Tires?

[kustom71]

Hey I just found this site and its great!
Im rebuilding an 86 zx1000 and if all goes well will be taking the basic rider course soon so I can get licensed and not hurt myself as I am that new to bikes!
So heres my first ?
Tires we all need 2

Bias or Radial?
they offer both to fit my bike but I dont know Is one better than the other or is it comfort or selection or for racing???

Any help would be appreciated!
Thanx

[Tod]

Welcome.

Radials will give you a smoother ride, and usually less noise (depending on tread pattern).
Bias will usually be less expensive, but gives a stiffer ride, and often more noise.

[Lawn Masters]

On the ZX10, I'd go with a good set of Pilot powers, since I think you've got either 160 or 180/70/17 on the back, and 120/70/17 on the front. you'll probably find them GREAT, but the ZX1000 is a crappy bike to learn on, I mean come on, its 597 pounds, or something like that.

oh, btw, beware of the #3 rod problem.

[kustom71]

thanks,the tires on this bike are 120/80/16 and 150/80/16
Whats the matter with the weight I guess its heavy by todays standards?
And I didnt know there was a rod problem what is it if you dont mind?
The bike only has 4700 miles on it so far!

[Thmastr]

Originally Posted by kustom71

thanks,the tires on this bike are 120/80/16 and 150/80/16
Whats the matter with the weight I guess its heavy by todays standards?
And I didnt know there was a rod problem what is it if you dont mind?
The bike only has 4700 miles on it so far!

yes very heavy... it is also a pretty big engine to start with... becareful!

the rod problem.

I gess it is a transmission rod. it gets bent under hard riding... consequently the bike may skip out of third gear... this is not safe and as soon as that begins to happen you should park it and start thinking about how you are going to go about it... fix it.. or get a newer one...

[Lawn Masters]

Originally Posted by Thmastr

yes very heavy... it is also a pretty big engine to start with... becareful!

the rod problem.

I gess it is a transmission rod. it gets bent under hard riding... consequently the bike may skip out of third gear... this is not safe and as soon as that begins to happen you should park it and start thinking about how you are going to go about it... fix it.. or get a newer one...

That wasnt the one I was thinking of. I meant the connecting rod on the #3 cylinder, just listen to your motor, if you start hearing ANY clattering in the motor, stop IMMEDIATELY and get it fixed before you total the engine.

[jaseman]

I have a 90 ZX-10. Luckily I've yet to have the #3 rod problem.

As for tires, I've tried almost everything over the years. Best combination by far (for me anyway) is a BattleAxe BT-010 front / 020 rear (both radials). Both are almost more of a sport-touring tire, but with the emphisis primarily on sport! The 010 is a little more agressive with a slightly softer compound, while the 020 offers a little less grip, but a lot more milage. Both are great in the wet.

I ride pretty hard on the weekends, and commute on the bike everyday to the office. In the twisties, I've never had anny issues with the 010/020 combo. The only times the rear ever steps out on me, has nothing to do with the tires. The old ZX-10's like to eat up rears (like most heavy, litre-class bikes), so the 020 will help keep you from putting on 2 or 3 rears a season.

The Pilots that LawnMaster mentioned are good, I just have a personal prefferance for the BattleAxes.

I too agree with that being an awful big bike to learn on. Remember, 20 years ago, that bike was the baddest thing on 2 wheels. Sure, there are modern 600's with more power, but they are much lighter and still deliver thier power differantly. That bike has a ton of torque! Combined with it being almost 600 lbs, and it is quite a handful of bike in the twisties. It will bite you if you don't know what your doing. You have to be very physical with the bike. It's like riding a Brahma bull, if it decides it doesn't like how your riding it, it WILL THROW YOU!!!

I seriously recomend starting on something much more user friendly, like an EX 500 or GS 500. But ultimately, it's your decision. Just be safe, know your limits, and ride smart.

[ervins]

I use Pirellis CORSAs and have a new set of CORSA III that I am waiting to put on and they have great grip...More grip gives me confidence. Pilots are good and so are Continentals...However, I am sticking with my tried and true which is Pirelli.

[kustom71]

Thanx for all the great info!!!
I knew when I got the bike it would be alot to start with but I couldnt beat the price!
I will take the msf beginner course before I even get on the bike and take it very slow to get used to it.

Thanx again

[pester]

Originally Posted by Tod

Welcome.

Radials will give you a smoother ride, and usually less noise (depending on tread pattern).
Bias will usually be less expensive, but gives a stiffer ride, and often more noise.

iam in very need of tires as u all saw on the pics so here is what i ordered

Item: PIRELLI DIABLO SPORT 160/60ZR17 REAR
Quantity: 1
Price: $122.61

Item: PIRELLI DIABLO SPORT 120/70ZR17 FRONT
Quantity: 1
Price: $103.54

i heard they r good and well i wont do stunts so i think they will last

and i saw here they have good grip on cornering too so hope they r good

[Tod]

Yes, that's an excellent choice. Should work great on your new bike.

[ervins]

You did very well bro.

Originally Posted by pester

iam in very need of tires as u all saw on the pics so here is what i ordered

Item: PIRELLI DIABLO SPORT 160/60ZR17 REAR
Quantity: 1
Price: $122.61

Item: PIRELLI DIABLO SPORT 120/70ZR17 FRONT
Quantity: 1
Price: $103.54

i heard they r good and well i wont do stunts so i think they will last

and i saw here they have good grip on cornering too so hope they r good

[ervins]

Here is a review for you...Great choice again.

MD Product Review: Pirelli Diablo High Performance Street Sport Radial

By Willy Ivins

Pirelli Diablo - Front Among the consumable items associated with a motorcycle, the tires probably have the most profound effect on performance and rider feel. This point was recently driven home, just two weeks after spooning on a new set on my sportbike. Murphy took up residence, puncturing and slashing the rear tire into submission. I repaired the puncture with an internal patch, but the cut was too much. Barely 800 miles had passed and I was now faced with shelling out yet more $$$ for a replacement. Grrrrr….
Then the phone rang. It was Dirck, calling to see if I would be interested in trying out a set of the Pirelli Diablo sport street tires. Barely containing my glee, I responded in the affirmative, and shortly after, the Pirellis first graced the rims of the 2001 Honda F4i, and are currently serving duty on my 2001 Honda CBR929RR in the garage. On both bikes, their performance has been noteworthy, particularly on the 929.
The Diablo is Pirelli's newest offering in the cutthroat arena of sport bike performance street rubber. Combining the latest tire technology with the technology developed on their own Supercorsa DOT racing tire from 2002-2003, Pirelli set out to achieve four major design goals - dry grip, handling, wet performance and overall 'balance'.
Recent tire developments have resulted in compounds that warm quicker and work well over a wider temperature range while resisting overheating, and wet weather performance has improved with increased silica content. Pirelli is no different in this regard, touting "maximum silica content", but specifics on the compound recipe remain secret.

The main reason for increased wet-performance is not so much because of silica content, but more from what Pirelli terms "ICS" or, Ideal Contour Shaping. This process is responsible for a front tire that in the wet Pirelli says, "cleans and dries" the road surface for the rear tire to track through and creates a maximized contact patch efficiency between the front and rear tires, for perfectly matched handling traits in the wet or dry.
That's what they say, but how do they work? Quite well, as I have found out. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it to the track, which Pirelli feels this tire is up to, so I am sure that I was not at the performance limits of the tire on the street. On both the F4i (stock suspension) and the 929 (aftermarket suspension front & rear), the tires exhibited very stable handling traits, especially over some of the more gnarly surfaces found on the Malibu hillside roads. They worked well with the suspension to absorb bumps and gaps while aiding in keeping the bike planted and pointed in the right direction.
Pirelli Diablo - Rear In the faster curves found on the roads of the Angeles National Forest, they were plenty stable. Steering speed, while a touch slower and heavier than other tires in this class, remains acceptably quick, without being twitchy or overly sensitive. With the 929 and its reputation for being a bit lively, a rider may find this to be an asset. Traction was abundant, and allowed regular scraping of the footpegs on the F4i. My 929 is setup not to scrape (on the street) and so while nothing touched down, it is not due to any performance shortage from the tires.
While braking in both a straight line and entering a corner, the bike maintained a precise line without additional input.
There isn't any rain falling out here in SoCal, and there's a song that says so, so I have nothing to report on their wet weather prowess. But monitoring conversations of east-coast riders who have used them in the wet reveals that they do very well in these conditions, also.
What has really caught my attention about these tires is how they have worn, or not worn, actually. With any tire, as miles accumulate the rear tire tends to lose its profile, or "squares off". Handling deteriorates as the condition worsens. The front generally suffers its own profile degradation, with "cupping", or "scaling" of the tread, which can be felt as you run your fingers around the circumference of the tire, along with visible wear just off center as you look at its profile.
These tires, after 6700 miles, look like tires with half that number, and I have complete confidence of another 2000 miles, maybe more, to come. Although there is a little squaring of the rear tire, it isn't enough to affect handling the smallest bit. The front tire has retained its 'as new' profile, with no cupping or scaling evident, so steering is as precise and predictable as when new.
That said, my riding style does not include wheelies (ever - I'm not good at them), or drag race-style starts, but I do strive for solid drives out of a corner. I rode everything from downtown stop-and-go traffic, to freeway riding, to canyon carving, and these tires ate up the miles, wherever they were. Given the tires' performance in the curvy stuff, I'd say that the mileage and relative lack of wear I've experienced is quite an achievement, but your mileage may vary.
I highly recommend these tires to the sporting crowd, and even the sport-touring riders, because of the potential life span. Pirelli rates them acceptable for a track day, and I agree, as long as the speeds don't edge too closely to actual race speeds. Their capabilities may be stretched a bit thin by the go-fast "junkies', and the fast guys would be better served by mounting the Diablo Corsas, which are geared for the track environment.
Suggested retail prices provided by Pirelli list the front in the range of $149.95-$154.95, and the rear $185.95-$244.95, but hardly anyone pays retail these days, so query your favorite tire vendor (hopefully, a local shop) and give them a try when your current skins reach their 'change by' date.


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Originally Posted by pester

iam in very need of tires as u all saw on the pics so here is what i ordered

Item: PIRELLI DIABLO SPORT 160/60ZR17 REAR
Quantity: 1
Price: $122.61

Item: PIRELLI DIABLO SPORT 120/70ZR17 FRONT
Quantity: 1
Price: $103.54

i heard they r good and well i wont do stunts so i think they will last

and i saw here they have good grip on cornering too so hope they r good

[pester]

wooow thanks for that ervins thats a lot of info yes i know now i did well

now just wait for them to arrive and put them in

new bike new shoes now thats what im talking about

thanks again for the info

[ervins]

Originally Posted by pester

wooow thanks for that ervins thats a lot of info yes i know now i did well

now just wait for them to arrive and put them in

new bike new shoes now thats what im talking about

thanks again for the info

I am highly research oriented as well as feedback oriented. I like my Corsas so switching to Corsa IIIs will be fun...Though they are not the equal it seems, I will see how they wear...My Corsas I swear save me from my little buddafucco moves I pull when riding. Especially in turns.