Just wonderig about the tire. I just bought a bike and it has a 130/90/17 tire. ITs a CS HI MAX tire. just wondering about the brand, type, and quality of the tire.  Thanks for any info.

Cheng Shin Hi Max. Made in China or Taiwan. Not stable at speeds above 60mph. When I put them on my '82 Yamaha 550 Vision, they impoved my handling at low speeds and the front had fairly impressive traction, but at 60mph they felt like I was riding through a pile of wet leaves.

That was probably because it was a Vision...I have these on my vulcan front and they are fine. Yea its a hard tire and pretty much doesn't wear at all...but wet leaves...I dont think so...I personally like the Marquis rear and I end up with himax fronts and marquis rear on my cruisers. However my virago 535 had himax front and rear and it turned out just fine. On a GS if you are the sorta person that rides well within your limits and can adapt your style to the limits imposed by these tires I'd say you'd be fine. If not You'd be more likely to hurt yourself bad.
Cool.
Srinath.

Ok since seing what has been posted I am looking for sugestions on what to do. I am a new ridder and well never ridden before and 60mph seems alot faster than I have any plans on doing anytime soon. Should I go ahead and just get a new tire? I want something safe and forgiving. I dont care so much how long the tires last if I can get atleast 3500 miles out of them. Also sugestions on front tire would be helpfull. Its stock but 6500miles always kept inside. So it should be ok but just ok while I get used to the bike.

Cheng Shin tires are crap...but probably no worse than original stock ones. If the tires have 6500 miles on them (unlikely) they should be switched anyway. Check the tires for cracking. Old tires will adhere to road surface poorly due to being hard.

Best bet if you need new tires is buy Bridgstone battleax  bt-45's (130/70 or 140/80 rear, and stock 110/70 front).

BT45's that Pablo speaks of are great tires.  I have them in the stock sizes and love them.  (130/70 rear and 110/70 front)  They have about 4000 miles on them and the front shows no evidence of wear at all and the rear has about half of the tread depth left.  This is with a lot of highway miles.  Much better than the Cheng Shen for the GS.

Yeah, Visions weren't known for their handling, and they do have skinny-ass rims (18"x 2.15), but the Cheng Shi+$ were quite unnerving.

I would say ride them out. Wear them out and then replace them. That's what I did on the Vision. I didn't have the money for good tires in the first place and I surely didn't have the money to replace them, but it was a good experience to try some different tires (shudder).

Quote from: BunnerRabbitOk since seing what has been posted I am looking for sugestions on what to do. I am a new ridder and well never ridden before and 60mph seems alot faster than I have any plans on doing anytime soon. Should I go ahead and just get a new tire? I want something safe and forgiving. I dont care so much how long the tires last if I can get atleast 3500 miles out of them. Also sugestions on front tire would be helpfull. Its stock but 6500miles always kept inside. So it should be ok but just ok while I get used to the bike.

Ok you didn't read my post right...they will be fine over 60...heck I have been over 100 on my vulcan and they are fine...no hard braking/railing around corners at twice the speed limit etc...That's what they cant take.
Cool.
Srinath.

hell,
i would have liked seeing you go over 45 on your GS when we went for that ride.....
100...on any bike......in your dreams.....

WFO in 6th is FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :nana: (at the track!)

Yea not over 45...But What were all those turns doing in the middle of the road...Very un safe... I like to have safety first when riding...
Show me a straight road...
Cool.
Srinath.

I have used Cheng Shins on a few bikes. the HighMAX's work pretty well for a cheap tire used for transpo. wet traction is ok, but wouldnt push it, I will NEVER use the Marquis again.  they never felt right, front or rear.  in the Cheng shin's i found HighMax and barracuda worked well for the money, but, like anything else, you get what you payfor, would i trust them for hard cornering? No. are they ok for 1/4 mile? yes, hookup ok once hot, but they can over heat real easy then once they cool are hard. once i started gettin into cornering, i couldnt go back to Cheng shins.  Once i have a functioning "Transpo Bike" i will probly put chengs on it

Hey you baggin on my favorite tire man... The Marquis rear is absolute heaven...Yes the Himaxes are better when wet, but the Marquis isn't bad and where there are rain grooves cut in the road (CA) the marquis rules. Hate the marquis front though...waaay too hard for a front. Hi max front and marquis rear...If I was fitting tires now on a cruiser I'd prolly use himax front and rear.
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: seshadri_srinathYea not over 45...But What were all those turns doing in the middle of the road...Very un safe... I like to have safety first when riding...
Show me a straight road...
Cool.
Srinath.

STRAIGHT ROADS ARE FOR CAGERS...leaves the twisties for the bikers ....you PUTZ

I use twisties on grocery bags to keep veggies separate, and you put them on the road  :x  No wonder riding was slow... Besides I ride to work...not for entertainment...
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: seshadri_srinath... Besides I ride to work...not for entertainment...
Cool.
Srinath.

EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!      

:guns:  :guns:  :guns: Whatever....    
Much better way to get to work IMHO... :mrgreen: I am not in such a foul mood and In fact I dont cringe at monday, I am happiest on monday, and the weekend well its the weekend...I can fix stuff around the house, or laze around making my wife say "you know You have not moved in 4 hours...are you going to move at all this weekend  :mrgreen: " or play with my baby  :kiss:  or well go riding with you    and make you cry    from riding slow...ha ha  :mrgreen:
Cool.
Srinath.

Back when my stock rear tire was worn out (and I didn't know anything about tires), I was sold a Cheng Shin HiMax 130/90 rear tire.  The tire was taller than stock, and my RPMs dropped by 1,000 at a given speed in any given gear.  (I wish I had known about 15-tooth front sprockets back then.)

In my case, the right side of the tire rubbed slightly against the rear brake caliper support arm, and the tread rubbed slightly against a bolt or something in the area of the rear shock.

But that tire lasted for about 9,000 miles including a trip from Utah to Alabama and back.  Out in the Plain States (TX, OK, KS) I would routinely "cruise" at an indicated 90 mph (while hugging the gas tank - no windscreen!) on the wide open, straight backroads.  I didn't have to deal with wet roads too much, but I would rate the tire as plenty good enough to ride on until it wears out.

Since then I have only mounted Bridgestone BT45s on that bike, and I highly recommend one for your NEXT tire.

Srinath,  it may be your favorite tire, but I wont use it ever again,  To me the Hmax is cheap enough and a proven holder/handler for me, where the marquis Failed to instill any confidence in me to its ability to do anything other then hold the bike up and look good when shined.

The Marquis rear is great when you have rain grooves on the road...My Metzler perfect would catch and track those. So did the hi-max.
Cool.
Srinath.

Hey Blueknyt didn't you want to swap some KZ chain and belt drive parts...I have chain parts...need belt parts...Hell I'll buy ya a new chain to go with the sprokets and cush drive if you'll trade.
BTW I am having big issues with its carburetion...it seems to act lean no matter what...idle stays at 4000 once hot, and barely holds idle when cold...but cant get it richened up...Is out on mix screw richer or leaner on it...mine is the LTD and the manual is yet to be found from when I put it in storage...
Cool.
Srinath.