Thinking about a wider rear tire

[CIP57_imp]

Today, it was my first ride with the Pirelli Sport Demon on wet roads ("normal" rain). To make a long story short: no, the Pirellis do not have as much grip on wet roads as my former Dunlops D205. In one 90° turn with approx. 40 km/h speed, the front tire started skidding a bit - it was not dramatic as skidding started slowly not abruptly so I was able to intercept.

Wet grip together with the - for me - too agile handling in curves seems that the Dunlop would be the better choice for me and my CB compared to the Pirellis.

this is the reason I always go with manufacturer's recommendation. I don't want to change something then find out I don't like it and have to live with it.

For sure that's safe and I appreciate your point of view. In my case when it came time for me to change my D205s they were a "special order" and expensive. BT54s were no longer available so I went with BT45s, bias ply and not manufacturer's recommendation. I would say that, overall, they were a better tyre than the D205s. Handling good and better wear. When they needed replacement (I got about 15000+kms) I wanted to go back to radials. At this stage I became interested in CIP's views on the Michelin RP3s. OK, so I took the jump and 900kms later I have not regretted it at all. However, after reading ingobohn's report regarding the Pirelli Sport Demons I would do a lot more research before considering buying Pirellis. Front tyre breakaway in the wet is not good. I am surprised because review (revzilla et al) gives them 4.5/5 for wet traction. I would assume that he had a matching Pirellis front and rear. The best aspect of the Michelins, according to expert review, is wet weather performance. In other areas they are not the "best" but adequate for me. I really like the easy turn in - smooth as silk and then, leaned over, as sticky as a mouthful of peanut butter. The different profile when going over glass road eyes and small ridges is noticeable and initially disconcerting, but after some 900kms I have complete confidence in the Michelins. They just feel different.

In short I couldn't be happier that I have gone away from the manufacturer's recommendation. Over the next two weeks the CB's new shoes will get a good workout over a lot of good roads in the northern NSW coast and hinterland region. Probably around 3000kms or a maybe a little less. Bring it on!

Cheers

For sure that's safe and I appreciate your point of view. In my case when it came time for me to change my D205s they were a "special order" and expensive. BT54s were no longer available so I went with BT45s, bias ply and not manufacturer's recommendation. I would say that, overall, they were a better tyre than the D205s. Handling good and better wear. When they needed replacement (I got about 15000+kms) I wanted to go back to radials. At this stage I became interested in CIP's views on the Michelin RP3s. OK, so I took the jump and 900kms later I have not regretted it at all. However, after reading ingobohn's report regarding the Pirelli Sport Demons I would do a lot more research before considering buying Pirellis. Front tyre breakaway in the wet is not good. I am surprised because review (revzilla et al) gives them 4.5/5 for wet traction. I would assume that he had a matching Pirellis front and rear. The best aspect of the Michelins, according to expert review, is wet weather performance. In other areas they are not the "best" but adequate for me. I really like the easy turn in - smooth as silk and then, leaned over, as sticky as a mouthful of peanut butter. The different profile when going over glass road eyes and small ridges is noticeable and initially disconcerting, but after some 900kms I have complete confidence in the Michelins. They just feel different.

In short I couldn't be happier that I have gone away from the manufacturer's recommendation. Over the next two weeks the CB's new shoes will get a good workout over a lot of good roads in the northern NSW coast and hinterland region. Probably around 3000kms or a maybe a little less. Bring it on!

Cheers
There is a higher level of confidence with the PR3's, no more worries about sliding out from inferior road surfaces and tar snakes.

[ingobohn_imp]

Today, it was my first ride with the Pirelli Sport Demon on wet roads ("normal" rain). To make a long story short: no, the Pirellis do not have as much grip on wet roads as my former Dunlops D205. In one 90° turn with approx. 40 km/h speed, the front tire started skidding a bit - it was not dramatic as skidding started slowly not abruptly so I was able to intercept.

Wet grip together with the - for me - too agile handling in curves seems that the Dunlop would be the better choice for me and my CB compared to the Pirellis.

this is the reason I always go with manufacturer's recommendation. I don't want to change something then find out I don't like it and have to live with it.

For sure that's safe and I appreciate your point of view. In my case when it came time for me to change my D205s they were a "special order" and expensive. BT54s were no longer available so I went with BT45s, bias ply and not manufacturer's recommendation. I would say that, overall, they were a better tyre than the D205s. Handling good and better wear. When they needed replacement (I got about 15000+kms) I wanted to go back to radials. At this stage I became interested in CIP's views on the Michelin RP3s. OK, so I took the jump and 900kms later I have not regretted it at all. However, after reading ingobohn's report regarding the Pirelli Sport Demons I would do a lot more research before considering buying Pirellis. Front tyre breakaway in the wet is not good. I am surprised because review (revzilla et al) gives them 4.5/5 for wet traction. I would assume that he had a matching Pirellis front and rear. The best aspect of the Michelins, according to expert review, is wet weather performance. In other areas they are not the "best" but adequate for me. I really like the easy turn in - smooth as silk and then, leaned over, as sticky as a mouthful of peanut butter. The different profile when going over glass road eyes and small ridges is noticeable and initially disconcerting, but after some 900kms I have complete confidence in the Michelins. They just feel different.

In short I couldn't be happier that I have gone away from the manufacturer's recommendation. Over the next two weeks the CB's new shoes will get a good workout over a lot of good roads in the northern NSW coast and hinterland region. Probably around 3000kms or a maybe a little less. Bring it on!

Cheers

Unfortunately, there are some more restrictions in Germany with motor bike tires compared to the U.S. And therefore there is no Michelin released for the CB1100. Otherwise I would immediately go for the Michelins.
(Only D205, BT54, Sport Demon and T30 and B023 are released for our CB here in Germany.)

[ClassicVW_imp]

This probably isn't true, but I would hope any good service shop would refuse to mount a 180 tire on a 4" rim. I wouldn't even risk a 160. Now, if going to a 150 gave me better or more diverse tire options, that's definitely something I would consider (sadly, it doesn't ). But I would be really weary about going over a +10 on the tire width. Good luck to you Sil, keep us posted about what you decide, and how it works out.

Sometimes it's true. I had a BMW tourer and was looking for white wall tires. (Don't say it!) My dealer was both BMW and H-D. Service/parts manager looked it up in the thick tire bible. There was a WW recommended for the rear, but none for the front. Since Harley baggers have WWs available front and rear, I asked him to put one rated for a Harley on my BMW since they both were touring baggers and both bikes were a similar weight and had similar load ratings. He said he would not go against a manufacturers recommendation and refused.

I give that guy credit for that. When I told that story on another forum, you'd be surprised how many people said I should have just bought the tires and found a shop to install them. They completely missed the point why the manager refused the sale- SAFETY.

[Lord Popgun]

More likely it was- LIABILITY

[ClassicVW_imp]

More likely it was- LIABILITY

Very good catch. I was actually also thinking of liability but it never found it's way into my post. I think I posted that at 3AM local time.

[Cormanus]

To be fair, it would be a combination of both SAFETY and LIABILITY, wouldn't it?

[Pterodactyl_imp]

To be fair, it would be a combination of both SAFETY and LIABILITY, wouldn't it?

Hah. Don't be fair. After all he is a dealer.

Cheers

[Cormanus]

To be fair, it would be a combination of both SAFETY and LIABILITY, wouldn't it?

Hah. Don't be fair. After all he is a dealer.

Cheers

Surely you can't be saying ALL dealers are evil?

[Pterodactyl_imp]

No, I just said don't be fair. Just get the best deal......for yourself.

Cheers

[thessler3_imp]

Most of my riding group are old guys, but we all go pretty fast and like our tires to last longer than the super-soft compounds in pure sport tires. Many of us have gravitated to Michelin sport-touring tires after trying many others. Of all the Michelin sport-touring tires recently used, the Pilot Road 3 tires are liked the least. Both Pilot Road 2 and Pilot Road 4 tires are well liked. Pilot Road 4 tires are not made in sizes for the CB1100. I am looking if any suppliers still have the Pilot Road 2's available.

Road Smarts also seem to work well.

The premium sport-touring tires seem to last longer and maintain their tread shape longer than the stock tires.

The Bridgestones on my CB1100 have worked fine, but I will probably switch to the Michelins or Roadsmarts and install a slight wider 150 or 160 rear.