New to XS11

[Kjohn]

Greetings,
I've just acquired a '78E and have a couple questions-well, really- about a million-I checked the FAQ page, but saw nothing specific-The guy I got the bike from told me NOT to use "those cheap tires you put on your xs650" I have CS Hi-Max's on my '78 XS650E and like 'em. I know the XS112 has about twice the horses-At the risk of starting a dreaded tire thread, what do you folk ride on? Thanks for any info you can provide--oh, and I promise I won't ask about oil...

[Thumper]

Hello there John, welcome to the world of XS11's. You could continue to use Hi-Max tyres on the XS11 as well as the 650 but you would need to ride pretty gingerly in the wet to avoid hi-sides etc. For the sake of an extra few pounds I use Barracuda tyres, they are made by the same company as Hi-Max (thats Cheung-Shin) and I think they're a great tyre for the money in fact I think they're nearly as good as I Bridgestone Battlax. I ride pretty hard round the Irish roads and have experienced very few problems with these. I owned an XS650 a few years ago and used Barracudas on that as well. Oh by the way my XS is a 1979 f model.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there John,

Welcome and congrats on your find!! Aside from the FAQ's, you will also want to look at the tech tips! And, then search the threads in this Forum, just scroll down and you'll find the Search tool, here's the most recent 6 tire threads, to get you started!!

Most Recent thread
Next youngest thread
Third Thread
Fourth Thread
Fifth thread
Sixth, but not the Last from the search!!

[tfm3]

Hi,kjohn. I'm new here, but I can tell you that the resources here, from archives to current contributors, are astonishing. Grew up just south of you in Worcester County- spent some great summers in a town in your area that I believe was named after a town in Thumper's neck of the woods-Londonderry,VT.Making plans to ride back there next spring [New England, not Ireland].I was a fifteen year old punk on a CB450 last time I did the twisties in the Green Mountains- love those covered wooden bridges. Enjoy!

[chevy45412001]

tires

i personally did not care for the chin shing tire. After one season they dry rotted all to heck.For the price i guess was not bad,but still one season on a set is not for me.(they were the barracuda ones front and back). Just my observation.

[jetmechmarty]

I had Chen Shin HI MAX tires on my XS11 when I bought it. I had no confidence in them and they wore out fast. I thought they were horrible on wet pavement. I replaced them with CONTI TOURS. I have no complaints with them after several thousand miles. I have a 650 Special as well and it will never wear Chen Shin tires either. AVONS have given me good service on the 650, but they are expensive. Like anything else, you get what you pay for.

[scalded dog]

I use dunlop elite 491s, they have lasted longer than any other tires I've tried so far, I have about 8000 miles on them and still have a good bit of tread left. Later 'Dog

[DEmily]

I had Chen Shin on the BIGDOG when my brother gave it to me. The tires were not very good in the rain and wore qiute fast. I now have Perilli sport demons on and this bike sticks to the road like glue.

[tfm3]

DEmily-how long have you had the Pirelli SD's on the bike? Very interested in an all-weather review of that tire. Appears that they fall right in the same price range as the Dunlop 491 Elite II's- leaning towards the Pirelli because they make my size for both bikes; doesn't appear to be the case in Dunlops. Maybe I just need to look harder, but I'm basing that on both manufacturers' websites.Was going to go Metzler but a close riding bud just put them on his Venture Royale;we'd like to compare.Besides, $300 is a little too rich for me.

[DEmily]

I have had them on for about 750 miles so far. Have done great in rain or dry. Had an incident the other day where I was turning on the hiway and the lady in the car in front of me for no appearent reason slamed her breaks on. the street was slightly wet. I layed right and then left to prevent colision and the bike slid a bit with the pegs almost on the ground. I hammered the trottle and it pulled right up and I went on my way. I believe the wear on these are suppose to be good. I do know that any time you go with a soft tire you will give up some tire life. I went with a 130 / 80 for the back which dropped the bike just a hair more. After checking clearance to the drive shaft, I wish I had gone 140/70. Either way, these are very smooth riding tires with great traction.

[tfm3]

Great recovery,DEmily-that'll get yer blood pumping,eh?Could've gone a lot differently on an inferior set of tires...

[DEmily]

OHH trust me, I was shaking when it was all said and done!

[tfm3]

Oh, I trust you! Some moments on a bike you'll never forget. Crossing the San Francisco Bay Bridge on my lamented long lost '79sf at around 100mph on wet oil soaked bridge tarmac I suddenly got blasted across three lanes by a crosswind that hit me like a sideways ton of bricks- by the time I was done fishtailing, I was pointed in the right direction doing around 50. 5 feet in front of a tandem trailer doing 55. Sheer power got me out of that one- that and a pair of Doc Martin's planted on the pavement like an ice skater on nitrous.

[DEmily]

No that would have me changing my underwear!!