Alternative tyres for the Triumph Thunderbird 1600/1700

[Leber]

After going through three rear tyres in 15000Km I thought I will see if there are alternative tyres for the T-Bird 1600/1700, the guys at Motorad (Wgtn) researched options and found that the Pirelli Night Dragons would fit and also have a high profile(I checked the reviews and they stacked up well), as I also needed to change the front tyre I got them to add the matching Night Dragon for the front as well.

Straight away I noticed that it raised the bike and with a GPS installed it corrected the speedo ie when I travelled at 100Km/h the speedo reads 100km/h not 92km/h with the OEM Metzeler. I took it easy for the 1st 200km then after that I rode it as I would normally, I found that even thou the bike is higher off the ground I was scraping the pegs a lot more on corners I have ridden hundreds of time before without scraping which was the opposite effected that I wanted.

It is now 5000+km later I have found that I still have lots of tread on the rear tyre (maybe because I have to go slower in the corners) and I am still happy with the grip in all weather conditions but I have found that it does not hold it’s shape when cornering hard when hot (I gives me the feeling that it’s going flat when it’s not) as for the front tyre I am not happy, it takes a long time to heat up on cold wet days( I’m a all weather every day rider) and it has worn out only after 5000Km, I got 15000Km out of the OEM front Metzeler tyre.

Today I got Motorad to fit a custom Fork Extension Kit to my bike, hopefully this will help with my peg scraping issue which should pay for it self by not going through so many road sensor peg bolts @$50 a set. I will be go back to the Metzeler tyre on the front, I am not sure yet if I will stay with the Pirelli rear or go back to the Metzeler, time will tell and I will update this on how I get on.

I would like to know if anyone has tried any other tyre alternative for the Triumph Tbird 1600/1700.

[blackdog]

are you wearing out the centre or the outsides first?

(or both at the same time)

I found I was burning a rear every 5k's but found it was mostly through the middle, so changed to a 2ct and got almost 9k km out of it.

(as a funny aside, the spellcheck wants me to spell it center)

edit: didn't realise it was so wide. being a 200 must be why your choices are limited

flmao friggin thing wants me to spell that realize! :facepalm: Note to SM, can we get an English dictionary please?

[Leber]

are you wearing out the centre or the outsides first?

(or both at the same time)

I found I was burning a rear every 5k's but found it was mostly through the middle, so changed to a 2ct and got almost 9k km out of it.

(as a funny aside, the spellcheck wants me to spell it center)

edit: didn't realise it was so wide. being a 200 must be why your choices are limited

flmao friggin thing wants me to spell that realize! :facepalm: Note to SM, can we get an English dictionary please?

Front have good even wear, back is a bit more in the middle but this is expected as I am a commuter and it is a large wide tyre.

[blackdog]

Front have good even wear, back is a bit more in the middle but this is expected as I am a commuter and it is a large wide tyre.

Fronts are funny (peculiar, not haha), I always carve them off on the RHS first but i reckon thats a symtom of LHD roads (camber) and our main cornering in everyday situations being wider to the right (roundabouts/larger radius corners).

Have you found anyone makes a 2ct 200 tyre for your rear?

[budda]

Bridgestone has suitable alternatives ............ V Rod front and a matching rear in the right size are on the shelf

[ukusa]

5000K for a rear, that's harsh (& expensive). Just done my first rear at a tick under 11000 k's. Front will do a few more, possibly to 15K or so.
I'm reasonably happy with the original tyres, so am happy to stick with what I know, but the shop gave me an option of a 205/55 instead of the original 200/50 (as they had the 205 in stock). It's the same brand/make (Metzler Marathon), but am unsure. Anything to expect from a small upsizing like that? Would I even notice it?

[gunrunner]

5000K for a rear, that's harsh (& expensive). Just done my first rear at a tick under 11000 k's. Front will do a few more, possibly to 15K or so.
I'm reasonably happy with the original tyres, so am happy to stick with what I know, but the shop gave me an option of a 205/55 instead of the original 200/50 (as they had the 205 in stock). It's the same brand/make (Metzler Marathon), but am unsure. Anything to expect from a small upsizing like that? Would I even notice it?

Agree with the 5000k for a rear , i have heard you have to run ya tyres a 36 PSI for front and 38 for the rear which makes a huge diff . Im at just over 8200kms on rear and i should get 11k out of it .

Anywhere between 11-12k is the norm .

So where did everyone get their rears from and at what price ..

[gunrunner]

Time for a set of new ones now front and back , i found a site on the net that will send him here cheap on the net . Pirelli fire dragons $475NZD for both posted separately .
So for that price i cant really lose . On the OEMs i managed 18k from 2 rears and 1 front .
Will keep you all posted on how they stack up ..

[baggz]

Ive been running an Avon Cobra 200/55/17 on the back of my T/Bird done about 9000ks getting close to replacement.Been reading about a michelin commander2 on another site claiming up to 25000k tyre life.Going to make some enquiries on price and availability.Might be worth ago.