I have avon av36 140/80 rear and dunlop d208f 120/60 on the front...

my front needs replaced.. and the matching av35 is no longer in production....   so I need a new front... but the bt45 front/rear is ugly as sin...  


ideally I'd get an avon 140/70... but they don't make one.

Quote from: cheesy........................ the bt45 front/rear is ugly as sin...  
.......

Just curious, what makes an ugly tire?

i think the rear has a pretty agressive tread design me like

I don't know about the rear but it looks like Zorro went ape sh*t on the front.

Quote from: cheesyI have avon av36 140/80 rear and dunlop d208f 120/60 on the front...

my front needs replaced.. and the matching av35 is no longer in production....   so I need a new front... but the bt45 front/rear is ugly as sin...  


ideally I'd get an avon 140/70... but they don't make one.

First off you never want to use a radial tire and a bias tire on the same bike.  The Avon AV35/36 are radial tires as is your front d208f while the BT-45 are bias ply tires.  Never mix the two types because they do not handle in the same manor which can cause problems.

The only real complaint I have about the BT45s is what happens to the tread on either side of the centerline when the front tire is well-worn.  Triangles of sticking-out tread develop, with the tip of each triangle pointing away from the centerline.  You can see what I'm talking about if you look at the picture above and mentally remove some of the tread thickness.

It's no huge deal, and not a big complaint, but it's noticeable at slow speeds after 12,000 miles or so.

But hey - since most GS500 owners will never put that many miles on their bike, let alone on their second front tire....  

BT45 are da bomb who cares what they look like the important thing is what they do and the BT45 do well, looks on a bike are nothing its what you do on a bike that counts  

It's best never to mix bias with radial, but a bias front and radial rear can be OK.  Never put a radial front on with bias rear in fact it's illegal in UK where they inspect for such things.  From Avon:

(Note: In the UK it is illegal to fit a radial front tyre with a crossply or bias-belted rear tyre. It is also illegal to fit a bias-belted front tyre with a crossply rear tyre. Fitment legislation may differ in other countries, therefore national laws should be observed.)

I've run a bias front and radial rear and got a few surprises till I got used to it.   :lol:

Quote from: John Bates

Quote from: cheesy........................ the bt45 front/rear is ugly as sin...  
.......

Just curious, what makes an ugly tire?

A nail?   :dunno:

Quote from: cheesyI have avon av36 140/80 rear and dunlop d208f 120/60 on the front...

my front needs replaced.. and the matching av35 is no longer in production....   so I need a new front... but the bt45 front/rear is ugly as sin...  


ideally I'd get an avon 140/70... but they don't make one.

I needed a new front for the old 97 GS when the rear 140/80 AV36 was half worn and found a good deal on a 110/70 BT010 locally that I could get fast.  I like the mix.  The sport front is much more responsive than the sport touring front was.  

The front BT45s that I had wore exactly as described by Kerry above, felt like a gear was on front at parking speeds but wasn't noticeable as speed picked up.  Got about 13k miles out of the 2 BT45s I had on the front of the 97.

got 12,000 miles on my front BT45, yea as Kerry said, little triangles of the tread are a little higher that other parts of the tire (cupping), but great tires anyway. Just ordered some Avon AM51/52 this time, should be here next week, we will see how they compare to the BT45s. I'm headed to Deals Gap next month, good place to test them.

What makes a tire ugly?  your preferrence. Why do you drive what you drive?  your preferrence.  

I don't think the BT45s are ugly, better than the stock Excedras that used to come on the GS. IMO

Quote from: tdan553527Just ordered some Avon AM51/52 this time, should be here next week, we will see how they compare to the BT45s.

I have AM51/52 too...tell us how you like them compare to the BT45s after you ride them for a while...

Quote from: tdan553527

I don't think the BT45s are ugly, better than the stock Excedras that used to come on the GS. IMO

     wow i am waighting to replace the front tire this weekend on my 90 gs with 18,000 miles on it. and i was thinking it looked like the origonal tire...........wait (excedras) it is the origonal!!! wow i bet it is. :mrgreen: .it in roughf shape to. buldging middle and dry rot all over on both ths side walls and in the tread groves

I agree with Cheesy and Dom.  That tire is less than pretty.

On motorcycles, too much sidewall is ugly.  For this reason, the tires on my GS are ugly.  Too much siping is ugly.  And for this reason, that BT45 is less pretty(not really ugly, but not pretty).  Motorcycle tires, IMHO, should have thick grooves, directional, aggressive and few.

Quote from: gsJackIt's best never to mix bias with radial, but a bias front and radial rear can be OK.  Never put a radial front on with bias rear in fact it's illegal in UK where they inspect for such things.  From Avon:

(Note: In the UK it is illegal to fit a radial front tyre with a crossply or bias-belted rear tyre. It is also illegal to fit a bias-belted front tyre with a crossply rear tyre. Fitment legislation may differ in other countries, therefore national laws should be observed.)

I've run a bias front and radial rear and got a few surprises till I got used to it.   :lol:

since my front is about worn out I went ahead and ordered an avon AV45....  I have an avon AV36 rear so hopefully that is okay.  I got a 110/70..  Which is stock.. even though I have a 120/60 on there now.