tire question

[Cusimano]

I realize this question is always a huge debate with any motorcycle but I'd like to know some opinions on tires. I'm not someone who takes their bike to a track and races it, I'm a commuter and long distance rider that likes some twisties. I'm looking for a tire that handles decent in rain and has a good life on tread. On my other bike I use Avon roadriders but not sure if they'd be good on the vmax. What are some other good choices?

 

[dannymax]

Metzler Marathon ME880's are an excellent choice! Shinko Tourmasters offer good grip also....especially in the rain.

 

[Rand-5107]

+1 on metzler. Also Metzler's 880 in 170/80/15 fits nicely.

 

[RaWarrior]

Metz ME880's and Shinko T230 are probably the two most popular tires here.

Metz:
+Good tread life (relatively, depends a lot on how hard your ride)
+Very good "feel" and handling
+ Top quality tire
- Expensive. Rear is ~$150, front $120.

Shinko:
+Super grippy, if you want to wheelie these are for you
+Cheap, a tad bit more than half the price of the Metz.
- Don't last very long, have heard several reports of less than 5k miles.
- Often take tons of weight to balance (quality is spotty)

Your stock rear is a 150/90-15. Many people put a 170/80-15 on instead, which will fit in the stock swingarm with no modifications. I've found the Metz is actually cheaper in 170 than 150, so go figure. You can put a 120 in the front also, but it'll mess with your speedometer. I found with a brand new Metz 110, my speedo was almost dead-nuts accurate run against a GPS, and as the tire wears it starts to be a bit "optimistic".

 

[DakRatFink]

You can put a 120 in the front also, but it'll mess with your speedometer. I found with a brand new Metz 110, my speedo was almost dead-nuts accurate run against a GPS, and as the tire wears it starts to be a bit "optimistic".

Is the 120 a different profile than the stock 110? Width alone shouldn't effect speedo reading that much, should it?

 

[[email protected]]

Is the 120 a different profile than the stock 110? Width alone shouldn't effect speedo reading that much, should it?

The height is different on the 120. That is what affects the speedo.

 

[Barry barker]

I have run the Avon Venoms on my max and loved them. Great wet traction and almost 10000 miles out of them. Should have replaced them at 8000 though, the rear started losing traction under acceleration. I upgraded to radials, started with Avons, went to Dunlops, and I am back to running Avons again. Good Luck.

 

[MtnMax/Magniac]

Is the 120 a different profile than the stock 110? Width alone shouldn't effect speedo reading that much, should it?

Many folks don't realize that the second number is not a fixed dimension, but is a percentage of the first number. For example, take the stock size, 110/80. The first number, 110, is the width in mm. The second number, 80, is the sidewall height, 80% of the 110 width, or 88mm. Now take the 120/80. 80% of 120 = a sidewall height of 96mm, which is a significant difference.

 

[RaWarrior]

^^^^^
Well said, good sir.

It's why a 17" radial rear wheel is actually smaller than a stock 15" bias.....all difference in tire profile. The stock tire is 90% as "tall" as it is wide, where a radial might only be 30 or 40% as tall as it is wide. Lower profile means smaller circumference, which means more revolutions to go the same distance.

But I couldn't disagree more about the Avon Venoms, they were the worst tire I ever used. Hated them and after about 5k miles I was doing rolling burnouts all over the place just to use them up. I found them to hydroplane extremely easily, "walk" out in hard cornering, and have dry traction like wood.....I could keep a 150 Venom lit up to the top of third gear just dropping the clutch off the line. The Metz hooks up hard as soon as I grab second.

 

[KJShover]

I have run the Avon Venoms on my max and loved them. Great wet traction and almost 10000 miles out of them. Should have replaced them at 8000 though, the rear started losing traction under acceleration. I upgraded to radials, started with Avons, went to Dunlops, and I am back to running Avons again. Good Luck.

+1
I didn't have a bit of issues with the Venoms, I ran them front and rear on my old chopper. It made more power than the Vmax (140rwhp) and more tq than many modifyed Vmaxes ever gets to see (140+) and still hooked up nicely. They did great in wet weather and cornered nicely (as well as any 10' long bike will corner :biglaugh

When I changed to the Metz's on my Vmax is was because I didn't want to wait for the dealer to get the Avons in.

 

[sdt354]

QUOTE]
Well said R.A. Both give you what you paid for. I'm doing a Dyna-Bead experiment with Shinko's. Added an extra 1/2 oz to each wheel. I may put just a little bit more in each.
Anyone else using beads? If Shinko's, how much?
Steve-o

 

[Barry barker]

http://motorcycletirereviews.com/15-1-avonVenom.html

^^^^^


But I couldn't disagree more about the Avon Venoms, they were the worst tire I ever used. Hated them and after about 5k miles I was doing rolling burnouts all over the place just to use them up. I found them to hydroplane extremely easily, "walk" out in hard cornering, and have dry traction like wood.....I could keep a 150 Venom lit up to the top of third gear just dropping the clutch off the line. The Metz hooks up hard as soon as I grab second.

I have the exact opposite experience, it transformed my bike. The stock Dunlops would almost spin a will, and the corners were a real scare. I was trying to keep up with my sport bike friends. Tried the Avons on a recommendation WOW! Now the bike pulled wheelies, no more spinning. But the corning was the biggest improvement, the front tire was very soft and really steered the bike with very little imput. Actually dragged the pegs a few times with the stock suspension set up firm for my largeness. I wore out 2 sets before switching to radials and modifing the suspension.

I Googled a few recent reviews, seems everyone is quite happy with their Venoms. Not sure what happened, but you got some bad tires.
Keep the rubber side down. Barry