Tire questions
 

I recently got a '99 GZ250, has about 2950 miles on it, took the MSF course, etc, have been doing some local riding, practicing, etc, before I go into town or on the highway, getting my skills up. The tires have lots of good tread, barely used, but being 8-9 years old, have developed small cracks, crazing here and there, in the sidewalls, and are a little hard, from being outside. If this was in my car I wouldn't worry about it yet, but the smartest thing to do would be to get a new set put on the bike, as I don't want a tire failure at 50-60 mph. I'd love to buy these online because I'd probably save myself 25-40% of what the local Suzuki stealer or other bike shops charge, but then I'd probably have to search around for someone to change them out for me, and maybe pay for shipping (some sites have free shipping) and buy some tools, etc., so the cost may come out to the same thing.
I guess I could ask the bike shop if they'd put them on if I supplied them, but I doubt they would like that idea.
My other choice is to ride on these for a while, not knowing how long I'll keep this bike before possibly moving up to a bigger one sometime in the future (if a tire doesn't blow out on the road).
Any suggestions as to good inexpensive tires for this thing?
Does anyone have experience with H rated Cheng Shin tires, which are about $40-50 less than Dunlops or Bridgestones?

Thanks.

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You're situation with tires sounds exactly what I experienced. I bought my 2000 GZ250 in December. It had around 2000 miles on it and the tires looked OK, except they were cracking on the sidewalls. I felt it would be wise to go ahead and replace the tires instead of taking chances that one might blow. I bought the Cheng Shin tires and I think they're great! I've put about 300 miles on them so far and I'm very happy with them. They seem to handle well in the curves. I purchased mine from a local bike shop and then had them install the tires. I thought about doing it myself, but it seemed like more trouble than it was worth. The install cost was around $25/tire.

I have the Cheng Shin tires and I am satisfied with them. I have good traction and disperse water extremely well (rooster tails) off the back tire. I also have a C50 and plan on putting tehe Cheng Shin on them also. Here is a good website for them: http://www.kgmotorcycletires.com/cheng_ ... 6_c907.htm.

You can purchase them and have any local bike shop put them on. They will charge you for it with no complaints. Money is money. Expect to pay $25-$37 per tire for mounting and balancing. You may have to take the wheels off though. No big deaL, easy.

tire questions
 

I think I'll try and find a bike shop here that'll mount and balance the new tires, and I'll buy them online. I can take the wheels off, and it would give me a good opportunity to clean the chain, but then I'll need some sort of stand. It never ends, does it?, just like owning a boat.

I've bought 5 Cheng Shin tires and they work well for me. They last longer than the stock tire that came on my GZ250.

You can use a regular jack from a car to lift the front and rear wheels, helped by the kickstand.

Front:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...cker/apes2.jpg

Rear:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...cker/apes1.jpg

tire questions
 

What do you put the bike down on if you take of both wheels? Or do you do this one at a time?
I suppose I can rig up something to put under each end then jack up the other if both wheels are off.

You can keep the bike lifted with two jacks and the kickstand (I did it), but it's better to change one tyre at a time, keeping the mounted wheel braked.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...racker/one.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...acker/one2.jpg

I just got an email response from swmototires.com saying they don't carry Cheng Shins because they get hard very quickly. Does anybody have a problem like that? That has to relate to poor traction especially around curves after a while.

Jaime, thanks for the pics. I do have a couple of those scissor jacks around. After getting the bike up, it could be supported on something more solid underneath it if need be and tied down so it won't fall over.

Not me I wear mine out way before that happens.

Never heard this when I was researching tires to buy.

Here is where I got the last ones.

KG Motorcycle Tires & Accessories
http://www.kgmotorcycletires.com/

M906602 Cheng Shin C906 110/90H16 $51.78 ea
M907501 Cheng Shin C907 130/90H15 $56.45 ea

Inner Tubes
TS155005506C Inner Tube 5.00/5.50-15 CEN TR6 ea $13.25
TS16400460 Inner Tube 4.00/4.60-16 TR6 $9.36 ea

Rim Strips $2.00 ea

I have cheng shins on mine, and im pretty satisfied. Plus I only spent around 60 dollers for both. I didnt want to use a jack on my bike, so I took the seat and trunk of the bike and used an engine hoist with a strap around the frame. I lifted the back off the ground then set the wole bike on a big truck tire. The engine hoist also keeps the bike upright so no falling over. I also got a chain with a master link, it makes the job easier ad their cheap. I didnt get an O-ring chain, I dont see much of a difference, and i oil it about ever 2-3 weeks with 80-90W gear oil. I mounter my tubes and tires myself, its pretty easy, but I had to drive 115 miles to balance them.

I like the hoist idea. I do that for my lawn tractor but never thought of using it for the motorcycles.

I never balance my tires. I can't tell the difference.

O-RIng chains last longer.

My front tire was seriously off balance. From about 20mph to top end, the bike would hop and shudder pretty bad. It also makes the tires last longer when their balanced.

oops double post

http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20TIR ... _sport.htm

I have no experience with this vendor but I found their pricing.
C906 front $50.65
C907 rear $50.53

I need tires too, but I'm a little leery of the cheng shin. Can't beat the price though. Does anyone have any experience with other tires that they would recommend?

BTW I thought I throw out this important safety reminder. There usually is mold release on new tires. be very careful for the first 100 miles or so. The mold release makes the tires very slippery. This can be made worse if you ride on wet pavement!

Babbob has several Cheng Shin tires, I believe it's 5, and seems to like them just fine.

If you search through his posts you should find 'em.

That brand has been around for 20 years or more so they must be doing something right. My only experience was with a rear digger tire on a dirt bike and was well satisfied. Half the price of OEM tire.

Cheng Shin Tires
 

Here is where I bought the last ones. I went with this company because they had everything. Only one shipping charge to pay.

KG Motorcycle Tires & Accessories
http://www.kgmotorcycletires.com/

M906602 Cheng Shin C906 110/90H16 $51.78 ea
M907501 Cheng Shin C907 130/90H15 $56.45 ea

Inner Tubes
TS155005506C Inner Tube 5.00/5.50-15 CEN TR6 ea $13.25
TS16400460 Inner Tube 4.00/4.60-16 TR6 $9.36 ea

Rim Strips $2.00 ea

I'm on my second rear tire. My wife has a matched set. My daughter has them and my son-in-law. We all like them.

i ended up ordering some from the cycle gear shop around the corner from my house... i got Cheng Shin (different model tire though) each one cost about 5.00 more. I figured i'd support the local shop, the guys at the shop are good to me and have gone above and beyond with their service recently. They didn't even throw a fit when i didn't purchase that they had in stock that came in at about 90.00 a tire...

with tires, tubes, rim strips i ended up at about 170.00 after taxes.

Tires
 

I use Metzeler or Pirelli touring tires on all my bikes. I'e gotten great mileage in the past (8 to 10k on a set) and they have great straight line & cornering grip.

The set I just put on the GZ was a Pirelli Route on the rear ($107.65) and the Pirelli Sport Demon ($90.57) on the front. (the Route model was not available in the correct front size) The tubes were $8 each.

I have a couple of pals with the Cheng Shins that have had sidewall problems, so I stick two the above mentioned brands.

:tup:

It might be a good idea to list every available tire for the bike somewhere on here...
And possibly add photos of the tread pattern...

Tires and Jacking up the bike
 

I'm just gona make me a sling and use the front end loader on the tractor to jack my bike up with. One of the benefits of farming :tup:

tire questions
 

My local Suzuki dealer got 2 new Cheng Shins for me that they are putting on, (with tubes, rim strips, balancing, etc, for $169) but the front tire, instead of being a 110-90/16 is a 120-80/16. They are telling me it really makes no difference in the handling, ride, etc, to change to a slightly wider, lower profile tire, and that they would have a hard time getting the other size and it would be more expensive. Anyone have any experience with putting on this other tire or any comments about this? I doubt it would make a significant difference with the speedometer reading but it should read a little higher with a slightly smaller diameter tire.

Those two tirse sizes will end up being fairly similar. I ran the numbers through a tire size calculator and this is what it came up with:

Specification----Sidewall--Radius---Diameter---Circumference-Revs/Mile---Difference
110/90-16-------3.9in-----11.9in------23.8in------74.8in------------848----------0.0%
120/80-16-------3.8in-----11.8in------23.6in------74.0in------------856----------1.0%


http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
Scroll down and use the calculator at the bottom

Re: tire questions
 

Bunch of crap. They want you OUT the door....minus your money! :cry:

There might not be MUCH difference in handling but there surely will be SOME.
I think tread pattern probably makes a bigger difference that size.
Please let us know what YOU think after a ride or two.

The last time I changed to a different brand of tires, I could have sworn that it was a different bike. O_o

FYI for those looking for the Cheng Shin tires starting next year.
from http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20TIR ... _tires.htm

"Please note: Starting the Fall of 2008, Cheng Shin brand motorcycle tires for street/highway use only will be very difficult to get, due to Cheng Shin's decision to quit producing motorcycle tires for street/highway use only, effective January 2009. Thank you."

Well that just sucks. Now we will have to pay twice as much for a tire that isn't any better.

I was just about to place the my order online today for tires, tubes, and rim strips at http://www.kgmotorcycletires.com/ and decided to call to make sure they had these in stock:

M906602 Cheng Shin C906 110/90H16
M907501 Cheng Shin C907 130/90H15

It turns out that they DO NOT and WILL NOT have them anymore! The guy told me he used to be able to get them from 5 different distributors but now he can't get them at all. My guess someone is buying up all that are out there so they can sell them for more.

Bad news for all of us who want a decent, inexpensive tire. So far I can't find anything for less than $95 in the right size for the front (110/90-16).

Is it a bad idea to buy different brand tires for front and back, for example Kenda rear and Avon front?

It's not really "bad" as long as get the same style tread pattern.

You want to know that the front and rear of the bike will maintain the line similarly in a turn or when you hit those staight grooves in the road. It can be pretty scary having one end on the bike twitching around while the other stays in place.

I really do think that the smaller front would be OK, but I just can't say for sure and I don't want to put anyone in a bad spot if I am wrong. I'd hate to cost someone the money and, very doubtfully but at least possibly, put them in danger.

tire questions
 

Well I got my bike back 2 weeks ago and the Cheng Shins came from California here to the local dealer. They put the 906 and 907 numbers on the invoice, but the front tire is now a 120/80-16 as discussed and not a 110/90-16. Apparently that is not available anymore anyplace. In my limited riding so far I can't tell any difference in the bike's ride or handling, except they look a whole lot better, and I feel a whole lot better having new tires instead of 9 year old ones. The 120/80 is a little less than 0.4" wider (that's less than 1/4" on each side for the total width of the tire), so it can't make any significant difference other than having very slightly more contact area, maybe a millimeter or two. The contact pattern or dirty area on the tire seems the same as before. What is interesting is that the tires are mounted correctly with the rotation arrows embossed on the sides in the right direction, but the tread pattern front and rear is reversed, with the rain grooves pointing in opposite directions front and rear. I can post pictures if anyone's interested in seeing this. It must be different front and rear for shedding water or traction, but I thought it strange looking at it. Any thoughts on this?

I think I know what you are describing and I never could figure out how that works. The same it true for bicycle tires. I guess its just up to the tire design to figure what design works best for each individual application.

I, for one, will go ahead and request pictures. Nothing like a picture.

The difference between a 120/80 and a 110/90 is only 3mm. So, it should be slightly wider and not change the height much at all.

jonathan180iq,

You mentioned that Dunlop D404 are available as a set in our sizes but I can't find a place that has the front (110/90-16). Would you happen to have a link?

Right now, I can't find any matching set regardless of price!

Thanks

After searching around for the last few minutes, the only version that I can find for direct purchase is in Australia. I may have to revise my posts to mention that there are no longer matching sets available for the GZ.. What a crock....

The information listed below comes from the DunlopUSA website and mentions that the only way to get the Dunlop D404 in size 110/90-16 is to order through OEM... The only direct order DunlopUS model seems to be the GT501. Dunlop certainly makes the D404 110/90 but not for us. I'll see if I can find a way to have it shipped from AU or CAN.


Make: Suzuki | Model: GZ 250 (99-08)
Front Rim Size: 2.50x16 | Rear Rim Size: 3.00x15


O.E. Replacement Front Tire:
Tire : D404** | Size : 110/90-16 | PSI/Loaded : 25


O.E. Replacement Rear Tire:
Tire : D404 | Size : 130/90-15 | PSI Rear/Loaded :
Click for Info

** - Available only from O.E.M

found one in the UK for $120.... http://www.sticky-stuff.co.uk/shopping_cart.php?sort=3a
good grief

If you also go with a 120/80-16 in the front, you can get a set of matching ChengShins on Ebay right now.

It looks like the problem is finding a stock front tire replacement. That's just not a readily available size.

You may just need to end up finding a close tread pattern and mix-n-match.

Sorry man...
Or go with the Kenda Cruiser set with the smaller front tire

Cheng Shins
 

Here are some:

http://traxms.com/Motorcycle_Tires_Stre ... C907R.html

Thanks for all the info. I'm just shocked that it's so hard to buy some stupid tires! I'm thinking about the doing 120/80-16 so I'm gonna check on eBay.

Re: Cheng Shins
 

I called and they don't have them either.

Let me know if you find the Cheng Shin fronts. Or for that matter any front. I'll probably go with the Continental front if I can't find the C.S. My local shop can't find any 110/90-15 tires. Good thing I still have some tread left and don't need a new tire immediately! Try googling "110/90-15" maybe that will help :)

Thanks Jonathan, I meant 110/90-16.... DOH!