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The importance of good Tires
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May 4, 2009 at 7:17 am #2774NoobacycleParticipant
I’ve got around 3100 miles on my Versys and still have the stock tires on. I was talking to one of the guys at the dealership where I purchased my bike and he mentioned that he had the same tires as I do. He said that they left much to be desired and noticed a big difference by getting a better set of tires.
I don’t have much experience with motorcycle tires like I do with cars. New Tires on a car make a drastic improvement that is felt. I just wonder what it is like on a bike?
What are some of the traits lousy tires have? I don’t push my bike hard, lean over heavily in turns, or ride in the rain. I just get shivers up my spine when I think of one of the wheels loosing traction in a turn or locking up during braking. Would new and better tires help from being blown around in crosswinds?
I’m curious since I see a new set of tires in the future. But I’m not sure if I’d need them since I’m a pretty conservative rider who is still learning.
May 4, 2009 at 9:33 am #18148eternal05ParticipantTires are one of the most crucial components on your bike. Tires fail for whatever reason, you go down. You don’t want to get crappy tires. ‘Nuff said.
On the other hand, sometimes one person’s “better” tires aren’t better for you. As an extreme example, race slicks will provide astronomically better grip on smooth pavement (*cough* tracks *cough*), but are much less stable in rain, etc. You want to find a tire that is the best tire for the riding you do, not the “best tire” as dictated by some track-day junkie, for instance.
You asked about traits of lousy tires. Most of it comes down to traction. A “good” tire has close to the maximum amount of traction available in a given situation. To do this, however, it usually must be purpose built. Racing slicks are meant to be sticky as hell on warm track, but suck anywhere else. Off-road tires have knobs to dig into loose dirt and gravel, but also have less surface area on asphalt. Street tires try to be all-around good tires: jack of all trades, master of none.
I’m not sure what the stock Versys tire is like. If you don’t ride in the rain (as I don’t…that’s right Elwood, I’m a big pussy ), you may want to consider going for more of a performance tire (a sport-tourer, perhaps). This will give you better traction on dry asphalt, and give you much more confidence on the brakes and in turns.
May 4, 2009 at 12:34 pm #18151MunchParticipantYou know…. I am gonna have to do some diggin on this. Since I work in the auto industry and can tell you all kinds of things about those tires there’s some things I wonder if there is a a parallel to. For instance, new cars…. the tires that come on a shiny new car is not built for anything but smooth ride and maybe …if your lucky 30k miles. You can go back to a shop that deals in that exact brand and even name of tire and it will not be the same. The rubber compound will be harder ( for mileage) the sidewalls will be stiffer ( for handling). Heck in some cases the tread pattern itself will be changed.
I wonder if it tends to be the same for our bikes.
Best thing to do though is to ask the seller questions. What kind of compound is in the tire… a softer rubber (great traction , crappy mileage) or more for long distances. The tread pattern design. Read customer reviews on places that sell bike tires. As with anything the more you ask the more you know. When I go back to work tomorrow I am going to try and make some phone calls to see what I can dig up.May 4, 2009 at 4:02 pm #18158SantaCruzRiderParticipantFirst, a disclaimer: I don’t have any info specific to the Versys or it’s tires. There is a chance that they suck big time right out of the box, but I doubt it.
The sentiment that OEM tires leave lots to be desired is shared by lots of makes and models. What owners are typically saying is that when it comes time to replace your first set, there are many options out there that provide higher mileage, smooth ride, better grip, etc.
Better shoes will improve the handling, but I wouldn’t necessarily see it as a safety issue. The whole safety argument can be used for all the upgrades your credit card can stand (steel braid brake lines, upgraded calipers and brake pads, stiffer fork springs…). If your funds are unlimited, go for it. But otherwise, I think you could be confident that Suzuki built a quality bike and save the upgrade for when it’s time to replace.
As for the crosswind issue, I suspect it has more to do with the high profile of the bike.May 7, 2009 at 12:42 am #18217dcJohnParticipantYay for their being another Versys rider on the forum. You might want to check out the discussion of Versys tires on kawasakiversys.com. The general consensus seems to be that the tires on the Versys aren’t terrible, but they also aren’t fantastic. The advantage of “better” tires versus stock seems to be better cold-weather and wet performance.
So far I’ve just made a point of warming up my tires (time + turns) before pushing things in the corners. And, when it comes time to replace the tires, I’ll go with a different option than what came stock.
(I’m assuming you’re talking about on-road performance. While the Versys it technically a dual sport, the stock setup–including tires–is strongly aimed at pavement riding.)
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