Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C10, aka Kawasaki Concours - The Original => The Bike - C10 => Topic started by: paulthibodeaux on July 10, 2012, 05:16:28 AM
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I've had a C14 for a while. I'm back to a C10 now. What are the best tires for handling and good mileage?
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The ones that are attached to the C14. ;D
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best tires for handling and good mileage?
I do believe those two qualities are mutually exclusive. Another words 'you cant have your cake and eat it too'.
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There are some tires that have good traction that are higher mileage tires. However, if you are looking for really sticky tires, those tend to not last as long on the Connie.
As long as you aren't looking for cutting edge performance (i.e. you are planning to tour more, instead pushing the bike to it's handling limits), there are several options.
My info on this is out of date at this point (my tires of choice are now discontinued), although I can say that the Avon Venom AM42 is a decent tire, but there are some other interesting options at this point of time. I'm sure others will chime in shortly with recommended tire combos. There are several recent Shinko threads as well that discuss current tire availability and some recommended combos (use the forum search).
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I'm gonna try the BT45V since I can't get the Pilot GT's anymore.
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Put the BT45's on about 3000 miles ago and they are great. Well I did have the 880 on the rear which seems hard as a rock.
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Put the BT45's on about 3000 miles ago and they are great. Well I did have the 880 on the rear which seems hard as a rock.
Several people here have shared issues with the Metzeler ME880 tire. The tire has a long tread life, but has been reported to have less traction performance than other options (with at least one crash reported by a ME880 user involving traction), especially in wet weather conditions. That's what I've read in various posts over the years. Thus, you probably should look at other options if you are looking for above average grip performance, especially in inclement weather.
This comment does not apply to the BT45 Battleax tires, of course.
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I tried 880s before. They were OK, but I don't ride in the rain. Wet roads scare me.
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best tires for handling and good mileage?
I do believe those two qualities are mutually exclusive. Another words 'you cant have your cake and eat it too'.
You can get fairly close with the AVON Venom Bias Belted in the stock 150/80-16 size in the rear and the AVON Radial in the front in 110/80-18 this combo even got a thumbs up from Don Ricks and we all know how fussy he is about his tires. I've run Wing sized Venoms before and had no complaint in the grip dept just that the tires were a bit heavy and had to be pushed with a bit more effort.
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I tried 880s before. They were OK, but I don't ride in the rain. Wet roads scare me.
Wet roads dont bother me until I rode an 880. You should be scared with those tires or anything else as hard as 880's. They scare me on dry roads. I live (sometimes) in Florida. If I was worried that it was going to rain I would never be able to get the bike out of the garage. It rains everyday somewhere in FLorida.
Ultra Strom2 and PR3 are my tires of choice.They grip very well on wet roads, better than an 880 on dry.
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Overall for my style of riding nothing beets the BT45. 47 years of riding daily (11 1/2 months a year, 8000 to 12000 miles a year}
Tried the OEM dunflops, hated them. Avons, poor mileage, bad quality control but outstanding in the rain.
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What kind of mileage with the BT45s?
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PR3 in front, 110-80zr18, Michelin Commander II in stock size in rear, please note the II after Commander. I had a stock size Avon Venom in back, had to replace prematurely do to some sort of carcass failure on my last trip. As an aside, I had sworn off Avon Tyres 30 years ago cuz they sucked then. Convinced from others on how "good" the Venom was, I tried one. No more. The Commander II on the back lets me accelerate out of a corner without getting squirelly, and rides a LOT smoother. They also have sliica in the thread to help with wet weather, but it will/did slip slightly when heavy on the throttle coming out of a corner on wet, very new blacktop. I was trying to locate a Shinko Journey 890 for fitment, but could not find one in stock in the Mpls/St Paul area. I found the Commander II and pulled the trigger. I was almost in the "if it's black, round, fits, and holds air" mode of shopping, as I was on a trip. The Commander II is a pleasant surprise, tho will probably fit the Shinko next. When the Shinko wears out, the bike should have over 200k miles on it. I think I'll get something different to ride at that point.
Not to inflame folks here, but Avon Tyres sucked thirty years ago, and they still suck, IMHO. Your opinion, and mileage, may vary. My experiences with Avon tyres has not been good, at all, ever.
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Not to inflame folks here, but Avon Tyres sucked thirty years ago, and they still suck, IMHO. Your opinion, and mileage, may vary. My experiences with Avon tyres has not been good, at all, ever.
+1
I have Roadriders front and rear. I'm pretty disappointed with them. The rear wore out in quite a bit less than 10k miles (front is still good for a long time), and despite the short tread life, they were never particularly confidence inspiring in the corners. Very bad in the wet. I have a Venom to put on the back next. I hope it will be better. If not, I'll be looking for a new brand. How many miles are you getting on your PR3/Michelin tire combination?
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What kind of mileage with the BT45s?
last tire change was almost 11000 on the front, about 9000 on the rear. I replace my tires sooner than most would so many would get more mileage. The rear I have on now is the excedra max which the same as the Bt45 but is belted. It shows almost 9000 miles and looks to get at least 3000 more. I'm well pleased with the belted tire. When I bought the rear they were not making a belted in our front size. Maybe later.
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I had a stock size Avon Venom in back, had to replace prematurely do to some sort of carcass failure on my last trip.
Interesting you say that, I've read a bit about Avon carcass failures. Have a look at this post:
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=9707.0 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=9707.0)
Regards, Russell