Touring Tires

[dawb]

wow...ok, thanks for all the input across the board...the "no recommended tire" from bridgestone had me put off but my past experience and all of yours on the this bike has settled that...the avons sound like a great option as well...we will see what the pocket book says. thanks again guys for the help!

 

[Camptc]

I've been looking into a new set for my R3T, and have had the Dunlop Elite 3's and the Michelin Commander ii's recommended. I work with a guy who has 12k miles on a Michelin Commander rear (on a VTX) that still looks like it has half its life left. Some others on this site recommended these, as well.

 

[Camptc]

Just got the Michelin Commander ii front in 130/90/R16 put on. The bike had a Metz on the front with a ridge in it from the previous owner running it flat. This tire feels worlds different. I wasn't able to do low speed turns very well (turning around in a parking lot, for instance). Now I can just about put the board on the ground and do pivot turns and such. Big difference. I had a large amount of vibration in the front end, which is gone completely. I'm anxious to see how the tire will last, but independent testing claims 25k miles for the distance rating. It's a little wet out today, and this tire had no trouble with grip in turns. So far, I'm really impressed.

 

[cr0ft]

130 is a fair step down from 150. But great that you're happy with it!

I decided to stick to stock tire sizes, not least because I finally got my whitewall radials that I've been lusting after for months. At one point the Commanders were on my list but decided against going with bias tires (plus the whole wanting wide whitewalls thing.)

 

[dawb]

Great help...the all....going to give the avoms a go.....got a 6k jaunt to start in about a week, so will have some input soon.

 

[Camptc]

cr0ft,

I was considering whites on mine, too, but with all the trouble to find proper sizes, I stuck with a standard black. After hearing the maneuverability claims on this forum, I started to look elsewhere for confirmation. The tire size change mainly came in the overall width of the tire. I think it's already been stated on a thread here, but given the same loading (tire pressure and weight of bike)and compound, both tires would exhibit similar degrees of displacement, which should result in the same contact patch on the road. However, because the 130/90 is almost 3/4 " thinner than the 150/80, the contact patch on the latter would be wider and shorter. I've noticed no change in braking, I think because the contact patch on the 130/90 is thinner but longer than the 150/80. However, the maneuverability of the thinner tire is noticeable in slow, tight turning. I didn't notice any loss of stability at speed (80-90 mph with no vibration) like some have claimed on here. Could very well be that we just ride differently. If you want a more numbers-based comparison of tire sizes, check this out:

http://tire-size-conversion.com/tire-size-comparison/

Pretty helpful, especially in the differences you'll see on the speedometer.

 

[ski]

I now have 5300 miles on the original Metz's. Have not been real happy with them. On slow turns, they felt sloppy. Sometimes it felt like the bike needed a fork brace. That front end is massive on the Beast so I ruled that out. I just came back from Tennessee doing the twistys hard. They did perform well there, (see pic) using most of the rubber. I still have about 1000 miles to scrub off and will do that. Pulled the trigger last night for a pair of Avon Cobras. MSRP is $560. Bike bandit has them on sale for $343. THAT is a good
price. The'll go in in about a month, maybe less. Now that the new tires

are on the way...my right wrist is gonna get spasmodic.

 

[cr0ft]

My Cobra whitewalls going on this Wednesday, and I can't wait, both for the looks upgrade but the cupping on my Metz front is getting bad. Let go of the bars and the whole front end starts shimmying.

 

[JanR3T]

I'm running on ME880 ~9000 - 12000km per season.
I have been riding them in all kind of conditions and they have given me good service, so I stick to what I know

What I've noticed (and so normally has everyone else) how important the correct tire pressure is. I'm putting 2.6bar on the front and 3.1bar on the rear and with that she runs like on tracks.

Sorry for the metric stuff

br,

Jan

 

[Boog]

I ran my Mets to 8,870 miles then swapped on the Exedra Maxes. Now have 1500 miles on the Maxes and really like everything about them compared to the Mets when new. Great turn in stability and traction on wet pavement.