear rate.
At least I dont feel limited in manuvering the bike with the ME and I'm confident of it in the rain.

Earl

Edit....................... I've put another 200 miles on the Pirelli and it seems the traction is just now starting to come up and the tire is breaking in. Sheesh!, thats the most miles I have ever needed to break in a tire. :-)
Hoping it continues to get better.

Earl

How is it now?[/quote]

[mcycle-nut]

Well Kev, the weather has been rather cool and raining lately, so my milage is not what it usually is. I just checked and I have 1200 miles on the tire.
From my tread depth measurement when new, its worn down about the thickness of a medium ball point pen line. :-) Traction seems to be OK on the center of the tread where with all the straight roads, I get the majority of wear. On lean angles, I have to be careful, as it will slip easily when the bike is leaned over (dry pavement) To be fair, I expect as I wear down the sides a bit, traction will improve somewhat. I dont consider the grip acceptable even on the "good traction" center for decent braking in the rain. Basically, when it rains, you have no brakes and no traction. I will not buy another one even though the wear rate appears to be very low.

A good tire for those that ride in a desert.

I'll probably go back to the ME55 and accept the high wear rate.
At least I dont feel limited in manuvering the bike with the ME and I'm confident of it in the rain.

Earl

Edit....................... I've put another 200 miles on the Pirelli and it seems the traction is just now starting to come up and the tire is breaking in. Sheesh!, thats the most miles I have ever needed to break in a tire. :-)
Hoping it continues to get better.

Earl

How is it now?

[/quote]

Alrighty then! Sounds like I'll go with a Metzeler again. Thanks!

[earlfor]

Dunlop, is a possibility. I havent used one in a long time. Keith Black seems to like them. I'll probably stick with the Metz though.

Earl

Alrighty then! Sounds like I'll go with a Metzeler again. Thanks!

[Sandy]

On the S Dunlop GT501 front and rear.
Rear has close to 5K miles on it, still ok, getting time to order a new one.
I rode about 100 miles at speeds on these and never once did the bike
twitch or wiggle. When warmed up, they stick very well.

I'm looking at putting a set of GT501's on my GS1000 this year. Sounds like you're pretty happy with the performance vs mileage. Last set a had where ME33 front ME55 rear and while I liked the performance the mileage really wasn't there. The front is almost to the wear bars at 10,000 Kms/6,200 miles and I've gone through two rears. How are the GT501's in the rain? The Metz's were pretty good. Have to order something pretty soon because I don't really want to ride much until I get new rubber. Last couple of bikes I got used to using K591R's which lasted pretty good for soft compound tires but can't get them anymore, so I'm sort biased towards some Dunlops right now.

[lhanscom]

GT501 is a good all around tire, I wasn't super impressed with the grip, but it did pretty well, and remained consistant in different weather conditions.

Earl, I'm surprised you've had problems with the sport demon, I loved the tire on the back of my 700, and currently have the front on my 1150 with no problems. I'll be sticking with the Dunlop D205 in back though, best tire I've ever had. Out of curiousity what rating does the pirelli have? They have both V and H, I've only used the V.

[earlfor]

I only use V rated tires. :-) so how is the grip in wet and dry with the Dunlop 205? How about milage? I tell ya, that Demon has about the same adhesion that a 10 year old, sun baked cheng shin has. :-) :-) :-)

Earl

GT501 is a good all around tire, I wasn't super impressed with the grip, but it did pretty well, and remained consistant in different weather conditions.

Earl, I'm surprised you've had problems with the sport demon, I loved the tire on the back of my 700, and currently have the front on my 1150 with no problems. I'll be sticking with the Dunlop D205 in back though, best tire I've ever had. Out of curiousity what rating does the pirelli have? They have both V and H, I've only used the V.

[GARYEIN1]

TIRED YET ?

MY 85 GS550L HAD IRC DATURAS
WHICH AS FAR AS WE HAVE FOUND OUT COULD BE THE ORIGINAL TIRES
ON THE BIKE IT ONLY HAS 11,000 MILES ON IT
JUST CHANGED THE FRONT TO A CHEN SING
AND HAVE A NEW ONE FOR THE BACK
HAVE ALSO LOOKED AT THE DUNLOPS AND HAVE FOUND A SITE FOR THE IRC'S SO WE'LL HAVE TO SEE HOW THE CHENG SING'S DO

GARY

[lhanscom]

The D205 is great. I was running the 501 before this, and would spin it up if I wacked the throttle hard, and braking was even more delicate. At the drag strip I learned to heat up the 501 to maintain traction, where the 205 I don't need to. I also lift my front wheel instead of spin the tire. I ride in all weather, and have never noticed a problem, though I ride much more conservatively in wet conditions. They have a great feel in the corners, and I've gotten to scrape parts without having a hint of the tire being at it's limit.

Then there's the fact that I have 10k on it, and I now need to replace it.

I love the D205, best tire I've ever had. The only bummer for most of the GS's is that it only goes as small as 140, which limits it to 1150's, or a new wheel.

[earlfor]

Re: TIRED YET ?

To be fair. I havent used a Cheng Shin since my last induced pants wetting about 6-7 years ago. I guess the could have improved. :-)

Earl

MY 85 GS550L HAD IRC DATURAS
WHICH AS FAR AS WE HAVE FOUND OUT COULD BE THE ORIGINAL TIRES
ON THE BIKE IT ONLY HAS 11,000 MILES ON IT
JUST CHANGED THE FRONT TO A CHEN SING
AND HAVE A NEW ONE FOR THE BACK
HAVE ALSO LOOKED AT THE DUNLOPS AND HAVE FOUND A SITE FOR THE IRC'S SO WE'LL HAVE TO SEE HOW THE CHENG SING'S DO

GARY

[earlfor]

Sounds good Luke. maybe I'll give the 205 a shot then. If I fall on my ass because of it, I figure I can always send Skip some Hit money and he already has your address. :-) :-) :-)

With the Metz's, I can scrape parts at will. With the Demon, I dont even try............I know where that would end up. :-)

Earl

Thanks :-)

The D205 is great. I was running the 501 before this, and would spin it up if I wacked the throttle hard, and braking was even more delicate. At the drag strip I learned to heat up the 501 to maintain traction, where the 205 I don't need to. I also lift my front wheel instead of spin the tire. I ride in all weather, and have never noticed a problem, though I ride much more conservatively in wet conditions. They have a great feel in the corners, and I've gotten to scrape parts without having a hint of the tire being at it's limit.

Then there's the fact that I have 10k on it, and I now need to replace it.

I love the D205, best tire I've ever had. The only bummer for most of the GS's is that it only goes as small as 140, which limits it to 1150's, or a new wheel.