What are the pros and cons of sport, cruiser, and touring tires. I was given a number by my local Firestone to order tires, and the discount is huge. But, the tires they carry in stock for hurricanes are cruiser tires. It is $115 for a pair. Will cruiser tires offer enough top speed, traction for canyon riding and maybe the occasional track day?

 

think of it this way, when was the last time you saw a cruiser at a trackday?

unless you ride a hogley wobbleson or metric cruiser, don't bother. cruiser tires are not performance driven. if pushed hard they will loose grip quickly.

touring is just barely above cruiser, mostly a high milage type tire. then there is sport touring, high milage with some sport added in.

sport is just that, a tire that is built for high speeds, high traction limits, and high cornering loads. last thing you want is the bike to come out from underneath you mid way into a corner at high speeds. at this point you probably will be paying on average a $115 for one tire.

your dealer may stock tires but definitely not the ones that you really need.

read the tire sizes sticky as there is some information in there regarding manufacturers brands and models.

look on manufacturer websites to see what sport tire models they have in the sizes you need. even though you have an old bike, it is still a sport bike. you wouldn't put a set of el cheapo Walmart tires on a Ferrari if you had one, would you?

 

Damn right I would, and some phat plastic spinners too...lol

 

thanks michigan_313. That was just the info i was looking for. I think i will spend a little more for sport tires.

plastic spinners are big here in Sacramento. every welfare abusing guy has a set on his bucket. It adds to the nice rattling sound his stereo makes as you hear the bass. lol

 

Do these bikes even handle the lean angle available on most modern sport tires?

I'm pretty sure they don't have the clearance stock, and even modified their ground clearance is minimal in comparison to modern sport bike tires. Sport touring is probably the best combo for this bike...


Then again, we're quite limited on sizes now aren't we...

 

If you buy the stock tire sizes, I challenge you to wear the tires all the way to the edge. Just because these bikes did not come with a big, fat rear tire doesn't mean you can't ride them hard and fast. I mean track racing or fast canyon bashing. Get yourself a quality set of high speed rated tires and ride with confidence!

 

Thats good to know Billistic. This is going to be my first season of canyon riding. So im gonna get the stickiest tires within my budget and take em to their limits. mind you im gonna take a course on canyon riding first for safety.