cheap tires

[Anonymous]

Worst tires I EVER rode on.
Pieces of crap........
We use them on our trainers for the MSF courses.
Had one peel away during a braking exercise, about 25mph, locked the rear and it peeled off.
I would NEVER ride any motorcycle with these tires on it.
We still have them on the trainers. They are not "round". You can feel the tire even at the slower speeds we ride at, usually under 20-25 mph.
Maybe they have improved with the Maxxis labeling or figured out how to make a better tire.
First impressions are lasting.
I'll stay with my Dunlop GT501's. They are reasonable and wear well. They handle very well in the rain.

Scotty, aren't lots of the roads around you poured concrete?
Some of the previous posts state that in the rain or on poured concrete they were not good, useless. When it rains in FLA on these types of roads......be careful.

Keith

We will find out soon. The owner of my bone yard and reconditioned motorcycle shop runs them all the time and on his bikes also. I guess time will tell. It amazes me though how so any old time riders did not have problems with them and some other folks hate them. I wonder if the company sells seconds to some vendors.???
I have had one on my front for about 10 000 miles and it is not fully worn yet. also no problems with vibration. I will admit that i had the front wheel machine electronically ballanced about a year ago. However it had a vibration problem BEFORE i put the $40 tire on the front though.???????

 

[Anonymous]

I have CS tires on both GSs, put a lot of miles on the 750 with CS Barracudas. I've been very happy with their handling and wear, not to mention the the price was affordable for a working man's budget.
I am interested in the feedback regarding wet conditions, I have no complaints with CS, but seems others sure do.

 

[earlfor]

I used to use CS tires now and then, particularly when I would get caught a bit short on cash and needed to replace tires. On various occasions in the rain, I have had the rear wheel slide out from under me at speeds as low as 15 mph in a turn at an intersection. I also noticed that slight pressure on either brake would lock either wheel with tires that handled OK in dry conditions and had a couple thousand miles on them. Mold release was not a factor. Admittedly, this was before the the Hi Max was available and before the present designs and compounds. I suspect the tire that caused my problems remains in the CS line though. I'll be sticking with my Metzelers (yep, pun intended) My favorite tire of all time was the Dunlop K-81, but you cant hardly get em no mo.

Earl

I have CS tires on both GSs, put a lot of miles on the 750 with CS Barracudas. I've been very happy with their handling and wear, not to mention the the price was affordable for a working man's budget.
I am interested in the feedback regarding wet conditions, I have no complaints with CS, but seems others sure do.

 

[Anonymous]

Maxxis and Cheng Shin are two different companies. Maxxis started up
in the late 1960's, we run Maxxis on our cross-country quads and you
can't beat them. Maxxis is actually the #1 bicycle tire manufacturer in
the world and like 13th largest tire producer globally! Cheng Shin's
are your basic budget tires. If your not gonna be taking sweepers at
80 mph or won't be riding in the rain then have at it.

 

[cbxchris]

I think tires are like most things...ya get what you pay for. Personally I like michelin and metzler. I`ve had excellent results from them and will keep on using them. I have used bridgestones with good results also.

 

[oldschoolGS]

Are you guys mail ordering tires or buying them retail? I have only run Dunlops and Metzelers (bias-ply) on my 750 and have always thought they were fairly reasonable at about $80-$100 each thru most parts warehouses. Tires are one thing that I will absolutely not go cheap on either on my car or motorcycles considering the cost of a crash. You can cut costs in other areas but I would not skimp on rubber. Ride On, Ed.

 

[Anonymous]

Are you guys mail ordering tires or buying them retail? I have only run Dunlops and Metzelers (bias-ply) on my 750 and have always thought they were fairly reasonable at about $80-$100 each thru most parts warehouses. Tires are one thing that I will absolutely not go cheap on either on my car or motorcycles considering the cost of a crash. You can cut costs in other areas but I would not skimp on rubber. Ride On, Ed.

Skimping on rubber is foolish if you are sure of the difference between skimping and paying too much. The CS on the front of my bike has been through some awful rain storms and i never experienced slipping. Maybe some of you folks are just a little too fast in your driving habits. i have a battlax on the rear now and it didn't seem something special. It seems that there are enough opinions both for and against for me to say that we all just have different opinions. the tires cant be crap and junk at the same time. My front tire is lasting as long as any dunlop that i have ever run. But what does it prove. It is only my opinion. We live in a world of overkills and brand name worship. And so far in my worthless opinion i dont see why i need to spend 130 bucks for a tire. Scare tactics and all.????

 

[oldschoolGS]

I agree riding style plays a large part in selecting tires but like anything else in life you get what you pay for. I do not buy things based on name brand alone, but strongly feel that in certain areas sacraficing quality for price is not an option. You have to admit that "bargin-priced" tires either for cars or bikes are cheaper because they lack the grip and peformance capability of premium tires. When street riding, I rely on two things to keep myself alive-the ability to out accelerate and out brake about 99% of the autos out there. This requires no compromise concerning tire quality. Go with what you know and what suits your style but don't forget the words of the Michelin man. Ride On, Ed.

 

[Anonymous]

I have often gone to a cheaper tire because they are often made of softer rubber.

 

[lartross]

I've run dunlop k491's since they became availuable. I love them. This year, I ordered a k491 rear...waited 7 weeks...no tire...called dunlop and was told I'd have to wait an indeterminate time before they would be availuable, so, I bought a cheng shin...I had run them in the past on various bikes with no problem, except fast wearing and a little slippage...They're OK, not great. When I can get it, I'll buy a Dunlop again.

 

[lberkhei]

Cheng Shin

Cheng Shin

Don't know if 20+ year old information helps much, other than to show that the company's been around awhile. I put a Cheng Shin on my Honda CB500 back in the late 70's. Had some concerns at the time, because I'd never heard of the brand/company, put price drove my decision. I had no problems with it, rain or shine. Like Earl, I also had a set of Dunlop K-81s on it at one point; had no problems with them, either. If I remember correctly, I had the CS on the rear. But that was 20+ years ago... :? :wink: :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Talk through your tyre selection with someone who knows both the tyre and the bike. The weight difference between bikes makes a lot of difference to what tyre to use.

The big GS models are much heavier than current bikes, and their frames are more flexible. On a heavy steel frame bike like my GS1000G the tyre needs to compensate for the flex in the frame by having a stiffer sidewall. On a modern bike of similar power the weight is lower and the aloy box frame is stiffer, so the tyre can flex a bit more without the bike wandering.

When the GS bikes were made there was not the range of tyre choice that there is these days. But make sure the modern tyre suits the old bike's characteristics.

This is the wisdom of my local race prep mechanic who knows how to get the best out of old bikes. My bike went in this morning for tyres and he is changing to a different brand. In a few weeks I'm off for a 3,000 km trip so I will be able to check how they compare on a range of roads.

Kim

 

[lberkhei]

cheap tires

kkmiller said:

This is the wisdom of my local race prep mechanic who knows how to get the best out of old bikes. My bike went in this morning for tyres and he is changing to a different brand

Kim,

Let us know what tire he puts on for you. Would be of interest to a lot of us.....

Thanks,

 

[Jethro]

For what it's worth, I was a bicycle sales rep for years and both Cheng Shin and Maxxis were considered bottom of the barrel tires. Heavy, cheap, out of round- they were generally a company spec'd tire, and an easy way to save the manufacturer big money (a good mtn bike tire can cost $50, these things could be had for $12). I imagine there was an entirely different division for MC tires though.

 

[chuckycheese]

Cheng Shin

Cheng Shin

I travel often to S.E. Asia and have noticed that CS tires are the stock tires on a number of Chinese motorcycles....most of these bikes are quite small and would never exceed 60MPH. Since they are on so many new bikes, they must be at least OK. Also, the extraordinarily difficult consumer laws and incredibly "picky" import laws would indicate to me that they are probably safe tires....maybe not the best...but I bet they're at least alright.

I agree with the other posters that think "alright" isn't good enough....I want a tire that's damn good!!!!! :wink:

 

[wizard]

Cheng Shin tires

Cheng Shin tires

I've been running CS for about 10 years. For the $, the wear is great as long as you're not an xtreme rider. I get about 3 seasons out of front tires and 2 out of the rear. JCWhitney has them for he cheapest, but you need to be able to recognize the tread pattern. They don't list manufacturers.

 

[Billy Ricks]

Running Gixxer rims I'm able to use radials so CS and such are not an option for me. That said, I'm able to get Dunlop radials for the same or less than most of the premium bias ply tires. A 120/70 front only runs about $88 mail order. A 160/60 rear about $25 more. Radials do a good job of helping soak up bumps which is why most modern bikes get by with less and firmer suspension travel. They grip better and roll easier than bias plies.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: cheap tires

kkmiller said:

This is the wisdom of my local race prep mechanic who knows how to get the best out of old bikes. My bike went in this morning for tyres and he is changing to a different brand

Kim,

Let us know what tire he puts on for you. Would be of interest to a lot of us.....

Thanks,

He put on Metzelers. ME 33 Laser on the front and ME 55a Metronic on the rear. You can see them here in the "Alround" section.

http://www.metzelermoto.com/product_info/catalogo/supersport.asp?id=15

I haven't got it on the road yet, he's still setting up a bank of carbies for me - took in a spare set as the ones on the bike have seen some damage from previous owners.

His comments about the Bridgestone BT45 Battlax was that they were OK for lighter bikes but flexed too much for something as heavy as the GS1000G.

I got 12,000 kms out of the BT rear and he reckons the Metz will outlast that easily, as well as outhandle them wet or dry. The front lasted longer but was very feathered.

The BT45 rear cost me $165 fitted plus "disposal fee", the Metz $180 rear and $120 front all up. Australian dollar is presently about US .60 cents.

Kim

 

[mdole]

I've run Chen Shin on various bikes I have owned along with Dunlops, Metzlers, Bridgestones, Avons, and others.

I have had pretty good luck with all of them the CS Hi Max handled better than the Marquis. The best handling tires I think I tried were either the Avon super Venoms or the 591 Dunlops but both were toast in 5000 or so miles. The longest wear was a Dunlop F-11 front (21k) with a Dunlop 491 Elite II rear (16k). The CS Hi Max would go about (7k) on V-65 Sabre.

More recently I have tried Kings on both a Sabre and a GS and so far them seem to be a good middle of the line tire. Better traction than the CS and less than half the cost of the Bridgestones so far 3500 on the GS750L and still have plenty of tread.

Mike

 

[oldschoolGS]

Billy, running low profile radials is ground clearance a problem? I know with a 140/70 Dunlop 591R rear on my 750, I had to be cafeful not to dig the sidestand mount into the road on fast left hand corners. Small problem but loved the to-the-edge grip this rear gave. BTW, thanks again for the master cylinder. If it is not too much trouble, email me a pic of your bike. Mine is listed in the gallery 1983-fairly old photos and not fully modified. Thanks, Ed (mustang4@swbell.net)