180/55 R17 Tire Size?

Catmandu2 said:
Is your dealer, GP ?? The same GP that mounted my tire backwards, did a lousy balance, missed the old cracked valve stem,, and put the wheel spacers back wrong with the tire obviously rubbing against the swingarm ?? If so,,, I would watch them like a hawk while they installed your next tire. There is only one guy at my dealership (he is the owner and chief mechanic) that I trust to install and balance my tires on the rims (then I put the wheels back on the bike). And at that,,, I watch them being done to my satisfaction. I completely understand why some owners install and balance their own tires. But I use my dealer because of his experience and top of the line equipment,,, cheers,, CAt'
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No. I use Burlington Cycle. Bought my new 85 GW from them and use them ever since except when I had my Bonnie.
 
fnmag said:
No problem switching brands, have done it for over 50 years.
The Z8 is a very good tire.
Let us know how it all works out.
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Okay then, I mounted a new Metz z8 front (thanks all for the input) and I headed off to the Smokies' for 4000 km's in 4 days. I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with this tire. It seems more confidence-inspiring than the michelin PR4 ever did. It is still early so I cant comment on the wear, but in my opinion, it cant wear any stranger than the michelin did that it replaced. I am wondering if all those grooves/sipes in the PR4 causes the tread blocks to deform more, causing the wear issues that I had. (not a fact, just A thought I had. Did 1500 km's yesterday and my headset was acting up and with no music, I had lots of time to ponder things, lol). I want to point out that I changed my steering head bearings this winter to tapered bearings and while I must say that I am surprised that they could make a noticeable change to the handling, they unfortunately made a change i didnt like and was thinking that I had made a mistake. Upon turn-in the bike felt like it wanted to fall over. The best way to describe it was like a sideways wind gust came as I started to lean, just at slower speeds. After installing the Metz, the feeling is gone and the bike is predictible and dead-neutral... handles like it should. The old PR4 was flat in the center with decent tread left and then fell off with more wear on the outer sides, with feathering and scalloping. Looking at the profile, it would coincide with handling I was experiencing as it seemed like the tire was falling off the plateau of the center of the tire. I never noticed this with the factory steering head bearings. I have some thoughts now on why the factory bearings are not tapered (like I said,14 hours with little/no music) but thats a topic for another thread. Just wanted to point out that the wear pattern, to me, is important (moreso now) and that I hope that this Z8 wears evenly. After 4000 km's, it is looking good so far. The michelin PR4 rear is going this week in place of the Metz Roadtec 01. I have been looking at this for a bit now and my PR4 rear is shot!
 
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beemerphile said:
^ Something we can agree on. ^

Some people undertake things in a rigorous manner and others go seat-of-the-pants. Doesn't matter the topic, the two factions will never agree and neither will ever convince the other of the error of their ways. When the "discussion" goes on long enough it usually descends into personal insults. So, yeah, pointless discussion. I'm trying to learn to shut up, but I'm not doing so well at it. To help me I"ve put a label on my computer monitor that says "I have no opinion on that." Maybe that will help.
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Some of us out here value your opinion Lee! Those opinions seem to be backed up by science ,research and common sense. Keep em coming!
:thumb:
 
Bmacleod said:
Okay then, I mounted a new Metz z8 front (thanks all for the input) and I headed off to the Smokies' for 4000 km's in 4 days. I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with this tire. It seems more confidence-inspiring than the michelin PR4 ever did. It is still early so I cant comment on the wear, but in my opinion, it cant wear any stranger than the michelin did that it replaced. I am wondering if all those grooves/sipes in the PR4 causes the tread blocks to deform more, causing the wear issues that I had. (not a fact, just A thought I had. Did 1500 km's yesterday and my headset was acting up and with no music, I had lots of time to ponder things, lol). I want to point out that I changed my steering head bearings this winter to tapered bearings and while I must say that I am surprised that they could make a noticeable change to the handling, they unfortunately made a change i didnt like and was thinking that I had made a mistake. Upon turn-in the bike felt like it wanted to fall over. The best way to describe it was like a sideways wind gust came as I started to lean, just at slower speeds. After installing the Metz, the feeling is gone and the bike is predictible and dead-neutral... handles like it should. The old PR4 was flat in the center with decent tread left and then fell off with more wear on the outer sides, with feathering and scalloping. Looking at the profile, it would coincide with handling I was experiencing as it seemed like the tire was falling off the plateau of the center of the tire. I never noticed this with the factory steering head bearings. I have some thoughts now on why the factory bearings are not tapered (like I said,14 hours with little/no music) but thats a topic for another thread. Just wanted to point out that the wear pattern, to me, is important (moreso now) and that I hope that this Z8 wears evenly. After 4000 km's, it is looking good so far. The michelin PR4 rear is going this week in place of the Metz Roadtec 01. I have been looking at this for a bit now and my PR4 rear is shot!
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Steering head bearings will not affect handleing. That "fall over" feeling you were having is the tire rolling off the flat spot and onto the edge, instead of a nice rounded profile, like what your new tires are providing.
 
My 4th Z8 front tire,, and 2nd Road-tech 01 rear are waiting in the basement for upcoming installation. The current Z8 front that is still on the bike, is wearing very well,, and still has about 1500kms left in it (so about 3 weeks to go). I have been running it at 42psi,,, and I think it is important to watch that closely. I look forward to hearing how anyone's trip to the Smokies goes, as I am headed there myself in October for a couple of days with the Blueridge gathering,, and a couple on my own,,, cheers,, CAt'
 
Whooshka said:
Steering head bearings will not affect handleing. That "fall over" feeling you were having is the tire rolling off the flat spot and onto the edge, instead of a nice rounded profile, like what your new tires are providing.
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I would have to agree. Bearings should have no effect on handling. I should have said that the new steering head bearings had a noticeable effect on the steering and that the difference in the steering seemed to highlight the bad profile of the tire.
 
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Whooshka said:
Steering head bearings will not affect handleing. That "fall over" feeling you were having is the tire rolling off the flat spot and onto the edge, instead of a nice rounded profile, like what your new tires are providing.
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For this very reason, I no longer will run PR4's. The BS T31 GT's seem to wear more even, handle good, and last just as long, if not longer. I am on my second set and am quite happy with them.
 
Whooshka said:
I'm running that size in a Pirelli Angel GT2 and it works most excellent!
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Thank you, for the info. I have an old Bridgestone 021 sitting around and what to use it up, for 5,000 miles until my front BS T30GT wears out. Then I have a new set of Dunlop Roadsmart II for next Summer time riding.
My last set of T30 tires went 8,200 miles on the rear and 10,200 on the front. The rear was completely worn, but the front could've lasted another 500 to 1000 miles.
 
Catmandu2 said:
My last 3 or 4 rears have been 180/55zr17's,,, with great results. I always have chosen models with the extra reinforced carcass, as designed for heavier sport touring bikes. Always 42psi,,, and dynamic balanced. cheers,, CAt'
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Yep, I should have mentioned the Angel GT2 I have on the rear is A-spec. After being really impressed with the regular Angel GT I thought I'd give the GT2 a try and it hasn't disappointed.
 
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