Need a rear tire

Pappy13

Active member
Cupping typically caused by tire balance, suspension items can cause cupping when they begin to wear out, your ride would get VERY uncomfortable before the tire blew from cupping. I purchased the Metzler Feelfree front and rear tires for my 2013 GT, took off a mixed set of Shinko rear and Kenda front from previous owner, amazed at the difference, ride quality and the way the Metzlers handle, I have the scoot on the lift (idle problems with stalling, hoses on order from Ben's) and noted that the tires have much tread left after 7,000 miles. I also have a set of Michelin, in a plastic bag under the work bench to install when these wear out, (I look for the wear bars and access the condition when the get even with the tread). I've been on motorcycles for over 50 years, have tried most brands of tires, have gotten good service from the cheaper Korea brands and have gotten VERY bad service from the same brands. Depending on what you ride, where you ride and HOW you ride, most tires today can give you good service, but I've never gotten poor service from the "name brand" tires that I haven't caused myself. The Avon brand, back in the 70's would wear out quickly, but stuck to the road like they were melted to it, the Dunlops would last for MILES, but wouldn't handle a lean over without the "pucker factor", so you choose your poison, todays tires have the same 50 years I've had to develop and improve (the tires got better, I got gray), just remember, tires are what keep you upright, connect you to the road. My riding is a mix of cruising and spirited cornering on some of the twisted roads around here so I choose to shop sales and buy before I need replacements and buy the "name brand" tires with good reviews. When I find I've finally slowed down I'll be ready to go back to the Shinko for the cost savings when handling is less important to me.
 

Greg goes wild

Active member
Ok i have ordered the Shrinko rear tire cuz i did finally see what went into the tire. A piece of brass or copper
The tire has been losing lots of air rear tire. So it should be shipped to my brothers place in the next few days.
As for the front tire it has cupping but NO vibrations at all. I would not take BOTH hands off the handlebars.
I am not brave enough to do that never have n never will.
 

mjnorris

Active member
I used to buy Kenda 413s for my Chinese Helix clone. They only lasted 7000-8000 miles but handled very nicely.
 

emseedee

Member
I’m running Metzler Feelfrees on my 2013 C650 GT. I live in the English Midlands, so lots of twisty roads round the Cotswolds and Mid-wales. Not much high speed highway riding, mainly technical, twisty stuff, and the Mezlers handle it well. Probably about 6000 miles from the last rear, but it was worked hard. No complaints here.
 

Greg goes wild

Active member
"They are a bit more expensive, but I’ve found Michelins to hold up very well."

Google "160/60-15 Michelin" and you see motorcycle tires two or three times the cost of my Shinko SR568. With these tires lasting 8,000 to 10,000 miles, and me averaging about 1,000 miles a month, that's not a recurring expense I want, for my style of riding.

I've read reviews of Michelins and Pirelli Diablos and would LOVE to have them on my BMW. There was a GT for sale at a Kymco dealer near my house last week so I stopped to look. The bike had Michelin Pilot Road 4 tires that looked like they were hugging the showroom floor! They looked amazing.

Easy to imagine how they'd be excellent on twisty roads. Alas, no twisty roads in South Florida. Just lots of flat, straight ones; urban riding with daytime heat that wears out tires faster no matter what brand they are. Of course, much of the 55+ population is off the roads early, so there is little traffic late at night, and the stars are out and it's warm and breezy, and the ocean often has moonlight twinkling on the waves, so there is compensation for no twisty roads. Plus the riding season is 365 days long.

In terms of riding style, I'm a tortoise to the "hare"-brained sport riders who zoom up I-95 on Saturday nights out of Miami with speeds in the triple digits. The cops gave up chasing them long ago because it's too dangerous. In 42 years of riding, I've had 0 accidents on my 13 bikes and I've been down 0 times. There are plenty of roads here where I can wind my bike up to 50 to 70 mph real fast, and go like that for miles. I'm happy and don't need premium tires for this. Not kidding when I say my love of riding is still connected to a 10-year old boy zooming down a big hill on a bicycle, feeling like it's magic because he doesn't have to pedal. I think of that regularly when I ride.

Everybody's different, of course. That's just my story.
Delraay i had my change the tire taking it off is a 5 minute job but when he put it on the tire machine
it was a pain in the butt to get it over the lip. But did get it done. As for the balancing he could not do
that cuz there are no bearings in the center of the hub like on the silverwings. Did you have a little
bouncing affect when riding?. I think i may need to get the rear tire balanced it is not bouncing anymore
but needs to be balanced. Will make a appt. with the dealer soon
 

Delray

Well-known member
"As for the balancing he could not do that cuz there are no bearings in the center of the hub ... Did you have a little
bouncing affect when riding?"


Same here. The little cycle shop I use couldn't balance my rear tire without a special BMW tool (because ... of course!).

The owner said the wheel doesn't work with standard balancing setups because it's designed for the swing arm. I read quite a few forums and was surprised how many riders don't get their rear tires balanced. It's a different story for the front tire. Everybody agreed that should be balanced. I am now at one month and 1,000 miles on my unbalanced rear and have not had a hint of a problem. Certainly none of the bouncing you mention.
 

Greg goes wild

Active member
I did call the dealer and the service guy said even if we balanced it it would not take out
the round in the tire. But i did notice the other day as i was going to the dealer that the slight bouncing went
away. I will check my tire pressure when i go do some arons to see IF i am still losing the air. IF so i will have to
bring it to the dealer to have it re mounted to see IF that stops the air leak. I never had that slight bouncing
affect on any other scooters i had it is weird
 

Pappy13

Active member
This seems to be an area where many disagree, but for balance all I've used on the last 4 bikes is the balance beads, CX650, VF700, VTX1800 and now the BMW C650. All of these are shaft drive, but my results with the chain drive bike is the same. I change my own tires, measure the balance beads and install and ride it like I stole it, always a smooth ride, the tires balance themselves every time I ride. The only time I've NOT liked the balance beads is when they are incorporated into a tire repair gel, they still balance the tires very well, but if you have a TPS sensor they can cause it to fail (ask me how I know), I have a new one in the parts bin along with the new tires ready for swap out in about another 1,000 miles. I'm sitting on about 8,500 miles on these Metzler Feel Free tires, another 1,000 miles and I'll be where I normally change them (due to acceptable tread life left) I can see the wear bars, not quite to tread yet and have purchased a tire changer to make the job easier.
 

Greg goes wild

Active member
This seems to be an area where many disagree, but for balance all I've used on the last 4 bikes is the balance beads, CX650, VF700, VTX1800 and now the BMW C650. All of these are shaft drive, but my results with the chain drive bike is the same. I change my own tires, measure the balance beads and install and ride it like I stole it, always a smooth ride, the tires balance themselves every time I ride. The only time I've NOT liked the balance beads is when they are incorporated into a tire repair gel, they still balance the tires very well, but if you have a TPS sensor they can cause it to fail (ask me how I know), I have a new one in the parts bin along with the new tires ready for swap out in about another 1,000 miles. I'm sitting on about 8,500 miles on these Metzler Feel Free tires, another 1,000 miles and I'll be where I normally change them (due to acceptable tread life left) I can see the wear bars, not quite to tread yet and have purchased a tire changer to make the job easier.
I have never heard of balance beads mind you i am not mechanically inclined so i don't know about that stuff.
 

Pappy13

Active member
Small ceramic beads that pour into the tire before you inflate and "set" the bead, the imbalance and vibration of the tire cause them to move inside the tire until the vibration goes away and they stay in place until you stop, then they are moving again once you start until the vibration stops. Used in cars, trailers motorcycles and tractor trailer tires, many swear by them, many think they're bogus. I guess it's possible that the last 20 or so tires I've put on bikes came perfectly balanced and the balance beads made no difference, I guess I could be that lucky, but that isn't my typical luck. You can do an internet search that shows results of beads for sale, charts showing how much to use and articles showing how they work, the weight of beads to tire size is important, I usually buy in bulk and use my reloading scales to measure the correct amount for each tire.
 

Greg goes wild

Active member
I thought i had a air leak in my new rear tire but it is all GOOD. I did not bring it to the dealer to have them
re mount it I do not feel any difference from the new Shrinko tire and the Metzler tires that bouncing i had
is gone so no bother with that.
 
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