buying a new front tire and need to match to the rear

[CT_KAT]

My front tire is pretty well worn, but the rear is still in good shape. I don't have the $$$ to do both right now, so I just want to get the front replaced.

The rear is a Metzler Motronic 150/70VB17. I can't find much info on Motronic online, but it seems to be the same tread pattern as the Metzler Lasertec.

I assume I can go with a Metzler Lasertec, but could I go with a Roadtech Z6 or would that cause a tread pattern mismatch?

BTW, I read Cyberpoets incredibly thorough tire write up - great info!

[arsenic]

VB17??? Is it a bias ply tire?

[CT_KAT]

Yeah, it's a bias tire. I see now that the Roadtec Z6 is non-bias so I guess that answers my question. Can't run bias and non-bias together, correct?

[arsenic]

why the hell are you running bias tires to begin with?

[CT_KAT]

Haven't changed the rear, it's OEM I believe.

[scottynoface]

Haven't changed the rear, it's OEM I believe.

That tire is a minimum of 12 years old...you need real tires aka radials.

[CT_KAT]

That tire is a minimum of 12 years old...you need real tires aka radials.

True, though it doesn't have 12 years of wear on it. The original owner put about a thousand miles on it, ended up in a divorce, and then the bike sat in storage for 8 years. A local mechanic picked it up, refurbed the tank and did some other stuff to get it running. He then sold it to me with 1,062 miles for $2,800.00. It was in beautiful shape like it came through a time warp

Anyway, with the 12 years time frame and since they're bias tires I've decided to go with two new Metzeler Z6s which it seems I can get for about $250.00. Local mounting is $30/tire off the bike.

I can't wait to break the news to my wife that I need to drop another $300.00+ after having just put on a new full exhaust, jetted carbs, new air filter, oil change, and a new battery. Oh yeah, and a new helmet too

[The CyberPoet]

I'm very glad to see you have decided to go with the Z6's and migrate away from 12 year old tires and bias-ply in general.

Please make sure you get the 120/70ZR17 and 150/70ZR17 front and rear; the metzeler catalog incorrectly lists their 110 as being appropriate for your bike's front wheel and it's not (weight rating incorrect).

If the tires don't have 12 years of wear on them, sell them on eBay -- with the disclaimer that they are 12 years old and would make "perfect burn-out tires" because that's all they are still good for...
VOC's migrate out of rubber in 3 to 5 years in most environments, leaving the rubber hard and non-grippy; at 12 years, they would be like riding on steel planks in a rain-storm, IMHO.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[CT_KAT]

Yeah CP, I finally saw the light. I guess I've been in a time warp too When I checked the rear and noticed it was OEM I thought, "Holy cr*p, these are almost 13 years old!"

I'm going to order them today so they'll be here when I get back from my two week Guard annual training around Father's Day.

Speaking of Ebay, they have a 35 cent listing fee this week only for automotive parts (includes motorcycle parts) so if anyone has stuff to sell this would be a good time to do it.

What's a good price to post a used tire for burnouts only?

[arsenic]

start it at $9.99 with actual calculated shipping. If it sells consider yourself lucky.

[scottynoface]

I bet you can get $30 out of it. There are a lot of people out there who simply won't pony up the money for tires.

[CT_KAT]

I'd be happy with $30. Before considering Ebay I was just gonna toss it

[The CyberPoet]

What's a good price to post a used tire for burnouts only?

I start my tires at a buck on a seven-day sale, and let them price themselves... Never had one not sell that way.

Lowest I ever got was $22 (plus shipping) for a tire that was plugged and down to about 1k miles left before the steel bands were showing.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[CT_KAT]

I start my tires at a buck on a seven-day sale, and let them price themselves... Never had one not sell that way.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

Ok, that's what I'll do. Even though it's old it has lots of tread. Should be good for a few burns.

[CT_KAT]

I did some shopping around and found the Metzeler Z6 online at Cycle Gear for about $121.00 for the front and $160.00 for the rear. There's a Cycle Gear around the corner from me, so I stopped in and when they looked the tires up in their parts catalog they quoted about $50.00 more per tire. I told them about the prices on their website and they looked 'em up there and gave me the lower price. Mounting was only $20.00 per tire (you have to bring the rims in, they don't take bikes in)which isn't bad.

Also, for anyone in the military, you get 10% off at cyclegear.com for online orders.

The Z6 is a great tire. The bike snaps right into turns and the handling is excellent.