Opinions on Tires

[GS_Tim]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking on this board for months and finally joined. Thanks to everyone for the wealth of information--I've found answers to many questions that I never would have thought to ask.

So I took the BRC last weekend and picked up my first bike this week. (And, yes, I also have a respectable collection of gear, too.) I got an '85 Suzuki GS450L with a whopping 3200 miles on it. It's in outstanding shape for its age, and I'm having a blast with it.

The items that are detracting from the bike's showroom condition are the tires. I'm pretty sure they're original, so I want to replace them. I'm familiar with the manufacturers of car tires, but I'm clueless about tires for bikes. Aside from the big-names in car tires (Dunlop, Michelin, etc.) what are some decent manufacturers of motorcycle tires?

The tires on my GS are somewhat odd sizes, so my options seem to be a bit limited. I've seen my size available from Avon, Kenda, IRC, Cheng Shin, Dunlop, etc. Also, does it matter if the front and rear are from different manufacturers?

Thanks!

[jonnythan]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking on this board for months and finally joined. Thanks to everyone for the wealth of information--I've found answers to many questions that I never would have thought to ask.

So I took the BRC last weekend and picked up my first bike this week. (And, yes, I also have a respectable collection of gear, too.) I got an '85 Suzuki GS450L with a whopping 3200 miles on it. It's in outstanding shape for its age, and I'm having a blast with it.

The items that are detracting from the bike's showroom condition are the tires. I'm pretty sure they're original, so I want to replace them. I'm familiar with the manufacturers of car tires, but I'm clueless about tires for bikes. Aside from the big-names in car tires (Dunlop, Michelin, etc.) what are some decent manufacturers of motorcycle tires?

The tires on my GS are somewhat odd sizes, so my options seem to be a bit limited. I've seen my size available from Avon, Kenda, IRC, Cheng Shin, Dunlop, etc. Also, does it matter if the front and rear are from different manufacturers?

Thanks!

Avon good. Kenda not so good. IRC OK. Cheng Shin bad bad. Dunlop good.

[gsJack]

There aren't too many really bad tires out there now just different tires for different purposes and for very different prices. What size tires do you have on the bike now and which ones are they? Not a lot of info quickly available for a bike that old, tire fitment charts don't go back that far.

Nearly as I can tell the 85 GS450L came with 3.60-19 front and 4.60-16 rear tires on 1.85x19 and 2.15x16 wheels. Found one old Metzeler Product Guide that shows a fitment of 3.25H19 ME33 front and 120/90H16 ME77 rears on 80-87 GS450L models. Those tires are not available now and there really isn't much choice in 120/90-16 rear tires of any kind available.

My 82 CB750K came with 1.85x19 front and 2.15x17 rear wheels and I replaced the old inch size tires with MM90-19 or 100/90-19 fronts and MT90-17 or 130/90-17 rears and used that size for 80k miles on that bike.

Similarly, my CM400A came with a 4.60-16 rear tire on a 2.15x16 wheel and I ran 130/90-16 rear tires on that bike for 96k miles. The last tire I put on that bike was a 130/90-16 Kenda K671 and I'm sure it was a better tire than the ones on your bike if they are 20 years old. Today's wheels are wider than yesterdays and it's sometimes necessary to make some compromises to fit today's tires on yesterdays wheels.

Avon, Bridgestone, Metzeler, Michelin, and Pirelli all make good tires and the ones from IRC and Kenda aren't all that bad. Even some of the old Cheng Shin tires are better than others and the tires they are selling under the Maxxis name now are rated good.

[Johnj]

I usually put Bridgestone S-11s on bikes like that. I've had good luck with them on 5 or 6 bikes now.

[GS_Tim]

Thanks Johnj and gsJack. (And sorry if I inadvertantly ripped off your screen name, Jack. )

The current tires are IRCs. The manual specifies 90/90-19 52S in the front and 120/90-16-63S in the rear. I'm able to find one size for most manufacturers, but not both. This is the case with the Bridgestone S11s. Should I avoid mixing and matching different manufacturers or tread patterns?

I found both in Continental, but the rear has a higher speed rating (H). Would that work?

[Johnj]

There are many different opinions about mixing tires. Some say never mix model and make. Or don't mix bias-ply with radial. On my Concours I'm running a Dunlop Supermax radial on the front and a Dunlop Elite 3 bias-ply on the back. What ever works for you.

[gsJack]

The S11 are a good choice for a bike like yours, long lasting and nicely priced. I never used a S11 but I used mostly the K291 and K491 Dunlop touring tires on the rear of my old Hondas for years. Even tried one on my first GS500 but wanted better handling tires on those bikes.

I've mixed brands and tread patterns frequently on my bikes without problems and even radial rears with bias fronts but never a radial front with a bias rear, it's actually illegal across the big pond to the east. Many have done so like like Johnj has on his Concours.

Going to a 130/90-16 or equivelant MT90-16 rear would work with the S11 and provide many other choices in tires, there aren't many 120/90-16 rears around anymore. There aren't many bikes that won't accomodate one size over as far as clearance goes. You'd need to give it a quick check. I've also mixed speed ratings many times without problems like H or V front tires with ZR rears. There are very few S rated tires anymore.

I've always found the wheel sizes stamped on the rims if you want to check what sizes you have.