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.

[Roadhound]

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.

I've been riding Concours since 1990,I've run a little of everything on the bike. Believe me Kawasaki knew what they were doing when they fitted this bike with Radial Tires. Bias Ply tires can just not compare with the feel, feedback, and handling you get from the radials. My first Concours bought used had a set of Metzler Bias Ply tires,ME 33/ME99, I thought they were pretty good. On the advise of a trusted dealer I mounted a set of Radials. It was like  all of a sudden I had a whole new motorcycle.

[JSharp]

My bike had Avons when I got it and I used up one more set before I sold it.  Everyone raves about them but honestly I was underwhelmed. They were sticky enough but I found they required constant steering correction to hold a line or keep a consistent lean angle.  They were just tiring...

[Giaka]

They were sticky enough but I found they required constant steering correction to hold a line or keep a consistent lean angle.  They were just tiring...

I hated them.

[Sunhunter]

Now that you mention it they do require constant correction, but in my experience radials are they way to go on the ZG1000.   Honestly one of the problems (and growing) with owning the older conc is the tire selection choices.  Limited and not the best of today's available tire compositions.  Really new tires every 5-8k miles depending on driving habits?  Hard to justify, especially on a sport tourer where miles are the name of the game.  One really long ride and you need new tires?

 

[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...

Thumbs down on BT-45   4k and another tire failure - getting a bulge in center. Danced all over grate bridges too.  

[JSharp]

Thumbs down on BT-45   4k and another tire failure - getting a bulge in center. Danced all over grate bridges too.  

Geez, another brand down.  That's too bad.

[ManWorkingHere]

Trying these for the first time after using OEM's the past two seasons:

Bought them in March about the time you were asking originally.  Read a lot of the tire messages on the ZGGTR Board previously mentioned.  Only two weeks on them, <400 miles but that will change now that the weather has improved here in WI.

From Rocky Mountain ATV:
160/80B-16 (80H) Dunlop Elite 3 Bias-Ply Touring Rear Motorcycle Tire   1200490004
   $152.99
   
130/70R-18 (63H) Dunlop Elite 3 Radial Touring Front Motorcycle Tire   1175030002
   $132.99
   

[ConPilot1]

I've been riding Concours since 1990,I've run a little of everything on the bike. Believe me Kawasaki knew what they were doing when they fitted this bike with Radial Tires. Bias Ply tires can just not compare with the feel, feedback, and handling you get from the radials. My first Concours bought used had a set of Metzler Bias Ply tires,ME 33/ME99, I thought they were pretty good. On the advise of a trusted dealer I mounted a set of Radials. It was like  all of a sudden I had a whole new motorcycle.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the stock OEM tire for the C10 was indeed a bias tire, and not a radial.
FWIW the Bias Pilot GT's are FAR superior to either the stockers or these Shinko 757 Radials I'm running now.

[Roadhound]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the stock OEM tire for the C10 was indeed a bias tire, and not a radial.
FWIW the Bias Pilot GT's are FAR superior to either the stockers or these Shinko 757 Radials I'm running now.

All Concours with the exception of the very early models delivered in Germany have been fitted with Radial tires. Radials were new technology at the time and the German version of our DOT had not approved them for use on the Concours. The original Radials were the K105 Front and the K700G rear. They actually worked very well on the bike. The early German bikes were fitted with Bias Ply Metzlers, ME33 front and ME99 Rear.

When are you Goldwing Tire fanatics going to stop carrying on about the Michelin Pilot GTs. Michelin abandoned you guys just like they did the riders who run the correct sized tires. I've always found those Heavy, oversize bias Ply Wing Tires make the bike heavy feeling and slow to turn.

The Shinko Radials are never going to work well on a C10. That 130 size front tire in a Radial is too wide for your front wheel, the profile of the tire is distorted when mounted on your rim and the tire is going to always do strange things.

[JSharp]

My C-10 had a 120/70 Avon on the front when I got it. I replaced it with a 110/80 when it wore out and steering was noticeably better. It was still nothing to rave about. Every time I'd ride it after being off of it a while it I'd have to check to make sure the front tire wasn't flat.

I don't want to know how they feel with a 130 front.

[Roadhound]

My C-10 had a 120/70 Avon on the front when I got it. I replaced it with a 110/80 when it wore out and steering was noticeably better. It was still nothing to rave about. Every time I'd ride it after being off of it a while it I'd have to check to make sure the front tire wasn't flat.

I don't want to know how they feel with a 130 front.

I've been running the Avons on C10s for well over 250,000 miles. I've been very pleased with them. I find the Storm II ultra to be about the best front tire I've run on the bike.
I do run the 110/80/18 as it has a much better feel than the 120 and the profile of the 110 matches up with the profile of the 150/80/16 Azaro rear very well. I find the Storm front works best if you keep them at 42 psi. The steering is very precise, very good turn in, feed back is excellent, and they give very good mileage. I do believe that to enjoy them the most, you do have to tune your suspension to work with the tire. I find the C10 to be a much more enjoyable ride without a Barn Door sized windscreen. I run a 13 in tall screen year round, it eliminates most all of the dirty air problems that many experience.