Ok, here goes!

[cywelchjr]

Maybe I should have put this in the hot button topics but here goes anyways.

Brutus needs new shoes, and I know I can get them from my dealer, and get the same brand and model that are on there now, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do.

I have been looking at prices and tires on bikebandit.com and the prices seem to be ok, and the reviews on the kendo's seem to be good, and I'm not really happy with the wear rate on the Dunlop 404's I have on there now. Any suggestions on a good online shop to get tires from, I'm seriously considering mounting them myself and using those little bead things for balancing and seeing how they work, the reviews so far seem promising.

Also, what I have on the front now is a 100/90 19 and the manual doesn't even use the same nomenclature but rather refers to the front tire as a 3.50 19. Since my speedo seems to read a good bit fast, would a 110/90 be a better fit on the front? My thoughts on this is that my speedo may be closer with the 110 than the 100, but I'm not sure. I do notice that I can't find the dunlop in a 110 but most of the other come in a 110.

Now without starting a war, how about some suggestions (and yes I'm on a very tight budget so cheaper shorter wearing tires are an option I'm open to, although I would prefer less expensive tires that wear better than the dunlops seem to (I don't want to end up like Ivan having to put an Hardley tire on it in an emergency ).

Thanks guys, please don't beat me up too bad.

[tarzan]

I run the dunlop 404's.I run a 110 on front.
I checked prices online several times.I have found that I can go to the local shop and get the a tire for approximately the same as online with shipping.
I then bring the tire(s) home and mount them.

[Elevener]

Im in the same boat....Im thinking about getting these

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...ront-Tire.aspx

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...Rear-Tire.aspx

[madmax-im]

I have Dunlop Qualifiers both front and rear...however in years past I always had excellent results with Metzlers touring tires...I dont know how they compare in prices 'cuz I haven't looked but they wear very well and offer excellent traction.

[Ivan]

I too have had my issues with the D404. I think they are made from recycled bubblegum. I went along with Bigfoot and bought the Shinko 712s from Motorcycle superstore. They are less than $100 shipped. While I didn't have much mileage on mine before the accident, I was impressed with how they rode and their grip. They seemed to handle wet roads well too. For the price they do quite well. Harry said they don't get phenomenal mileage, but for the price you could possibly still be ahead, if you can mount and balance your own tires. I can mount them but still haven't set up a balancer, so that may just barely push it over the edge on price compared to some E3's or Metzlers.

On my scoot, the speedo is off, but the odometer is very accurate, which means the spring inside has weakened over time and lets the needle push farther than it should. On old cars there was a small adjustment screw that could make the speedo read correctly. I don't know if the XS speedo is adjustable like that or not, I don't want to destroy mine trying to open it up.
So, I am not sure changing the tire size woudl help much. Believe me I have thought of doing this myself. So, if you do, please report your findings.

[Steptoe]

tread wear

here's my 5c,,down here I firstly look at tread pattern first, primarily looking for grooves that do NOT cross over the top of the tyre like the pirelli's in the links--- because half way thru tyre life the front section of the pattern is higher than the back section[down here we call it heel & toeing].much the same way the side of the tyre wears causing vibration thru the handlebars and having the front end shuddering much the same way a chuncky trail bike front tyre wears[obviously not as severe].

therefore I look for a tyre that has one unbroken or two unbroken sections with a groove between them that run the whole way around the centre of the front tyre,from there on I start comparing prices & compounds that will suit the type of riding I'm looking at doing,,
hope this helps somebody out in some way

[trbig]

I have bought several off of the motorcyclesuperstore.com also. Worst rear tire I've ever owned.. Bridgestone Battlaxe. 2nd worst... Dunlop 404.

People may laugh, but for a decent cheap front tire, Cheng Shins work pretty decent in the curves and the rain. I've seen other more expensive brands that have the exact same tread pattern they do. If you do a lot of hard cornering, they'll start to cup on the edges after 12-15k miles... but they'll last most people well.

I can't believe I just posted in another $%&* tire thread! But at least I didn't tout the E3 like normal... oops.


Tod

[TopCatGr58]

Oh Boy, another Tire Thread......I'm bored!

Well BNE,

When those Qualifiers wear out, you're going to have to look for another brand/style, because Dunlop doesn't show any rear sizes for that at all anymore! PS: Happy Belated B'day, I was busy doing stuff for work these past few days, and didn't see the B'day Thread!

Hey Cy,

If you look at the specs for the 404 vs. the Elite II, you'll see that the Elite II has a fair higher weight capacity limit, and for the rear, a 1/32nd more tread depth. For you Standard, you don't have the option of the Elite III/E3 for the rear!

D404 Front:
size load/speed black/letter Rim circum width tread maxload
100/90-19 57H BW 32NK-32 2.15 25.82 3.90 6/32 507 @ 41

Rear:
130/90-17 68H BW 32NK-41 3.00 25.97 5.07 9/32 694 @ 41

Elite II RWL(Raised White Letters)
Front:
MM/100/90-19 61H RWL 4075-73 2.15 26.41 4.08 6/32 570 @ 40

Rear:
MT/130/90B17 76H RWL 4071-92 3.00 26.18 5.20 10/32 870 @ 40

I put one on mine a few years ago...and now have some 7K miles on it, SHUT UP Tod, and it still has 0.10" tread=~3/32", or almost 3mm vs. the 8mm..10/32" OEM depth, so probably a few more Kmiles before it's done!

Fair warning, many folks have posted horror stories re: Kenda tires!

The D404's are the economy tire, but as you have found, they don't wear for quite as long/far as the Elite II's. SO...as you're shopping around, you'll want to check out the weight/max load ratings, the higher the stronger and probably longer wearing they will be, especially with OUR heavy machines!!
T.C.

[psycoreefer]

You can mount an balance your own tire, its no big deal. Check the local shops, I'm in the same boat as a couple of the other guys, I can buy my tires at the local independent shop for the same price as online if I include the shipping cost and then your supporting a local business and building a relationship with a shop close to you. Then take the tires home and mount them yourself.

Don't waste your money on the beads, you can do as good for a lot less. do a few searches for how the balance a tire and you'll see. All you need is something the close to flat that you can set your axle on, a couple of 2x4's or like I use a pair of camping chairs. Put your tire on the axle and spin it, the heavy side will always end up down, apply your weights (purchased for a couple dollars at your local shop) to the "up" side and check again.

[planedick]

Cycle Gear

I get the Dunlops at Cycle Gear, listed in the catalog for $140 and Cycle gear lets me have them for $100 including mounting and balancing...

[b.walker5]

Tyre sizes

I'm not going to get into a discussion about brands other than to say I've been using Kenda Challengers for years and never had a problem, but your question about tyre sizes affecting your speedo I can help with.

A 110/90 has a circumference of 2138.17mm (sorry, we're metric over here) which gives you 467.69 revolutions per kilometre, and a 100/90 has a circumference of 2081.62mm with 480.40 revs per K. Meaning the 110/90 will give you a slightly lower speedo reading than the 100/90.

[Ivan]

I'm not going to get into a discussion about brands other than to say I've been using Kenda Challengers for years and never had a problem, but your question about tyre sizes affecting your speedo I can help with.

A 110/90 has a circumference of 2138.17mm (sorry, we're metric over here) which gives you 467.69 revolutions per kilometre, and a 100/90 has a circumference of 2081.62mm with 480.40 revs per K. Meaning the 110/90 will give you a slightly lower speedo reading than the 100/90.

Good math. That is only about a 3% difference though, which means about 2 mph difference at cruising speeds.

[Larrym]

Private Slovik

Blindfold?
"No, Thanks"
Last Cigarette?
"Please, That would be nice."

While I lean back against the concrete wall until that last moment, I've got this to offer.

I have a special with the lowly Kenda Challengers on both front and rear.



I drove the bike with these tires on this road:

http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/id_sh.html

The website grades roads as "scenic", "sweeper", or "twisty". If you click on the word twisty the site uses this spiral highway as the example.

I don't ride aggressively (Much) as these bikes are not the "Uberbikes" meant for hanging off the sides of through "twisties". That being said, Sometimes the opportunity does present itself and what are you gonna do? What happens when the rider takes the bike up to the edge and tickles the point of no return?

Take a closer look at the rear tire on my bike. Specifically, my "chicken strips."



I know...can't see the forest for the trees, eh? Well look at this angle:



See the small round holes near the edge of the tire?? Well no matter how they came to be there at the edge of the tire, they do something that I'm quite happy with:

The holes make an audible noise when they contact the pavement during a high speed turn.

Depending on the speed they will Hum or even "sing" out to you that you've reached that "lean-over" where you just might consider backing off a bit if your "affairs" are yet to be put in order. They "announce" beforehand that thou have reached that PONR. What you do next is your own choice.

This happened to me on the "Spiral Highway" for the first time. I backed off. Happy ending and we had hotdogs grilled on the open fire that night.

Since then I have used this feature when I work on keeping my tires "rounded". You know, doing slow and high speed slaloms in order to scrub the outside high parts of the tire down some so that the tire doesn't wear down "flat" with sharp corners at the edge? Take a look at some bikes out there with the full touring packages: what do their tires look like and how wide are their chicken strips?

Oh..Times up?

"You may proceed with your duty, gentlemen."

[Cobia]

Lucky Larry

That seems like an awesome road to ride. We may have the weather here in FL, but you guys have the roads!!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Larry,

IT's been many a year since the previous tire threads, and so perhaps Kenda has improved on their production process??

Do you have any mileage specs..like how many miles you have on your tires, and how much tread depth left??

Below is the specs from the Kenda site, and the challengers are only about 6mm deep vs. the Dunlops are 8 mm. Folks can see the weight specs, I didn't compare them yet!?

Kenda K657 Challengers

100/90H-19 6PR 57H TL 3.9/100 26.7 506lb 40/2.8 2.15x19 4.5mm 10.36
110/90H-19 6PR 68H TL 4.3/110 27.1 649lb 40/2.8 2.50x19 4.5mm 5.13

130/90H-16 6PR 67H TL 5.3/136 25.0 677lb 40/2.8 3.00x16 6.5mm 15

130/90H-17 6PR 68H TL 5.2/133 26.3 693lb 40/2.8 2.75x17 6.5mm 14.33