Anyone aware of any tire deals at the moment?

[b00stin4days]

Looking to order a set of tires tonight. My budget (broke college student budget as of now for 1 more month  ) only will allow me to spend about 130 on a set of tires. The Kenda 671 Cruiser ST's are the ones I have in my cart at the moment. I most likely will order them, since I am a newish rider on the street and don't take aggressive corners....yet. I am a fast learner though and don't want to be stuck with a set of crappy tires since the season is pretty much here. Anyone have any recommendations or know of any websites or companies running a deal on sets? I am currently running the stock Excedras. I plan on keeping the front the stock 110/70 and doing a 140/70 rear. Thanks!

[ShowBizWolf]

Just some thoughts so forgive me if I ramble...!!

I don't know of any tire deals at the moment BUT... the front tire lasts a long time compared to the rear.

When I bought my GS, the rear tire had almost no life left and I got a pretty inexpensive replacement because I knew I was just learning/starting out as well. It felt like before I knew it, it was time to replace it... and I certainly didn't reach "knee-to-ground" skill level by that time. Then again, I use my bike a lot for commuting and don't really have any desire to push hard in corners and whatnot... just enjoy the ride and get outside when the weather is nice.

Perhaps it would go that way for you as well, that you would find yourself needing a new tire before you reach a skill level where you would fully benefit from a more expensive / fancy tire.

Idk just thinking out lou-- ahh thinking in typing lol !!   

[Iarn]

From my experience you can get one rear tire for about $130... I'm really not sure you can get a set for under or at $130 but maybe someone else can chime in.

Also, like ShowBizWolf said, typically you replace the front tire once for every 2 rear tires, so perhaps you could get away with just the rear for now?

[Hupjai]

The guy I got my tires from Sold them to me for $140. South Bay Cycles in Milpitas, Ca. Sounds like he'll ship too. Hope that helps a little! 

[b00stin4days]

Just some thoughts so forgive me if I ramble...!!

I don't know of any tire deals at the moment BUT... the front tire lasts a long time compared to the rear.

When I bought my GS, the rear tire had almost no life left and I got a pretty inexpensive replacement because I knew I was just learning/starting out as well. It felt like before I knew it, it was time to replace it... and I certainly didn't reach "knee-to-ground" skill level by that time. Then again, I use my bike a lot for commuting and don't really have any desire to push hard in corners and whatnot... just enjoy the ride and get outside when the weather is nice.

Perhaps it would go that way for you as well, that you would find yourself needing a new tire before you reach a skill level where you would fully benefit from a more expensive / fancy tire.

Idk just thinking out lou-- ahh thinking in typing lol !!   

Thank you for the response! I don't believe either tires have been changed at all and I'm approaching 4600 miles. I think I should probably change them both right? Because I was thinking maybe I could get away with not changing the front and then maybe spending my whole budget on a good brand name radial for just the rear. Thoughts?

[Hupjai]

Not doing anything and waiting till you have more money is usually an option that I over look. I am a college student too. hehe!

Think about your choice economically, you can always do nothing in the meanwhile while your funds get better. I hope I'm not being presumptuous.

[gsJack]

If you are on the original Exedras that came on your 99 GS as oem they are way too old and you need a pair of new tires.  For $130 it would be hard to beat a pair of Kenda 671.

I put a 671 on the rear of a CM400 I rode winters here in NE Ohio while putting 80k miles on my 97 GS and my 02 GS came with 4k miles and a Kenda 657 on the rear.  I put 5k miles on the 657 and it was only half worn when replaced by a pair of Avon radials the next spring before a trip to the mountains.  The Kendas are decent tires.

Tires I've used on my 2 GS's:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500tirelogs_zpsoxtnjzsi.jpg

[Iarn]

I don't believe either tires have been changed at all and I'm approaching 4600 miles. I think I should probably change them both right?

Tires typically have arrows on the sidewall that point towards wear markers on the tread face. You can find the bars that point to these wear bars. Reading them will tell you if the tires are still good on tread life.

If you've got a few minutes, I recommend checking out this video. It is very informative if you're curious to know more about tire care! As GSJack said, though, they do have an age limit, and if they are original tires, they are not safe to be riding on and should be changed.

When to Change Your Motorcycle Tires: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Yq7DMRwbw

[Ajun267]

When I bought my bike, it was an 06 with less than 3k miles on it. Tires never changed and garage kept, should I also buy a new set?


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[Iarn]

When I bought my bike, it was an 06 with less than 3k miles on it. Tires never changed and garage kept, should I also buy a new set?

Yes, I think many here would strongly suggest you do.

[b00stin4days]

Not doing anything and waiting till you have more money is usually an option that I over look. I am a college student too. hehe!

Think about your choice economically, you can always do nothing in the meanwhile while your funds get better. I hope I'm not being presumptuous.

Im thinking about just purchasing a decent rear tire and then waiting until I have enough for the front and purchase that at a different time. I can always do nothing in the mean time but I need to ride when it's a nice day!

[b00stin4days]

If you are on the original Exedras that came on your 99 GS as oem they are way too old and you need a pair of new tires.  For $130 it would be hard to beat a pair of Kenda 671.

I put a 671 on the rear of a CM400 I rode winters here in NE Ohio while putting 80k miles on my 97 GS and my 02 GS came with 4k miles and a Kenda 657 on the rear.  I put 5k miles on the 657 and it was only half worn when replaced by a pair of Avon radials the next spring before a trip to the mountains.  The Kendas are decent tires.

Tires I've used on my 2 GS's:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500tirelogs_zpsoxtnjzsi.jpg

Good to hear, thank you for the advice!

[b00stin4days]

I don't believe either tires have been changed at all and I'm approaching 4600 miles. I think I should probably change them both right?

Tires typically have arrows on the sidewall that point towards wear markers on the tread face. You can find the bars that point to these wear bars. Reading them will tell you if the tires are still good on tread life.

Thanks my friend! 

If you've got a few minutes, I recommend checking out this video. It is very informative if you're curious to know more about tire care! As GSJack said, though, they do have an age limit, and if they are original tires, they are not safe to be riding on and should be changed.

When to Change Your Motorcycle Tires: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Yq7DMRwbw

[Rallyfan]

I got over 8K miles on a rear Kenda and would recommend them to GS owners that aren't Barry Sheene.

Finally I flattened it from all the freeway riding and had to replace it. I spent twice the money and treated myself to a Bridgestone S20Evo radial in 140/70/17 that has significantly worse expected wear but grips very well indeed. I over-tired the rear in a sense but hey, YOLO.

I should add that the same day I broke in the S20Evo (100 miles) I got caught in not just rain, but... hail. In March. The bike was fine but hail hurts like hell at 120 kph and luckily I could slow down and switch to surface streets.

Budget? Yes Kenda all day, great choice.

[b00stin4days]

I got over 8K miles on a rear Kenda and would recommend them to GS owners that aren't Barry Sheene.

Finally I flattened it from all the freeway riding and had to replace it. I spent twice the money and treated myself to a Bridgestone S20Evo radial in 140/70/17 that has significantly worse expected wear but grips very well indeed. I over-tired the rear in a sense but hey, YOLO.

I should add that the same day I broke in the S20Evo (100 miles) I got caught in not just rain, but... hail. In March. The bike was fine but hail hurts like hell at 120 kph and luckily I could slow down and switch to surface streets.

Budget? Yes Kenda all day, great choice.

OK, good! Because I ordered the Kenda 671 Front (110/70) and rear (140/70) for 130 shipped to my door in 2 days! I called 2 motorsport places by my house for an estimate on how much it would cost to mount and balance (while still on the bike) one place quoted me 220 (ridiculous) and the other said 40 a tire (not sure if they were sure about my question). How much would you typically expect to pay for mount and balance if you are bringing in your own new tires and you ride the bike in?

[Iarn]

I live in Louisiana and the cheapest here I could find was $30 a per tire and that was with my taking the tires off the bike. If you don't have the means to remove them yourself, I'd say $10 extra per tire is a pretty good deal to ride your bike in there and have them do everything. Prices depend on area but from my perspective you aren't saving much by taking the wheels off the bike where you are.

I have to say $40 to take a tire off a bike seems very very cheap. Is that accounting for labor costs?

[b00stin4days]

I live in Louisiana and the cheapest here I could find was $30 a per tire and that was with my taking the tires off the bike. If you don't have the means to remove them yourself, I'd say $10 extra per tire is a pretty good deal to ride your bike in there and have them do everything. Prices depend on area but from my perspective you aren't saving much by taking the wheels off the bike where you are.

I have to say $40 to take a tire off a bike seems very very cheap. Is that accounting for labor costs?

Yea, thats why Im not too sure if they understood what I said. Im assuming its probably If I bring the wheels in alone. How difficult is it to remove wheels from the gs500? I don't really want to mess with that but If it saves me money 

[Iarn]

It's a simple job, you undo a few nuts, remove the brake calipers and axle bolts and you're on your way. There isn't much more to it than that. You could probably find some videos on it on Youtube that would explain in detail, but it takes very little mechanical knowledge to do well, in my opinion.

[Rallyfan]

I think you'll be quite happy with the Kendas.

[Big Rich]

Boostin, any "new to you" tires will be world's ahead of what you're running now. That being said, the most inexpensive tires you get will be an improvement of course, but the more you spend on tires now will pay off ten fold over the life of the tires.

So get the best you can afford, and take the wheels by themselves to a place that will swap the tires for you (be sure to ask about wheel rim scrubbing so the bead seats properly, new valve stems, and balancing). My local tire place is awesome - I don't even ask how much it costs.