When I was riding seriously on the regular, I usually checked for deals on tires online and kept a pair in the garage when pricing was right. jakewilson.com was a good source. I never mounted my own as I didn't want to get the equipment to do a good mount and balance at home; I'd probably drop the coin on that stuff if I were to do it over again.
Just the rear is fine, Dunlop was having a crazy rebate recently, It might still be going. I usually buy tires when they go on sale since I usually go through 4 rears and 2 fronts in a year. I always get a touring tire on the rear and something sticky on the front.
The longest lasting tires I have used are the Shinko Ravens but I dont think they are rubber, Its more like a a rubber substitute. From there its the Michelin Pilot Roads Then the Dunlops. I ride an average of 65K miles a year so I go through a lot of tires.
On a side note, Anyone who gets a puncture and has more than 50% left on their tires and changes them let me know, I will take them off your hands especially the rears. My limit is 8 plug patches in a tire, anything more is pushing it!
pres589 wrote: When I was riding seriously on the regular, I usually checked for deals on tires online and kept a pair in the garage when pricing was right. jakewilson.com was a good source. I never mounted my own as I didn't want to get the equipment to do a good mount and balance at home; I'd probably drop the coin on that stuff if I were to do it over again.
All I have is a big C clamp, a couple sets of spoons and a homemade stand to gravity balance them. When I get rims I usually balance them without the tires on them, then as long as you are using a ok quality tire all you have to do is line up the dot and you are good to go. I do check all of them just in case but after 20 years of doing it this way I have had only a couple tires I have had to add weight to get them 100%.
On my Cagiva I would do 2 rears to one front. That just happened to be how they wore. If the front is still safe on tread and grip, no reason to swap it.
MulletTruck wrote: On a side note, Anyone who gets a puncture and has more than 50% left on their tires and changes them let me know, I will take them off your hands especially the rears. My limit is 8 plug patches in a tire, anything more is pushing it!
or you could just tube it...not that I have done that on a tubeless rim ever. 
FlightService wrote:MulletTruck wrote: On a side note, Anyone who gets a puncture and has more than 50% left on their tires and changes them let me know, I will take them off your hands especially the rears. My limit is 8 plug patches in a tire, anything more is pushing it!or you could just tube it...not that I have done that on a tubeless rim ever.
Yeah but then you cant just slam a plug in it to get home. Even my spoke wheels I make tubeless for that reason.
MulletTruck wrote: All I have is a big C clamp, a couple sets of spoons and a homemade stand to gravity balance them. When I get rims I usually balance them without the tires on them, then as long as you are using a ok quality tire all you have to do is line up the dot and you are good to go. I do check all of them just in case but after 20 years of doing it this way I have had only a couple tires I have had to add weight to get them 100%.
I have a HF stand with home-made clamps made from a Sam's Club industrial plastic cutting board, a home-made 5' bar with a plastic rod tip instead of spoons (I have spoons... but don't usually need them), and "helper" quick fist for mounting with just a sweep of the bar. I have a HF static balancer stand too.
I am probably in for less than $100 and can swap/balance a set of tires in 45min or so. Half an hour if it's a hot day and I can let the tires soften up in the sun ahead of time. Well worth the effort IMO. Local place charges almost $50 a tire with them off the bike so my recoup was exactly one set.
Last ones I had done they charged me $15 a piece. Well worth the effort for me
Bobzilla wrote: Last ones I had done they charged me $15 a piece. Well worth the effort for me
Wow. Really? That's a great price - still - I used 4 full sets of tires last year on the GS so at 8 x $15 plus driving back and forth ... and the new XR is proving to be a rear tire destroying machine. I'd probably still swap them myself... but maybe not.
That isn't a dealer charging that is it?
Yeah, the one up north. It has been a couple years, so their prices I'm sure have probably gone up some. But I drop them off, and have them do them whenever they get the chance and call me when they're done. Seems to help the price some. I haven't ridden more than 2500 miles in a year in years. That's changing this year for sure since I sold off the economical car and bought a big V8 truck.
A local place used to have free mounting on tires bought there, I would go when they were on sale and kept the receiept for future mountings. If I happen to need a set I would get one put on and carry 2 sets home. I always have a fresh set mounted on a spare set of wheels so Im not scrambling when I need them.
MulletTruck wrote: A local place used to have free mounting on tires bought there, I would go when they were on sale and kept the receiept for future mountings. If I happen to need a set I would get one put on and carry 2 sets home. I always have a fresh set mounted on a spare set of wheels so Im not scrambling when I need them.
Holy E36 M3! Hoverbike! Sweet!
And that is why I will never own a bike with no center stand
MulletTruck wrote: On a side note, Anyone who gets a puncture and has more than 50% left on their tires and changes them let me know, I will take them off your hands especially the rears. My limit is 8 plug patches in a tire, anything more is pushing it!
I've got one, but I doubt it will fit your bike since it's the rear off my Diavel.
DaveEstey wrote:MulletTruck wrote: On a side note, Anyone who gets a puncture and has more than 50% left on their tires and changes them let me know, I will take them off your hands especially the rears. My limit is 8 plug patches in a tire, anything more is pushing it!I've got one, but I doubt it will fit your bike since it's the rear off my Diavel.
Yeah, That one would be a bit plump on my bike. The biggest I can run is a 190/60. Stock is 180/55
I have to agree with Huck on changing your own. With three scooters and the Goldwing, it seems as though one is always needing tires. I use my HF 20ton press to break them down, then a couple of spoons. For balancing I use the ceramic beads from here: http://www.tirebalancebeads.com/ Very quick service and great prices. I've used these for a few years and never have had an issue.
I hated it when people would bring their tires in and not tell me they had those in there, Those and Fix A Flat.
I always liked watching the new guys trying to put them in through the valvestem. Takes them a long time, Takes me about 10 seconds.
minimac wrote: I have to agree with Huck on changing your own. With three scooters and the Goldwing, it seems as though one is always needing tires. I use my HF 20ton press to break them down, then a couple of spoons. For balancing I use the ceramic beads from here: http://www.tirebalancebeads.com/ Very quick service and great prices. I've used these for a few years and never have had an issue.
bringing this back up.... now at 3 winters and almost 4 years old. It's getting 2. Now the question is not how many but which ones? Lots of flat straight roads, but I do like to head south and take on the twisties. Planning for a weekend trip someplace fun as well.
Pilot Road 4 has been my go-to tire on my Buell since it came out- I see that there's now a 5th version, which I'm sure is also good.
the pilots are just so damn expensive!
For reference, my bike kills a "normal" rear tire in 3k miles or less, and I can usually get over 7k miles out of a Pilot Road 4, so it's effectively worth twice the cost of a typical sport tire to me. I replace one front tire for every two rears, so 14-15k miles for the front. This may not be worth it if your bike is easy on tires, or you ride infrequently enough that they might age out instead.
I'm runningng road 4s as well. Haven't been through a set yet and they're still fresh so can't speak to my longevity but they give nothing up in the twisties compared to the stock Dunlops.
How were the Road 3's? Those are more my price range.
The Road 3 was similarly excellent, IIRC it didn't wear quite as nicely and needed a little more pressure but I don't think I had any issues with it.
I have a set of Dunlop Roadsmart IIIs on mine that have held up really well to all manner of abuse, do great in the wet, and feel a little sharper than the Pilot Road 4. THey were a good bit less expensive as well. The pilots seemed vague to me although they did last a very long time and performed ok. THe bike always felt slow to fall over and just not "crisp" if you care about such things.
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