Hi all,

Been lurking for a bit and soaking up the knowledge of the group but now it's time to get some details.

Been to the FAQ and looked at the sites listed from the Tire thread but not having much luck finding a rear.  Motorcycle Superstore has 11 tires listed for the front and I'm liking the Metzler's, Pirelli and Dunlops but can't find anything but the Battlax for the rear.  Do NOT want to go back with the OEM Bridges.  I have a separation developing in the center tread on the front and a cut on the rear plus dry rot cracks in the sidewalls of the rear.  10,000 + miles and I have to get a new set.

So what's the sources everyone is using for the best mix of performance, durability and looks.  I would not mind a bit wider profile tire and read that you can go with 150's but that they were for looks only. 

Whatcha know and where to go. 


Here's the bike.  It now has a fenderectomy and a few of the advertising tapes have been removed.

I just gave a quick look at Superstore and found Dunlop GT501, Metzeler Lasertec, Pirelli Demons, and Michelin Activs in our 130/70-17 oem rear size, I'm sure there are others like Avon Roadriders, etc.  Better give it another look.

Also check AMT:  

http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/

Here's a Bias ply sport touring tire comparo test from UK Bike magazine you might want to read:

http://www.ex-500.com/wiki/index.php/Tire_Comparison

I've run  130/70, 130/80, 130/90, 140/70, 140/80, and 150/70 rear tires on my GS500's both bias ply and radial.

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

Ahh..I just used the fitment drop downs.  Didn't check by sizes.

So who has gotten what performance out of those?

GSJack, thanks!!!

I'll maintain a watch on the thread but at this time, the Avon Road riders seem to fit not only the performance (the review was great!) but the finances as well. 

Nice article, wish I would have seen that before I replaced mine!

I've got a Pilot Active on the rear and its nice but I do slide on it on occasionally through corners. I didn't like the look or center channel tread on the active so I went with the Conti Go. Its taken over a 1,000 miles to wear off almost all the casting nubs and there's almost no chicken strips on it. Seems to wear well but even the OEM tires on the front lasted over 21,600k miles before I needed to really replace it. I do commute a lot and take the corners hard and really like the way the Conti's handle and feel.
For the price and raves that the roadriders get I don't think you can go wrong with those either. That was the other option I debated before purchasing the Conti Go.

get the pirelli sport demons, they're phenomenal! they grip like stupid and should last about as long as the bt45.

I also have the ContiGo front and rear.

Both seem good to me, but I live in a land of straight roads.

The article gsJack posted was awesome. I've been debating on new tires and have heard to go with the BT-45's. I read the article and was convinced. The tires are ordered and should be here on 8/4/2010   

Quote from: black and silver twin on July 09, 2010, 08:57:50 PM
get the pirelli sport demons, they're phenomenal! they grip like stupid and should last about as long as the bt45.

I had a sport demon on the rear for a couple thousand miles.  It wasn't new when I put it on, so take this with a grain of salt...  When it was getting to the wear indicators, the grip was all gone. 

Quote from: Paulcet on August 01, 2010, 09:01:19 PM

Quote from: black and silver twin on July 09, 2010, 08:57:50 PM
get the pirelli sport demons, they're phenomenal! they grip like stupid and should last about as long as the bt45.

I had a sport demon on the rear for a couple thousand miles.  It wasn't new when I put it on, so take this with a grain of salt...  When it was getting to the wear indicators, the grip was all gone. 

Pretty much all tires will lose grip when there extremely worn. When my old bt45 was real worn I couldn't even do a wheelie, It would just spin the rear tire.

I'm on my second set of the stock style tires I got 15,000 out of the first set. This time around I did a 150 on the back and I actually like them for the circular off and on ramps of the interstate pretty well. Definately get the feeling my back ain't coming away from me.

Mary

I've switched to the Avon RoadRiders in stock sizes on my 07 and have been very happy with the performance and durability. I got 11,600 out of the original BT45 rear tire... the new RoadRider rear is just ready for replacement now at 27,600 miles (16,000 miles of wear) ... so it lasted almost 50% longer. The original front BT45 was replaced at 25,500 miles - it had a VERY funky blocky wear pattern I was not happy with - it made the bike sound like it was riding on knobbies and caused vibration.  I expect to get more miles out of the Avon than the BT.

Overall, I find the ride quality every bit as good as the originals... It actually feels like the bike turns in a bit quicker... but that's a totally subjective observation.

Bottom line... I'm VERY happy with the RoadRiders, and they were an excellent choice for me and were fairly priced - I commute to work 70 miles a day round trip, year-round in almost all but the worst conditions here in SE PA. These are mostly highway miles... but there are plenty of low-volume twisty roads to choose from to spice up my daily ride.

Cheers & Beers!

My bike had almost 21,000 km (~13,000 miles) on original tires when I got it. I replaced both tires with Michelin Pilot Activs. Have about 2,000 km on them now - very good tires.

What other Avons are good for around $125-45 a tire?

You guys suck.

I got 4000 miles out of a set of tire on my GT. 14000 miles on the clock, and I'm on my 4th set. 

I ordered some pilot activ for mine that should be here on Tuesday.  The tires on there are dry and old.... Battleax on the front and Supercorsa 150/60 on the rear.  Don't trust either of them enough to lean very far at this point.  Will let you know how it goes later on though.  Good luck to you.