best tire and size for stock rims

[rollin thunder]

Wow I have one that is worn on my bike down to the wear bars and it never did that to me.I have been looking at Bridgestones also they look good .

 

[naughtyG]

It shows how careful you've been, and how much more angle you could get with better socks!

Bridgestones were fitted as standard to many later Max's. I haven't really heard anyone say they were great, and haven't heard anyone complain either.

 

[johnnycomelatly]

pirelli night dragon rear & sport demon front work great

 

[rebar]

Always had good luck with Metzlers....ME33 Lasertec front, ME880 Marathon rear. The smaller the front tire the less rotating mass, and possibly the lesser chance of a wobble.

Thats what Im running on my stock bike.. Runs good but I almost layed it over on one of those new round-abouts the other day.. Broke both tires loose and was flat trackin.. Hard compound and plenty of chicken strips untouched. wtf

I need softer

 

[rollin thunder]

I see some good priceson the Shenko tire even thought the tread life isnt great ,they grip well and the price is about 75.00

 

[gamorg02]

my $.02 is i'd rather change a cheaper tire a little more often to have the stickiness available.

 

[PDWeyand]

Michelin make a good tire too and looks like that not all.

 

[Redbone]

I love the Shinko t230 tire (170/80-15) on the back and had good results with a Metzler 880 (110/90-18) on the front. I'll probably get 12,000 out of the front Metz and I typically get 5-6,000 miles out the Shinko.

 

[gt2roadracer]

anyone aware of any problems or advantages to running a radial on the front while using a 170/80-15 bias ply on the rear? I wasn't sure if that would be a bad combo or not obviously taking into account different manufacturer's. Should I stay with the bias ply on the front, matching set to the rear? I am also considering Michelin's. The OE tires on my FZ1 were Michelin Pilot roads and I got 10,000 miles out of them. I replaced them with the Michelin Pilot II's and have nearly 7,000 miles on them with 1/3 tread left and still handle great. They have the dual rubber compound that basically feels like a new tire once worn to the halfway point. I don't even know if they offer this model in a size to fit the max especially in a bias ply. I wish I could run a radial on the rear as well as the front. Does anyone know what/where I could get my hands on some wheels that would accomodate radial tires? Wow, I seemed to have asked a lot of questions in one post. Sorry

 

[gt2roadracer]

By the way, I have a brand new set of Bridgestones in the stock sizes on the bike now and they seem to handle well except for when I am on an uneven road surface or a ground up Oklahoma highway with even the slightest bit of groovyness to it. Doesn't really matter what speed I'm going, it gets a wonder/wobble and is very uncomfortable. Not sure if this condition could be attributed to the brand of tire, the size, or just the fact that they are bias ply tires. By the way, 150's on the rear and 110/90-18 on the front.

 

[naughtyG]

Some tires just seem to be more sensitive to road grooves than others, although the Max is rather sensitive to such things to start with.

Every manufacturer and service manual says do NOT mix bias and radials. I think some people have done so without adverse effects, but since it's not a recommended configuration I'd stay away from it.

For the rear you either need to have a wheel conversion, or drop top coin into a custom wheel, they are not cheap.

 

[sdt354]

I don't like the radial front with bias rear. It sounds dangerous. In fact the combo isn't recommend by tire mfgs. I have seen a radial on the back with bias on the front and the owner said he was happy with it. I'm still not trying it. Either or for me. I'm hoping I'll be liking the Metzler z6's I just got. I've herd good things about them from other Vmax'ers.
Steve-o

 

[PDWeyand]

By the way, I have a brand new set of Bridgestones in the stock sizes on the bike now and they seem to handle well except for when I am on an uneven road surface or a ground up Oklahoma highway with even the slightest bit of groovyness to it. Doesn't really matter what speed I'm going, it gets a wonder/wobble and is very uncomfortable. Not sure if this condition could be attributed to the brand of tire, the size, or just the fact that they are bias ply tires. By the way, 150's on the rear and 110/90-18 on the front.

any tire will wander around on a milled road, some are worse about it than others, if your tire has a tread line running in the middle of the tire and around the tire, this tire will try to follow a milled line on the roadway. Tires that have tread lines running at an angle to the sides have less issues with the milled roadway, but you will still find you will have some wandering around.

 

[gt2roadracer]

Good to know. Since my hoops are still like new, I won't be changing til I need to. I am a true believer in the Michelin pilots for the FZ1 but may experiment some on the Max before I switch. I don't have anything against Metzler but if you can get 10,000 miles out of bike tire like I did on the Michelins, it's hard NOT to be a believer.

 

[Diablotin]

I don't like the radial front with bias rear. It sounds dangerous. In fact the combo isn't recommend by tire mfgs. I have seen a radial on the back with bias on the front and the owner said he was happy with it. I'm still not trying it. Either or for me. I'm hoping I'll be liking the Metzler z6's I just got. I've herd good things about them from other Vmax'ers.
Steve-o

Got a full set of Z6 Interact. Good and sticky tires.
I just don't like the front one. It's a 120 fit in the stock rim and it makes it a bit too hard compared to the marathon. The front tire doesn't offer the same damping effect.
Maybe I just need to look at adjusting the fork instead

 

[Sonoran6]

ME880 is pretty popular here, anything wrong with Dunlop Qualifiers? Mine came with em, I like em so far. Are the Metzler's just better?

 

[95spfldmax]

any tire will wander around on a milled road, some are worse about it than others, if your tire has a tread line running in the middle of the tire and around the tire, this tire will try to follow a milled line on the roadway. Tires that have tread lines running at an angle to the sides have less issues with the milled roadway, but you will still find you will have some wandering around.

These Metzler ME880's (bias ply) I have on have such awesome riding characteristics (as i've attested to on here more than once) but on this topic I can honestly say that they "track" incredibly well on milled roads.

With that said, around here years back they switched their milling blades to a cross-hatched pattern from parallel lines and that is huge right there. I don't know if they've switched over everywhere or not but i'm glad they did here for my roads.

But I do know, when out riding with friends and we come across milled roads, I actually goose it when the others are slowing down quite a bit.

I haven't been disappointed in anything these Metzlers do since I was turned-on to them. In fact, I just ordered a brand new rear one last night.

 

[naughtyG]

ME880 is pretty popular here, anything wrong with Dunlop Qualifiers? Mine came with em, I like em so far. Are the Metzler's just better?

I think the Dunlops are like pieces of soap - my old '86 came with them too.

Can't speak for the Metzelers as I haven't used them, but going from Qualifiers to Shinko T230 Tourmasters was like night and day for me. The Shinkos are cheap, soft and very sticky. Some say they're not all that well made and sometime hard to balance, and they will not last like the harder and more expensive ME880s, but I still fitted a brand new pair to my new bike. They worked great for me, balanced no problem with dynabeads, and lasted plenty enough for me. Then when the rear got worn out I put a Dunlop back on ('cos I had it and it was free) and lost the rear end and crashed in the first corner I took. Only glad it was at low speed. 'nuff said!

 

[DMAN999]

ME880 is pretty popular here, anything wrong with Dunlop Qualifiers? Mine came with em, I like em so far. Are the Metzler's just better?

I would reccomend the Shinko 230 TourMaster also.

I had the Dunlop K525 (Qualifier) on it when I bought my VMax and it was terrible in any curve.
It always felt like it was about to break loose and did on more than one occasion.

I used it for about two or three weeks and I replaced it a Tire with a much rounder profile, a Michelin Macadam M50 (whch aren't made anymore):
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.co...elin-Macadam-M50-Sport-Touring-Rear-Tire.aspx

Now I'm running a Metzeler Lasertech front with the Shinko 230 Rear and I never have to worry about it getting Squirrelly in the corners.
It may not have the life span of some other Tires but I am Very Confident of it's ability to take any curve.

 

[pdxvmax5257]

I’ve tried a few brands but Avon tires have been amazing for me. They grip very well, all the way over to scraping foot pegs in a tight figure 8, which I learned it will do taking a Total Control riding class. They last (even with some very hard riding). You can get them V rated as opposed to H rated (like Metzelers). I run stock sizes which are the AM26 Roadrider 110/90V-18 in the front and the AM42 Venom 150/90VB-15 in the rear. Denniskirk.com has been a great dealer – fast, cheap(er), and the date codes on the tires are always real fresh.