I have a buddy that just purchased a 2010 250r with 288 miles on the odometer. The previous owner purchased the bike in the spring of 2010 and rode it a few times and left it in his shed ever since.

So....the bike's a mess. Carbs completely clogged. Tires are dry & cracked. But the bike is in great shape cosmetically because he threw a tarp over it. Besides a few surface rust on some of the bolts, everything looks real nice. (Bike doesn't start up since the battery went dead 5 years ago).

Anyways, my buddy is one of those people who want to follow everything by the book. He wants OEM tires. I tried and tried and tried and tried to talk him out of it, explaining that the OEM IRCs aren't the best tires around.....but his logic is that if it was good enough for Kawasaki to put on brand new bikes, it's good enough for him. (He's also the type that gets OEM brand tires on his cars as well).

There's no talking him out of it. So....I offered to help him find a low mileage set.

But I can't seem to find any. Do you guys where I should look and how much he should expect to pay????

He's located in NYC if that makes any difference.

If you guys have a set for sale, please let me know how much shipped to 10080.

Oh dear...

http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=689&products_id=2107

Oh boy......wow. .....um. ....wow.....I can see someone wanting specifically OEM because the bike /car is vintage and special or rare, but in this case not so much. But to each his own. I would at least talk him out of used tires though. IRC are pretty cheap as far as tires go. Here is the rear and from a site that is usually the cheapest around, i just got my avon rear from Dennis Kirk this time since they actually were cheaper.

Oh dear...

Oh boy......wow. .....um. ....wow......


YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!! I had extremely strong urges to stab him in the eye with a pencil when he kept on saying "no" to better tires!!!!!

I offered to give him my set of IRCs for FREE off my 2013 300 (2,000 miles). But he didn't want them because they aren't OEM size. That....I can somewhat understand. But they're freaking free!!! Just take them, then buy me a beer for crying out loud.

YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!! I had extremely strong urges to stab him in the eye with a pencil when he kept on saying "no" to better tires!!!!!

I offered to give him my set of IRCs for FREE off my 2013 300 (2,000 miles). But he didn't want them because they aren't OEM size. That....I can somewhat understand. But they're freaking free!!! Just take them, then buy me a beer for crying out loud.

I thought my wife was stubborn but this blows her out of the water. I mean, wanting irc because you by chance just really like them is one thing, but going for the whole OEM thing is utterly insane. I only go OEM on anything if it is the only option or by chance is better than anything aftermarket. Does he have much riding experience?

:doh:

Probably flea bay. Have you explained to him that most used irc's may very be expired? Explain to him as well that even pro riders don't only put OEM parts. Or tell him that a dealer wouldn't put it on if it was dangerous (that's a little far fetched - crooks out there).

Have you explained to him that most used irc's may very be expired?

This is probably the biggest thing that sticks out to me when it's an older bike.

If he really must have IRCs, get them from American moto tire, which was linked above. ~$60-70/tire and free shipping. No used deals are really going to beat that in my opinion. I tried to get w/e cheap tire I could get to put on a bike for sale previously and ended up just buying an IRC from that site because it was the cheapest thing I could find at that time. Shipping is really going to be the killer on any used tires you might find online. Since the 300 has the same front, you could give him that one and he only has to buy a rear.

Just as long as your buddy doesn't buy it from a shop... (I'm looking at you CycleCam303 :lol:)

:headshake: :crazy:

IRC's are so useless, WE should be paying YOU to take them off us lol.

I have my old set with 4000 miles on them still, but they are pretty rounded off did a lot of motorway (freeway) riding on them.

He's okay with used tires?

If he's THAT set on OEM, they are worth a lot to him.

So.... put out a call for Ninjette riders in the NY metro area who still have OEMs on their bike.

Have your friend buy a new set of decent tires.

Swap.

Done. Friend will be happy and the lucky person on the other end of the transaction will be amazed by his or her good fortune.

Have you pointed out to him that Kawasaki also used Dunlops as OEM? That's what my newgen had on it.

I have a buddy that just purchased a 2010 250r with 288 miles on the odometer. The previous owner purchased the bike in the spring of 2010 and rode it a few times and left it in his shed ever since.

So....the bike's a mess. Carbs completely clogged. Tires are dry & cracked. But the bike is in great shape cosmetically because he threw a tarp over it. Besides a few surface rust on some of the bolts, everything looks real nice. (Bike doesn't start up since the battery went dead 5 years ago).

Anyways, my buddy is one of those people who want to follow everything by the book. He wants OEM tires. I tried and tried and tried and tried to talk him out of it, explaining that the OEM IRCs aren't the best tires around.....but his logic is that if it was good enough for Kawasaki to put on brand new bikes, it's good enough for him. (He's also the type that gets OEM brand tires on his cars as well).

There's no talking him out of it. So....I offered to help him find a low mileage set.

But I can't seem to find any. Do you guys where I should look and how much he should expect to pay????

He's located in NYC if that makes any difference.

If you guys have a set for sale, please let me know how much shipped to 10080.

To tell you the truth I don't think they are a bad tire and if he rides them as a tire that is for commuting then he should not have any trouble.

Have you pointed out to him that Kawasaki also used Dunlops as OEM? That's what my newgen had on it.

I can't believe I forgot about that. The newgen I bought had those as the original tires. Dunlop GT501s. It looks much less available than the IRCs though. Seem to be on closeout everywhere so it might be out of production.

Some ppl ... wow
No need trying to argue and change his mind....

Hopefully he is alright and doesn't have to learn hard way about the IRCs (esp in wet or cold..they are at their worst).

You might have luck at a local Kawi dealer having a used set from someone smart enough to upgrade tires.
They normally, at least from what I seen, keep a few sets of good OEM tires replaced w/ low mileage on them.

Using his logic, he should find out what brand of fuel Kawasaki uses in its own bikes, so he can go source some.

I assume he also buys crazy-overpriced Kawasaki brand oil, right?

If not, challenge his thinking.

Anyways, my buddy is one of those people who want to follow everything by the book. He wants OEM tires. I tried and tried and tried and tried to talk him out of it, explaining that the OEM IRCs aren't the best tires around.....but his logic is that if it was good enough for Kawasaki to put on brand new bikes, it's good enough for him. (He's also the type that gets OEM brand tires on his cars as well).
That's not logic. He needs to do some research before buying tires. OEM tires are a financial decision for the manufacture, and unless you are talking about high-end sport bikes, are usually just adequate for average conditions for a average rider.

Sometimes OEM tires are terrible compared to almost anything else available. I replaced a set of OEM tires on a new cycle after just 500 miles because they were hideous - good enough for Suzuki I guess, but not for anyone else IMO...

He has his head in the sand, is looking for an easy answer, and is naive.

Don't even help him, I have no patience for people like that.

Have you pointed out to him that Kawasaki also used Dunlops as OEM? That's what my newgen had on it.

Try to get him to get the new dunlop OEM tires, the ones for the 2015 ninja 300

those will actually grip the road

OP: I would take a rear for $0 since traction is more dependent on the front (ala. rojo and his slick front/irc rear) but would have to be paid to take a front