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Front and Rear Tires What type will be the best

  • Thread starter Thread starter Thelen82gs550l
  • Start date Start date
T

Thelen82gs550l

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Thanks for looking first of all. I have a 1982 gs550l that needs tires pretty badly before I deside to take it out this summer. I need something that is cheap but will last a couple of years untell I am out of collage. I want to keep the tires looking like the are from the 80-90's I dont want to have crotch rocket tires on it I would like it close to the era of the bike. But again I dont have a whole lot to spend. The front tire is a 90/90-19 52H
and the rear is a 130/90-16 67H. Also I live in wisconsin so dont want to get killed on shipping either. Thanks Greg
 
I put Dunlop 404's on my 550t because they look more "vintage". They seem decent enough, but the Avon's I have on my Nighthawk are way stickier. But they also cost 50% more. I am satisfied with the 404's performance so far, but I don't know about longevity.

Southwest moto tire http://www.swmototires.com/ has free shipping for two tires and they have 404's in stock. They are in Arizona I believe. I ordered Avon's from them last time and saved about $60.
 
Alot of members here swear by the cheng shin hi max tires. I don't have any experience with them. I've got Pirelli RT66 tires on my KZ and I am happy with them. The GS has metzlers, not sure of the model number. Alot depends on the type of driving you do.
 
HiMax or Kenda Challangers are the value leaders. Check out Americal Motorcycle Tire - about $100 shipped for the Cheng Shin's. Oh, and get a 100 front and 130 rear. Good stuff.:)
 
Spitfires are a good balance between cost and performance. There are much better options out there for the knee draggers club, but you will certainly pay for it.

I've run two sets of Spitfires so far and have thoroughly enjoyed them.
PICT1049.jpg
 
Ok sounds good I am not sure if a 100 will fit on the front the fender is really close to the tire the way it is i cannot go though gravel to fast or rocks will lodge in it. I plan on driving it every day that I can weather permiting. As for the miles probably will be going about a hundred and twenty every day except weekends. mostly highway around 60-72 miles and hour. Thanks for the replys
 
Thelen82gs550l said:
I need something that is cheap but will last a couple of years untell I am out of collage. I want to keep the tires looking like the are from the 80-90's I dont want to have crotch rocket tires on it I would like it close to the era of the bike.
Click to expand...
Unless you are going to enter the bike in Concours competitions, looks don't really matter. What matters is keeping you upright.
My vote is for Cheng Shin Hi-Max tires, 100/90 in front, 130/90 in the rear.
Although the 90/90 is stock, the 100/90 will virtually eliminate your inherent speedometer error.



almarconi said:
Alot of members here swear by the cheng shin hi max tires. I don't have any experience with them.
Click to expand...
Well, we have some experience with the Hi-Max. They are on my wife's 850L, the last set lasted 14,000 trouble-free miles, with plenty of rain-shedding performance, even in the last couple thousand miles. We liked them so well, we put on another set. But, you have to get them quick, Cheng Shin has announced that they are discontinuing their street tires. Quantities might be limited, so you might have to shop a couple of sites to find them.



Nessism said:
HiMax or Kenda Challangers are the value leaders. Check out Americal Motorcycle Tire - about $100 shipped for the Cheng Shin's. Oh, and get a 100 front and 130 rear. Good stuff.:)
Click to expand...
Go for the Hi-Max. We also have a set of Kenda Challengers on my son's 650L. Not nearly the mileage or the grip that the Hi-Max has.

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120 miles a day?!!! holy crap, I am as of tomorrow gonna put a spitfire on the back of my 750, I am also a college student, hell yea old bikes
 
the kenda's are going to be the cheapest ones, my bike came with them on so i don't know how many miles they lasted
 
yeah I would have to agree the rest of the bike has seen better days but oil changes, carb tuning and now tires is the only thing it needs. it get about 30-45 miles to the gallon I can not drive my truck back and forth for that.
 
If you are only getting 30-45 mpg, you are long overdue for a tune-up. :eek:

We seldom get less than 40-45 on my wife's 850, and have gotten into the mid-50s on several trips.

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We seldom get less than 40-45 on my wife's 850, and have gotten into the mid-50s on several trips
Click to expand...

That's pretty impressive, I have only averaged about 38 mpg doing city driving on my 750L. Is the 40-45mpg figure city driving or highway?
The KZ550 will average 53-55 mpg in the city.
 
almarconi said:
Is the 40-45mpg figure city driving or highway?
Click to expand...
Probably a bit of both. We don't track mileage on a regular basis on her bike, but do keep a log when on trips. Does not seem to matter much, when she hits about 140 miles on the trip meter, it's about time to go to REServe. 3.5 gallons later, tank is full, trip meter is reset, we're back on the road. On trips, we will do better than that, but the mileage on the Wing while towing a trailer drags it down so that we tend to need to fill up about the same time.

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+1 on both the Hi-Max and the Bridgestone S11's (Spitfires). I've a set of the S11's on my Kat 1000, a set of the Hi Max on my Kat 750. Both good tires if you dont suffer delusions of being Valentino on a racetrack.
Both brands are plenty sticky for me and my comfort zone, plus affordable.
 
Hi Mr. Thelen82gs550l,

Although I use and recommend the Bridgestone Spitfire S-11 tires for all but the most aggressive riders (I'm very happy with performance and wear), it seems no one has mentioned the Dunlop Elite 3 tires. They are also good performers and wear forever. I can't use them because they don't make a 17" rear tire, but they do make a 16" rear tire. I don't know if they fit in your budget but they are worth a look too.

One of these days I'm going to gather all of the tire info into an FAQ and post it on my site. ;)


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
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Cheng Shin has discontinued production of street tires.

For me, I prefer black, round ones....;)
 
Spitfires have been the most popular replacement tire in the Toronto area for some time, yet my own experience with them has been negative.

The G and the GK both had them installed when I bought the bikes, and both showed the same problem of slipping away sideways during mild acceleration when pulling away from a stop sign, and turning at the same time. Left turns were quirky and annoying, as they put me in front of other traffic and having the tire slip away was not desirable.

On both bikes I found Spitfires to have less grip on both wet and dry than I liked, especially wet, however these concerns disappeared when I switched to Metzelers.

Here cost difference is considerable, but inside USA the same tires are MUCH lower in price and the difference between Metzelers (here ONE tire was $200,) and Spitfires is about $50. maximum
 
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