Tires

[GS750GUY]

Greetings from the pest. GS750GUY again.
I'm in the process of replacing my fork seals, fork oil, and brakes on my 78 GS750EC and when I put all of this back on the bike I also want to replace the tires as well.
Having no experience with purchasing motorcycle tires I have no idea what tires to buy. Are there any tires out there that I should definitely avoid?
Someone told me that all cycle tires, even the cheapest of tires have to be DOT approved for minimum standards of safety and it makes no sense to purchase a $250.00 dollar racing tire for a casual cruising bike. I was told that the less expensive tires will serve their purpose but I would just not get the mileage and super performance out of them like I would a mid range or higher priced tire. And of course the tire manufactures want to lead you to believe that anything short of their top of the line tire is a compromise of your safety and performance.
I appreciate your wisdom, thoughts and recommendations.
Thanks,
Harold

[emjay]

I like the Metzler ME88s. There are other brands that many riders will recommend.

Also, since you're working on your forks, you really should consider replacing the springs, preferable with Progressives. It's becoming one of those "by default" restoration tasks.

[fgh]

Your biggest problem will probably be finding the sizes you need. I've used Metzler's on my '83 but didn't get a lot of mileage. I've got a Bridgestone BattleAx on the back now and it seems to be doing great. You can normally find a good tire on TiresUnlimited.com for $100 or so. If your going to have someone install them check to make sure they will install owner supplied tires. Some places won't install if you don't but from them. I've had good service from tires in the middle of the price range. OH!! GET THEM BALANCED!!!

[fgh]

When it comes to suspension some like it hard and others soft. If you want performance the Progressive springs are the way to go. Many people find them to be too stiff. If your springs are still in spec and you want them stiffer try shimming them first. You find some washers that are slightly smaller than the inside of the fork tube that have a center as small or smaller than the center of the spring. Pull the caps off the fork tubes set them on top and reinstall the cap. Start with about a 1/4" and slowly increase from there. You might find the ride you want for a coupla' bucks.

[DimitriT]

If you want durability, Dunlop 491. I have them on the 750T. They are touring tires and wear like steel.

[Steve]

I will second the opinion of the Dunlop 491s. I used the 491 Elite II on my Kawasaki Voyager 1300 and my son's Yamaha Venture 1200, with about 18,000 miles of life expectancy. I am about ready to change the tires on my Wing, now, they are the Elite III, which is the replacement for the Elite II series. They have about 22,500 on them. With that kind of mileage on a heavy touring bike, imagine how many miles they might last on a lighter bike.

On the other hand, there are many that feel that you should replace tires that are over 3 or 4 years old, no matter how many milies, so it might not pay to get a long-life tire if you are only going to put on a couple thousand miles a year.

On my (son's) GS 650L we have Kenda Challengers. They seem to be pretty good. Have not put on more than a couple thousand miles on them, so can't predict life expectancy, but I have heard good reports from others.

On my (wife's) GS 850L we have ChengShin Hi-Max. They have about 8,000 miles since last spring (2005) and still look rather new.

Price for both of these is about half of the Dunlops.


.

[heyblue46]

re tires

I have the Dulop 491 Elite II on my '80 gs1100et also. I have almost 20k on them and still riding. To top it off, I got them from RonAyers.com, which is not far from me in NC, and only paid $80 for the front tire and $90 for the rear.

Steve

[Grandpa]

Cheng Shin Hi Max, front and rear. Good value for the money. I've tried just about all brands available for our GS shafties over the last 21 years, and the number of miles per dollar point favorably to Hi Maxes.

That's what I have on my GS1100GK right now, with both a front and a rear already on my spare wheels, ready to be installed on the bike whenever it becomes appropriate and I'm in the mood to change wheels.

I've also tried Kenda Challengers on my bikes. They work great, but the mileagle isn't that good, relatively speaking. 491's and 88's I've also tried, but they're pricier and don't give me any more mileage than the Hi Maxes.

I use 110's up front, since the GK is a heavy bike with big fairing. 100's should work well on a 750.

[gsgeezer]

I have used Metzlers and I thought about trying the Dunlops this time, thanks to Hoomgar's recommendation. We can only use bias ply tires on these old bikes, unless you update the rims to run radials. I was wondering about Pirelli.
(I have never used them, and I think they have tires to fit the old GS's??)

[Road_Clam]

Dunlap 491's are a great tire, also a very expensive tire.

I have a set of Maxxis C6002's. Awesome all around performance, wet and dry. (I had them out on a few high 30 degree mornings, and they performed excellent for such cold. Maxxis C6002's also have a V speed rating which is VERY unusuall for a biased ply tire sized for older GS's. They are also a BARGAIN price wise compared to Dunlaps, and Metzez...

I can't comment on tread life at this time, as I only put about 2800 mi on them this season. But so far they still look like new.

[bwringer]

I just mounted a set of Pirelli Sport Demons on my GS850 a few months ago, and the traction and feel is amazing. I ride VERY hard in the twisties, and the Pirellis are far and away the finest tires I have ever tried for sport riding.

I'm not sure of the life expectancy yet, but I'd be happy with 5,000 to 6,000 reported by others. I have about 2,500 miles on my set, and the profile still looks nice and round, with very little visible wear.

For most (people who don't normally drag parts in the corners) the Dunlop 491 is probably the best choice. After 12,000 hard miles, I finally replaced my Dunlop 491s with the Pirellis, but they could have easily gone to 15,000 - 16,000 and beyond. I'm keeping them in my garage just in case I need a tire on short notice. You can certainly corner hard and drag parts all you want with the Dunlops, but they are stiffer and don't have the same amount of feel and feedback as the Pirellis.

Both are expensive -- around $200 a set via mail order, $300+ total if you have a shop order and mount them. Both are worth it.

They may not be available in your sizes, so the Cheng Shin HiMax (available in a huge range of sizes) will probably be the best choice for you. I've happily worn out 3 sets of these doing some very hard riding on the GS850, and I've always been very happy with the wet and dry traction and feel. I usually got about 7,000 to 8,000 miles out of Cheng Shins, but they're so inexpensive I tended to change them earlier than I might have otherwise. CS HiMax are an incredible bargain.

Just remember that you can't go too far wrong. The cheapest, nastiest no-name motorcycle tires available today are light-years beyond anything available in 1983.

[Clone]

I bought from imotorcycle.com and got some avon am51 and am52 for the bike, they are pretty grippy even though I haven't put a lot of distance on them since they went on, the snow kind of ended my season. The price was i think 140 for the pair front and back.

[Road_Clam]

I just mounted a set of Pirelli Sport Demons on my GS850 a few months ago, and the traction and feel is amazing. I ride VERY hard in the twisties, and the Pirellis are far and away the finest tires I have ever tried for sport riding.

I'm not sure of the life expectancy yet, but I'd be happy with 5,000 to 6,000 reported by others. I have about 2,500 miles on my set, and the profile still looks nice and round, with very little visible wear.

For most (people who don't normally drag parts in the corners) the Dunlop 491 is probably the best choice. After 12,000 hard miles, I finally replaced my Dunlop 491s with the Pirellis, but they could have easily gone to 15,000 - 16,000 and beyond. I'm keeping them in my garage just in case I need a tire on short notice. You can certainly corner hard and drag parts all you want with the Dunlops, but they are stiffer and don't have the same amount of feel and feedback as the Pirellis.

Both are expensive -- around $200 a set via mail order, $300+ total if you have a shop order and mount them. Both are worth it.

They may not be available in your sizes, so the Cheng Shin HiMax (available in a huge range of sizes) will probably be the best choice for you. I've happily worn out 3 sets of these doing some very hard riding on the GS850, and I've always been very happy with the wet and dry traction and feel. I usually got about 7,000 to 8,000 miles out of Cheng Shins, but they're so inexpensive I tended to change them earlier than I might have otherwise. CS HiMax are an incredible bargain.

Just remember that you can't go too far wrong. The cheapest, nastiest no-name motorcycle tires available today are light-years beyond anything available in 1983.

I am pretty sure Maxxis tires are produced by Cheng Shin. So we are on the same page as far as positive feedback!

[GS750GUY]

Tire Thanks!!

Thanks to all of you for your tire input. You have all been very helpful. You have all given me some good pointers on tires.
Have a great holiday!
Harold (GS750GUY).