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good motorcycle tires

T2urtle

T2urtle

Diamond Member
I just picked up a gs500f. I'm no bike noob but not a car noob, have most tools...

somewhat bald rear tire. I think its stock tires, bike had 10k on it.

Any good recommendations? I dont see any deals on tires in my size. 110/70/17 and 130/70/17


Also i've heard a lot of diffrent methods to replace tires. So say its better/lot cheaper if i take off the wheels and bring them in. What is normal cost for mount and balance? Like we can agree most car tire mounting is $15-25 each. I've heard cost about $50 for both if i bring the wheels in. But no idea if i bring the bike.
 
What kind of riding are you doing?

The guy I take my bike to charges $20/wheel if I bring just the wheels and $40/wheel if I bring him the whole bike.
 
its my first bike.

I plan on just crusing around more city riding then highway. But i will be on the highway once i get enough courage.

that owner's manual shows how to remove the wheels, It looks VERY simple. Cotter pin, axle nut and slide it off for the front and same but push wheel forward to get the chain off the sprocket in the rear. Looks and sounds simple enough.


I did some searching, ninja 250r have the same tire sizes. seems like there isn't a great amount of selection but BT45 by bridgestone is a decent tire and the OE tire as well. stock tire for the ninja is Dunlop GT501G. which is another option.
 
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My last set of tires were Bridgestone BT021 which I got about 8k miles out of. They had good tread wear and were pretty grippy for a sport touring tire.
 
10k for a rear motorcycle tire is amazing. I have almost 16,000 miles on my bike and I'm on my 3rd rear tire and second front. Both need to be replaced actually and I'm probably going to take care of that in the next week or so.

Personally, I love the Michelin Pilot Powers. That is what I have on my bike currently and that's probably what I'm going to put on there next. Planning on selling the bike in about a month or so but I figure it will help with the resale value as the new owner really won't have to do anything on this bike for the next 5-6,000 miles other than an oil change and some chain maintenance.
 
For something made stock I'd go with the Pirelli Sport Demons. They are a fairly grippy tire. One of the best bias-ply tires you can get for a sporty bike such as a Ninja 250r or GS500f.

Something else you could do is put a 150/60-17 tire on the rear which will sit just a tad wider but that opens up the ability to put all of the major radial tires on the bike. I did BT016's on my 250r with the stock front size and 15-/60-17 rear. Much better performance.

I'd look into this route and look at Pirelli Angel ST's, BT023's or Dunlop Roadsmart's. Will give better performance than the Sport Demon's but simila tread life.
 
^ i was reading about people going a little bigger in the rear but stock front. 140/70/17 but right now i dont have a lot of miles under my belt. i wanna try to go with stock everything.

i heard those sport demons have a VERY short lifespan.

Jules, i think its 10k on orginal tire. I just bought the bike with 10k on it, tire looks pretty bald. I read on the GS boards some got 10k out of it.


http://www.smugmug.com/photos/421778173_r5kSp-X3.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/421778222_97mdg-X3.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/421778267_oz9pS-X3.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/421778306_bGmAr-X3.jpg

they did a review a while back on a GS500E. the sport demons might be the quickest tire but not exactly what i'm going for. maybe down the road as a second set. I normally go with price but really they all are about $5-10 diff on motorcycle-superstore. with that review i think its hard for me not to look at the avon roadriders.
 
Michelin Pilot Power Road 2CT or whatever its called.

I switched to the 2CT from a Metzeler Sportec. Both tires are pretty decent, but I've heard the 2CTs offer a lot of life for very little sacrifice in grip.
 
BT45 is a good tire; I don't recall all the details with the GS but that was the "go to" sport touring tire 4-5 years ago


IIRC I used to run Avon AV45/46 in 140 width (they didn't make 130?) which doesn't pinch too much.. Although you'll always have little chicken strips, if that kinda thing bothers you
 
JulesMaximus said:
10k for a rear motorcycle tire is amazing. I have almost 16,000 miles on my bike and I'm on my 3rd rear tire and second front. Both need to be replaced actually and I'm probably going to take care of that in the next week or so.

Personally, I love the Michelin Pilot Powers. That is what I have on my bike currently and that's probably what I'm going to put on there next. Planning on selling the bike in about a month or so but I figure it will help with the resale value as the new owner really won't have to do anything on this bike for the next 5-6,000 miles other than an oil change and some chain maintenance.
Click to expand...

its not amazing, you are just using supersport tires, try the pilot road 2's, a friend got 14k out of a front on his hornet and 18+ k on the rear.

the bt021's last pretty decently too
 
Zargon said:
its not amazing, you are just using supersport tires, try the pilot road 2's, a friend got 14k out of a front on his hornet and 18+ k on the rear.

the bt021's last pretty decently too
Click to expand...

You sure you're not mixing that around? The front tire should always get more mileage than the rear...
 
last tires i bought for my bike were pirelli phantoms. those suckers were like using gummy bears instead of tires here in az summer. you could actually hear them sticking to the asphalt when i left a red light. you could also pretty much lay the bike over to the limit and not slip. they were rated at 10k miles and i rode them for about 18k i think. i like the pirellis when i can afford them.
 
Zargon said:
its not amazing, you are just using supersport tires, try the pilot road 2's, a friend got 14k out of a front on his hornet and 18+ k on the rear.

the bt021's last pretty decently too
Click to expand...

😕 What the hell else am I going to put on a canyon carver?

Just ordered another set of Pilot Powers for my bike this morning. This will be my 4th rear and 3rd front tire on this bike.
 
simonizor said:
You sure you're not mixing that around? The front tire should always get more mileage than the rear...
Click to expand...

yeah Im sure. In the flatlands all the breaking wears the fronts out

JulesMaximus said:
😕 What the hell else am I going to put on a canyon carver?

Just ordered another set of Pilot Powers for my bike this morning. This will be my 4th rear and 3rd front tire on this bike.
Click to expand...

the pR2's are plenty sticky on the sides with a harder center compound so they dont wear as fast there
you see them on plenty of bikes at trackdays with no complaints from teh people doing it
 
Zargon said:
yeah Im sure. In the flatlands all the breaking wears the fronts out



the pR2's are plenty sticky on the sides with a harder center compound so they dont wear as fast there
you see them on plenty of bikes at trackdays with no complaints from teh people doing it
Click to expand...

Meh, $230 every 5000 miles isn't exactly going to break the bank so I'll stick with the Pilot Powers. Such a great tire.
 
no love for the small guys? on top of Pirelli's and Bridgestone, I like Kenda's too. For my 250 I plan to use the K671 Challenger next. Currently using Pirelli's diablo scooter.
 
I just sold a GS500F. I replaced the front and rear after 2 months (bought it used) and replaced the stock BT45s with Shinko SR741s. They were ok, not great, but never had any problems in the twisties with them. I only got about 3k mi out of my first rear though because of my riding style.

My new Triumph came stock with Pirelli Supercorsa. I love them. Gonna really hurt the wallet when it's time to replace them.
 
what kind of prices are you guys paying for installation?

I got quoted $70 per tire, or maybe he meant both tires if i bring him the bike
 
The local shop has four different prices:

1. If I buy the tire from him and the wheel is still on the bike
2. If I buy the tire from him and just bring him the wheel
3. If I buy the tire somewhere else and the wheel is still on the bike
4. If I buy the tire somewhere else and bring him the wheel
 
the DRIZZLE said:
The local shop has four different prices:

1. If I buy the tire from him and the wheel is still on the bike
2. If I buy the tire from him and just bring him the wheel
3. If I buy the tire somewhere else and the wheel is still on the bike
4. If I buy the tire somewhere else and bring him the wheel
Click to expand...

That's typical. Try Cycle Gear, I just bought a set of Pilot Powers from them online and I'm taking the wheels in to my local Cycle Gear to have them mounted for $20 each.
 
I use Continental Road Attacks on my Bandit 1200. I have put 6k on the tires and the rear is now starting to flatten out. I ride 8/10 on the twisties and never have run out of grip. The front tire is still in great shape
 
JulesMaximus said:
That's typical. Try Cycle Gear, I just bought a set of Pilot Powers from them online and I'm taking the wheels in to my local Cycle Gear to have them mounted for $20 each.
Click to expand...

Cycle gear gives a discount on the mount and balance if you purchase the tires from them. I think it's $30 a wheel if you buy your tires elsewhere.

As far as taking the wheels off it's just as easy as it sounds. Initial costs are a motherf@cker though. A good front and rear stand for lifting the bike off the ground is about $300. I only use pitbull stands for my bikes. There's cheaper stands out there but I'll buy the quality stands cause one tipover on a bike could cost hundreds easily. Also make sure to torque down all bolts to factory specs. You could probably find torque specs online but a good manual is worth it's weight in gold. I also put some blue threadlock on the caliper bolts just for a little piece of mind. You're gonna want to do it yourself. Who wants to wait for when it's convenient for them to change your wheels. You can have both wheels off in under 20 minutes and save yourself $40 a wheel. Watch vids on YouTube for tips.
 
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