So what's the consensus on tires?

[roadster]

cheers dunspeed you learn somthing new everyday

 

[TriumPhil]

Just don't mix a bias ply tire with a radial!

 

[Dunnspeed]

Oh yes!!! You need to stick with the type but the make and model can be mixed. Good point, Phil, I should have said that!!!

Cheers

 

[BigAl52]

The higher profile translates to almost 3 inches greater rolling circumference. This means that with every 4 revolutions of the back wheel you've travelled almost an extra foot (about 11.2 inhes in fact). At the same engine speed it's easy to see the potential impact on actual fuel consumption over a trip (3% improvement) - but keep in mind you may not see the difference if you simply divide gallons into miles on your odometer because your speedo won't adjust to the different tyre size.

I 'spose you would get a rough idea of potential extra mileage by looking at the odometre when the fuel light comes on?

 

[CanberraR3]

I 'spose you would get a rough idea of potential extra mileage by looking at the odometre when the fuel light comes on?

Sort of. If the light comes on at about the same mileage then you have actually travelled further on the same fuel because your tyre has a bigger circumference. Does that make sense?

 

[Elvis]

I have 20k on my bike now and like the Venom on the rear the best if you are only looking at mc tires. I got 9600 out of the last one after 5100 out of the Metz.

I switched to the Altimax HP car tire about a 1000 miles ago and at 38 psi and I can't tell any difference except on grooved concrete roads.

 

[Elvis]

Just don't mix a bias ply tire with a radial!

The Goldwing guys are running car tires with dunlop 404s on the front

 

[UNCLE JESSE]

The Goldwing guys are running car tires with dunlop 404s on the front

that's the same combination I'm running on my rocket

 

[TriumPhil]

I'm not looking to flame anyone here nor to start a war on this sub-subject, but just because you can do something, like mix a bias ply tire and a radial on a motorcycle, does not make it a good or wise decision,

Every qualified professional in the car and automotive tire industry and folks who know chapter and verse about motorcycling safety issues would strongly advise against that tire mix because of the substantially different handling characteristics from one tire type to the other. I tihnk that a handful of bikes have come from the factory with that mix in the past, but i am unaware of any manufacturer of two-wheeled motorcycles continuing to do so today. There isn't a tire manufacturer on the planet, as far as I know that, doesn't strongly recommend against such a practice on a bike. If you must do it, it is always safer to have the bias ply tire on the front end, though.

 

[TheKid]

The sound is about 50 or so to ?? It is sometimes anoying, but the Metzlers also did this. It sounds like a basketball rolling down the road. You can hear a piece of rubber(tire, ball) over inflated(though its not) and making that sort of sound. Maybe I need louder pipes. Knowing that most of the tires do it, eg: truck tires, car tires, I don't wory about it. It is most likely from the front, because it became cupped after about 2k miles. They shouldn't have done that, but maybe they all do, I don't know. Seems like all my front tires on all of my bikes did.
I hope this helps, and by the way, I will always run these Dunlops, D251.
Good luck,
Kid