Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on July 23, 2006, 01:07:51 PM
man.. I locked up my stock BT45s like 3 times last night in the rain. Not even braking that hard. I'm trying to figure out if i did something to my riding/braking style, or if there's something wrong with my tire, or what.. cuz i've never done it before.. and then 3 times in one night. It was odd.. and slightly disconcerting, to say the least. Of course, I hear stories of how the stockers suck so bad.. so I'm thinking it's just the tire. 4.5 inch rear with 150 sport demons, here i come!!!!!

Why bother with Sport Demons then? Pilot Powers, dude.

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 01:22:35 PM

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on July 23, 2006, 01:07:51 PM
man.. I locked up my stock BT45s like 3 times last night in the rain. Not even braking that hard. I'm trying to figure out if i did something to my riding/braking style, or if there's something wrong with my tire, or what.. cuz i've never done it before.. and then 3 times in one night. It was odd.. and slightly disconcerting, to say the least. Of course, I hear stories of how the stockers suck so bad.. so I'm thinking it's just the tire. 4.5 inch rear with 150 sport demons, here i come!!!!!

Why bother with Sport Demons then? Pilot Powers, dude.

Because I can get a set of Sport Demons shipped for less than the rear Pilot Power. And I'll be doing a decent bit of interstate riding/commuting, so I can't justify buying really nice, really sticky, really expensive tires.. and then squaring them off on long interstate rides.. ... I figure the Sport Demons are my best compromise.

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on July 23, 2006, 06:32:26 PM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 01:22:35 PM

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on July 23, 2006, 01:07:51 PM
man.. I locked up my stock BT45s like 3 times last night in the rain. Not even braking that hard. I'm trying to figure out if i did something to my riding/braking style, or if there's something wrong with my tire, or what.. cuz i've never done it before.. and then 3 times in one night. It was odd.. and slightly disconcerting, to say the least. Of course, I hear stories of how the stockers suck so bad.. so I'm thinking it's just the tire. 4.5 inch rear with 150 sport demons, here i come!!!!!

Why bother with Sport Demons then? Pilot Powers, dude.

Because I can get a set of Sport Demons shipped for less than the rear Pilot Power. And I'll be doing a decent bit of interstate riding/commuting, so I can't justify buying really nice, really sticky, really expensive tires.. and then squaring them off on long interstate rides.. ... I figure the Sport Demons are my best compromise.

Pilot Roads or Continental Road Attacks, perhaps?

Hmm.... hadn't seen em.. I'll have to take a look

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on July 23, 2006, 10:57:05 PM
Hmm.... hadn't seen em.. I'll have to take a look

I've heard about guys on the Z1000 board getting 4k and 5k miles out of Pilot Roads. I got 4000 miles out of my last Sport Demon. Given, that was with fairly agressive riding and a burnout or two (okay, maybe three), but the Pilot Roads are far stickier and radial belted tires with great mileage.

Sport Demons will not give you great mileage. I'm on my second set. Even the front only last about 6k miles here in PA with shitty roads.

Jake

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 10:39:21 PM

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on July 23, 2006, 06:32:26 PM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 01:22:35 PM

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on July 23, 2006, 01:07:51 PM
man.. I locked up my stock BT45s like 3 times last night in the rain. Not even braking that hard. I'm trying to figure out if i did something to my riding/braking style, or if there's something wrong with my tire, or what.. cuz i've never done it before.. and then 3 times in one night. It was odd.. and slightly disconcerting, to say the least. Of course, I hear stories of how the stockers suck so bad.. so I'm thinking it's just the tire. 4.5 inch rear with 150 sport demons, here i come!!!!!

Why bother with Sport Demons then? Pilot Powers, dude.

Because I can get a set of Sport Demons shipped for less than the rear Pilot Power. And I'll be doing a decent bit of interstate riding/commuting, so I can't justify buying really nice, really sticky, really expensive tires.. and then squaring them off on long interstate rides.. ... I figure the Sport Demons are my best compromise.

Pilot Roads or Continental Road Attacks, perhaps?

I'm getting closer to the end of my 110/80 and 150/70 Lasertecs now and will be replacing the rear within the next month or so, have about 9k miles on it now.

After 115k+ miles on the GS's with many different tires, I've decided the best tires for my GS's are a Lasertec bias ply front and a good sport touring radial rear.  Might be different for others, our needs vary.

I'm of the opinion that the Lasertecs and the Sport Demons are close to the sport touring radials in performance on the GS500 but fall short of them in tire life.  I've personally used the Lasertec bias and the Z2 and AV46 rear radials.  Expect the Lasertec rear to go over 10K miles and got 13-14k from the rear radials.  The old Metz ME33 and now the Lasertec have given the most even front tire wear for me of the ten or so fronts I've used up.  Most were badly cupped and bevelled.

I'm somewhat influenced by what tires my local supplier carries since they quickly mount and balance tires they sell for $19.95 including everything which is better than most around here charge for doing mail order tires from other sources.  They have both the Pilot Roads and the Road Attacks that Alpha just mentioned in the 150/70 rear and based somewhat on good reports on the Road Attacks including this one in particular, I'm thinking of trying the Road Attack next with what's left of the Lasertec front:

http://canyonchasers.net/reviews/

Both the Road Attacks and the Pilot Roads are exactly the same as the 150/70 Lasertec in dimensions and should also fit the GS without alterations and with adequate clearance to the brake torque rod.

NiceGuysFinishLast, the sport touring radials have all been considerable better than the bias plys like the BT45 in the wet, although the Lasertecs come close.  The difference was most noticeable when I went directly from the BT45 to the Z2 rear.  Of course there is still that 15-20 min period just after it starts to rain and before the oil residue is washed from the streets that they are particularly slick.  Gotta wait a bit and then can pick up to a normal dry street/road pace with good radials.  Could be your repeated breaking loose was during this extra slick period of time.

Quote from: dgyver on July 23, 2006, 08:18:27 AM
GSJack may know the available rubber for the stock tire size but what does he know about the rest of the options?

The biggest reason to go to a 150 is the availability to more options of better rubber, in both traction and mileage. There is your engineering advantage.

gsJack has used more non-stock sizes than stock sizes, including 140/80 and 150/70 rears. 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500tirelog.jpg

I do not try to debate the merits of the supersport tires on the GS500 because I want a resonable balance of handling and tire life and my personal experience ends at sport touring tires.  I will say for certain though that the current sport touring radials are far superior to the sport tires of 20 years ago due to the improvements in tire compounds and constructions.  The best of both worlds I'd say,  Unless you are doing track days or ride the public roads like you are on the track, I just don't see the advantage of the supersport tires on the GS500 considering their much shorter life and resulting overall cost. How much better than the bikes suspension do you want your tires to be?  If you can't get the job done with the latest in sport touring radials or the latest sport touring bias tires like the Demons or Lasers it might be time to address riding skills rather than tires.  I've seen good riders ride a very wicked pace on some very average tires.   

And you are right dgyver, the main reason for going to the 150 tires is so you can run the better rubber of the sport touring and supersport radials.  The latest in bias sport touring tires though has closed the radial/bias gap considerably.  But with the fenderectomy that my 02 came with, I do like the appearance of the 150/70 or 140/80 rears on the GS.   

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 11:11:51 PM4k and 5k miles ..... great mileage.

Wait, what? That's a new set of tires with every oil change!!!

Quote from: phire on July 24, 2006, 09:09:23 AM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 11:11:51 PM4k and 5k miles ..... great mileage.

Wait, what? That's a new set of tires with every oil change!!!

Most supersport tires are eaten up in 2000 to 2500 miles.

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 24, 2006, 09:31:41 AM

Quote from: phire on July 24, 2006, 09:09:23 AM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 11:11:51 PM4k and 5k miles ..... great mileage.

Wait, what? That's a new set of tires with every oil change!!!

Most supersport tires are eaten up in 2000 to 2500 miles.

Well, if that isn't a cold slap in the face...  Aren't there any tires that have the same mileage rating as car tires???

Quote from: phire on July 24, 2006, 09:51:52 AM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 24, 2006, 09:31:41 AM

Quote from: phire on July 24, 2006, 09:09:23 AM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 11:11:51 PM4k and 5k miles ..... great mileage.

Wait, what? That's a new set of tires with every oil change!!!

Most supersport tires are eaten up in 2000 to 2500 miles.

Well, if that isn't a cold slap in the face...  Aren't there any tires that have the same mileage rating as car tires???

No, not even close to car tire life.   

Quote from: runsilent on July 24, 2006, 01:57:35 PM

Quote from: phire on July 24, 2006, 09:51:52 AM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 24, 2006, 09:31:41 AM

Quote from: phire on July 24, 2006, 09:09:23 AM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on July 23, 2006, 11:11:51 PM4k and 5k miles ..... great mileage.

Wait, what? That's a new set of tires with every oil change!!!

Most supersport tires are eaten up in 2000 to 2500 miles.

Well, if that isn't a cold slap in the face...  Aren't there any tires that have the same mileage rating as car tires???

No, not even close to car tire life.   

It's one of the hidden costs of owning a motorcycle. Most people think, "Hey, I'll save money and buy a motorcycle!" But fail to factor in the necessary costs. Tires are a BIG necessary cost.