Which tires should I buy?

[vahankin]

I am looking to replace the stock tires on my 2000 Kat 750. From my conversations with people a while back and reading on different forums I am looking to get either Michelin Pilot Sport or Metzeler M-3 tires.

I would like to get something more sportier than stock. I don't really do track days but have one planned this summer, and who knows what will happen from there whether I continue with that or not.

I do prefer to do more sport riding than just cruising around. Please share your opinions regarding tires and what I should go for. I've heard of people going up in size. Is this worth it or does it just cause problems. Also, if you know of a place to get them cheaper than my local shop, please share.

Thanks.

[Zukiman]

How about some Perelli Diablo Stradas? The tires you mentioned are great too.

[woobie]

I don't know what your local shop charges but www.ronayer.com has good prices.

[Jax]

I've heard that Dennis Kirk has the best prices because they will match any online competitor...at least that's what I have heard...

[Trigger]

I've heard that Dennis Kirk has the best prices because they will match any online competitor...at least that's what I have heard...

Jax heard correct, do a search on the tires you want, take that price and website, call dennis kirk.com and they will beat that by a $1.00.

I perfer the Mich Pilot roads and the Pirelli Diablos. Although CyberPoet has got me interested in the Metzeler Z4 and Z6.

You can get good info here. http://www.katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7909
Hope ya don't mind CP.

[stb000013]

Pilot Powers are excellent as well if your rear rim can have a 160/60 mounted on it. Single best mod I've done so far. Switching the oil to Castrol GPS came in at a close second.

I believe 98+ all have 4.5" wide rim stock that will mount a 160/60 with no issues. Not sure though. I know the 01's do.

[vahankin]

Thanks for the info everyone.

[WildKat]

Pilot Powers are excellent as well if your rear rim can have a 160/60 mounted on it. Single best mod I've done so far. Switching the oil to Castrol GPS came in at a close second.

I believe 98+ all have 4.5" wide rim stock that will mount a 160/60 with no issues. Not sure though. I know the 01's do.

Stock rim on a 2000 Kat 750 can do a 160/60 with no modification same as the 01. The pilots are a great choice, I love mine !!

[The CyberPoet]

My bit to add (aside from the stuff in the link above -- and no, I don't mind point back at my previous posts at all!):

Like virtually everything in the mechanical realms, there are opposing pro's and con's to any given change. Generally the hotter a tire, the better it grips (up to unreasonable temps), provided you can get the tire into it's designed-for heat range.

Most hyper-grip tires are designed for very high amounts of heat input (because they are designed for the riders to be extremely aggressive with them, such as would be the case in a track-day, with tons of turns, frequent braking and frequent acceleration). The problem is that most riders aren't aggressive enough with their day-to-day riding to get true race or even hyper-sticky road tires like the RaceTechs, etc. up to their idealized operating temps and keep them there, even with bikes like the GSXR's and R6/R1's. Thus, these tires are harder and less grippy/less responsive than they should be under most riding circumstances.

And for those same riders, many would be better served with a sports-touring (think commuting) tire, which both reaches it's ideal operating temp faster and whose ideal operating temp is a lower temp range (which reduces tire wear rates in general as well).

Once you factor in the lower horsepower and torque levels of the Kat, reaching full operating temps for the higher-performance tires -- anywhere outside of terrain like the Gap or LA's canyons or a track-day, or somewhere like Pheonix where the ambient temp plays into it heavily -- is neigh on impossible. Since such tires generally deliver 1/3rd of the life of sport-touring tires, you are effectively paying three times as much for less grip that a good set of sport-touring tires would offer up much of the time.

Thus my advice is simple:
If you can afford it, buy more than one set of tires (or tires & wheels) and use the hyper-grippy tires somewhere where you can get full benefit out of them... but if you're not going to get full benefit out of them in your day-to-day riding (because they won't reach their idealized temps), run the sport-touring tires for general use and slap the stickier hyper-performance tires on for the track day and specific railing use.
With tire mounting rigs under $100, if you can afford the space in your garage, it's a simple solution that will give you the best of both worlds. Or, if you shop wisely, you can find a spare set of wheels on eBay fairly cheaply as well (prices vary -- someone here scored both for under $60 delivered, but it was an exceptional deal); then you can simply swap wheels for the appropriate occasion.
At $200+ a pair, having a daily tire that will last three times as long and improve your safety on the road, this simply makes sense.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[stb000013]

Stock rim on a 2000 Kat 750 can do a 160/60 with no modification same as the 01. The pilots are a great choice, I love mine !!

Thanks WildKat, I wasn't sure, and didn't want to spread any misinformation.

[vahankin]

Hey STB - What effect did the Castrol GPS have? How much $$?

I haven't heard anything about this yet.

[stb000013]

Hey STB - What effect did the Castrol GPS have? How much $$?

I haven't heard anything about this yet.

She ran smooth before, but I did the first oil change since I've owned her and swithced to GPS.

Now it is seriously like riding a different bike. It shifts so smooth now I hesitate everytime I'm about to let the clutch out because I'm not sure I actually changed gears.

I paid $7.00 per quart, but I have a dealer hook up, I think! (The price tag said $8.99)

[vahankin]

Well, I am finally going to buy tires. Decided on the Pirelli Scorpions. I found that at www.motorcycle-superstore.com and www.americanmototire.com the tire I am looking at is significantly cheaper than anywhere else. For instance the rear is $113 which is about $65 cheaper than most other places and my local shop.

Should I be weary of finding the tire so cheap? I mean, I have heard that when a tire is selling cheap it may have been sitting around for a long time and that is not good. I guess I figure these sites should have pretty high volume though.

Any thoughts out there?

[01Katman]

I have had the Shinko Stealth and I just switched out to Dunlop Qualifiers front and back and I will say right now only having maybe 200 miles on the Dunlops they are frickin awesome. However I ride with my buddies on their SS bikes all the time and hang with them in the corners and here in TX where I am there are alot of twisty fast roads that you can find within 30 minutes or so. Also I am quite aggressive with the tires so they do warm up quite well and I can say this within 3 blocks of my house they are already quite warm. The stealths in comparison lasted around 7000 miles riding like this however they were much less sticky and required a good deal more time before warming up. Depending on how these qualifiers hold up mileage wise I will make a decision of wether or not to go back to a Stealth. Ohh and try Tire express usually they will have the tires on your door in 2 days and i found a much better price through them although they don't carry Pirrelli's

[woobie]

Should I be weary of finding the tire so cheap?

Not at all. Remember these guys don't have the overhead that your local "stealer" does.

I find most internet based sellers are way cheaper than the local dealer.