| Author | Message | ||
     Nedwreck |
The Pirelli tyre I've been cussin' has died. It expired at roughly 80 mph with only 3400 miles on it. Luckily it didn't die all at once as I was able to get my CityX slowed down and safely onto the shoulder of the road. At first I thought the front tyre because the bike wouldn't turn for buggery. No idea as to the cause of death, there were none of the obvious signs. I will know more when they get a replacement tyre. Sometime next week if I'm lucky. I told the dealer not to order another Pirelli, just get me some Dunlops like on an XB9S. They had a few Dunlop 205s' like what came on my S3T but they were 170-60 and not 180-55. I need not mention that the damb things were probably 7 years old. They had plenty of Dunlop 207s' but they were for the V-Rod (18" wheels). I suppose I should spend some time here bitching about my dealer not having proper spares but I intend to do that monday at my dealer. A boot up his arse, more like it. This is my first flat tyre in 20 years of riding. Let me rephrase that; This is the only flat tyre I've ever gotten on a motorbike. This was also the first set of Pirellis I've ever had. Check your tyres, please. Bob Thanks to the Oklahoma Dyna Wide Glide rider who was passing through who stopped and let me use his cell phone (I stupidly left mine at home) | ||
| Cataract2 |
Possible you picked up a nail. | ||
| Barkandbite |
Tell them to order you a set of Metzeler M1 Sportec's or Z6's. You'll love 'em. Chris | ||
| Nedwreck |
Cat, we rolled it around and checked fairly well, no obvious problems were noted. Bark, that's an excellent idea, I'd forgotten about Metzelers. I'll check on those today and if I like what I see I'll call my dealer in the morning. Any other recommendations for new tyres? Bob | ||
| Oneway |
i have the met m1 good tire,but i dont think they will last much past the 3400ml i got with the stock tire allready seeing flat spot on the center, but i am sure it is a trade off milage for performance | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
You might want to check out the Michelin Pilot Powers. They combine better mileage, very sticky rubber compound, and greatly improved handling. I have 2500 miles on mine and they look like new. There is also a tire thread on here someplace that has a lot of rider reviews of their tires. Just about the only thing I would not do, is to fit Dunlop 207's. | ||
| Nedwreck |
Yeah, I think you're right about the 207's. I was well pleased with the 205 model and I understand they still make the line. I got a call in this morning to my guy at the dealer to hold off ordering the Dunlops for me unless, gawd forbid, they should want to stock them for the 1 or 2 other Buell customers in town. I know he's going to give me a rasher of shite about ordering tyres elsewhere but it's his own damb fault for not keeping his stocks up. So now we have votes for Michelins and Metzelers. Anyone got anything good to say about Avons? Bob | ||
| Glitch |
Metzeler M1  | ||
| Barkandbite |
If you're worried about tire life then get the Metzeler RoadTec Z6's -- great grip and last about 6000 miles + I currently have a Z6 rear and an M1 front. Works very well. Chris | ||
| Scitz |
I just bought some Dunlop 208ZR tires for the front and back. I ordered them online it is was only $200 for the set. I made the order on Sunday and received the tires on Wednesday of the same week. In the past I found most local tire stores don't have what you want in stock and have to order it anyway. If i have to wait three days to pay more locally I might as well oder online and save a lot of cash. | ||
| Ravensmith22 |
I've found Avons to be inconsistent in quality. Some are rock hard, and some are soft, even in the same model. I also don't like the geometry Avon uses on its tires.. I admit, though, that most of my experience with Avons is on Harleys. My favorites are Pirellis and Metzlers. Nice grippy tires with good geometries. | ||
| Thepup |
Conti Road Attacks. | ||
| Bluebuellxb9r |
If you liked the D205 , you will also like the D220s.The wear like the 205s, and maybe youll get a few more miles than the 205s (I got 4k on a set I had on my ZX6-R for comparisons sake). | ||
| Bluebuellxb9r |
If you liked the 205s - give the D220s a go. I had a set on my ZX6-R and got 4k from the rear. They felt great and stuck pretty good for a ST type of tire. But the best tire Ive had expencies with for my Buells thus far have been the Pirelli Diablos - awesome grip and pretty good life. | ||
| Thunderheart69 |
Hey guys, try this site. I found some interesting data about tires in general and they seem to have a decent product. Anybody have some or know somebody that uses these with good performance. http://shop.desser.com/iwwidb.pvx?multi_item_submit | ||
| Nedwreck |
Thunder: I ordered the blue Tomahawks. They will be in tomorrow. I am not kidding. I found a few places that liked them and had good things to say. There is a race compound and people are using them for just that. MCN liked them too. If you've ever flown on a commercial airliner there's a good chance you've ridden on their tyres as well. Thanks for all the advice, peeps. This is one hell of a good forum! Bob P.S. I got called a squid once today already. | ||
| Barkandbite |
Aren't the Tomahawks retreads? What I mean is, don't they take existing carcasses and then retread them with their own compound/tread pattern? Please forgive me if this is not the case, but I believe I read this somewhere -- as far as their colored tires go. I'm not sure, so please confirm this before you order/or don't order... Chris | ||
| Xbolt12 |
Pirelli makes great tires. Sounds like you just had some problem that could occur with any tire. BTW, the stock 207's will make your handling suffer in my experience, so if I were you I would avoid them and stick with a more rounded taller profile tire. There are many good ones to chose from. The new 208's are probably pretty good as well, but I'm not sure. Erik Buell told me (at Laguna Seca)that one reason the xb's did not come with 208's was that they are very heavy. I think he said something about a lighter version being developed but my recall on that last point is vague. It may be that the 208's coming on bikes like the R1 are the lighter tire. I really just don't know though. xbolt12 | ||
| Nedwreck |
Xbolt, I never liked that tyre from the first. To me it was unpredictable. I never knew if it would grip or not going into turns carrying a bit of speed. It'd slip without warning. I never had any confidence in it at all. Maybe it was me, but I wasn't all that unhappy that it shuffled off its mortal coil. Well, maybe after I got off the side of the road. Bark, I guess you could call them that. The tread isn't glued on, the carcass goes into a mold, just like the first time. I'm pretty sure they don't throw just any old carcass in there either. The profile is exactly the same as the Pirellis that came on my bike. I know this is new territory for tyres but talking to Steve at Desser was reassuring. As big a skeerdy cat as I am, if I had a hint of reservation I wouldn't have done it. I don't mind being the test mule and it's obvious I don't mind being the center of attention. =) I'll keep you posted. Bob (Message edited by nedwreck on March 01, 2005) | ||
| Barkandbite |
Thanks, Bob. I didn't want to inject any fear other than to make sure that you knew what you were getting yourself into. I know *nothing* about their manufacturing process and I am thus not in a position to comment one way or another on the safety aspects of their tires. So are you saying they take old tires, shave them down and then stick them in a mold and somehow bond the new rubber to the old carcass? Interesting. One of the select set of advancements these days is the way radials have the reinforcing cords "baked in" (if that's an accurate description) to the tire. Personally, with only two little patches of rubber under me I want all the integrity a one-time tire-mold process can give. Let us all know how it goes. Thanks for the info. Chris On Edit: I went to the website and found it an interesting read. I am not sure I'd run them on my bike, but they seem like a good value and the color options are neat. I know how sensitive our bikes are to tire profiles and would be interested to see/measure how these stack up against the pirellis and Metzeler's in terms of profile/height. Thanks for the insight. (Message edited by BarkandBite on March 01, 2005) | ||
| Xbolt12 |
Well I will freely admit that the only Pirelli tires I've used are Diablo Corsas which are similar but measurably better than the Metzler M1's which I have also used. The confidence boost on the Diablos is significant, but I think you probably have Scorpions or something similar. I have heard good things about standard Diablos from people who formerly ran M1 Metzlers, but personally I figured I would rather pay a little more and get less wear, but be less likely to crash which can be much more costly and even fatal. xbolt12 | ||
| Nedwreck |
I tried posting this yesterday, dunno where it went. The blue Tomahawk (Desser) tyres are in and on the bike. I don't think I've ever seen tyres with this much mold flashing on them. It's on the tread and the sidewalls. I've also never seen so much mold release on a tyre before. You can rub globs of it off with your thumb. I'm guessing they'd clean them up more if they were going to be stocked at places where they might be on display first. I had meant to call about that yesterday but I was up to my elbows in a buggered sewing machine most of the day when I wasn't helping the customers. The Tomahawks also seem taller than they should. They're supposed to be the same exact size as the Pirelli: 180-55-17 but when you've only got 28" of inseam to work with, the smallest change in seat height gets noticed. I'll post some pics later when my camera and my laptop are back on speaking terms. Bob | ||
| Nedwreck |
I forgot to say what killed the Pirelli: Damned if I know. From the outside it looks as if someone stabbed it with a pencil. On the inside it looks like someone cut it with a box cutter. Pinhole outside, one inch cut on the inside. Any ideas? Bob | ||
| Rr_eater |
Sounds like a small, sharp object puncture, like a piece of metal or possibly piece of a steel belted radial mashed into the driving surface. I say that, because I have had the pleasure of not flipping the Fuel valve back to norm on my Cyclone, and have had to walk a couple miles on the highway to a gas station because every cager in California is a jerk. While on my roadside trek, you might be stunned by what is just floating around out in the roadway, that beleive it or not, you can not see while riding down the road. I saw all kinds of junk, and what I did not have to go out to the center median to remove, I kicked off the road surface. what really surprised me was a steel radial belt mashed into the grooved concrete surface, and the belt was sticking up about 2-3 inches. It was hammered, but I bet if you hit it just right at speed, it would have invaded the confines of the tire no problem. I tried to pull it out, but it was wedged in there real good. Most likely I can assume, is that what ever sliced into the tire, most likely was ejected by the presure in the tire and centrifugal force. Just like gravel and rocks get thrown on the back of the bike from sticky tires and the rain grooves in them. I am sure it will be a mystery forever. Bruce |
