Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => The Bike - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: PlaynInPeoria on May 03, 2013, 10:25:49 AM
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I just hit 4500 miles on my 2012 and the tires are toast. I need to order some tires and am thinking that instead of buying the conventional sport touring PR3 type tire, why not buy a Metzeler ME880 (or the new ME888). I could get way more miles out of the tire, and the traction control and ABS could save me from any traction issues caused by the lesser performing tire. I would still get a PR3 or the like for the front. I am an aggressive rider. Well, I think I am anyway.
Thoughts?
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Putting cost infront of safety is not a good idea.
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I have an 09, came with bto21 battle, stuck resl good but toast at 5500k, wore the sides off them, left a ridge diwn the middle. Them ran a set of pirellies, much better, now on my second set of michelin road pilot ii's, 15,000k's. less sticky, cant lean as far, but thats ok. A set lasts a season now. i ride from the prairies to the rockies, to the appalachians and everything in between. The mich's have been the best. I hear the III's suck. B.
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TC doesn't help in hard cornering and if you are an aggressive rider then you could potentially spin out pushing it in a corner. Same as a sports car. Replace soft rubber tires for harder compound you will not be able to corner as hard. TC and ABS has nothing to do with that. Just saying.
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I just hit 4500 miles on my 2012 and the tires are toast. I need to order some tires and am thinking that instead of buying the conventional sport touring PR3 type tire, why not buy a Metzeler ME880 (or the new ME888). I could get way more miles out of the tire, and the traction control and ABS could save me from any traction issues caused by the lesser performing tire. I would still get a PR3 or the like for the front. I am an aggressive rider. Well, I think I am anyway.
Thoughts?
Good luck with that.
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Point taken.
Thanks
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If it works for you that is great but I would point out that traction control cannot 'fix' or compensate for a tire with less grip. In other words, traction control and / or any other type of mechanical trickery cannot make a tire with poor grip a better gripping tire. All traction control will do is lessen the power being delivered to the rear tire in the event of forward tire spin, not sideways grip as in going around a curve with the bike leaned over. Tires with poor grip will still have poor grip regardless of the presence of traction control, at least as far as low siding goes.
Trading off a softer, grippier tire for a harder, more durable tire is perfectly acceptable I think as long as the rider realizes what he / she is doing and what the results will be. That is why we have sport touring tires in the first place; the grippiest tires are sport bike tires but they wear so quickly that most ST riders do not use them. Going still further to a harder tire will have the same results- less performance and greater mileage (and often the tire is less expensive also). If the tire fits the rim, and you use it within its weight and speed limitations, nothing wrong with using any tire you want on your motorcycle IMO.
Brian
I just hit 4500 miles on my 2012 and the tires are toast. I need to order some tires and am thinking that instead of buying the conventional sport touring PR3 type tire, why not buy a Metzeler ME880 (or the new ME888). I could get way more miles out of the tire, and the traction control and ABS could save me from any traction issues caused by the lesser performing tire. I would still get a PR3 or the like for the front. I am an aggressive rider. Well, I think I am anyway.
Thoughts?
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I hear some folks are using car tires.
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Interesting. What an interesting idea.
How does that work out, overall?
Brian
I hear some folks are using car tires.
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:popcorn:
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That depends on your definition of 'work' is. There are those that might think this works:
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I must be missing something, I couldn't find a size on the Metzeler site that fits......I did find that the ME880 comes in white wall.
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No darkside for me, thanks.
I got 10k out of an ME880. Honestly I never even looked at sizes for the ME888. It's marketed as a cruiser tire, I had no idea. That would be the closest I will ever get to a cruiser, that's for sure.
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Used to get about 18K out of Avon Venom's on my Honda Valkyrie.
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That depends on your definition of 'work' is. There are those that might think this works:
[photo of slow, loud, stupid harley-type bike with car tire and sparks flying from trying to corner at maybe 20 miles an hour, complete with tassels]
The sad part is the owner probably had someone take that photo and is proud to have posted it.
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Takes all kinds. ;D
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When you find the answer to the tire dilemma please let me know. I wore the OEM Bridgestones to the steel belt by 3000 miles put on a set of PR 2's and they are worn out and my odometer is only at 5500 miles. If I wanted to wear the PR 2's to the belt I might get another 200 miles but I wont push it. I already have the replacement in the garage.
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Michelin Commander II Cruiser Rear Tire
200 55 17 Radial They say grips well lasts a long time 2 compound tire, next year I plan on putting one on ;) I have lots of miles left on my P3 190 50 and a new 190 55 waiting to go on.
Are you guys doing burn outs ? only 3,000 miles and cords ????
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Interesting:
http://www.avontyres.com/motorcycle/storm-3d-x-m (http://www.avontyres.com/motorcycle/storm-3d-x-m)
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I just hit 4500 miles on my 2012 and the tires are toast. I need to order some tires and am thinking that instead of buying the conventional sport touring PR3 type tire, why not buy a Metzeler ME880 (or the new ME888). I could get way more miles out of the tire, and the traction control and ABS could save me from any traction issues caused by the lesser performing tire. I would still get a PR3 or the like for the front. I am an aggressive rider. Well, I think I am anyway.
Thoughts?
You're putting a lot of faith, and possibly your life, in something, that you have little to no control over.....! Time to refocus my friend, before it's too late!
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Michelin Commander II Cruiser Rear Tire
200 55 17 Radial They say grips well lasts a long time 2 compound tire, next year I plan on putting one on ;) I have lots of miles left on my P3 190 50 and a new 190 55 waiting to go on.
Are you guys doing burn outs ? only 3,000 miles and cords ????
Never 1 burnout. I think the road surface on a lot of the country roads going thru foothills toward the mountains ( very coarse abrasive does not look very well packed) and the twisties in the mountains have a lot to do with it + my speed in the turns. The guys I ride with are getting similar wear results on a GS1200 so I know it's not the bike.
Does the Commander II not come in 190? Would a 200 fit?
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I would echo that it's not a good idea. Not only that but have you ever hoisted one of these cruiser designed tires?
I deliver them all the time and they weigh as much as a car tire does. HEAVY!
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I have plenty of customers on all sorts of bikes with Metzeler Marathon touring tires on their bikes.
Some ride very aggressively wearing away hard parts on their bikes in a single season. I think the premise that the ME880 (or the newer ME888)is any lessor of a tire than say most sport touring tires is flawed. Especially when you are looking at bikes in excess of 650 lbs empty.
I imagine if you are riding at the ragged edge of traction then, maybe the slight difference (and I mean slight) may put you over that edge where you are in more peril of crashing. But seriously unless you are going to a racetrack and trying to keep up with the sportbike guys you have little to worry about by running the best selling top of the line (has absolutely been the best touring tire for a couple decades) Metzeler Marathon...yes I like and sell Metzelers....as well as Michelin, Dunlop and Bridgestones
That said, I checked once and it did not come in a 190/55-17 and I doubt the ride characteristics of a 200/50 profile is going to do anything good on the Concours.
Ride on what you want though, if it makes you feel safer and more secure that means you are not spending any of your energy or concentration worrying about the tires and grip, which means you can focus more on other aspects of your riding.
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I the mid 80's I raced a Ninja 900 with WERA and also made a couple cross country trips on the same bike. I had two rear wheels, one had the softest Michelin available and the other had the Metzler Marathon. I never had any worries with the Metzler.
BTW, I did consider the 888 for the C14. Not sure whether I would have gone with one since the point was moot with the 190/50 not availbale. I think the 200/55 would be too tall.
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200 55 17 55 not 50
Commissioned third-party tests* show that the MICHELIN® Commander® II rear tire lasts almost twice as long its nearest rivals
Innovative technology
Amplified Density Technology: A highly dense, more-rigid tire casing, which helps deliver excellent feedback and handling.
Conventional
71-thread ply
Commander II
90-thread ply is
25% more dense
than conventional
plies
Aramid tread plies on the rear tire resist centrifugal growth, reduce weight and provide excellent stability.
All-new rubber compounds for remarkable wet grip, without compromising durability.
Square bead-wire package improves handling and ease ofinstallation.
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Sorry, I thought someones post said it was a 200/50....I didn't look it up before posting
I have customers on those Michelin Commander II's also-so far they haven't been lasting any longer and in 2 cases not as long as the ME880 for their bikes, how they ride and where they ride. The Elite III has (for a couple of these guys) outlasted the commander and almost matched or matched/slightly surpassed the mileage of the Metzeler, but they didn't have the same feedback and confidence inspiring feel (so say the customers.....I do not have a bike that would take any touring tire to go test myself, or I would.....I have run about a dozen different brands/models of tires on my bike and did a write up on website of each one, most of them I ran atleast two sets for a better overall comparison, of course they were all sportbike tires...)
Anyways, Michelin makes an excellent tire. I have no doubt you will find it to be of exceptional quality
So while I have no doubt some "3rd party" test will show they are something phenominal......It is akin to looking at tire threads where some people profess to get 15k out of the excact same tires others only get 5k out of....IMO
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I the mid 80's I raced a Ninja 900 with WERA and also made a couple cross country trips on the same bike. I had two rear wheels, one had the softest Michelin available and the other had the Metzler Marathon. I never had any worries with the Metzler.
BTW, I did consider the 888 for the C14. Not sure whether I would have gone with one since the point was moot with the 190/50 not availbale. I think the 200/55 would be too tall.
Michelin HiSport I bet....
I ran the Metzeler CompK (ME33 front and ME99 rear) in most of my racing days of the 80's, but I did occassionally run the Hi Sports, they were better in a certain temp range on certain tracks, but didn't fair as well below 75* or above 90* temps...Atleast that was my finding compared to the comp K's. And the comp K's had 100 times (exaggeration) the traction in the rain.
The 200/55 vs the 190/55 (what I see many loving instead of the 190/50)...well apples to apples it should only be 5.5 mm taller--but profile and actual build dimensions will make a huge difference in what the actual numbers are.
Dunlop Q2 180/55 is only 2mm shorter than Dunlop Q2 190/55 (just as an example)--their 180 is also the widest 180 of any manufacturer that I have seen and used coming in at only 2mm narrower than the Q2 in a 190/55 (when the 180 was on a 5.5" rim and the 190 on a 6" rim)
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The 200/55 is one of the few Commander 2s that are Radial and V rated ? Why they would build anything but a radial ????
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Michelin HiSport I bet....
I ran the Metzeler CompK (ME33 front and ME99 rear) in most of my racing days of the 80's, but I did occassionally run the Hi Sports, they were better in a certain temp range on certain tracks, but didn't fair as well below 75* or above 90* temps...Atleast that was my finding compared to the comp K's. And the comp K's had 100 times (exaggeration) the traction in the rain.
than the Q2 in a 190/55 (when the 180 was on a 5.5" rim and the 190 on a 6" rim)
Yes, HiSports on the Ninja. I ran Bridgestones on my GS450. But I was not good enough to tell one tire from another. I was crashing on all of them.
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I ran Metzler 880's on my heavy Yami RSTD with no issues. I think they got a bad rap with folks loaded down heavily only airing up to the bike's specs on PSI. (40 for yami) <<< too low.
Best to Air up to the tire manufacture's PSI recommendations, for me with the M 880's that was 48 rear, 42 front.
I go by tire heat also.