Tires without center line?

[Red Mist_imp]

I have OEM Dunlops which are nearing replacement at 6,909 miles. While I'm satisfied with the Dunlops, I'd change tires/brand to one where the front tire (and I assume the rear) don't have the centerline groove found on the OEM Dunlop front tire.

What are my options?

The center groove is critical to channeling water away from the contact patch, so you'll really never find a tire for this application (a touring motorcycle) without it in some form or another. Sportbikes and modern sport-tourers can fit tires like the Dunlop Q3, which don't have one, but that's not a good tire for the wet. It meets minimum standards, and also has a rubber compound that provides more chemical adhesion in the wet, but is not an option for the CB1100. Also this type of tire gets far less mileage than a proper tire for our bike.

Bridgestone has taken the center groove and given it a slight zigzag pattern on some of its tires, like the BT45. This will reduce tracking in pavement grooves, but otherwise, the center groove feature matters little in tire design.

...and, for the record, my front tire has a bad case of cupping. The cupping might be attributable to the fact that I am a new rider (CB1100 is my first motorcycle) and I might be braking while actually entering the turn (i.e., I have heard that I might want to consider having all braking completed prior to entering the turn and actually be throttling up as I begin the turn...easier said than done!). Virtually all my riding is in canyon roads, so that likely adds to the cupping, especially if I'm braking when I shouldn't be. I continue to work on my form, and hope that I'm able to improve and minimize cupping on my new front tire.

All Dunlops do this and as you stated, it's more noticeable among bikes ridden mostly in tighter corners. I tossed mine at 2200 miles. Bridgestones don't seem to do it.

Cupping doesn't necessarily detract from performance until it becomes severe. Take your CB1100 to a track day school (not open track day) sometime, you'd be very surprised and pleased at how well the bike works. Pridmore's CLASS would be a perfect match as his "B" Group is a mixed bag of all kinds of motorcycles, from Gold Wings to Ninja 300s, etc.