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Tire Prices - February 2022

Daboo

Member
Member
About every six months, I check the prices of tires/tyres to see what changes are happening, and if I can discern any trends. With the supply chain broken, tires are the weakest link to any travel I'd like to do.

I also like to watch for rebates. What I feel is an overpriced tire at the normal price, can be a bargain when a rebate is applied. Michelin has a $50 rebate currently till March 7th. On March 8th, the Michelin tires will move from the middle of the list to the bottom where the most expensive tires are sorted. FWIW, in the past, Dunlop had a rebate starting around April I think and lasting through the summer. Continental has a rebate in May/June. What will happen this year, is unknown.

Tire prices below are for my BMW F800GT. 120/70-17 and 180/55-17.

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It is worthwhile to shop around. I included prices from two sources this time. Dennis Kirk and Revzilla. I used to think all the online tire prices were the same. Not true. I purchased my last tires from Dennis Kirk at a nice discount from the Revzilla price.

My personal belief is that the tires on the chart above are very close in actual performance. The Owner Rating from Revzilla buyers is a reflection of what owners feel about the tire. The least expensive tires, seem to have a loyal following that like those tires. So buying a premium priced tire, doesn't necessarily mean you'll get any better performance.

One "bargain" I'm seeing is the Metzeler Roadtec 01 SE from Dennis Kirk. The Revzilla price makes it a very pricey tire. The Dennis Kirk price makes it a very tempting opportunity to buy a tire that is supposedly far better than the older model.

Chris
 
Well after 2 years on ContiMotions I am moving to Roadsmart 3's (they arrived last week).

The Conti's were good to me, I got 10k on the first set that I really babied, and 7.6k from the second set that I admit I pushed a little more than the first set. And the 3 year Continental roadside maintenance plan was awesome too!

But I think going to the Roadsmart is a good move based on COG user feedback, but only time will tell. Not to mention this will be the first time I have replaced and balanced a tire myself in 20 or more years. The tools and balancer arrived this past weekend!!
 
Well after 2 years on ContiMotions I am moving to Roadsmart 3's (they arrived last week).

The Conti's were good to me, I got 10k on the first set that I really babied, and 7.6k from the second set that I admit I pushed a little more than the first set. And the 3 year Continental roadside maintenance plan was awesome too!

But I think going to the Roadsmart is a good move based on COG user feedback, but only time will tell. Not to mention this will be the first time I have replaced and balanced a tire myself in 20 or more years. The tools and balancer arrived this past weekend!!
Let me know how the mounting and balancing go for you. Still have yet to pull the trigger. Got free mounting again on this set of RSIV’s but that won’t last forever.
 
Let me know how the mounting and balancing go for you. Still have yet to pull the trigger. Got free mounting again on this set of RSIV’s but that won’t last forever.

Everyone tells me to make sure I let the tires get as warm as possible before mounting. Cold + Bike Tire = A Tough Mounting Afternoon
 
Don't forget to have something to keep the tire down in the center of the wheel. It makes a lot of difference when you get to the last bit of spooning the tire on. Spending some money on actual tire mounting lube would make the job easier.
 
Everyone tells me to make sure I let the tires get as warm as possible before mounting. Cold + Bike Tire = A Tough Mounting Afternoon
I would see people put their tires out in the sun to warm it up. I don't know where they live, but it sure isn't the Pacific Northwest. So I've done two things to get the tire warm. Our upstairs bathroom seems to be the hottest room in the house, so one time I stacked the tires up where the hot air coming from the vent would hit them all night. It might've helped.

What really helped warm them was to lay them on some wood in the garage, put another sheet of wood on top, and then put a couple halogen worklights in the middle of the tires. The lower piece of wood gave the tires some insulation from the cold garage floor. The lights in the center put out a lot of heat, and the top layer of wood covering the top, trapped that heat inside.

When I put the Dunlop RS4's on, the rear tire slipped all the way on by hand for the bottom bead, and the top went on almost completely...and all in one effort.

FWIW, I haven't spent much $$ on equipment. I did the first several sets entirely with spoons. I took a 2x4 and cut it into four pieces to make a "platform" to keep the front wheel's disk off the ground so it wouldn't get damaged. I found the hardest part of the entire operation was in breaking the bead. So I bought an inexpensive bead breaker for less than $80. Balancing is done with balance beads.

And if you don't have tire mounting lube as Bud suggests, Windex works as well.

Chris
 
I purchased a set of Metzler Roadtech Z8 for $260 delivered (Revzillz) just a few months ago. I really like these tires, great good, decent mileage, excellent price.
 
The Roadsmart3's have been decent thus far, and I have about 3200 miles on them.
Done more two-up on them, so the rear middle is worn worse than the edges....but that's typical.
Good linear tip-in, and not nearly as stiff a carcass as the Pirelli Angel - but i ran the SpecA version.
These should realistically be a 5k mile tire, and that's about avg for how I ride.
Good dry grip and maybe just slightly off-par on wet confidence.
I've scrubbed them within 1/16th of the edges, and run a 190/55.

I'd buy again....for the price - $258 now for a set on Revzilla.

gr
 
I just put a set of Pirelli Angel GTs on my 2008. With all the conflicting info on these tire pages, I was unsure of what to try, it had an older set of Dunlops when I bought it that were getting flat in the middle of the thread. A fellow NE Cog member suggested the Pirelli's. I got them from J&P Cycle with free shipping.

The bike feels lighter, more nimble in the corners. Just an overall enjoyable riding experience. I don't corner hard, but now I find myself being a little more aggressive because it "feels" better. I'm interested to see what mileage I get out of them.

I never had new tires make much of a difference, with the exception of when my C10 would cup the front tire when they got older. I'm tempted to rack it up to the placebo effect, much like when you think your car runs better after an oil change. I see guys extoll the mileage/handling/stickiness in rain of one tire, only to see another guy say the opposite and say he only rides the tire the first guy trashed. So I guess my point is that every post on tires should probably end with "Your mileage and handling may vary"
 
There are lots of good tires out there. It would be easier to list the bad tires. I can only think of one that's truly bad and that's a Metzler ME-880. It's a great way to die on a wet road. The most economically sensible tire are shinko's. Like I said lots of great tires out there. New is more pliable than old and always feels better. The more you pay the more you value it. But tires are commodities. Try something diff as often as you like and if you no likey, no getty again. No biggie🤷
 
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