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California tyres

Demon

Demon

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
67
Location
Dukinfield, Cheshire. England.
Hi, I'm about to replace the tyres on my 96 Cali 1100i and was wondering which are a good choice,
I currently have Bt 45 Batlax's fitted front and rear but I've found the front is wearing badly on the o/s and the rear is bald in the centre.
I'm ideally looking for a set that gives decent mileage and grip, should I stick with the Bridgestones? my riding style is fairly conservative, I like to push on a bit but not to the point of scraping the footboards, and mostly ride one up.
Regards,
John.
 
Yay! A tire thread. :laugh:

I have a '98 EV. After the OEM Pirellis wore out (pretty quickly), I went for many -- MANY -- miles on M880's.

Eventually, I lost some confidence in their adhesion ... I can be stoooopid now and then and ride beyond my ability ... thus moved to Michelin Pilot Activs. Prefer them to the M880's for performance in a safety sense, but they do not appear to be a long-lived as the M880's.

Lots of tires, opinions, and asshats out there ... including me ... so, obviously, YMMV in a most literal way. ;)

Bill
 
I highly recommend the Metzeler Z8s. I found them to be the best sport touring tire, save Avon Storm 2s and Mich- PR3s, which I have not tried either yet. I don't know if Mtz make them for the '96 Cali but I do know they make the sizes for the '97 and on Cali models.

Got 10k miles on the front and 7k on the back solo with camping gear. They handle great wet and dry; maintain a near perfect profile throughout its service life; and have the unexpected characteristic of absorbing shock from pot holes a bit better than standard radial tires.
 
Rafael said:
I highly recommend the Metzeler Z8s. I found them to be the best sport touring tire, save Avon Storm 2s and Mich- PR3s, which I have not tried either yet. I don't know if Mtz make them for the '96 Cali but I do know they make the sizes for the '97 and on Cali models.

Got 10k miles on the front and 7k on the back solo with camping gear. They handle great wet and dry; maintain a near perfect profile throughout its service life; and have the unexpected characteristic of absorbing shock from pot holes a bit better than standard radial tires.
Click to expand...


Rafael,

Z8s are a radial tire and won't fit on a 1996 California.

Demon,

A good balance on Bias tires is hard to find these days. Motorcycles that use them are getting scarce so the manufactures don't have much incentive. Probably the better ones out there these days are the Michelin Pilots and BT 45s. Again it is a personal choice from the standpoint of your riding style and the amount of wallet you have to put into tires.
 
Hi Demon

Tried Metzelers on my old LM 2 but changed to BT 45s and noticed a big positive difference in feedback, grip and handling. Now have fitted 45s to my '95 Cali 1100i and got the same result.

I guess it is a matter of personal choice and riding style, but as tyres are the only point of contact with the road, (unless you go shiny side down), I always reckon it a good policy to buy the best.
 
I'm an ME880 fan. I got 11,000 miles out of my last set, inlcuding local and trans-continental driving. The've got a stiff sidewall, makes for a more responsive feel when turning. They've never given me a moments concern in the heat, the cold, the rain and have had them heeled over fully loaded two up to within a quarter inch of the chicken strip. The front tire i would not have had to replace. The rear had relatively uniform wear side-center-side, but the center was gone. I run 44psi in the rear and 38 in the front. Despite taking the tires to within a quarter inch of their edge, i've never felt a moment's slip or slide.

Sounds like you fellas already have quite a bit of experience with tires and are probably gassing it harder through turns than me.
 
Steve,

Your pressures seem a bit high for a California. Tires work best when they get to warm up. You control tire temperature by changing tire pressure. Try lowering the back to 38 to 40 PSI (I used 36 on mine when I had them) and the front to 33 to 34. The tires will get hotter and she should stick much better then she already is.
 
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