Tyre Choice!

I had to have a new rear tyre and the garage have fitted a Heldenau which I had not heard of until now. It seems to be a bit cheaper than the BT45. After a couple of days mixed wet and dry riding it seems at least as good as the BT45 that it replaced. It has a very deep rain groove in the centre and and my impression is that it is better in the wet although I have not done enough miles, because of scrubbing off the release compound,to try really hard. Does anyone have any experience of these?

Just thought i would see what tyres everybody uses. I fully expect a resounding round of BT-45's.

Personally I run Diablo Rosso II's. 110/70/17 front 140/70/17 rear. The oversize rear gives a larger contact patch and the Rosso's have a much taller profile which I prefer.

Ill be the first for bt 45's lol.

BT45's here as well, I've used Pirelli Sport Demon's in the past (got them as a barter on a job); lovely and sticky but they didn't last very long with normal riding.

I just had to check online that you can still buy BT45s - I used to get through LOTS of 'em when I was a courier from 1996 - 2005. They must be showing their age by now.

I currently use Avon Roadriders. No, I wouldn't. Probably BTs next as they're still available. They always were a good boot.

I'm on BT-45's. Pricey though, my new rear tyre is £100! Any cheaper options out there?

BT-45 front and back and very happy; replaced the Avons that came with the bike, which were still street legal.

BT-45s are good, but I wouldn't let that stop you from trying something else.

Maxxis are probably worth a try - I suspect they probably have a BT-45 clone, I don't know which of their range is a BT-45 equivalent.  I've had some success with some Maxxis Promaxx that I fitted to another bike of mine (an ancient, but fast, Ducati).

I had some success with this website:

http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

Good prices, obviously you would have to pay for fitting (if you don't want to have a go yourself).  Note: tyres will probably not fit through your letterbox!

For example, if you don't mind going to 80 profile (instead of 70) you can get the maxxis promaxx:

http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/motorcycle-tyres-MAXXIS/M6102,PROMAXX,FRONT/110,80,-17,57,H.html

http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/motorcycle-tyres-MAXXIS/M6103,PROMAXX,REAR/130,70,-17,62,H.html

As I said I haven't tried these on the CB500, but if someone fancies a change they might be worth a punt.

Got fed up with the Bts wearing down in the centre too fast, way too soft a compound. So switched to Michelin Activs and very impressed for a good compromise between grip, wear and coping with my exuberant riding (mine does tend to get ridden hard all your round on my daily commute). My other bike is an Aprilia RSVR Factory also on Michelins.

Factoryrsvr wrote:...switched to Michelin Activs and very impressed for a good compromise between grip, wear and coping with my exuberant riding...

 I've been considering these boots for mine. Cheers.

I've been thinking about getting the avons since I've got avon venoms on my cruiser and they're brilliant tyres.
So what's wrong with the roadriders?

Toutsuite wrote:So what's wrong with the roadriders?

 The only issue I have with them is the cracking. As far as I'm aware NOBODY has been hurt by a tyre going pop, it just looks unsightly and could fail an (subjective) MOT.

badseeds wrote:

Toutsuite wrote:So what's wrong with the roadriders?

 The only issue I have with them is the cracking.

 Would that be cracking on the tread, or the sidewalls?

Hi all,

ah, tyre thread again. Here's my thoughts having had cb5's for 12 years now...

Bt 090's (ex race scrubs). High profile, grip well, make bike steer fast, 1500 miles from a rear with careful riding (!). Not so good in wet or cold but cheap used, add price for fitting to loose wheels.

Bt 45's. Good overall choice, stable, good in wet and cold. Rears do wear in the middle. Go for a 140 rear as it helps the handling.

Roadriders. Done 2000m on these so far and proving ok. Secure handling, roll well into corners. Supposed to last longer than 45's. Looking good so far.

Pirelli 75's (ages ago), no.

For all, tyre pressures make the difference - 45's go 30/40, Roadriders go 30/34 and 090's 30/35.,

Also, if you are thinking of a tyre change, check that a squared off rear or a worn/chopped front isn't undermining your faith in a sound tyre choice.

m1

muttley1 wrote:Here's my thoughts having had cb5's for 12 years now...

 That's good enough for me!

Thanks Muttley, that clinches it for me, going for the roadriders when the time comes (which will be soon).

Whatever you might think about the avon roadriders, they were defineately better than the old squared-off tyres that I had on before, so if your tyres are knackered then I suspect you will notice an improvement whatever brand you put on!

Just got a '98 bike yesterday already fitted with the RoadRiders.  Seemed nice and secure on a first ride out today.  I guess I'll be considering whether to switch to BT45s when this pair get down to near the limit.

Jim

New to the CB 500 but the bike i bought less than a week ago with bald tires ive ordered 45's for due to my scouring the web im led to believe there a good (if not best) tire

Either of those tyres are a good start - you will never know until you try them out!

Update on my earlier reply to this discussion:

My bike came with a set of RoadRiders with still decent tread left front and rear.  With the little experience I've got - this is my first bigger bike having passed my DAS in the summer - they certainly give me a lot more confidence than the crappy tyres I had on my 125 cruiser!  However, I still feel a little uneasy going over thicker white road markings especially when wet, as the front wheel tends to "hunt" along the edge of the road marking.

As I wrote before, I may go for the BT45s when these wear down to near the limit, just for comparison, but overall I am happy with the RRs.  I've had to do one hard braking to stop from going into the back of a white van that stopped suddenly in front of me, and I felt comfortably in control on the RRs - I certainly didn't on the 125 when that sort of thing happened!

Jim

currently got Michelin pilot sporty! think ive done about 500 miles or so on them so still fairly new. no wear yet, quite a medium- hard compound i think although im no tyre expert just going of previous experience. im 50 - 50 with them so far previously on other bikes ive gone for softer grippy compounds. when i first got them i felt i couldn't get any feedback but as i gain confidence in them they are starting to impress me. online views are similar some good some bad so i think its a marmite tire choice lol. time will tell, if i dont get back to you take it they were bad ha!

jimbobs63 wrote:Update on my earlier reply to this discussion:

My bike came with a set of RoadRiders with still decent tread left front and rear.  With the little experience I've got - this is my first bigger bike having passed my DAS in the summer - they certainly give me a lot more confidence than the crappy tyres I had on my 125 cruiser!  However, I still feel a little uneasy going over thicker white road markings especially when wet, as the front wheel tends to "hunt" along the edge of the road marking.

As I wrote before, I may go for the BT45s when these wear down to near the limit, just for comparison, but overall I am happy with the RRs.  I've had to do one hard braking to stop from going into the back of a white van that stopped suddenly in front of me, and I felt comfortably in control on the RRs - I certainly didn't on the 125 when that sort of thing happened!

Jim

I would be very surprised if it was the tyres causing the bike to follow road markings. no matter what tyre you have on a bike will have a tendency to follow lines and ruts in the road. 

It is probably more a case of you see the markings and tense up and watch the markings causing the bike to follow the markings because of your subconscious input. 

The best advice i ever got for riding was "Let it slide"! When it is wet, see and be aware of the drains/markings etc. force yourself to relax on the bars and let the rear tyre do what it will. 

You will find that no matter what speed or lean angle you're at ... ... ABSOLUTELY nothing will happen 90% of the time. 

Think about it logically, a drain cover is what? 2ft across? 2ft is 0.000568182 miles. 2 feet at 30mph will take you 0.0455 seconds to cross. Do you really think your tyre is going to give out on you for that?! What makes people fall off is seeing the drain, panicking about it and tensing up and getting themselves in a state over it. on the odd chance you hit a drain and a slippery bit of tarmac afterwards you'll get a bit of a wobble from the back end. That is it! 

Just a bit of thinking matter for you :]

Great post G3o, I've always gone with the following :

1) the bike WILL go where you point it and where you are looking
2) the back wheel can do what it likes (see 1)
3) staying relaxed on the bike with loose elbows lets the bike do what it does
4) roads are not great so allow some leeway (see 3)

muttley1

I've been running IRC Roadwinner tyres on mine, I've gone through a rear, but I'm still on the same front I got when I purchased the bike.

They are 70 profile rather than the standard 80, but they seem great to me. Obviously they help the acceleration by being a lower profile and the handling is good, especially compared to the tyres on it before. Although they were BT45's the rear was properly square so chucking it into a corner was scary.