Help me pick a set of tires

[Tuned forks]

So the subject in question is a relatively stock '90 FJ.  It still has the 17" front and 16" rear wheels.  No, I won't be changing the wheels or brakes anytime soon if ever.  The bike came  to me with a Dunlop Sportmax 120/70-17 front and a Dunlop Arrowmax 150/80-16 rear.  As FJ'ers know, matching tires are limited in the stock rim specs.  So far, I have found these:

Metzler ME880 Marathon
Perelli Sport Demon Sport Touring
Avon Storm 3D X-M

My riding so far has been sport riding around the SF Bay Area.  I'd also like to get into longer distance riding as well.  Not the thousands of miles that some of you are capable of but hundreds of miles.  Specifically, I have ridden either north on US 1 or south to CA 84 and various roads in the Santa Cruz mtns.  Weather can be either wet in SF with heavy fog to bright sunny and hot.  For those living in points East, we have many micro climates in the Bay Area.  Kinda like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.  I don't ride in the rain or snow/ice.

Does anyone have first hand experience with these tires?  Comments, opinions, dirty jokes?

Thank you for your time and assistance.
Joe

[Pat Conlon]

Avon Storm 3D X-M gets my vote.

You have a 17" front so you can run a matched set. (better if you had the wider 3.5" FZR front rim)

I did a resto on Jason Lawson's '93 and left the rear rim the oem 16". I figured we would convert over to the 17" rear in the future so, to get him on the road, I installed the 150/80-16 Avon Storm 3D.

Wow!
Stable when leaned over on the shoulders (amazing considering the tall side wall) nimble with good grip, fast warm up, Good mileage.

I was very impressed with this tire.
Even to a point where, had this tire been available 12 years ago, I would have felt no need to convert my FJ over to a 17" rear.

Kudo's to Avon for producing this tire in the rare 150/80-16 size.

[aviationfred]

I concur with Pat on the Avon Storm 3D X-M.
My current FJ came with a set installed. I don't know how many miles were on them when I got it. I put another 6000 miles on them before I did my wheel swaps. Great tires.


Fred

[T Legg]

 I put sport demons on my 84 fj1100 in march they handled very well and still do. as the rear tire wore  it remianed very well rounded but its barely been 4,000 miles and i have worn it down to where the threads started showing this weekend .I hoped for a lot more mileage than that.

[Tuned forks]

Thank you guys.  The feedback is greatly appreciated.

Joe

[andyoutandabout]

Watching this thread with interest as I have the same dilemma on a 91.
What you definitely don't want are Avon road riders. They have that tall side wall on the rear 16 and you can feel that thing bo and flex like crazy. After some research , this was flagged as a common problem along with side wall cracking, which mine was showing early signs of. I wrote to Avon and got no reply, so it kinda put me off the entire brand. Maybe this manufacturing issue has been addressed or doesn't occur on the storm model.
Anyway, I'd convinced myself to go with pirelli demons, unless these storms get some great reviews. The fact that Pat uses them lends them worthy of a second look.
Andy

[Pat Conlon]

Andy, to be clear, I put the Avons on Jason Lawson's bike. Jason kept the 16" rear rim on his '93.

I'm currently running Michelin Pilot Road 5's on my '84. The wiggle is gone. Grip is good, not great, just good.
Did 4,500 miles over the summer and the rear tire still looks new. No flat spotting at all.

I got 8,200 miles out of my last set of PR-4's and it looks like I'll get the same, or more, out of these PR-5's.

For the 16" rims I pick Avons. For the 17" rims I pick Michelin.

[Tuned forks]

I'd have to agree with Pat's assessment of the Pilots.  I put Pilots on the FZR.

[andyoutandabout]

No argument about pilots, hands down my pick for 17 inch rims.
The 91 fj I used this summer in the U.K. was stock and will need new rear rubber for next time.
I liked AZAROS, but they got dropped from the range.
Storm v Demon then unless other 16 inch rim riders can say othetwise.
I note Fred's Storm vote.
Time for a poll?

[Tuned forks]

No Metzler love apparently.

[racerrad8]

No Metzler love apparently.

Comparing the Metzler or Pirelli to the Avon is like comparing Apples and oranges.

Avon (radial) Vs. Metzler/Pirelli (bias-ply).

Put the Avon 3D XM on the rear and whatever brand of radial of the front. If you want to keep them matched, Avon makes the 3D XM for the 17" front as well.

That's my recommendation.

Randy - RPM

[racerrad8]

No argument about pilots, hands down my pick for 17 inch rims.
The 91 fj I used this summer in the U.K. was stock and will need new rear rubber for next time.
I liked AZAROS, but they got dropped from the range.
Storm v Demon then unless other 16 inch rim riders can say othetwise.
I note Fred's Storm vote.
Time for a poll?

Andy, buddy we are going to have to get you caught back up to 2018. Myself and Ramos have been running the Michelin Power RS for quite some time now on the 17" hoops. These tires have performed excellently and I doubt I will venture too far away from them until something better comes along.

We just mounted a set of Road 5's on Mike's bike for his current cross country trip and winter riding so they have additional sipe grooves. I am sure he will have an update when he returns about their performance.

Randy - RPM

[Pat Conlon]

Randy, what kind of mileage do you and Mike get out of the RS?

[TexasDave]

I was a big fan of the Avon Azerros. The sticking power on corners was very good however they only had an average wear life. I now have a set of Avon Spirit ST's on my 93. These are supposed to be a dual compound tire for longevity with a softer compound on the edges for handling. Unfortunately I have virtually no mileage on them so I don't know if they will be any good. We shall see.

Dave

[racerrad8]

Randy, what kind of mileage do you and Mike get out of the RS?

Mike had just over 6k on the set we just took off. But they are not worn out. They were changed just to ensure good wet weather traction on his trip.

I would say they are just about half way and will go back on next spring.

At this point, mine are not a good representation of mileage.

Randy - RPM