New tire recommendations - 4,000 mile trip planned next summer

[Neoday2]

So after searching the existing forums and many hours all over the internet, I thought it would be good to start a new thread on tires.

I have an 89 FJ1200.  New to me this summer. I knew I was in for tires this winter when I figured I would cross that bridge when I got there.

Current tires:
Front-
Rear-Pirelli MT66- mostly worn.  No idea on how many miles. 

I will be riding from Minnesota to Moab and back over about a week.  A few of the roads I want to ride are hard packed gravel, I figure I will put in about 50-100 miles on gravel.  I will be carrying saddle bags and a tent/camping gear.  I am about 220lbs with all my riding gear and probably another 30-40lbs in camping/camera gear for the trip. Current standover height is not an issue.

I am not looking for a super sporty tire.  I am looking for a reasonably priced tire that will handle the miles, twisties and most likely some bad weather. 

Couple questions about sizing: 
Front stock: 120/70-17 - Michelin Radial something.  Probably 50+% left but it is cupping.
On the Shinko 230, the closest sizes available are 120/90-17 and 150/80-17.  looking at comparative websites,

Tires I am considering:
Metzler ME880 (ME888)
Shinko 230 Tourmaster - Rear -fits stock. Front- see above
Shinko 705 Dual Sport Front tire (No 16" rear tire) - I see why many switch to 17" rims.
Michelin Commander II
Michelin Pilot Road 4 - front only

So, what are your thoughts on tires? 
I

[Bill_Rockoff]

You want to keep the tire pressures high on an FJ, or the tires cup earlier than they otherwise would.

The Pilot Road 4 is probably the best sport-touring tire out there.  If you don't plan to go around corners in a sportbike fashion, almost any name-brand tire would do.  (I am not a fan of Shinko or Kenda tires, though.) 

If you can find a 150/80 or 160/80 or 160/70 radial for the 16" rear, radials front and rear would work better and last longer than most bias ply tires.  I have gotten 5,000-7,000 miles out of a set of sport-touring radial tires, except for my last Metzler ME-Z8 rear tire which was bald at 4,500 miles.  (It was an aggressive 4,500 miles, but still, 6,500 is typical from ME-Z6s though.)

The better tire selection is one of the reasons many of us have retrofit a 17" diameter rear wheel from another bike.  It's a bit more involved than changing wheels on a car, but well worth it.  Plenty of time between now and your trip to Moab.

Barring that, ME880s seem like a pretty good bet.  Sure, they're "touring" tires and not "sport" or "sport touring" tires, but they last long and they do well in colder / wetter / more-gravel conditions, and I've seen a friend of mine keep up pretty well on a set of ME-880 tires.  (And his tires were on a Virago.)

Any chance your trip will coincide with the FJ rally in, I think, Gunnison?

[racerrad8]

If you are staying with the stock wheels, I currently recommend the Avon Storm 3D X-M radials.

If you are changing over the wheels to 17" then we are having great experience with Michelin Pilot power 3 for summer use and Pilot Road 4 for winter riding.

I am currently working with Shinko to hopefully start production of radial tires for the FJ stock wheels sizes; 16 & 17". I have been testing the SR880/SR881 tires on my 93 and have been very happy. I rode them very hard at the 2015 Renegade Rally and I am very impressed with the performance and the wear to date is excellent. We are still quite some time away from any production availability, but hopefully sooner than later.

Randy - RPM

[Neoday2]

Any chance your trip will coincide with the FJ rally in, I think, Gunnison?

I just saw a thread about the gathering, will have to do more reading about times/locations and see if it can work.  Looks like it might be the week after I am there.  There is plenty of time between now and May/June to figure out details.  It would be great to meet up with everyone and see all the FJs together! 

[rktmanfj]

Any chance your trip will coincide with the FJ rally in, I think, Gunnison Ouray?

FTFY 

[moparman70]

I second the Avons --- I run the 3d's now and they are even better than the first two version  - Storm 1 AND 2. 

good grip - wet and dry and well mileage seem to do ok as well

sc2

[CutterBill]

I am currently working with Shinko to hopefully start production of radial tires for the FJ stock wheels sizes; 16 & 17".

This is interesting news.  I have Shinko 805 tires on my Suzuki V-Strom 650 and I'm very pleased with them.  If they will make something for our FJ's, I will definitely try them out.
Bill

"If things seem under control, then you just aren't going fast enough."
Mario Andretti

[oldktmdude]

This is interesting news.  I have Shinko 805 tires on my Suzuki V-Strom 650 and I'm very pleased with them.  If they will make something for our FJ's, I will definitely try them out.
Bill

I'm running Shinko 705's on my TDM and have to say they are a great tyre.     Pete.

[bikemad]

A previous bike I had(Kawasaki GTR1000, ZG1000 in the US) had a 16" rear and I had a Michelin Commander 11 fitted, I sold the bike
after the tyre had done 20,000klms and it was only part worn.
A guy in our bike Club runs them on a Honda ST1300 and can squeezed 40,000klms out of them.
Both heavy bikes.
Lot's of straight roads here in West Australia so I'm not sure you would use them for really spirited riding!

Cheers Ian.

[FJmonkey]

Cap'n Ron runs the Metzler ME880 (ME888) for his epic long ass rides. But they are not too sticky so he has a second set of wheels for more sporting rides. They will take you way past the 4K miles you want. The PR3 and 4 seem to be quite popular in grip and durability. Keep us SoCal people informed of your travel schedule. Some of us may want meet up where you have planned stops for the day.

[CutterBill]

I have Shinko 805 tires on my Suzuki V-Strom 650....

Correction:  Shinko 705 tires on my V-Strom.  (I may have too many bikes; can't keep them straight.)  But as Pete said, great tires.

[Capn Ron]

Cap'n Ron runs the Metzler ME880 (ME888) for his epic long ass rides. But they are not too sticky so he has a second set of wheels for more sporting rides. They will take you way past the 4K miles you want. The PR3 and 4 seem to be quite popular in grip and durability. Keep us SoCal people informed of your travel schedule. Some of us may want meet up where you have planned stops for the day.

Yep...what the monkey said.  Pirelli Sport Demons are good for 4500-5500 miles...depending on all sorts of factors including road surface, style of riding, heat, speed, rolling weight, etc. . .  The Metzeller ME 880 rear is good for 10,000 - 12,000 miles with the same disclaimers.  I got 17,000 miles out of the ME880 front!

[Neoday2]

What are your thoughts on the ME880/888 as far as grip goes?  I don't do a ton of "spirited riding"- there is a lot of commuting and longer distance road riding.  I am tempted to try the Metzlers or Commander II because of the longer life.  In full disclosure, this is my first set of tires I have had to buy for a street bike.  Budget being what it is right now, I don't want to be buying two sets of tires next summer.

The Commander II comes in 150/80-16 for the rear. But the front would be a 120/90-17 but it is only S rated for 112 MPH and load index of 617lbs.  The rear tire H rated for 130mph, load index is 908 lbs.  So with me, my bike and gear, there will be room to spare.
The Me888 fits the front and rear, same load and speed rating on the rear.  The front is V rated for speed but load index is 508 lbs.  That seems too low, or am I missing something?

I guess I haven't ruled out the pilot road tire, but only the fronts fit.  The rear does not come in a 16" rim.

I appreciate the input and ideas.  I'll keep looking around to see what fits and might be in budget.

Looks like snow next week, might be my last weekend to get out riding for the season.

[racerrad8]

RADIAL RADIAL RADIAL...

You will be much happier.

Avon Storm 3D X-M radials

Did I mention you'll be much happier with RADIALS?

Randy - RPM

[Bill_Rockoff]

The whole FJ barely weighs 600 lbs.  For you to worry about a front tire rated for 500+ lbs, try to imagine how long you'd have to be braking hard enough to lift the rear wheel off the ground.  

However, you do not want a 120/90 on the front.  That's a high sidewall for, like, a cruiser.  And with virtually every tire on the market worth considering available in 120/70-17, there is no good reason to get anything different, unless you want to experiment with quicker turn-in and try a 110 width in front.  But really, all the thinking is done for you, "whatever is the closest match to your rear tire choice, get that for the front tire in size 120/70."

ME-880s are maybe one of the better bias-ply touring tires around.  They are sticky enough that my friend John ("The Beer Scientist") had them (still has them?) on a Virago 750, and he could keep up a sporty enough pace on a damp road that I was enjoying myself and we left our other group of FJ rally friends behind.  In reality, for all my Penske-shock / wider wheel / better brakes / sport-tour-radial buying, I could probably ride a set of Metzler touring tires and never run out of grip on the street.  Haven't tried it.

I see a couple of sites still show a Bridgestone Spitfire S-11 available, which astounds me.   That tire was shit 25 years ago.  Don't get one of those.  You'd be better off riding on the bare aluminum rim.  


Every one of my radial-tire experiences has been better than the best of my non-radial tire experiences.  Since Avon still makes sport-touring radials in FJ stock-rear-wheel sizes, and lots of FJ folks have had good experiences with Avons, I'd go with Avons.  (English brand, they know about riding in the cold and wet.)  

Enjoy your trip, maybe see you out there on it.