what tire do i buy?

[scoobienorth]

yes i have read most of the tire threads already but still lost in the tire world, i know lots about tire theory for cars and jeeps,atv's but the bike thing is all new.First off only my rear is worn out, and i do lots of touring, and lots of sport riding, i have 6000 km/3700miles on my rear tire just about to the wear bars so by the time i get a tire here it will be gone.I dont want to change my front just yet so i am leery about going to sticky of a rear, as it might upset the handling balance.Second part where do i order these tires from, my dealer is not the one to talk to about tires.

 

[dart1963]

yes i have read most of the tire threads already but still lost in the tire world, i know lots about tire theory for cars and jeeps,atv's but the bike thing is all new.First off only my rear is worn out, and i do lots of touring, and lots of sport riding, i have 6000 km/3700miles on my rear tire just about to the wear bars so by the time i get a tire here it will be gone.I dont want to change my front just yet so i am leery about going to sticky of a rear, as it might upset the handling balance.Second part where do i order these tires from, my dealer is not the one to talk to about tires.

What kind of touring have you been doing that has torn up your tire in 3700 miles? Are the roads just that bad? I had close to 13, 000 miles on mine and had a flat spot on the rears, but that was it! If you're not changing the front, stick with the same brand so the profiles are similar.... also... even if you don't buy from your dealer, consult them... or another close by dealer... they do know what they are talking about (reputable ones anyway).

 

[ME_with_a_B]

I would say you could order your tires from anywhere on the internet... but 3700 seems really premature to be ordering replacement tires.

I found the best price for my Michelin Pilot Road 2's on Amazon.com

 

[JonKerr]

If you're set on not changing the front tire, you need to just replace the rear with the same as stock. As much as I hated the stock tires, using different tire profiles and compounds can really screw up the handling. There are some combo's that work together, but I wouldn't suggest you "try" a different combo that's untested.

 

[Spunky99]

I'll have a set of stock tires with less than 2000 miles on them for sale in about a week.

 

[scoobienorth]

I'll have a set of stock tires with less than 2000 miles on them for sale in about a week.

that would be cool but shipping to canada might be a pain but i am interested for sure on those. As for the tires getting torn up, i did 16 runs at the local drag strip the other night, no burnouts but still lost guessing, 15% tread, on my 2600km road trip i flattened my tires out pretty good,not sure where i left the rest of my tread, but i do work the rear tire pretty hard in town cornering, with the throttle on.My friend that got me into riding has an fz6r as well, he has 4200 km on his dunlops and they are worn out too, mine has the bridgestone on it.

 

[dart1963]

that would be cool but shipping to canada might be a pain but i am interested for sure on those. As for the tires getting torn up, i did 16 runs at the local drag strip the other night, no burnouts but still lost guessing, 15% tread, on my 2600km road trip i flattened my tires out pretty good,not sure where i left the rest of my tread, but i do work the rear tire pretty hard in town cornering, with the throttle on.My friend that got me into riding has an fz6r as well, he has 4200 km on his dunlops and they are worn out too, mine has the bridgestone on it.

I guess, I lean forward in turns, putting most of my weight on the front tire... So my fronts were more my worry when I got new tires. Not sure about the drag strip, I'm guessing even if you didn't do the burnout, just taking off on that sticky goo that's there can take a lot off the tires.

The bridgestones are what I had, the, 023. They are a fairly hard compound, so still odd. You could always go to the 016, I think that's what JonKerr went with. They'd have a similar shape as stocks, but a little stickier.

 

[joloy133]

yes i have read most of the tire threads already but still lost in the tire world, i know lots about tire theory for cars and jeeps,atv's but the bike thing is all new.First off only my rear is worn out, and i do lots of touring, and lots of sport riding, i have 6000 km/3700miles on my rear tire just about to the wear bars so by the time i get a tire here it will be gone.I dont want to change my front just yet so i am leery about going to sticky of a rear, as it might upset the handling balance.Second part where do i order these tires from, my dealer is not the one to talk to about tires.

I recommend the Dunlop sportmax roadsmart, which was the stock issue for our bikes (along with the bridgstone's). Other bikes like the new Honda VFR use them as their stockers too. Sportrider just did a review of them as well and they've been around for awhile.

 

[sammy56]

I had run over a roofing mail with just 245 miles on my bike and replaced it (rear tire) with a comprable Metzler. I have 1700 miles on the bike now (over 4 months) and the tire is great, no complaints.

 

[FZJ]

I put Bridgestone BT003s on mine and like them. I don't recommend them if you tour a lot though. They're way softer. I don't even think I have 1000 miles on them yet and the rear is already showing some wear. Im suprised you wore your rear out so fast. Did you do some burnouts? I had 5600 miles on mine before I changed them and my rear was still intact. It was my front that was worn completely that it was showing cords.

 

[scoobienorth]

no real burnouts did a real quicky just lit it up to see if i could do it, or make sure i could if i felt the need to show off .I dont know how it went but it is going quick i have about 1/32 of tread above the wear bars currently with less than 6200km.

 

[stuna]

If you're set on not changing the front tire, you need to just replace the rear with the same as stock. As much as I hated the stock tires, using different tire profiles and compounds can really screw up the handling. There are some combo's that work together, but I wouldn't suggest you "try" a different combo that's untested.

can it be worse than that flat wore rear now

 

[JonKerr]

It can be just as bad. If you have a front tire with a very steep profile and a rear with a much flatter profile, you're going to end up with a much larger rear contact patch compared to the front at a given lean angle and vice versa. You also can have very different rubber compounds providing different amounts of traction. It's all about balance. Too much grip on one end or the other can cause major handling issues.

If you're not replacing the front tire, you need to put a new rear on that's the same as stock to match. If you're replacing the front too, you have nearly endless options out there.

 

[longtube55]

tire choice

when I first started riding my Maxim I bought Dunlops and I loved them, had 3000 miles on them and they still looked like new. I have also heard tons of good things about Michelins, it really is a good idea to go to a trustworthy dealership and ask them. plus you can get a really good deal on new tires if they are a dealership that will price match internet prices.

 

[Funkmaxtor]

It can be just as bad. If you have a front tire with a very steep profile and a rear with a much flatter profile, you're going to end up with a much larger rear contact patch compared to the front at a given lean angle and vice versa. You also can have very different rubber compounds providing different amounts of traction. It's all about balance. Too much grip on one end or the other can cause major handling issues.

If you're not replacing the front tire, you need to put a new rear on that's the same as stock to match. If you're replacing the front too, you have nearly endless options out there.

I understand your logic on this but in my experience I have to say I have never had a problem putting different tires on the front and back. I'm currently running a shinko 007 on the front and a michelin power race soft on the back. It maybe the best combo I've had on this bike yet. The front is a medium compound and the rear is a very soft compound. Find a tire you like that you get decent mileage out of it and stick with it. If you are looking for really good grip check out the Tomahawk T3. A lot of guys I ride with use these tires. Great grip, decent mileage ~4500 on the litre bikes and priced around 160-190 for a set. Yes that is front and back for what most companies charge for a back tire alone.

Good Luck!

 

[JonKerr]

I understand your logic on this but in my experience I have to say I have never had a problem putting different tires on the front and back. I'm currently running a shinko 007 on the front and a michelin power race soft on the back. It maybe the best combo I've had on this bike yet. The front is a medium compound and the rear is a very soft compound. Find a tire you like that you get decent mileage out of it and stick with it. If you are looking for really good grip check out the Tomahawk T3. A lot of guys I ride with use these tires. Great grip, decent mileage ~4500 on the litre bikes and priced around 160-190 for a set. Yes that is front and back for what most companies charge for a back tire alone.

Good Luck!

I know there are combos out there that work and some people love them. I'm saying that to be safe and to not come up with a bad combination that will cause problems, to be safe and just replace the rear tire with a matching tire. Especially if he doesn't have the amount of experience you have. No need taking the risk. I know guys who have hit bad combinations and it wasn't a good thing.

 

[Funkmaxtor]

Yea for someone without a lot of experience, that is great advice!