Tires for VF500F

Don't know if it's been addressed in this particular forum (I've seen it it in the 5th-6th Gen), but I'm curious to know what type of tires other VF500F (or other sizes as well) are running. The bike came with a Metzeler ME33 Laser on the front and a Metzeler Perfect ME77 rear. I will be needing to replace them in the next several months. I'm running Avon RoadRider AM26's on my other bike and really like them.

Thanks,

Matt

 

Mine has stock sized Bridgestone BT45's on it, and I'm happy with them. I also have the same tires (same exact size on the front) on my Ninja 250, and they do really well on that bike as well. I did about a 300 mile ride in the rain with them recently, and they did well with that, and I hit the twisties every chance I get, and I haven't used all they have to offer so far, trying to keep up with bigger, faster bikes.

 

I too have the Bridgestone Battlax BT45 tires on my 500. I've been running them for years and am very happy with them.

 

And neither of you guys have problems with the speed rating (H-rated tires are good to 130MPH)? I always though you needed to buy tires that were above the top speed of the bike, in this case for the 500, you'd want to use V-rated tires (149MPH).


*I just found out that the BT45 come in a V-rating as well.

 

For the street? Yeah, I'm really going to worry about 130vs149 MPH speed rating on a tire...

Those rating are for sustained speeds. I'm not going to be running speeds in excess of about 80 or so, sustained. I don't go much over that anyway.

I worry more about that on a car tire, due to sidewall rigidity. Maybe if I was going to the track I would worry more about it on a M/C tire, but then I doubt I'd be looking at the BT45's anyway, and go with a stickier tire. The BT45's do well on aggressive street riding, and I'm sure they'd do ok on the track, for a novice or intermediate rider.

 

Thanks for the input. Think I've narrowed it down to the Avon RoadRiders AM26's and the Bridgestone BT45's. I have several months before I have to make my final decision.

 

I expect some people to dispute this, but I don't believe that the 500 is capable of 130 MPH. I've owned 4 of them over the last 20 years and have never been able to get any one of them above 115 MPH. Even at that speed, if it indeed was capable of greater speed, would require much more road before you'd ever see it. With that said and based on my experience with the bike, I went with the lower rated tires. If you do choose the Bridgestone's, I think you'll be very happy with them. Let us know what you decide.