• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Which New Tires For 83 GS850?

J

jaytex1969

Forum Newbie
Been in Knoxville 2 years. Don't have a relationship with any local shops. Working to fix that. Just turned my ride in at Speed Lab for a short list of repairs and upkeep.

First on the list is tires.

They came back with two readily available options, Michelin Commander II and Pirelli Night Dragon.

If anyone has experience with these options or has other recommendations, please share your opinions.

Thanks.
Jay
 
Bob Baatfam lives in Knoxsville. Prolific poster and respected member here. Has a number of bikes including a GS. Surely Bob’s got a tire guy he likes. Probably has some opinions as well on tire selection based on how and where you like to ride.
 
Last edited:
jaytex1969 said:
They came back with two readily available options, Michelin Commander II and Pirelli Night Dragon.
Click to expand...

Both of those tire models look great. Quite expensive, though.

The cheap guy forum favorite tires are Shinko 230 or 712. Reviews pretty much show they are very nice tires in all regards other than durability. If you don't plan to ride a whole lot, they would be an excellent choice.
 
Do you have a 1983 GS850GL or GS850G? The rear wheels are different diameters.

Since they're recommending cruiser tires, I'm guessing you have a GL, which has a 16" rear. (The G has a 17" rear wheel, and there are fewer tire options.)



Anyhoo, the proper sizes for an '83 850GL are 100/90-19 up front and 130/90-16 out back.

Between these two (both are very spendy), I'd personally go with the Michelin. They're known to be fantastic in every respect.

If you mount your own tires (which you don't seem to) and want to save a few bucks, the Shinko 230 is outstanding bang for the buck; about half the price. It just doesn't last as long. If you're paying someone else to do the work, then you're better off to mount up a brand that's known to last somewhat longer.



Also, 130/90-16 is a popular size for front tires on some Harleys and other cruisers, so make sure you actually end up with a rear tire on the rear.
 
Last edited:
They don't get a lot of love here on the forum but I have gotten good service from Dunlop 404s. You know what you are getting and they are available just about everywhere. They obviously aren't the latest tech but then neither are our GSs. And any tire you purchase today will be vastly superior what was on your GS when it was new.
 
I haven't used anything other than Continental TKV 11 & 12 and the ContiGo.
Pricey, but no complaints.
 
Rich82GS750TZ said:
Bob Baatfam lives in Knoxsville. Prolific poster and respected member here. Has a number of bikes including a GS. Surely Bob’s got a tire guy he likes. Probably has some opinions as well on tire selection based on how and where you like to ride.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I'm probably not much help. I order tires on line, and mount them myself.

But hey! Welcome jaytex1969 to the area! We moved here about seven years ago....and love it.
 
I hope someone says Bridgestone Battle Axe. I have 2 new to be mounted for next season.....
 
Is Avon truly discontinuing the Roadrider, or just moving the manufacturing location? I still see them available for purchase.
 
Nessism said:
Is Avon truly discontinuing the Roadrider, or just moving the manufacturing location? I still see them available for purchase.
Click to expand...

It's... murky.


The Avon Tyre factory in England is set to close by the end of 2023, or may already be closed.

Last time I bought a set of made in England Avon motorcycle tyres (for my FJ-09), in 2021, both turned out to be defective. I only found out later that the factory was closing. Make of that what you will.

Avon's tyre business was purchased by Cooper in 1997, and in turn Cooper was swallowed up by Goodyear in 2021.

There's some generic happy but extremely vague blather from Goodyear (published in March 2023) in this European market article about continuing production of the Avon brand, but it doesn't say where (which usually means China...).
https://news.goodyear.eu/avon-tyres...s-into-the-future-as-part-of-goodyear-family/

However, on the WIkipedia page for Goodyear, the only mention of motorcycle tires is Montlu?on​, France.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodyear_Tire_and_Rubber_Company


If you poke around, it would appear that US stocks of Avon Tyres are very spotty and thin -- click "Part Numbers" here and you'll see that many sizes are out of stock, low stock, or discontinued:
https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/avon-roadrider-mk-ii-tires?sku_id=1818530

My guess would be that, at best, Goodyear is still in the process of moving Avon motorcycle tyre production from England to France. In the happy-crappy press release above, they say "more focused", which is MBA-speak code for discontinuing stuff. They do mention the RoadRider MKII will continue. How long it might take for French tires to trickle into the US, if ever, is of course, unknown.

Or, they might also be moving Avon motorcycle tyre production to China and not France. That would be a shame, but many other brands have done so.

I suppose the Avon brand could just abandon the US market, or switch the US to the Goodyear brand, or something along those lines.

Time will tell, I guess.
 
Well, corporate bullhit aside, if they carry on producing Roadrider MkIIs I'll be happy if they're still made with the same rubber, in the same way, as I've found my front one is perfectly fine, and probably the best front tyre I've had.
 
dpep said:
They don't get a lot of love here on the forum but I have gotten good service from Dunlop 404s. You know what you are getting and they are available just about everywhere. They obviously aren't the latest tech but then neither are our GSs. And any tire you purchase today will be vastly superior what was on your GS when it was new.
Click to expand...

Goodyear owns Dunlop, they wouldn't let me play with the CAD files for the motorcycle tires when I was designing the Edge AT line a few years ago.
 
jaytex1969 said:
Been in Knoxville 2 years. Don't have a relationship with any local shops. Working to fix that. Just turned my ride in at Speed Lab for a short list of repairs and upkeep.

First on the list is tires.

They came back with two readily available options, Michelin Commander II and Pirelli Night Dragon.

If anyone has experience with these options or has other recommendations, please share your opinions.

Thanks.
Jay
Click to expand...

They're a bit down the road a ways from you in Loudon but Purdy's Powersports has taken good care of me since I bought a pair of Bridgestone BT46's from them earlier this year. They go by the name OEM Cycle on eBay and have prices that are hard to beat!

The BT46's definitely ride quite well but wear out about as fast as the Shinkos. The Dunlop 404's wear the fastest and are just plain evil on tar snakes! In my opinion the Shinkos 240 is the best bang for the buck.
 
My opinion, though haven't had one for many yrs. Dunlops were the least bang for your buck, they had traction of a hard compound while they wear out like a soft compound.... Maybe better these days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top