tire replacement

ok heres trick question on tires.. 86 vfr 700, lookin at dunlop gt 501 and bridgestone bt-45v. ive read the reviews, im not a burnout, racing everything rider. mostly work n some crusing when i can.

 

I had a set of 501's because I was a Dunlop guy for years. The rear is fine, the front sucks IMO. Very vague turn in, first 15 degrees of lean, and on slick surfaces at speed it slid around. No tread lines 3/8" off of center groove on either side of groove. The groove makes the tire wander around over steel grate bridges. I'd never have a center groove tire on a bike because of that.

Can't help with the bt-45t's. I'm running Continental Conti-Go's. Fantastic tires IMO. I will buy them again for sure.

 

They seem to be the only tire that fits these wild n crazy 18 inch rear wheels!

I have had both the 501 and the battlax (b-stone). the battlax gets the slight edge IMHO for handling. Mileage was the same for both.

Good luck man!

 

I'm running the Pirellis (Sport Demons?), and I really like them. Nice feel, although the center line *does* wander on grooved pavement, and if you tighten up on the grips as a result, it'll get pretty shaky unless you let the tire wander a bit (it tracks just fine while doing so, though). I think I had the 501s on before. They wore funny, got rock hard, and slid around a bit in alarming ways when leaned over (although it was an old tire and needed replacing anyway just due to age).

 

The contgos I can't find in the crapy size but a new question, what rim will be an easy replacement for stock tire??

 

dont know if ne1 will check n reply but, i have been lookin at tires for months now. i see alot of ppl say for this bike that the cont gos are best to use. well, the rear is not a prob but the front is not the same. they only have 120/80 not the 110/90, so i guess my question is, how much of a diff will it make if ne? and i forgot, the rear has a few different choices, 150/70 vs 130/80, will it fit with no messing around or just stick with the original?

 

You might be able to get away with the 120 on the front, the 80 is a smaller ratio, it depends. You might be able to get away with the 150- again it depends if you can clear the chain and brake arm but you might have problems with flat spotting your rear if you go too wide interfering with roling over into your turns. If you can stay as close as possible to stock sizes that is usually your best bet. If you are not Ricky Canyon racer than you can probably go as wide as will fit the rims without rubbing chains and such.