Sorry to start the dreaded tire thread..

[newmaac]

Last week I met a few guys from the XJ site here in town. I was supposed to ride with them that day, but had to cancel due to a mechanical problem. Later I heard that one of them took a tumble on that ride. His tire selection is taking the majority of the fault for his crash. He rides a Seca turbo 650, with a set of Conti's.

I am a new rider myself, and didn't do much research before buying my new set of tires. I ride a 1980 XS Special, on a new set of Kenda Challengers. After making my purchase, I have come accross several posts here, praising Avons, Dunlops and Metzlers.

Though I have absolutely NO DESIRE to be dragging my pegs, I DO enjoy afternoons in the twisties. I would be appreciative of your opinion on the Challengers. I would rather not scrap a brand new set of tires, but I don't want to learn a hard lesson that can be avoided.

[captjerry]

Ummmm was there a tire failure with the Conti's?
Or did one simply over drive his/her/tires abilities?
I have not heard anything bad on the Kendras, their
cheaper than most and from what I understand a harder
compound. I know of a couple guys using them on GL1000's
and GL1100's. Alot of people will shun them do to their
reduced pricing and not being "chic".
As to Avon's I have presently installed a set of VenomX's
my personal opinion is that they suck! Their dangerous
on wet pavement and any pavement irregularities. On perfect
dry pavement their fine. Cant wait to burn them up wich will
be very shortly.
JMHO

[Snow]

Which do you think is the best all around with the best wet riding abilities? I ask b/c I am currently running an old Bridgestone Battleaxe up front (by old, I mean I originally bought the tire new about 4-5 years ago and had it mounted to by '83 GS750T pride and joy and ended up plowing her into a brick mailbox doing about 30...actually, I had half bailed but then decided I could save her...bad mistake in judgement) Well anyway, my brothers took the front tire off and set it aside b/c I noticed that it would fit my project bike at the time, Maya the XS11.

In retrospect, I don't think it was a good idea to keep this tire - it seems to have a wobble (it was mounted and balanced by moto shop in town on my XS wheel) and in wet riding conditions, it doesn't seem to fair nearly as well as it did on my little GS.

On the rear, I am running a 5 month old Dunlop K491 Elite II. Could tire mismatch be causing some of my problems?

Heh, and sorry to help the tire thread live on again

[chopper]

i think tyres are like women,ie down to the choice of the individual. you can no more tell a man which tyre to use than you can tell him who to marry,that said unlike women the best tyres will ALWAYS be black,round,clingy...

[Wayne]

OH NO, TIRE THREADDDDD!!!!!!!

I am a big fan of the Dunlop 491's. It is the only tire I use. It lasts forever (well not really) and rides great. Many here also ride Dunlop, but there is also a group on the list that are die-hard Avon fans. I have never run Avons but have heard nothing but good things about them.

I don't see any real problem with running two different brands of tires. I would, however, get the brands the same as you replace them just to be safe. I suppose if your running one tire that is softer than the other it could effect your driving. Perhaps those who know more about tire shtuff will chime in about that.

Ride it hard but ride it safe.

[captjerry]

Hi ya Snow. IMHO. On my 79 XS11 years ago I swore by the Conti's. Im no fan of Dunlops. Mainly cause Im the kind of guy that I want it all. I want to chase down the crotch rockets at
Deals Gap and I want wet weather performance (unobtainable). With that being said, the best tire in the wet that I have had is the Dunlop 491 elite. It also gives great mileage and a stable ride. If you get to pushing it, it is not a performance tire, its very good but to me does not give exactly what I want for peg scratching. So far tires that have performed for me in wet and for
spirited rides are Bridgestone Excedras. However the mileage is less than desirable.
I do mix tires on some of my bikes however its not really recomended by alot of folks due to different compounds and
such. But, for me, it'll work.
I have Bridgestone Spitfires on the XS right now, I have limited mileage on this particular bike, however I have put it through its paces and the tires do extremely well... However I have not REALLY tested it in the wet yet. Damn Im babbling time for bed

[Snow]

Also, I little off the original topic, could the fact that I have a Standard XS11F with a Special front end on it have any bad side effects?

[Jerry]

Well, there is no 'best tire'. JP Honeywell likes his Avon RoadRunners for long-distance travel and excellent mileage. Ed Appler runs Metzlers, and you should see him go with Sharon through the curves in Arkansas. I like my Dunlop Elite II set on the XJ for both long distance riding and shorter day trips though some twisties. Others like other tires for other reasons.

So much involved. Tire pressure, steering head adjustment, even swing arm bearing wear (can show up as a wobble in the front tire) is a factor. Condition of shocks and springs. Everything works together, and a weakness or failure in any one system affects the tires. You need to check them
all if you want your tires to perform well.

Having said all that, I would vote for the Dunlops to be an excellent all-around tire. Medium price, good wear, good handling in wet or dry weather, available from most dealers and catalog places. I do run matched sets now. When I got the bike, I replaced the rear tire first and ran another brand on front. Worked OK, but when I replaced the front with another Dunlop, the bike felt more predictable. Would recommend you run a matched set if possible.

[Dennyz]

Snow wrote:

Also, I little off the original topic, could the fact that I have a Standard XS11F with a Special front end on it have any bad side effects?

The "SF" front end on a "F" has lengthened your wheel base and increased effective steering angle. I would expect this to give increased stability at high speeds and increase instability at slow speeds (flop).

As for "bad" side effects, you tell us! I don't think there is much information on the effects of this kind of modification.

[skeeter]

I am near to the end of my second set of Kenda's for my '80 XS 11 SG. They are very capable tires in my view. I live in eastern Ok. and ride in the Ozarks frequently with no problems. Can't speak to rain or wet conditions as I avoid those conditions. I think your fine, my next set of tires will be the Kenda's. I would recommend a fork brace though for the twisties. Good luck, Skeeter.