Tires ??

[Jdwags]

Okay,

Now that life is returning to some assemblance of normal, I need to look at replacing the tires on BOTH Rusty and the Mongrel,

Rusty's because those brand new tires have sat for 16 years now, 15 under a tarp outside, and the last year in my garage.

The Mongrel's rear tire picked up something on the Big Island Deuce trip, and alas the bike has been parked since then.. i guess good timing as life took some wild turns for a while after that.

Being a single dad of 3, price, and reasonable wear for a grandma rider would be necessary..

Basically the above comes to this"

"HECK I WANNA RIDE BUT NEED CHEAP... er inexpensive tires to get back on the road..."

I know it starts a thread that is terrible but well I'm BAAAACK!

[sixtysix]

I have heard the Cheng Shin HI-Maxx is a good, cheap tire. Most of thier other tires suck.

[rockyr74]

Treat yourself to good name brand tires and save money by mounting them yourself. You will be glad you did.
I have dunlops and love em.
Helmets jackets and tires are safety items worth the bucks.

[chopper]

cheng shin tyres are crap,several guys i know bought them(very cheap) none used them again.if you ride at low speeds and in fair weather the maxxis are a possibilty,but for the real world continental tkv11(front) tkv12(rear) are a good all round tyre or if you want the best in my opinion i run metzler me33 (front) me880 (rear)

[Jerry]

Kenda Challenger and Bridgestone are both decent lower-priced tires. I ran the Kendas for several years on smaller bikes with good results, no personal experience with the Bridgstones. My old XS 400 took the same rear tire as the XS/XJ, 130-90-16. Ran kendas front and rear.

[JP]

Still a big fan of Avon. They're the secret weapon of Ironbutt riders. Grippy but the longest wearing tires I've ever owned.

Not outrageously expensive either - just average. But when you factor in the tread life I'd say they're half the cost of a similarly priced tire over time.

[nwilley]

I had a Kenda Challenger on the back of my XS11, and got good service out of it as long as the road was dry! It squirmed in the rain and skidded on at least two occasions. I will not go the route of cheap tires again, as they are just TOO important

[JP]

Exactly. I'm always saddened when I hear of a rider going down but never really surprised when I hear that cheap tires were a contributing factor.

Accidents are ALWAYS more expensive than decent tires. Accidents with injuries infinitely more so.

[Dragonrider]

I have Avon Venom Radials on The Dragon. Hands-down they are the best tires I have ever had on a MC . . . and I have had a lot of motorcycles and driven a lot of miles. Of course The Dragon is a Valkyrie. I am expecting 30K miles out of the back tire!

Did not know they made Avons for the XS. I would give them a try.

[sixtysix]

Hmmm.....I was suggesting an 'inexpensive' tire based on what I had heard from other listers. The Cheng-Shin Hi-Max tire was recommended by several other listers on one of the many tire threads. For the record:

Tires are the only thing that touches the road, every aspect of your bikes handling and performance ultimately depends on the tire that touches the road. Buying cheap tires is dumb. Is your life worth the savings? I use ONLY Dunlop K91 Elite II's on my XS and am very happy with them. I highly recommend them, but they are not 'cheap'.

I did try a Cheng Shin Marquis (different than the Hi-Max) on my XS when I first got it for 3 reasons:
1) the stock size 120/90-17 was only available in a limited number of tires (Now I know a 130/90-17 fits and increases the available tires significantly)
2) I had good luck with these on the other smaller (440 and 650) bikes i had owned
3) Cheaper than dirt.

They lasted a whole 1000 miles and were worn to an unsafe level, also they would not stick in the wet OR Dry. I would not ride on these tires again if they were free!

[Huron52]

On the same line of thinking.... Do the front and the rear tire have to be of the same make/ tread pattern. I run a Michelin in the front and a Bridgestone on the rear. When I was looking for a new front tire I picked a Michelin and found that it tracked very nice. As both of the tires are older than I want to admit to. I am thinking of changing both of them to a new set. Cost is semi important ..but a good tread with long life is more important.

And your thoughts on this?????

[Dragonrider]

I have mixed tire brands before without problems. There will definately be a handling difference that you will feel, but that does not make it dangerous. You rapidly become accustomed to the new feel.

The cheapest "good" tires I have run were metzlers . . . not sure how they add up in cost anymore . . . I put a bridgestone on Well Oiled Machine when my Maxxis tire failed. The new owner is still running it and it seems to be holding up well.

Do not go with Maxxis . . . Why?

I never got an acceptable resolution on this.

[Jdwags]

Thanks for input, my tires/ where to find em

for the record the Mongrel has a continental on the front, and a
Ching on the rear, it was that way when i bought it.


I put about 3K on it and would still be going if it hadn't been for that road hazard somewhere between here and BI deuce.

( I didn't realize it was leaking the whole trip till i was nearing home)...


Both tires still look good, but 1- are getting dated... 2- the rear has a cut in it across the tread.

I'm putting the tires on Rusty, as I put that bike back on the road this year, (after redoing the brakes, and everything else in the world...

Both tires are brand new mettzlers, but been sitting for 15 years.. so I don't plan on gambling on them.. they look great and seem soft, but NO not from what I've heard from you guys.

Now the next question, equally as dangerous.... where do you guys shop for tires, i remember a thread a long time back about a great wholesaler but haven't found it yet..

[sixtysix]

Originally posted by Huron52
On the same line of thinking.... Do the front and the rear tire have to be of the same make/ tread pattern. I am thinking of changing both of them to a new set. Cost is semi important ..but a good tread with long life is more important.

And your thoughts on this?????

I have found that it really does not seem to make a whole bunch of difference. They (tire manufacturers) tell you that 'in some cases tires with different treads could be dangerous' due to differing grip levels and the fact that a bad harmonic (like an oscillation) could result and cause vibrations or wobble. In my experience, I have never had a problem mixing brands of tires. I don't think I would mix a radial/bias ply or a racing/touring tire combo. Dunlop has a good FAQ on thier homepage Dunlop Motorcycle Tire FAQ

[Robert Haller]

I wouldn't recommend Cheng Shin tires either. My bike came with CS Marquis and I'm not impressed. When they wear out (which won't be long) I'll be replacing with something else. The Avon super venoms sound interesting.