New Tires

[Gary]

I just had a local bike shop put on a new set of tires on my 2003 T100 Bonneville. I chose Michelin Lasertecs for the following reasons - 1) Michelin brand - they're the ones who originally started putting in the silica compound in tires that increases traction AND increases tread life (formerly impossible), I now always replace tires on my vehicles with Michelins - they simply ride and perform better, 2) retro design that fits well with the Bonneville, and 3) price, the set was US$330 with new tubes, balanced and installed. I put new Metzler 880s on a Harley Superglide last year at significantly greater cost.

These Michelins are much better than the Bridgestone Battlax (SP?) tires that came on the bike from the factory.

Frankly, the original Bridgestones on the bike still had plenty of tread, but they were 14 years old, which is way past the recommended life of tires. Further, virtually all of the riding I do with the Bonneville is on Ozarks mountain roads where there are lots of limited speed curves, including many 15-20 mph switchbacks. Add this in with the sweet spot the bike seems to have at about 80mph, and I need a reliably sticky tire to stay on the road. Too often the single disc brake on the front just doesn't have the "whoa" power to slow down as much as I would like for the next curve - can you say "sparks a plenty" (and pray there is no loose gravel in the curve).

 

[Qship]

Glad you prefer the Michelins.
I, personally have never had good luck with them. I find you usually can't have long life AND good grip. Hard tires don't grip as well as soft ones.
My Thunderbird came with Avon Cobra AV 71s and they are a very nice tire IMHO.

 

[DaveM]

I have heard a lot of riders rave about the Michelins but I suppose each rider looks for a different aspect in a tire so opinions do vary a lot from brand to brand.