| Author | Message | ||
     Guybones |
Well, at 12,000 miles I needed to change my original Dunlop D616 front and 2nd D616 rear. I had thought I liked them, but it turns out I liked the Uly, and it kind of made up for the tires. After reading a lot of great posts, especially Chad's, I decided to go for the Pirelli's - OMG, what a difference. I just went a one of my local loops, funky back roads with a little of the following: gravel in corners, gravel everywhere, dirt, potholed farms roads, smooth curvy stuff, etc. (those of you who know West Sonoma County can dig) The Syncs were better everywhere. Right after I bought the Uly, I talked to a fella who said he coundn't get the bike to "finish" corners, he would run a little wide sometimes when he shouldn't. I felt it too, and though it was the bike - but it's the tires folks. So,thanks for all the posts that directed me to where I'm at. Oh, and my bearings were just fine, but remember to put some anti-sieze on your axles - really. | ||
| Etennuly |
Guybones......a new believer!  Welcome to the land of Uly! | ||
| Wbrisett |
I run Avon Storm STs on my BMW RT, has anybody tried these on their Ulysses? I'm thinking of putting them on when the OEM Pirelli's wear out. Wayne | ||
| Metalstorm |
It seems like the Pirelli profile works extremely well with all the fuel in the frame Buells. I switched to Syncs on my S after I wore out the stock Dunlops and I was so pleased by them that I'm still running them. As much as I would like to try other tires, I know the Syncs are a sure thing so I keep ordering them  | ||
| Adrian_8 |
They are my favorites too..and I have had six different tires. | ||
| Kip |
+ 1 on syncs had mine changed at end of season due to a test ride w syncs as stock. cant wait till spring! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I run Avon Storm STs on my BMW RT, has anybody tried these on their Ulysses? I'm thinking of putting them on when the OEM Pirelli's wear out. I have run the D616s, Avon Azaros, Avon Storms, Pirelli Stradas, and I have a set of Pilot Road 2CTs that will go on for MB. Thus far, the Stroms are my favorite. I got decent mileage out of them (for me), they are consistent, have a gentle profile, and grip really well, wet or dry. The outer compound is very sticky. Unless the 2CTs really knock my socks off, I will probably go back to the Storms. | ||
| Xbimmer |
I liked my '06 with the 616's, but the Syncs transformed the bike. There are some including me who will say the Dunlops work better off-pavement but I hardly ever go there and the confidence the Syncs offer everywhere else outweighs the 616's. Been running a Strada most recently and tried to kill it today on the most perfect Ulysses road I know of, Gibraltar/E. Camino Cielo above Santa Barbara CA, it did fine but I'll be replacing it with another Sync this week and we'll attack it again next weekend. That road and the others in the Los Padres Natl Forest are the reasons I bought my Uly, the Syncs round out the perfect package for me. | ||
| Etennuly |
Hey Ft_b, How come you have never tried the Scorpion Syncs???  Inquiring minds want to know! | ||
| Galloper |
My favorite tires are the BT014's. But the last rear only lasted 1800mls. SO I went with the Pilot Road Ct2's and these are fine but don't compare with the BT014's but last waaaaaaay longer. Next on my list are the Pirelli's. See how long those last. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Hey Ft_b, How come you have never tried the Scorpion Syncs??? Inquiring minds want to know! Don't know. I never thought about them. I assumed the single compound tire wouldn't give me as much tread life as the dual compound tires I have been running. The Stradas, to me, sucked. I just assumed the Syncs would be similar. I didn't care for either the profile or the tire life of the Strada. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Don't know about the modern tires, but in the early days of dual compound tires, my understanding was that the hardness difference between the compounds was 2-3%. Which sounded bad, and was only made worse by the fact that the average variation within the material was like 5%, meaning "dual compound" was lost in the noise. But that was a while ago... I don't ride that hard, and my syncs wear perfectly.. the sides are done about the same time as the middle. Of course that's a 9, not a 12, and I like carrying corner speed a lot better then drag launches. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Inertia's a beyotch.  I carry as much corner speed as possible. I also drive out of corners and drive too fast on slab. All conspire to shorten the life. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Pirelli doesn't claim these are dual compound tires, but they sure act like it. I've see very little tendency for them to wear flat in the center. My major problem has been two destroyed rear tires in ~7500 miles.  BTW, any deals out there on Syncs right now? Ron Ayers has 7.5% off their normal price until March 20, but that's not that great of a deal. (Message edited by hughlysses on March 10, 2008) | ||
| Wbrisett |
I don't know what the syncs go for normally, but southwest moto tires usually has very good prices. Currently that is 105.95 for the front and 127.95 for the rear. Wayne | ||
| Xbimmer |
Well I got rid of the Strada today and put on another rear Sync. These tires were made for the Uly and vice-versa. I have NO idea why Buell saw fit to equip the XT with the Strada. The handling was twitchy, nervous (though the tire stuck well), and rain grooves that chased me away from the front 616 resurfaced when the REAR Strada was new. And while I was getting +7k miles with the rear 616's and +6k with the rear Syncs I barely got 4k with the Strada! Not something I think "sport touring" people would expect. Hey wait a minute... I thought my XB12X was a sport tourer...  Anyway I'm home again on Syncs.  | ||
| Buellerandy |
I'll be trying the syncs on my bike after I burn up the distanzias. I took the bike out sunday on a rather chilly day and I was impressed with the feel of the distanzias. Can't wait for March Badness to really cook them up. | ||
| Geopatr |
I have a set of Syncs waiting to be mounted. I have few more miles and wheelies left in the D616's I love this bike!!! 06 Uly in black. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Ordered a new set of Syncs for my Uly today; $231 shipped from ronayers.com. NOW I've got two weeks to get them in and get them mounted before MBV. Man, it's something like this EVERY year.... | ||
| Ulywife |
Hugh - not to put a damper on this, but keep an eye on your order. Usually they ship very quickly, another time the tires we ordered were on backorder and Ron Ayers didn't notify us. I was not happy. Sad part is, Ron Ayers is 20 miles from us and we can buy them cheaper on-line from them than in their store. Go figure. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Kristi, Thanks for the heads up. Even if my new Syncs don't arrive, the tires on the bike would probably make it up there and back OK, and worst case I can always pull out the S3 and ride it. HOPEFULLY they'll come through in plenty of time. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Hey Fatty those Avon Storm ST's come in stock sizes? I'm gonna put a 616 on the rear, becuase I still have a lot of front 616 left. When they go I will check out the Avons. (Message edited by johnnylunchbox on March 15, 2008) | ||
| Crusty |
Reading this thread is almost like reading a thread on Oil preferences. I had no problems with the original D616s that came on my Uly. The bike didn't show any odd handling characteristics; it didn't weave or hunt at any speed up to 110 MPH, and it stuck well in temps ranging from the teens to the 90s. It just didn't last as long as I would have liked. I replaced the Dunlops with Avon AV45/46 Azaros which I loved on my M2. I didn't care for them on the Uly at all. I developed the weave that everyone said came with the Dunlops, and the bike felt skittish leaned over in turns. I first thought I had a bad set of tires, but after I picked up a huge screw in the rear (which left an unrepairable hole), and replaced it with another Azaro, the problem was still there. I then tried a set of Pirelli Diablo Stradas. The bike tracks true again, corners like it's on rails and feels stable in all normal situations. I'm also getting really good life out of them. I'll be putting Stradas on again next time. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Hey Fatty those Avon Storm ST's come in stock sizes? Yup. Yup. Running a set right now. Will be trying the PR2CT's currently on the other set of rims for MBV. Report to follow. Slowride has really liked his set thus far. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I really need to get a new rear tire on the Uly. I'll be seeing cords soon. I'll have the local indy shop order me a 616 tomorrow. | ||
| Echo15 |
I started with the OEM (06) 616s and wondered what everyone was bitchin' about. But as they wore and the rear squared-off I"got it". I'm MUCH happier with the Scorpion Syncs. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Got my new set of Scorpion Syncs in today. NOW I just have to find time to assemble my new Harbor Freight tire changer and mount them in the next 7 days! | ||
| Chadhargis |
I've always liked Pirelli and Metzler tires ever since I started using them. They tend to have a more triangular profile to them than other tires which makes turn in REALLY fast, the way I like it. Think of a Pireli a > and other tires as ). LOL! When you lean over on a triangular profiled tire, you end up with more rubber in contact with the roads. So, they handle better, and keep you out of the ditch. Sounds like a win/win deal to me. I've had the Stradas to knee dragging angles, and they stuck well. I ride hard and fast, and you won't find me doing the speed limit on my bike. I'm pretty much WOT all the time dodging little kids and old ladies. Tires wear out. I replace them. That's why I bought a tire changer. |
