Another Radial tire discussion

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Traumahawk

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I'm currently running a 180/55-18 Venom R on the back with the avon storm 2 110/80-18 on the front.

I'm looking for other options. So....do I have to stay with the same company front and rear.....or can I mix and match companies front and rear (like Shinko and dunlops), as long as you stay with the same kind of tire...IE sport touring, sport, high mileage.
 
Here's a couple other options you may wish to try, Eric.

huge motorcycle tires 2.jpg

huge motorcycle tires.jpg
:biglaugh:
 
I'm currently running a 180/55-18 Venom R on the back with the avon storm 2 110/80-18 on the front.

I'm looking for other options. So....do I have to stay with the same company front and rear.....or can I mix and match companies front and rear (like Shinko and dunlops), as long as you stay with the same kind of tire...IE sport touring, sport, high mileage.

Im set up with the same tires as you are Eric, & I've been wondering about that too.. ,
 
I have mixed and matched on both my M109R and my VMax. VMax presently has an Avon Storm on the back, and a Metzler ME880 in the front. Before I got the Storm 2 for the back I was running a Pirelli on the back and the Metz up front.

On the "9" I've run Dunlop rear, Metz front; Avon Rear, different Avon Front. The only issue I ever had was some head-shake on the "9" with the Dunlop Elite 3 in back. Others running that same rear tire had the same issue, so I am going to blame it on the Dunlop Elite 3.

No other issues.
 
I'm not running radials but I recently (last week) switched out my Elite 3 rear for a Shinko. My 100 mph head shake has dissapeared, the bike is tracking soooo much better around curves and it seems to be doing very nicely with my Dunlop Qualifier front. Rear grip is vastly improved, the Elite would readily allow rear wheel spin when hard on the gas up to 80 mph whereas the Shinko seems to bite hard into the road surface and just allow the the Max to launch. I doubt it will last long but longevity isn't my priority, sheer grip is all I'm after. Only ran a couple of hundred miles to date but so far so good. I like it :)


Chris.
 
18 inch radials are not as easy to come by like 17 inchers. With that being said , I thought I read in either Cycle World or Motorcyclist magazine that one of the major manufacturers of tires had signed on to produce 18" radials for a certain sportbike or sport tourer mfg. , but for the life of me I can't remember which manufacturer of the tire or the bike it was. Sorry about that. If I was more proficient at google - ing , I could probably find it. :punk:
 
Well I decided on the Shinko stealth 003. Its one of the few tires that is in a 180-18, and the Battlax BT-016. I happen to like tires that are stickier. The Avon venom R, that was about $190 last year from amazon, I'm just not that happy with it. Its not sticky enough for me.

Both tires should be here this coming week, and I look to really trying them out at Eureka springs.
 
Trauma...I think I'm running 2 different tire types...need to verfy however...for me, at least, they hold the road well enough...
 
How much $$$ was that? Then again I don't know why I am asking I wouldn't have any spare cash until after xmas...lol I start planning my spending in the fall for the bike...

Sorry for the delay.....I thought I had already answered this.

For the wheel, bushings, bearings, and powdercoating with a red stripe, was 1150. Kinda high, but I wanted it to match the front.

A cheaper option is Firemedic's friend that does the weld-up wheel and he does them in 17 inches, so there is a better selection of tires.
 
I wanted to follow up on this. I got the tires on the day BEFORE going to eureka springs....so that really was gonna be the test. The tires handled great. No issues at all, and since that time have about 1200 miles on the tires. No uneven wearing, and they DEFINATELY stick better than the Avon VENON R that I had.

On some sites GSXR's dont like the shinko 003 in the rain. I havent had any issues...even running 90 and passing people. Maybe cause the Vmax has a heavier rear end...I dont know.

Now...I havent gotten stupid in the rain....maybe thats it.

But in Eureka springs...I ran in the middle of the pack behind a gen 2, and I definately couldve pushed it more if I wanted to.

So....the Shinko 003 180/55-18.....buy it.
Battle ax BT-016 110/80-18....buy it. I did have to special order it at the dealer, but they had internet pricing, so it was about 135. It does exist. http://www.bridgestone.com/products/motorcycle_tires/products/battlax/bt016.html
 

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