Freakin' Concours Tures

[KBSimNL]

Trying to find new shoes for my baby (2001 Kawasaki Concours) but it ain't easy. Who likes what, where do you get them and can someone give me an idea of what alternate sizes I can count on? Thanks all - riding time coming!

[Kootenanny]

I'd be looking at US online tire vendors.  Sorry I can't be more helpful...a buddy was considering an older Connie like yours a few years ago, and one reason I advised him against it was my expectation that tires might become hard to find.  That said, didn't Avon continue producing one of their older designs specifically for older Connies?

[PatM]

Tires or lack of, is one of the reasons I sold my old Connie.
There arent many Sport Touring bikes made with 16 in wheel in the back so the choice is getting rather slim. Front: 120/70 R18 59V   Rear:  150/80 R16 71V
Dunlops D204, Combination Avon Storm on front and Azaro on back, Some guys would mount GL1500 size Michelin GT but I hear they're not available anymore. Also some will install Metzeler Marathon 880, mostly for slab purposes.
Other than that, you can still get the OEM Dunlops.

Join the ZG/GTR forum http://forum.concours.org/ or the club's website http://forum.cog-online.org/ Then join the club, they're a good group.

[Gat]

Last year I ran the Avon combo on my 1997 Connie.  I put 10,000 miles on them and they were wearing well (rear may have had another 2000 in it - it was getting flat down the middle).  

[Dontwantapickle]

Try www.murphskits.com.  He has lots of goodies for the Connie including tires..

[David Morrow]

Once I started using ME880's, I never went back to anything else. The others either wore out too quickly or we a little too slippery. They may not be as sticky as radials but it's unlikely that you will ever push them beyond their limits.

[Roadhound]

It's bad but it's not hopeless. Avon has the Storm II Ultra, Front which is an excellent front tire, it's available in the 120/70/18 size or the 110/80/18 size. I prefer the 110 on the front of my 2006. For the rear the Avon Azaro is a very good rear available in stock 150/80/16 size. The Azaro won't give you big mileage but it will stick rather well. If you just have to have big mileage out of your rear tire, the Avon Venom a Bias Ply tire works well with the Storm Front. It's available in the stock 150 size and in the 160/80/16 size.

[KBSimNL]

OK, so the 110s do fit. I had a couple of searches offer those up but I wasn't sure. Do I read that correctly that it's a narrower tire with a taller sidewall? How doe it affect handling?

[Roadhound]

OK, so the 110s do fit. I had a couple of searches offer those up but I wasn't sure. Do I read that correctly that it's a narrower tire with a taller sidewall? How doe it affect handling?

IMO the bike handles better with the 110 as it actually fits the rim. The 120 tire is actually too wide for the Concours front rim. The later models post 93, have a 3' wide front rim, 120 radial tires require a 3.5" rim width. The OEM Dunlop 120/70/18 front tire only measures 111mm wide. I've found that the 110 Avon Storm on the front perfectly matches the profile of the 150/80/16 Azaro on the rear. I've been riding a Conk since 1990 ridden a lot of miles burned up a lot of tires, this is the best combination of tires I've found for the bike.

[KBSimNL]

Dang, just ordered Dunlops. I'll keep this in mind for the next time, though. Anyone swapped the rear wheel for a 17-inch? Which wheel/tire combo did you go with?

[mjrfd99]

I just installed a pair of BT-45's   Dunlop failed me/split in grove -Michlein GT's failed too 6 in long bulge on a 1/2 used tire    now Bridgestones, we'll see...

[caslaw]

IMO the bike handles better with the 110 as it actually fits the rim. The 120 tire is actually too wide for the Concours front rim. The later models post 93, have a 3' wide front rim, 120 radial tires require a 3.5" rim width. The OEM Dunlop 120/70/18 front tire only measures 111mm wide. I've found that the 110 Avon Storm on the front perfectly matches the profile of the 150/80/16 Azaro on the rear. I've been riding a Conk since 1990 ridden a lot of miles burned up a lot of tires, this is the best combination of tires I've found for the bike.

+1

[norm9688]

Tires or lack of, is one of the reasons I sold my old Connie.
There arent many Sport Touring bikes made with 16 in wheel in the back so the choice is getting rather slim. Front: 120/70 R18 59V   Rear:  150/80 R16 71V
Dunlops D204, Combination Avon Storm on front and Azaro on back, Some guys would mount GL1500 size Michelin GT but I hear they're not available anymore. Also some will install Metzeler Marathon 880, mostly for slab purposes.
Other than that, you can still get the OEM Dunlops.

Join the ZG/GTR forum http://forum.concours.org/ or the club's website http://forum.cog-online.org/ Then join the club, they're a good group.

 Concours Owners Group website is www.cog-online.org

[norm9688]

Trying to find new shoes for my baby (2001 Kawasaki Concours) but it ain't easy. Who likes what, where do you get them and can someone give me an idea of what alternate sizes I can count on? Thanks all - riding time coming!

 Here's a link to some good info on tires.

        http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php?board=29.0

[mjrfd99]

Just be careful - some discount sites have good prices but the tires are old[3-4 yrs +]

[Sunhunter]

Run with Avons and do like them, have about 7K miles on the current set.  The front looks great although the back has squared off a bit from superslab driving, but not the front.  Otherwise they have been great.   Murphskits is the best place to get info on the bike, you can email the owner and he usually responds in a day or so, and has great products.  

Personally decided to steer clear of the competing Concours websites including the ones mentioned:thumbsdown:.  Unpleasant environment.

Good luck!

[Giaka]

Do a 17 inch rear wheel conversion and you can run the OEM tires for an ST1300. Its the best solution. I was in the process of doing this on my old connie when I decided an ST1300A made more sense.    My old connie had a big brake kit and race tech up front, ZZR suspension out back so all it needed was the 17 inch rear wheel and it would have been set.

Bridgestone BT020 OEM 120/70ZR-18 ST1300 Front

$116.95

Bridgestone BT020 OEM 170/60ZR-17 ST1300 Rear

$129.95

[Meemuh]

Based on my own search this spring - I replaced a set of Avons with a set of Avons.

Love them now - but I couldn't believe how squirelly the last set was at the end.

[ConPilot1]

God how I miss my Pilot GT's on the Connie.

The Shinko 757's suck raw ass. The original stockers felt better than these.

Avon Venom's for me next time.

[JSharp]

I notice a number of people are running Bridgestone BT-45's and liking them. I had a set to try but I never got them on my Concours before I sold it.

In spite of the bike coming from the factory with radials, a bias tire like the BT-45 might work pretty well given the vintage of the suspension.