~~~ Need Tire Recommendation ~~~

[KoenigsTiger]

Hey everyone!!! ;D


The tires on the V, are looking a little worn.  I havent got any new ones since I got the bike.  I would greatly appriciate some advice on what brand and sizes to get for both.  I can spend a few dollars, nothing too crazy.  I dont care about comfort, but do go for long rides.  Sometimes get in to 160km/h range.  Do you guys recommend swaping tires at home or better at the shop??? Balancing is a must, i know.


Thank you very much!!! ;D ;D ;D

[h2olawyer]

Buy the best ones you can afford.  Bridgestone Battlax BT45s, Avon Roadrunner or Super Venom, Metzeler Lasertec, Dunlop GT501 & Pirelli Super Demon are the top tires many of us use.  The Avon Super Venoms may not last as long but they are very grippy.  I have them on my bike at present.  The Metzeler is available in either  120/90V-18 or 4.00-18 rear.  The 120 is a little larger than stock & the 4.00 is a little smaller.  Metzeler North America shows it as available in a 110/90-18 rear but I haven't found any dealers selling them.  The Pirelli Super Demon requires you to mix H & V speed ratings to use the stock sizes but if you upsize to a 120/90-18 rear, you can get them both V rated.

Sizes -

Stock '82 are 90/90H18 front & 110/90H-18 rear.  Stock 83 are 100/90H18 front & 110/90H-18 rear.  I'd say to go with the stock 83 sizes if possible.  H rated are fine since their top rated speed is higher than the Vision's top speed.  V rated will work great & give you an extra safety margin.

Links:

www.americanmototire.com/
www.swmototires.com/
www.denniskirk.com/

These are all great starting points to check prices, availability & features.  Mounting & balance can be expensive at any dealership - try to find a local unaffiliated shop to mount & balance your tires.  If you have a little experience mounting tires, you shouldn't have any problems doing the job yourself.  You need to make sure the beads don't get damaged during installation & seat on the rims properly.

Good luck in your tire quest!

H₂O

[kiawrench]

I run pirrelli interstates, but i no longer recommend them,as they wear in, they begin to track the smallest variations in a road surface.  i do run the slightly larger numbers, front and rear, as i like to let the bike run turns and get the lean going .
    I agree with the venom tires , as well as the battleax series , both are good , cost effective replacements.
   take your wheels off at home, then take them to be mounted and balanced, this way, if damage is done when being mounted, the store is the responsible party, and be sure to get new valve stems and have them balanced.
    it will cost more, but any insurance is still good . better to pay now than pay even more later , or like me, end up stranded for 5 hrs in a storm waiting for a trailer .

[Lucky]

I'd like to put my 2 cents in on the Battlaxes..  they are good tires, fully capable for the job they do, but for a few dollars more the Metzler ME77 Perfect were a fantastic tire! good grip, good life and a MUCH more planted feel in the corners.  i had a used set on my 83 ft end when i installed it & they were far better than the Battlaxes ever were.  unfortunatly they don't make them anymore.. so much for perfect i guess.

for my next set of tires the Avon's sound like the good choice, but i have a budget that requires long life from the tires as well, so i'm waiting for reviews here on the  new Metzlers since i was so impressed by my last set....

--Lucky

[Tiger]

or like me, end up stranded for 5 hrs in a storm waiting for a trailer .

...OR.......GOD FORBID....waiting for...AN AMBULANCE......because you bought cheap tire's.. :o

[d0n]

I just bought dunlop d404's and had them installed at a small shop for $15 each.

After searching tire posts here I see that the 404's aren't the best tires. I wanted something that was kind of cheap but still a good name brand. That's why I got em. I haven't ridden them yet since the bike is being worked on.

It had avons on it but they were pretty dry rotted.

[KoenigsTiger]

Thank you very much for all the advice!!! ;D ;D ;D

Now I can stard doing some serious research!!!


Thank you ;D ;D ;D

[hfarley]

I ended up getting the battleaxes purely because they had the one in stock that I needed right away and then they ordered the other one for me so that I could have a matched set. Couldn't tell you much about handeling, but I will say I rode with the new tire on the front the next day, ion the pouring rain and had no provblems whatsoever besides me being very wet. LOL! I took off the tires and brought the whole tire and rim into the shop and had them mount and balance them right there. They also greased the center for me really well. I think it cost me around $30.00 bucks but the time and struggle that it saved me was worth it.
-Heather

[don_vanecek]

Sort of a Don to dOn message, have well over 1000 miles so far on the 404's I put on this winter, they are doing just fine! Hope you get yours going soon.

[KoenigsTiger]

Yeah, I've heard a few good things about Metzeler.  They do not wear out too quick.  I dont really take any crazy turns.  Although a thunder and lightening storm does not stop me ( <--- it was kinda close last time ::). 

I want something that will last a few km...


Thank you!!! ;D ;D ;D

[d0n]

Sort of a Don to dOn message, have well over 1000 miles so far on the 404's I put on this winter, they are doing just fine! Hope you get yours going soon.

thanks, me too!  :D

[h2olawyer]

My Avon Super Venoms have over 1200 miles & still look great.  I can tell they're wearing a bit but at the current rate, they should go at least 4~5k miles.  I think Motorplow's roads are more abrasive than average.  Colorado uses chip & seal a lot too, but the chips seem more like little pebbles than actual rock chips.  I've had them in one good, wet ride & they were much better than the Cheng Shins I was running.  Of course, the last wet ride I did on those was before I changed the steering bearings & added the 83 rear shock.

H₂O

[KoenigsTiger]

Iam at 28k km, I guess I should be looking in to replacing the steering bearings???  What does the 83 shock improve???


Thank you!!! ;D

[h2olawyer]

The 83 rear shock has both preload & rebound damping adjustments.  The US spec 82 shock has only spring preload.  With the rebound damping adjustment, the bike doesn't tend to act like a pogo stick over washbaorded pavement.  It also gave my bike a slightly softer feel to the ride without sacrificing any suspension travel.

H₂O

[glennw]

I love my Dunlap 501's... I seem to only get about 2500-3000 miles out of them. I like to hear others experience with them.. I don't ride that hard most of the time but I do like to lean it over and these seem to stick very well.
Down side... they are not cheap.
I know Ron McCoy, VisionMeister and Supervision flog their V's pretty hard.. what are you guys running????
GlennW

[Ron_McCoy]

My last two sets have been Pirelli Super Demons. They grip as well as the Dunlop 501s, but are less expensive.

[zore]

I have a set of Yokahama sport lines (or something) on it and they were mounted in in the early 1990's.  The have less than 6k on them and I've just about worn out the front (Fantastic grip for a tire this old).  I expect this kind of mileage out of a tire like Sportek m1's or similar but I'm looking for a tire like the MEZ06's.  I run these on my sprint and they are absolutely the best tire i've ever run.  12k out of the rear (nail finished it) and 23k out of the front.   Enough stick to scrape hard parts and great in the rain.  It's a shame they don't make these in our size.