Replacement tires for my 87 700

Considering BT45 Bridgestones for my 87 700. Bike is ridden mostly as a touring bike, very non aggressive turning, 2 day rides 500-800 miles are common place.

Rider is 180#s, plus luggage of maybe 30 pounds.

Bike is 99% stock

 

oh man, heres another one of those "pandora's box" threads again. just like oil and oil filters, tires is a WIDELY debated subject here.

with the oddball sized wheels and tires on these 2nd gen bikes, our choices are decidedly limited (unless you throw down and install the CBF600F2 wheels on your bike) to a very few choices, all of which are bias ply tires.

now neither I nor anybody else can tell you what you NEED to use, or what will work the best for you. honestly, that knowledge comes on an individual basis through trial and error. I can tell you though, that I've been using Dunlop GT501's on my bike for a LONG time and theyve done me really well so far. They wear well, they stick to the road, and they wont destroy your wallet when you go to buy them.

ok, I've said my piece. the can of rubber worms has been opened!

 

Oh yea I know it's a pandoras box. I'll check into the dunlops. Thanks

 

The Dunlop bias plys on my stock bike work quite well so far.

 

I fully expect to get flamed, but here goes anyway.........When I got my 500 on the road, not knowing for sure if it was a keeper, I installed a set of Duro HF918s. While few would classify me as an aggressive rider, I have a lot of fun on the twisty county roads in my neck of the woods. To the point.....I like 'em. Very good on dry pavement, don't have the cojones to push them in the wet. What I'm saying is they work very well for my type of riding, I would buy them again.

 

+1 on the Dunlop 501's. Never used 'em on a VFR; but have used them with good results on two other bikes. For bias-ply tires, they work very well.

 

I have the bt45's on my 86 700 I like them but, its all in what you want out of a tire.. good luck with the dilema...LOL

 

I put a Dunlop 501 on the front of my bike. Denniskirk.com was selling them for 70 dollars. I am not usually a dunlop fan but this on is ok, you can stick a fingernail in it and it is pretty soft.

 

I loved the older Dunlop 591s and used them on almost all my bikes, but the 501s are an improvement and work well wet or dry.

 

I have had both, 86 vfr700f. Back to back...

Very comparable to one another. Similar miles and grip. Bridgestones have a reputation for being hard and warming up slowly, but that's what others say.

I ride fairly aggressive in the twistys and neither of these tires have let me down