Tires

My tires are starting to wear out and I was wondering what I could get for the '86 F2. What do you all like? I don't really want to put expensive tires on it either, cause it's only worth like 1500 to start with...

 

Bridgstone might be the least expensive value for the money tire... Although I have heard a lot of raves for the Continental tire as well...

Otherwise spend money and get Michilins....

 

I just got the Bridgestone Battleaxe tires (new 08) out of a website in CA, and have put just over 3,000 miles on them this spring from Maine to GA,and a lot of twisty roads with lots of cornering. Ironically, the front tire began cupping very early in life, so i can't really recommend them very highly; the back tire is A1 fine, with little wear after 3K. I found it hard to find anything else in OEM sizes readily available other than Bridgestones...I hope this helps. Total investment $129.00 including UPS to my door.

MJ

 

I have run the Battle Ax's as well and liked them. The cupping comes from heavy breaking. If you ride it that hard I would spend the $ for Metzlers. The ME 33 laser is the best tire I have ever had on the VFR. I think my Bridgstones are BT 45's if I recall. The tire is not as good in the rain as the Metzler but I dont ride in bad weather like I use to.

 

Hmmm...thanks! good stuff to think about. How expensive do the metzlers run? As much as Michelin?

 

i put Conti's on my GPz 550 (resto project) and was very pleased with the look, performance and price. I asked my tire guy specifically for a tyre to suit the older style bike( with narrower rims ) and this was the recomendation he gave me. hopefully you get them over there? they were offered in sport com too, which is the option i took and have a good tread pattern.

i guess most importantly the right tyres on a bike make a HUGE difference to the way it feels / handles so worth some time to scope out the right ones for you. oh and dont get sucked into putting a bigger rear tire on than you need.

happy tyre hunting! :tongue:

 

Who said," Rubber is cheaper than plaster?"
Made sense to me-

Mac

 

Alright, just one more thing...

My front is a 120/80 16
and the back is 130/80 18
I hear that you can use a different size sidewall (like instead of the 80 use a 60 or something) but you have to reset your speedometer and it could mess up the steering geometry. Has anyone tried different sizes on their old '86 700F2?

 

I have played with the profiles, I like the current combo I have, I ll have to get the numbers for you, high profile in the front, lower in the back to try to get the tire diameters closer to the same front to back, like most newer bikes that use 17" rims front to back. Spedo calibration is nominal, less that 3 percent in most cases.

 

Check out the Pirelli Sport Demon. I have a set with over 10k on them. Front is still good. Rear is about ready to be replaced. I thought they have been great and the price wasn't too bad. Check out Chaparral.com.

 

I'm a little confused after reading more tire stuff elsewhere. You can put on different size tires? What do the numbers stand for in like 120/80 16?

 

Actually Dennis Kirk has better prices on the Sport Demons, free shipping too!

 

It takes some knowhow to know what you can do with tire sizes, but the numbers break down more or less like this.
120= the tire with in mm I think? So a 140 is a wider tire. You need to check to see what is the max or min recommended rim with you can mount a said tire with on, also, a wider than stock tire needs to be check for rub against the swing arm, chain, etc. Guy like wider tires because the look cool, and have a larger foot print, meaning more traction to the ground. However, bike roll rate, and roll resistance suffer with wider tires and when you mount a wider than stock tire on a naroow rim, the radius changes and causes some odd roll charictaristics. An ideal tire has a 0 degree radius change so when your flipping the bike from side to side it handles more consistant.

80 is the profile or height of the tire off the rim. So a 90 profile tire would be a "taller" tire. Split the differance in half and that is your change in ride height. This affects the bikes loading and handing performance in MANY ways. Its best to understand and or experment with this factor to figure it out.
The 16 is the inch diameter of the rim. You just can not change this unless you change your rims. You will find most modern sport bikes run 17" rims front and back, this makes the tire choices for the VFR bikes limited since it was an odd generation of bikes that ran 16" and 18" rims front to back. This is why a "CBR" wheel conversion is desirable.
I have had my VFR 750 for over 12 years and tired many tire combos (stock rims) as they have worn out. Its not as good as doing a back to back to back heads up comp since I dont have that buget or time, and man, when you mount new rubber its like you just got a new bike, but I keep notes on the changes, and even chanbe my suspension to check changes, like Raising and lowering the forks in 5mm increments to compensate for profile changes.
My findings are I like to make the front and back wheel diameters close and dial in the suspension in to match. Dont go more than 20 over stock on Profile or with, its just not worth it. Choose a compound that matches your weight and riding, dont put a K comp race tire on a bike you ride 2 up over 5K/ year.
Tire PSI has alot to do with how it handles, and is responsible for 50 percent of "cupping" cases, the other 50 percent is due to hard breaking and suspension setup.
Modern tires are WAY better than older tires. For the everyday or casual rider most stock tire combos available are more than adiquite.
My spelling stinks, please forgive me, I'm just trying to relay what I have learned with my bike, and cars.

 

JasonJ that was great info thanks for posting!