I need advice...Which Tires??

[wannabebikechic24]

I have a 1992 GS500E and I am looking to buy new tires.  I have narrowed the selection down to 3 tires.  1. Pirelli - Sport Demon, 2. Metzeler ME330/550, and 3. Michelin ME50 Macadam.  If you have any of these tires please give me your input.  Which gives you the best handling, and can get a good amount of miles before replacing them???

Thanks,

wannabebikechic24

[JohNLA]

Sport Demons will give the most performance and the best stick of the three. The Mts 550 will give more milage. I had 8k miles on mine and it didn't look half way worn. I only tried a bias ply Macadan on the front which seemed to not wear to fast. At 7K miles it had tons of life left. It handled okay consideing it was matched with a Mets 550.

[mwdbruno]

I wouldn't totally discount the Avon's either...though you don't have them listed in your picks.  I have the Avon AV45/46 combo with the 140/80 rear and love them.  Great wear so far and have been good and sticky when i have needed them to be.

[hehehemann]

I have an Avon Azaro 46-ST 140/80 rear with a Metzeler Sportec-M1 110/70 front. They are both new radials I had put on last week. I can't comment on wear but I can say they stick so well when cornering that my confidence level has climbed massively. I think they are great, the combination seems to work very well.

[Anonymous]

What about BT-45s?   I have them and I think they're great tires.

[wannabebikechic24]

Can you put bigger tires with a higher spped rating???  I am looking to replace my rear tire the most.  The specs that the site gives you is 130/70-17.  Can you place a bigger tire and does that affect handling??  I appreciate everybodys response.  This is my first bike and just want to get an idea and suggestion so I can choose the best tires.  Thank you again!

Wannabebikechic24

[scratch]

Welcome to GStwin!

You can put on tires with a higher speed rating, but the GS can't go fast enough to require them, unless highly modified. H rating is good enough for 130mph, V rating is good for 150. V rated tires are more expensive, too. Also, I have found some manufacturer's 130/80's to be less expensive than their 130/70's.

[bigdaub]

i've recently got the sport demons on and am very pleased with them.

[Frost]

sport demons don't last as long as the BT45s...from reading other people's post...

[GregoryTheriault]

The bridgestone Bt 45 was the factory tire at the time. That's what I replaced to. They are very comparably to the macadam. Nice tire, and it doesn't wander or follow grooves. Decent life and If I recal it was cheaper.

[b1k3r 3li+3]

big daub how sticky are the sport demons? and how good do they look?

[Manix]

Here are couple shots of Pirelli Sport Demons after a day on the track.

http://www.sunpoint.net/~manix/Kemora2004/kemora0026.html
http://www.sunpoint.net/~manix/Kemora2004/kemora0027.html

More pictures on the same gallery if anyone's interested.

I have to say the tires worked perfectly on the track, no sudden skids or slides. I was able to ride the suspension (stock) to it's limits before the tires.