Time to buy tires.

[redwing]

I got a set of Michelin Pilot Road 2 for $270.00 w/free shipping from http://www.compacc.com . But no company stock.
They sell those jeans you mentioned too. Thanks.

Robert

[JC Viper]

I just bought a set of Bridgestone BT45s at jakewilson.com for $170 and 3 day shipping. Using all the sites mentioned it seems jakewilson.com and bing.com gave me the lowest prices for my odd tire sizes. Motorcycle Super Store had every tire I could ever want but the prices were a bit higher.

I almost went the cheap route by buying Duro tires for $100 front & rear despite being H rated. I decided it might not be best even though I don't plan on sustaining 130mph let alone 155 max on my bike.

Maybe next time I should see if I could convert my ride to use radials instead.

[Wrider]

Actually you can always use radials on any bias-ply bike, but never use bias-ply on any bike designed with radials in mind. No conversions needed.

[JC Viper]

Except I have people saying that I would need a suspension upgrade if that were to happen since bias ply have natural cushioning. Plus my rear tire is only 130/80 - 18... there are some radials available but front only so I was guessing I would need to change out my rear wheel and possibly many other things if the clearance is too tight.

I would love to run radials just to see if I can get any improvements and if it's safe to do so.

[Wrider]

Nah you don't need a suspension upgrade. It will make your ride perhaps a TAD rougher, but not much, plus it will also allow for better cornering and such. I'm not sure on your exact bike, but I'm betting there's another swingarm that will bolt right up that will allow for a wider rear tire so you can run modern rubber. The tricky part will be the chain drive...

[flw]

Legendary 1500:

What bike is this for?

As you have a pic of a EN500 in your sig line and in your personal info you state a GPZ900r. Or is it something else?

I only ask due to the tube vs tubeless issue as well as size.

I also have a question in general.

For someone that rides at legal speeds and and generally very mild on the bike, does a higher speed rated tire last longer since it should be harder material. Except for cracks due to age of tire/dry rot.

[JC Viper]

The tires are for the GPz900R Ninja. The sig still stays as that was the bike I put 40,000 miles on... and I have yet to get a good pic of me on the GPz.

Tires on the GPz are tubeless 120/80 - 16 front, 130/80 - 18 rear and the tires came with V-rated tires as the bike's top speed is 155 MPH. On car forums people run lower rated tires on their cars with nary a problem as they don't do SUSTAINED speeds in excess of what the tire can handle, though there is the thought that insurance companies can deny a claim if you happen to have an accident on lower rated tires even if the tires weren't at fault.

I don't know about load bearing though. The H rated tires I was looking at handles the same max load as the V rated tires front and rear. It may wear faster due to the amount of torque / power my bike puts out but other forums say that it's not the case as the ratings are for sustained speeds. Honestly the most the bike has seen is 120 mph but then began sucking gas at a rate of 29MPG avg.

I would love to switch to radials but the rear tire is too skinny and tall for one. Apparently only Avon has radials for both wheels but since some have stated a suspension upgrade would be needed, or that the bike may handle differently since it was designed for bias ply, I opted to stick with bias ply tires.

I ended up getting the Bridgestone BT45s and once they got here the tires felt really sticky just by touching it. Only problem is that many shops in the area don't do tire changes on older bikes even though the process is really the same as many of todays bikes. The shop I usually go to is pretty packed and their prices have risen to $180 for a tire change both front and rear. I would do it myself if I had a bike stand I could borrow but I'm also too busy to do it myself since I only have to drop off the bike and pick it up after work.

[JC Viper]

Finally got around to getting the Bridgestone Battlax BT45s installed. Right away those tires felt great to roll on as the rear tire stayed planted even when wringing the throttle (relatively speaking since the bike makes loads of torque so about 1/5 of throttle vs 1/8 with the old tires). Cornering is extremely quick and accurate compared to the Metzelers that were on there (even when taking their age into consideration) as I was able to just flick the bike into tight turns with little input and it maintained the lines that I chose without a hiccup like a modern sports bike would. I put on 250 miles today just hitting up the local curves almost non-stop.

The tread profile is great for uneven road surfaces and of course those grated bridges. The Metzelers gave me a good amount of weave when riding on those metal grates while the BT45s just rolled right along.

Now I have another pair of BT45s from another site because the order was already processed when I tried to cancel it after buying it for a lower price elsewhere. I planned on returning it but now I'm not sure. Considering how happy I am with their performance I plan on riding much more than I did with the Vulcan which might mean needing new tires next season. All tires shipped to me were produced in the last months of 2009 so shelf life isn't a problem.