110/70x17 front tyre - which one?

[cbfb]

OK so to get my 250 Bandit through its next WOF I'm going to need a new front tyre. It has a wee bit of tread left but it has some nasty cracking in the sidewall which I'm not gonna ride on. I have absolutely no clue about what's on the market at the moment, so I rang around a few bike shops and this is what options I have locally:

- Pirelli Sport Demon $165
- Pirelli Diablo $225
- Pirelli Diablo Rosso $275
- Pirelli Super Corsa $314
- Dunlop GT401 $167

I'm a fairly slow rider, not at the getting-your-knee-down stage yet, although I would like to do some track days eventually. The roads around me are pretty much all twisty country lanes with a few hills. Road surfaces range from fairly OK (State Highways) to bloody awful (cowshit, gravel etc). I will be riding in all weathers. Journey time usually 30mins to an hour. What I won't be doing much of at the moment is long, straight highways for hours.

My thoughts are to go with the Sport Demon, what do you reckon?

[Drew]

Here's what I did when fixing a mates 250 Bandit for him. Throw the 110/70 away and get a 120/70 instead. There is fuck all difference in size so the speedo will probably read sod all differently, (no more than the difference between a tyre with all its tread or minimum).

Your range of available tyres is increased, and the cost comes down.

I do push quite hard sometimes, and the Shinko I've got on the front is perfectly adequate for the road, wet or dry.

[Owl]

My thoughts are to go with the Sport Demon, what do you reckon?

I reckon you're right!

$146 at Cycletreads and about $7-$8 freight.

[cbfb]

Here's what I did when fixing a mates 250 Bandit for him. Throw the 110/70 away and get a 120/70 instead. There is fuck all difference in size so the speedo will probably read sod all differently, (no more than the difference between a tyre with all its tread or minimum).

Your range of available tyres is increased, and the cost comes down.

I do push quite hard sometimes, and the Shinko I've got on the front is perfectly adequate for the road, wet or dry.

That could be an option, but I have read it's not a good idea to increase the tyre width from the manufacturer's specs? Something to do with squeezing the tyre so the flat surface making contact with the road is less?

So you're pretty happy with the Shinko then eh. I've got one on the back but haven't ridden the bike much yet (been doing a rebuild), it's new so it will be staying on.

I reckon you're right!

Sweet. Just thought I'd check!

[Drew]

That could be an option, but I have read it's not a good idea to increase the tyre width from the manufacturer's specs? Something to do with squeezing the tyre so the flat surface making contact with the road is less?

So you're pretty happy with the Shinko then eh. I've got one on the back but haven't ridden the bike much yet (been doing a rebuild), it's new so it will be staying on.

The contact patch in a straight line might be 5% smaller I guess, but it is larger when cornering. When are you most likely to want the extra grip?

The shinko I've got is the one of the newest ones they've released for sports bikes. I dare say the one on the back of your bike is much older and a long way off the technologies they are working with now.

[cbfb]

The contact patch in a straight line might be 5% smaller I guess, but it is larger when cornering. When are you most likely to want the extra grip?

True, will ask what the difference in price is gonna be if I go to a 120 then.

The shinko I've got is the one of the newest ones they've released for sports bikes. I dare say the one on the back of your bike is much older and a long way off the technologies they are working with now.

Good point. It's about 2 years old from memory (according to the sidewall stamp). I wouldn't ride on it by choice but I can't afford to burn money like that by changing a perfectly good tyre. And it's not like I'm going to be going too hard on it, if/when I get to doing a lot of track days I will have worn it out by then anyway and will get something nicer. But I have heard some good things about Shinkos in the bike press, seem to remember one of the mags using them on their long-term test bike.

[cbfb]

$146 at Cycletreads and about $7-$8 freight.

AFC on Main Street will do them at $146.

Then you've got fitting on top of that - I've no idea how to change a tyre will leave it to the pros for $15

[Owl]

AFC on Main Street will do them at $146.

Then you've got fitting on top of that - I've no idea how to change a tyre will leave it to the pros for $15

That's good...........Last tyre fitting they quoted me was $35 if I took the wheel in. Hence why I do them myself now.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend putting a 120 on a 3.00" rim and would stick to the 110.

[cbfb]

That's good...........Last tyre fitting they quoted me was $35 if I took the wheel in. Hence why I do them myself now.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend putting a 120 on a 3.00" rim and would stick to the 110.

They said fitting would be $15-35 depending on how long it took, and that if I bring the wheel in it will be cheaper. Sounds like they're just charging $35 regardless though

In that case Anza is definitely $20 and the tyre is the same price so prob go there.

Would like to go to Freedom but slightly more expensive.

Is it hard to change the tyre yourself?

[cbfb]

p.s. On the back is a Shinko Sport Master 140/70-17 66V.

I've heard that you shouldn't mix certain types of tyre front & back. Now I don't understand much about the different types of tyres, bit ignorant in that department, they're all black rubbery things to me.

Does anyone know what type of tyre the Shinko one is and if it's OK to use with the Pirelli? Shinko website is bloody useless.

[Drew]

p.s. On the back is a Shinko Sport Master 140/70-17 66V.

I've heard that you shouldn't mix certain types of tyre front & back. Now I don't understand much about the different types of tyres, bit ignorant in that department, they're all black rubbery things to me.

Does anyone know what type of tyre the Shinko one is and if it's OK to use with the Pirelli? Shinko website is bloody useless.

Lots of people say not to mix tyre brands, but I've always said it fine. Mixing and matching can give you the best performance.

The tyres cannot effect each others grip level, but outrageous difference in profile can make the bike feel quite odd to ride. The tyres you're talking about are not going to be very different as they are for similar purpose though so don't worry about it.

[cbfb]

Lots of people say not to mix tyre brands, but I've always said it fine. Mixing and matching can give you the best performance.

The tyres cannot effect each others grip level, but outrageous difference in profile can make the bike feel quite odd to ride. The tyres you're talking about are not going to be very different as they are for similar purpose though so don't worry about it.

Thanks again Drew. I did wonder about that, I can understand on a car that you might not want different tread on the same axle, but couldn't figure what difference it would make on a bike from front to rear.

Good news is I got the bike finished finally, only to find out the battery has died over the 3+ months I've been rebuilding it Never mind will pick up a new one tomorrow and do some riding before the summer's out

[awa355]

I had a Shinko on my 250 and it stuck like shit to a blanket. I was a bit disappointed in the life of it tho' Can remember thinking at the time the Shinko didn't have a very deep tread and seemed a bit shop soiled, and the more I think about it, the more I reckon I was flogged off a tyre that had already done a few K's. The shop folded a few months later.

Replace them with Sports Demons and they were brilliant.

[cbfb]

I had a Shinko on my 250 and it stuck like shit to a blanket. I was a bit disappointed in the life of it tho' Can remember thinking at the time the Shinko didn't have a very deep tread and seemed a bit shop soiled, and the more I think about it, the more I reckon I was flogged off a tyre that had already done a few K's. The shop folded a few months later.

Replace them with Sports Demons and they were brilliant.

Cheers, gonna go get some 110 Sport Demons I decided

[Gibbo89]

Cheers, gonna go get some 110 Sport Demons I decided

I have sports demons on my bike, they will be the same as yours, size-wise. They are pretty highly rated tyres eh. They won't last as long as say the gt501 because they aren't dual compound and the center strip of the tyre isn't hard like some, but as you don't do huge straight line k's then it won't matter too much. You should get at least 10,000ks out of them, I think I was told about 12,000k's but of course that varies on how you ride etc.