Tire recommendation?

[MBanks]

I'm looking to buy some new tires for my '82 GS850GL and am looking for recommendations. I use my GS for all my driving, I have no other vehicle. I ride in light rain, but usually avoid the heavy stuff. Looking for something with a middle-ish price that will last a long time, as I usually put on ~7,000 mile/year, or more as needed. As far as weight, the 850 is pretty heavy, and i ride without passengers at 180 lbs.

[Octain]

Key the title to this thread into the search tab and you'll find more info on tire than you care to read.

[hikermikem]

I'm running Dunlop GT501's on my '82 GS850GL.

F - 100/90-19
R - 130/90-16

That rear 16" wheel kinda limits your selection if you wanrt to stay with the same brand front & rear...

[bwringer]

On the contrary, the 16" rear expands your tire choices by quite a bit.

For big mileage, the Dunlop Elite III is the winner, hands down. A mite spendy, but they last a very long time, so cost per mile is good. They work very well in the curves and in the rain. (For your bike, they come in letter sizes for some odd reason -- MM90-19 front, MT90-16 rear.)

For excellent stickiness at reasonable cost with reasonable life, the Avon AM26 RoadRider is the current gold standard.

If cheap but good is what you want, the Shinko 230 Tourmaster is a great tire for a bargain price. Reports from the field are so far excellent, although it's a fairly new design, so I don't know if the GSR Hive Mind has information yet as to longevity.

[Steve]

My wife's '82 850L is wearing one of the last sets of Cheng Shin Hi-Max tires that was available. We got just over 14,000 miles on the first set, so we got another.

I can vouch for the longevity and handling of the Dunlop E3s, though. I ran through three sets of them on my Wing. Two of those sets went just over 23,000 miles, the third I changed at around 21,000, but only because I was headed out for another 3-4,000 mile trip and did not want to change them on the road.

The only downside I have noted on the E3s is a bit of noise. My tires sawtoothed the tread blocks as they wore. This was NOT scalloping, each treadblock took a distinctive angle. Whenever the bike was not vertical (this includes mere lane changes), the tires would sound like Monster Mudders on a Jeep. Other than that, they were great.

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[twr1776]

I agree with Brian and Steve. The Elite 3 for the mileage per year you are running is an excellent choice. As Steve mentioned they tend to saw tooth but other than a bit of noise they still feel great and inspire confidence when leaned over. I have both Avons and E3's on different L models and the E3 tread pattern is less affected by rain grooves than the Avons but you can't go wrong with either one. Dennis Kirk has a set of Elites for around $ 200 which for the mileage you will get out of them is a great deal IMHO.

[Steve]

... the E3 tread pattern is less affected by rain grooves ...

and metal-grate bridges.

When I first got my Wing, I went over the Mackinaw Bridge in Michigan. The right lane is paved, but is closed whenever they are doing bridge maintenance, forcing you onto the metal grate in the left lane. The metal grate is "only" about a mile long, so it's not much of a problem. My bike was stable enough to have just one hand on the bars while the other was holding a camera, shooting video. Oh, I was towing a trailer, too.



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[MBanks]

Just wanted to thank all you guys for your advice, got me some E3's this week. Man did i really need new tires, the change in grip was so great that it made me sweat for the first couple miles!