The other day, just out of curiosity, I wanted to see if the price of the Pirelli Diablos had gone up. Lo and behold......everybody was on back order for the classic 250 sizes.

My question is this: What tires, other than the K630 Dunlops or tires in the $100 per tire price range, are readily available for the classic 250s? I will likely buy another set in the spring and want to choose something that is affordable and available.

Seems like Pirelli tires for the classic are hard to come by. Would be nice if there were a set that always seemed to be out there, and did not cost more than $50 to $70 per tire.

Ideas???

Plenty of tires out there (my faves are the Pirelli Sport Demons), but $50 - $70 a tire is less than I've seen for just about all bike tires. The Sport Demons are now going for $85/f, $115/r in classic 250 sizes, at least on swmototires (http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SWMT&Category_Code=SprtDmn), and their price is typically one of the lowest around, especially when you consider no sales tax or shipping charges. The list below (disclaimer: found elsewhere on the net, I didn't create it from scratch) includes most of the available tires that are known to fit the 250, perhaps there's one there that would fit what you're looking for...

Performance Tires
Pirelli Sport Demon
Bridgestone BT45
Dunlop GT501
Metzeler Lasertec
Pirelli MT75
Pirelli ST 66
Avon AM63 Viper Stryke
Pirelli Diablo Scooter
Dunlop GT301

Touring Tires
Metzeler ME 880
Avon Roadrider
Kenda K671 Cruiser S/T
Kenda K657 Sport Challenger

Cheap Tires
Dunlop K630
Dunlop K330
Pirelli MT66
Cheng Shin tires
Maxxis tires
GBC Street Shark
Shinko tires

Like you, I hate not having the tires that I want available when I need them, and even popular tires go out-of-stock often enough that I typically stock at least 1 extra set (and usually 2) for each bike we own in the garage, and once I fit a set onto the bike I'll re-order so I'm never stuck without the preferred tire.

Cool...thanks for the list Alex.
Alot of brands on there that I did not find after looking online for an hour or more.

I must have gotten a sweet deal on my Pirelli Diablos.
I paid about $110 for front and rear with shipping.

I have heard good things about the Kenda tires, and obviously the Sport Demons as well.

I've had the Bridgestone BT-45's, Pirelli ST-66's, Kenda K671's, and I'm currently running the Avon RoadRiders. I buy mine over at American Motorcycle Tire (http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/) and with this latest tire purchase I mounted them myself.
Tony

Touring Tires

Kenda K671 Cruiser S/T (front - 100/90-16)
Kenda K657 Sport Challenger (rear - 130/90-16)


I have one of each of these, one size larger than stock. They grip well in the rain, better than the stock Dunlops. (I know, I know) They seem to last long enough. I put the rear on at 8200 miles, that's over 13k miles so far with plenty of tread still! (21.6k currently) I only replaced the front Dunlop with the semi-matching Kenda. The taller profile of both tires gives a more comfortable ride, also makes it easier to roll on to the center stand.
I've not once locked up a wheel as a result of poor tire grip, though I don't generally push the limits. I'd recommend these to anyone looking for value, wet grip and tire life.

I'm looking to add dual sport tires to the list. I've been querying the guys at ADVRider (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8820320#post8820320) off and on about it. The Kenda K761 rear looks to be a good posibility, its been mounted sans-tube with good results. I'm due for a new tire again, so its probably time to do something really different. It should be interesting at least...

How much off roading do you do? :)

Occasional dirt roads, no trail duty. I never drop a knee, nor do I ever drag the pegs. I'm tempted to replace the lower bodywork with a bash plate and build a Versys 250. :) All I need is a way to adapt one-piece bars and I'll be thrilled! Maybe in another year or two I'll tear it up, for now its still shiny.

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/5852/img1779wn9.jpg
Not nearly this aggressive... :eek:

I've think I've seen a company that makes a conversion kit to put one piece bars on our bikes.... damn, I can't remember where I saw that! :eek:

Any semi knobby tire will be an improvement over the street tires we now use. It depends on how much time you expect to be on the highway vs offroad that will determine which tire is right for you.

Kenda K671 Cruiser S/T (front - 100/90-16)
Kenda K657 Sport Challenger (rear - 130/90-16)

Also, once we have a knowledge-base/FAQ in place, I'll add my two cents on these tires there. Keep in mind that I drag not peg or knee. ;)

The K671 front tire is settling in nicely. The stock size is 100/80-16, so I went up to a 90 for a more compliant ride. In wet and dry it handles very well. Even in panic braking, the tire holds true. I haven't had it on for many miles yet, but I'll add my impressions as time goes on. If the longevity of the K657 rear is an indicator, maybe I'll see some sky-high mileage returned.

I really like the K657 rear and would have another in a heartbeat. It lasts a long time with consistent feedback until it wears down to unsafe tread depths. Light years ahead of the stock Dunlops. 130/80-16 stock size, so I went up to the 90 for a more comfortable ride and to lower engine revs (combined with a 15/41 gear swap).

I just ordered a K671 for the rear, ~$60 shipped. Once I have a few miles on it I'll do a write-up comparing it to the K657 rear. I really wanted to have another K657, but I wanted to see what the differences ended up being.

I've seriously considered doing a K761 dual sport rear, but I can't find it in the required size. I also looked at a few other offerings, like the TW40, nothing really seemed to fit just right. Maybe I'll just get an old Ninjette and turn it into an ADV Ninjette!

tnx for the topic thread...

Our son has a 2007 - with the orig K630 Dunlops - front & rear -
Thoughts on comparing the Pirelli Diablo vs the MT75 for getting a new rear only...
Would like to keep the same exact size for rear at 130/80-16

Also - total cost + shipping to Chicago area burbs...

This scooter thing is like keeping up with the joneses, I get MT75 tires @110-120 a pair and there an actual rim size tire. I'm old and I like seeing tread on my tires (i know what slicks can do) having them built for my rim, soft compound for all around riding blah blah blah. Now you can go get your diablos or demons to join the ranks of lemmings (joke).

The Diablos do come in the right sizes for the pre-gen, they are one of the few newer compound / newer design tires available in the 16" size. They are marketed as scooter tires, and are meant for the new generation of larger/faster highway capable scooters. Feedback from those using them has been positive, but there's certainly nothing wrong with the MT75's, GT501's, or Sport Demons either.

What about the whole issue of tire geometry.... Replacing rear tire

Our 2007 has the standard 100/80-16 front and 130/80-16 rear...

The Diablos come in this exact same rear size,
but the MT75 only comes in the 120/80-16.

What effect does that mis-match in geometry produce - bike, rim, etc ?

Also - what about tread pattern (MT75) vs smoother (Diablo) ...

Also keep in mind that if you use a tire that only comes in a 110 width on the front (gt501's) you have to move the fender up a bit or else your tire will rub your fender badly

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_I_raise_the_front_fender_to_fit_a_110-width_tire%3F

He's just looking at the rear at this point...

I keep forgetting that the dimensions for bike tires are "actual" sizes like:
130/80-16 is 130mm wide and 80mm high and 16" rims
but on a car the 2nd number is an "aspect ratio".

SO - on this 2007 Ninja 250r bike -
going from the stock Dunlop 130/80-16 to a Pirelli MT75 120/80-16
width is ok... since it is slightly narrower
height is ok... since it is exactly the same;
vertical travel & rpm on rear, and speedo will be exact and not affected.

He's just looking at the rear at this point...

I keep forgetting that the dimensions for bike tires are "actual" sizes like:
130/80-16 is 130mm wide and 80mm high and 16" rims
but on a car the 2nd number is an "aspect ratio".

The second number for bikes is an aspect ratio as well, same as cars. It is 80% of 130, for a height of 104 mm. (more detail from a motorcycle tire vendor (http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/tpl/tire/tiresizeexplain.jsp))

The second number for bikes is an aspect ratio as well, same as cars. It is 80% of 130, for a height of 104 mm.

WOW - Thanks -
I must have been reading the wrong websites...

After more searching - Here's a sample of the correct info -
http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/tpl/tire/tiresizeexplain.jsp

Funny! I had just edited my post to put in the same link that you found as well. :thumbup:

BTW: The pre-gen ninjettes used to come with 120 width rears stock way back when. Those tires became harder to source, so they went to 130 width, but didn't change the rim size at all (width or anything else). So the bike was initially designed for a 120 width anyway, though the slightly wider 130 didn't hurt much. (and given the crappy tires that went on those bikes stock anyway, it would be hard to judge how much of the lack of performance was due to the tire width compared to its compound/tread/etc.)

I love the MT75's due to just that fact, they were made for that specific rim, plus they're soft, inexpensive and run great. Not to mention the scooter tires are rated for 90mph or something, not for my bike. Regardless of price the diablo AND sport demons are keeping up with the jonses, the best tires other than MT75's are Bridgestone BT45's, Dunlop GT501's and Metzler lasertecs, period. MHO for sure. (please don't forget that part)

So - if I understand that the "80" is an aspect ratio - just like with cars -
then the standard 130/80 = 104mm height
and the MT75 at 120/80 = 96mm
giving a dif of 8mm.

What effect does this 8mm have on the higher engine rpms, rear travel height, or speedo issues ?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but having a smaller back tire would make your engine rpm's rise a touch since the tire would cover less distance with each turn. If we're just talking about changing the back tire, the speedo would not be affected, as that's on the front wheel. However if you also change the front, the speedo would be even more hopeful than it is now, because the wheel would be spinning slightly faster at the same forward speed, indicating a higher speed. I'm not sure how drastic of a change it would actually be though and you might not notice a whole lot.

I'm interested in how close to accurate putting a 100/90-16 on the front will make the speedo, as I just put an order on a new set of BT45's