Tyre recommendation please.

Paul007

Joined
Sep 28, 2021
Messages
7
Age
66
Location
Nottingham
Hi guys,
Just purchased my first st1100 2001 reg.
Needs new tyres.
What would you recommend please.
50% of riding will be two-up.
Regards,
Paul
 
Paul007 said:
Hi guys,
Just purchased my first st1100 2001 reg.
Needs new tyres.
What would you recommend please.
50% of riding will be two-up.
Regards,
Paul
Click to expand...

So Paul, welcome to the site. Guessing you're new here.

As you may gather from the comment above, this has been covered quite a lot on the site. Just do a search for 'tyres' in the quick search box (underneath the title of this thread). I suggest that there might be more than enough info there for you :cool:
 
Flexit said:
So Paul, welcome to the site. Guessing you're new here.

As you may gather from the comment above, this has been covered quite a lot on the site. Just do a search for 'tyres' in the quick search box (underneath the title of this thread). I suggest that there might be more than enough info there for you :cool:
Click to expand...
Great, thank you.
Yes l am new, just got my first st.
Cheers Paul
 
Paul007 said:
Great, thank you.
Yes l am new, just got my first st.
Cheers Paul
Click to expand...
Paul, welcome from Northumberland UK.
It's personal, but.....
Any of the Bridgestone T range will do good job, but not the GT variants.
I'm currently running Avon Spirit ST's, they're OK but I'll go back to Bridgestone next time.
Upt'North.
 
Paul007 said:
Hi Guys,

Thank you for your replies.
Have decided on the Bridgestone T32's

Best regards,
Paul
Click to expand...
You won't be disappointed, I couldn't get the T's at all this year, there were non available at the time, I shall be ordering some new 32's non GT's first thing in the New Year. I've run 30's and 31's with very good results.
Enjoy.
Upt'North.
 
What is wrong with the GT variants? I thought they were made for the heavier tourers.

Please excuse the naivete, I usually try to avoid tire threads.
 
robotdog said:
What is wrong with the GT variants? I thought they were made for the heavier tourers.

Please excuse the naivete, I usually try to avoid tire threads.
Click to expand...
Very wise RobotDog, but.......and please don't ask me why.......the ST1100 is specified for non GT tyres.
I'm guessing, but probably wrong, the ST11 was designed prior to such tyres even existing. So the suspension/frame etc were optimised for the oem tyres available then, which originally would have been the bias belted Bridgestone and Dunlop before going onto radials later in production.
Upt'North.
 
Welcome UK Paul from Texas Paul! You asked for ST1100 tire recommendations...
  • For the front tire, I use a rear Bridgestone BT45 and get 23-29k miles per tire, with 1 oz. of beads, 40-42 psi cold.
  • For the rear tire, I use a Michelin Commander II or III and get 18-25k miles per tire, with 2 oz. of beads, 40-42 psi cold.
There are several of us that run this tire combination. For reference, I ride about 15-20k miles per year, 40% commuting and 60% touring, not two-up.
 
I'm running a Battlax BT45R (yes a rear tire) on the front, has 9388 miles on it now and looks great. I ran it backwards at first for about 6000 miles and it started to cup, so I turned it around and remounted it like the arrow shows and it's evened out now and looks almost like a regular new front tire would.

Just put a new Battlax T32 that replaced the Shinko 777HD I had on the rear and the bike feels like new again. Got about 1000 miles on it now and couldn't be happier.
 
When I was new just over a year ago, I asked the same question. Installed the OEM Bridgestone Excedra G547 and G548 tires. They are bias ply, designed for the ST1100 and have not disappointed. Over 10K miles, rear is just starting to square, but plenty of meat left. Front still looks good, no cupping, lots of tread, etc. I use the bike for commuting, mostly highway speeds, one-up.

RT
 
rwthomas1 said:
When I was new just over a year ago, I asked the same question. Installed the OEM Bridgestone Excedra G547 and G548 tires. They are bias ply, designed for the ST1100 and have not disappointed. Over 10K miles, rear is just starting to square, but plenty of meat left. Front still looks good, no cupping, lots of tread, etc. I use the bike for commuting, mostly highway speeds, one-up.

RT
Click to expand...
What RT said ^^^

A great tire combo. For the last 27 years and 190K. Neutral handling throughout the life of the tire. Good mileage. JMNSHO

John
 
John OoSTerhuis said:
What RT said ^^^

A great tire combo. For the last 27 years and 190K. Neutral handling throughout the life of the tire. Good mileage. JMNSHO

John
Click to expand...

While I certainly cannot fault the OEM Exedra, I must admit that the Commander II/BT46 combo is very tempting. The main reason is my commute is mostly highway, not much cornering. I think an even more touring oriented setup would work well. As it stands, I ride 8-10K a year. The Commander/46 combo should get me two full riding seasons. The Excedra's went on halfway through last season. So looking at replacement mid-season which is no bueno. Or replace them earlier, one season and done.

The Excedra's are likely the best all around tire for the ST1100. The more performance oriented here seem to burn through stickier tires in 5-6K, and 10K seems to be about it for sport touring radials. The Commander/46 crowd seems to be riding in places where long, straight, high speed cruising is the norm. And that's what I need.

RT
 
I’ve taken several sets of the BT45/Commander combo through lots of twisties in Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and central Texas with no problems. I’m no Marquez, but not slow either, can keep up with most anyone, and even leave a few behind. ;)
 
paulcb said:
I’ve taken several sets of the BT45/Commander combo through lots of twisties in Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and central Texas with no problems. I’m no Marquez, but not slow either, can keep up with most anyone, and even leave a few behind. ;)
Click to expand...

I thought you were moving to the BT46, which has a front tire in the correct size? I dont have many corners to deal with but I do have a tendency to run well north of posted limits on the slab. The ST is just so happy and stable running there.

RT
 
I was going to try a BT46, but I don't think they were in stock last time I needed a new front tire in Oct 2020. I've got a little over 20k on the current BT45 and it still looks good.
 
A few reasons Paul may not wish to follow some of the recommendations in the UK. It's the law..... :eek:.

Examples of an unsuitable tyre are:

  • a sidecar or car tyre on a solo motorcycle - sidecars may be fitted with either car or motorcycle type tyres
  • a tyre specifically designed for front wheel use fitted to the rear wheel
  • a bias belted tyre fitted to the front with a cross-ply tyre fitted to the rear
  • a radial tyre fitted to the front and a cross-ply or bias belted tyre fitted to the rear.
Additionally, motocross tyres, tyres designated by their manufacturer as racing tyres and tyres marked ‘NHS’ or ‘NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE’ on the sidewall are also unsuitable, unless the tyre sidewall is marked with:

  • an ‘E’ in a circle
  • an ‘e’ in a rectangle
  • JIS (Japanese industry standard)
  • DOT (American standard)
Motocross tyres are deemed to be those where the space between tread blocks is substantially greater than the size of the blocks themselves.

Directional tyres must be fitted as instructed on the sidewall. They may use arrow and/or words to indicate the direction of forward rotation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom