Topic: New Tire Questions

[winnipeg550guy]

 hello all, I'm looking to finally upgrade to some new rubber for my 500/550 and I was hoping to get some peoples reviews or thoughts if anyone runs on the certain brands I'm trying to chose between.
 I do mainly city driving the odd highway excursion and don't mind getting things dirty on gravel and dirt roads so traction is important of course.
 Anyone have any experience with either of these brands running in Wet weather as well, The No-name old cheap ass tires I got now don't make me feel to confident in the wet stuff.
 
 I'm leaning towards the Avons for their Vintage appearance but how do they hold up.
Both these brands fall into the price range I can afford right now.
Fronts:

 Avon Speedmaster Ribbed (for her pleasure)
 Bridgestone Battle Axe BT45


 Rears:
 Avon MK II Safety Mileage
 B-Stone Battleaxe BT45


 

[TwoTired]

Metzler 4.00-18 rear
Meztler 3.25-19 front.

[Tower]

Metzler 4.00-18 rear
Meztler 3.25-19 front.

Metzler - good quality, all purpose, best fit, longer life

BT45 - good quality, sticky, shorter lifespan, low cost, high availability in Canada

[Gordon]

In a tire thread you're likely to get as many helpful responses as you will by asking "which oil is best".  Lots of personal experiences by different people, but ultimately you have to try them yourself to find out which is best for you.


Having said that, I do have the Avon Speedmaster and MKII on my 550K, and I really like them.  It doesn't rain that much here in Denver so they haven't gotten too much use on wet roads, but when I have been caught in the rain they've given me no reason to doubt their abilities.  Oddly enough, the ribbed front tire does better (on this bike) on grooved pavement than the non-ribbed Avon Roadrunners on my 750 do, but that's two different bikes, so it's not the best comparison. 

[eldar]

You may also wish to check out the bridgestone spitfires. I have them and they work pretty well. generally cheaper than the bt's are. Have worked pretty well in wet weather for me, wet AND windy weather combined.

[Gordon]

Just don't waste your money on those damn Cheng Shins...



...lit match... powder keg...


or would you accept "low hanging fruit"?

[winnipeg550guy]

Just don't waste your money on those damn Cheng Shins..

The No-name old cheap ass tires I got now don't make me feel to confident in the wet stuff.
 

 

T.T.  As far as the Metzelers go are these the style your referring too.

[TwoTired]

I use the Lastertec (used to be ME33) 3.25H19 Front
Me-77Rear 4.00H18 Rear

[Hush]

I'm looking at new tyres for my 650 too right now, finding the right type seems quite hard.
The old front was a Metzler 350 H 19 and the closest the bike shops can do for me is a 110/100/19 Bridgestone.
I'm quite comfortable with Bridgies as it was all I could afford back when I was a long haired teenager in the 70's and never had any bad experiences with them in any weather conditions.
Of course the bike shop is pushing a costlier product at $210 a pop as opposed to the Bridgies at $140 plus they want $25 fitting.
Tyres for these older machines is a point of high discussion so I'll be watching to see what other say....cheers...Hush.

[Blueridgerunner]

The newer tire tread designs seem to have better adhesion but, I live 1/2 mile up a gravel road and the smooth tread design would be like driving on marbles (I had a set on an earlier machine). Need a more aggressive  tread design I'm afraid

[eldar]

Well you have to figure where your greatest need is. A more "aggressive" tread might do better on gravel but in my experience, gravel sucks no matter what tire you use. Even on dirt bikes, with block tires, gravel still sucks.
Plus that aggressive tread will probably mean less overall rubber contacting the pavement. not very desirable especially when wet.

So sire you do not want too aggressive nor to smooth. find a balance. That rear tire tt showed looked like a good balance.