Hey there forumees. I'm planning on getting new tires soon, also my first set of new tires, also also a bit tight on budget, but I was thinking of getting a size bigger such as  120/70(front);140/70(rear)on my gs500, just a thought. Would it take any type of performance hit? And what type brand of tires are good for the streets?

Pirelli sport demons .... Sure there are others ... But the demons are pretty much the most popular from what I have seen ... And yep got a 140 on the back of mine ... All good!

I've run 110/70, 110/80, 120/70 fronts and 130/70, 130/80, 130/90, 140/70, 140/80, 150/60, 150/70 rears on the stock 3.0 and 3.5" rims on my GSs.  All these sizes have ample clearance all around except the 150 which will touch or almost touch the brake torque brace and it might require a little bend for clearance.

Personally I like the handling of the 110/70 front better than the 120/70 but it's not by a big difference.  The 140/70 rears are a good choice.  GS500s come with bias ply tires and the ones from the major tire makers are all adequate.  Here's a comparo test of the bias tires run on a GS on a track in the UK you might find interesting:

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

Janx likes the Demons as many GS500 and Ninja 500 riders do but I prefer the Roadriders myself which are also popular and a better bargain I think, great milage. 

We had sport demons on the GS when we first got it. They were pretty old and the front started to wear weird. I've always been partial to Michelin, so we got Pilot Activs since they were the only ones in sizes that fit the GS. They've been great and read some great reviews prior to purchase, so I'm impressed. Stuck with stock sizes so it was just over $200 for a set, too.

Quote from: gsJack on May 17, 2013, 05:28:03 PM
I've run 110/70, 110/80, 120/70 fronts and 130/70, 130/80, 130/90, 140/70, 140/80, 150/60, 150/70 rears on the stock 3.0 and 3.5" rims on my GSs.  All these sizes have ample clearance all around except the 150 which will touch or almost touch the brake torque brace and it might require a little bend for clearance.

Personally I like the handling of the 110/70 front better than the 120/70 but it's not by a big difference.  The 140/70 rears are a good choice.  GS500s come with bias ply tires and the ones from the major tire makers are all adequate.  Here's a comparo test of the bias tires run on a GS on a track in the UK you might find interesting:

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



Janx likes the Demons as many GS500 and Ninja 500 riders do but I prefer the Roadriders myself which are also popular and a better bargain I think, great milage.

I use the sport demons and have enjoyed them very much

Thanks for the help and tips guys. I was looking to the sports demon tires. I probably will go with those since I've been reading a lot of good reviews about them. Or I'll just get both roadriders and then pirellis for the rear lol. Also that reminds me, my front tire is still pretty much new(85-90%), but a different brand, if I just buy a new rear tire it'll be perfectly normal to ride, no?

Check the manufacture date on the tire. Varying opinions, but over 5 years you may be at risk.

There is some concern with running a bias and radial on the same bike. I  presume your both bias, but wanted to mention it.

Yeah I'm a demon fan!,  ..

But on what Jack said.... His roadriders are great too... If I was going for more mileage then that would be my choice I reckon... A few mates have them on their 'touring' bikes .. Of various styles and sizes... And they get great distance.... I only really chose the Demons because my perception at the time was ... And still is I think... They have more grip? .... Saying that I don't think I have yet pushed the bike to near the limit of grip... To test that theory...

And on what dry humour said.. Now I'm not saying its wrong.. Because it isn't!! ... But all old tyres will start to wear a bit funny/weird ... My orig Battleaxes were starting to scallop and felt really buzzy/sloppy ... It's what most bike tyres will do when older and hardened ... Most noticeable on the front tyre in almost all cases ... From what I have noticed over the years...

Not as many years as Jack though!! ...  I hear tell that Jack was riding 'lead' back when the Hells Angels first got enough members to do a group ride  .... Bahahahha..... But they might have been chasing him too..... Never caught him though! 

Hi gsJack,

Hey, you are a trusted source here on tires.
I'd like your opinion.

I'm about to order new Michelin Pilot Activ tires in sizes:

110/70-17  front (stock size)
140/70-17  rear  (up one size from a stock 130/70-17)

Do you think the 140 rear has any benefit over the 130 rear that is stock?

I figure it is a bit larger contact patch and a bit more load capacity with a 140/70-17.

What are your thoughts?

Also, I'm sticking with 70s because I had terrible results with 90 series tires (Dunlops) I ran in the past. The 90s made my bike drop into corners way too fast and never felt confidence inspiring.

Thanks man,

Trwhouse

Interesting thoughts on the Dunlop 90s, I ran the Dunlop K291/K491 rear touring tires on my 4 Hondas (CB400T, CB750K, CM400A, CB650SC) getting 25-30k miles from them, great mileage.  So I tried them on my 1st GS years ago seeking the same high mileage and was delighted with the handling, the taller 90 profile made the GSs already quick steering even quicker like you describe.  But the touring rubber just didn't want to go around corners as fast as the GS did and the rear was breaking loose all the time so I gave up on them and started my 2nd childhood after many years of conservative riding.   

I think your choice of the 110/70 and 140/70 Activs is a good one, besides increased width and load capacity I found the wider tires gave longer life. The 140/70 was traditionally sized for a 4.0" wheel but Activs, Demons, and Roadriders are sizing them for a 3.75" wheel now making them an equally good fit on both 3.5 and 4.0" rims.

Seems nobody is putting 130 rears on the smaller bikes anymore even on the newer 250s, the new Honda 500 has gone to a 160 rear:

My bike came with some metzeler tires on it when I got it in the stock sizes. The front was more worn than the rear. I drove on them for less than 50km, and I didn't really have anything to compare them to until I got my new tires.

I decided on the Bridgestone Battlax BT-45's in 110/70/17 front and 140/70/17 rear. I chose them for a number of reasons, good wear rate, large temperature band (needed in southern ontario since our temps vary greatly in the small riding season), and the countless great reviews on them I found. They're night and day over the Metzeler tires. The back seemed more planted, the steering less twitchy (could have been to the worn old tire probably) and just overall a really confidence inspiring tire. They also did great in a downpour the other day. I was expecting to have to go back to my dirt bike days on that ride home but the bike was planted the whole way home, even at speeds over 120km/h on the highway. I've done about 1200km on them now and they've barely worn.

The 140/70 rear is a great choice. I think because the smaller wheel "squeezes" the tire more the bike feels a lot happer to lay down in a corner (in a good way). The 140 rear basically has no negatives, just positives so far. The 140 was only $25 more over the 130 as well, so it was a no brainer for me. Plus, it looks WAY better from the rear. The 130 is a really small tire for the bike.

This isn't coming from someone with a whole lot of experience with tires yet, but so far I'm really happy with them.

^^^ this .. and not at Wagoneer .. but in general...

not hacking on the Bridgestones .. nor the Metzelers .. nor any tyre...

heres the thing though... going from old worn rubber to fresh new rubber... is going to feel better and like a huge win every time!..

i have a theory ... you could have a bike with say Michelin Pilot Pures on it .. that are worn right down... you fit Metzeler M5's .. hey these are better!!! ... as they degrade very slowly over time you dont notice cos "they still so much better than those old Mich Pilots!" ... then you could fit Pirelli sport demons .. hey these are better than the Metzelers!!! ... wear them down... fit Shinko tyres... These are better!!... etc etc etc...

what we feel is the 'goodness' of soft fresh rubber and new sharp tread pattern !! ... versus the old hard worn down to nearly no tread rubber !

now without saying that the Shinko tyre at the end of my example is obviously better than the Michelin .. or vice versa .. or any of the mix in between  ... the whole "these new XYZ's are so much better than those crappy old ABC's" thing... is kinda obvious... new is new!!



unless you have fitted Pirelli Sport Demons to your GS500 .. in which case you have the best tyre!!! 

edit ...and scanning up the page after i posted ... yay me!!  ... 2 posts in one page saying more or less same thing!! .. way to GO memory!!!   

I think all the posts have been fairly clear on not directly comparing old tires to new tires and how they feel. I mentioned the metzelers were old just for the sake of avoiding a direct comparison in the first place.

The most important think is how the 140 SIZE compares to the 130. Who cares about what tire it is, the 140 performs better in every way. Just the way the bike turns, stability, load raiting etc. The comparisons I made had nothing to do with the brand of tire, just trying to get the point across that the 140 really should have come on this wheel from the beginning.

But I mean, for the average beginner rider, they aren't going to know the difference between the TINY difference between different tires. I say get out there read some reviews and make the decisions for yourself. Tires are a very personal thing. Some people hate one tire and some people with love it.

Just make a list of wants/needs that you want in a tire and get a tire that checks as many boxes as you can going from other people reviews that probably have a heck of a lot more experience than you.

Quote from: Wagoneer on June 17, 2013, 08:23:47 PM
The most important think is how the 140 SIZE compares to the 130. Who cares about what tire it is, the 140 performs better in every way. Just the way the bike turns, stability, load raiting etc. The comparisons I made had nothing to do with the brand of tire, just trying to get the point across that the 140 really should have come on this wheel from the beginning.

yeah for sure!!  .. have to say when the 140 went on mine to start with it was alarming a little (and I was still on L plates at the time)... firstly the old/new thing... but also the old 130 i had was looking very squared off from the PO daily commutes 25km or so (return) to his job in Sydney .. i had got used to the feel of the slight edge the squaring had... lean a little .. 'bump' .. lean more and into a corner... no problem... the new and wider 140 .. well it just went SWOOP!!!  then  .. the change in the feel whilst leaning into a corner .. felt too quick to start with  .. now im used to it (plus somewhat more experienced?) i love it!! ..

sorry .. i wasnt/didnt mean to pick you up on the brand thing.. just got 'on a roll' 

might be strictly a $$ thing with the OEM tyres still being 130 size? .. and if its been working for them for ages why would they change?

yes though.. for me.. and a lot of others?... (young hoony types?  ) .. once you go 140 .. you just dont want to go back!! 

I think it's probably safety restrictions. Once you design a swing arm around a 130 tire, it's hard to make the 140 fit without breaking some rules. If an owner wants to do it after the fact that's fine, but manufacturers have to follow a lot of stupid rules that we don't have to. Like how close the tire can be to the swing arm/brake arm etc. Probably not financially worth it to them to change the entire rear to just keep up with the times and fit a larger rear tire.

Quote from: gsJack on May 17, 2013, 05:28:03 PM
I've run 110/70, 110/80, 120/70 fronts and 130/70, 130/80, 130/90, 140/70, 140/80, 150/60, 150/70 rears on the stock 3.0 and 3.5" rims on my GSs.  All these sizes have ample clearance all around except the 150 which will touch or almost touch the brake torque brace and it might require a little bend for clearance.

Thanks Jack.
I appreciate your input.
Best wishes,
Trwhouse