[nurider]

Hi all,

I'm looking for help on tires for my 97 Kat600.

The manual lists Dunlop (K655F front and K655 rear) and Metzeler (ME33 front and ME55A rear) - these may not even be available any more.
Manual says 110/80 17 front and 140/80 17 rear

So far, I've decided on 150s for the rear - which is the max possible for pre-98 - but here are the ?s
1. bias or radial
2. Dunlop 501GT, Metz M1 Sporttech or Metz Z6 radials, or Michelin Pilots
3. Other tires?

No track riding, and not leaning like some of you are.

Closest dealer said 99.99 (front) and 114.99 (rear) for the 501s, and mounting was 40/tire if I ride the bike in, or 20/tire if I bring the tires to him. Ouch! :thumbsdo:

With all the collective experience here, any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[LayinLo]

Get the Metz M1 or if you are riding hard get the Pilots.

Tires are easy to take of and put on. Have you called around for better prices?
Some car tire shop can mount them, but the harder part is the balancing.

 

[nurider]

Get the Metz M1 or if you are riding hard get the Pilots.

Tires are easy to take of and put on. Have you called around for better prices?
Some car tire shop can mount them, but the harder part is the balancing.

Hey LL,

I'm having trouble narrowing down to the tires I want.

You see any issue with switching from bias to radial tires? Manual lists

Also, you specifically mentioned the Metz Sportec M1s (listed on the Metz site as Supersport).
Do you know anything about the Metz Roadtec Z6s? These are listed as Sport Touring, which is probably closer to what I'm doing.

Am still calling around for prices. Will probably end up ordering online. Haven't yet decided if I'll just ride it in or take the tires.

Thanks.

 

[Freakinout]

get the metezler M-1's.

You have to run a 150/60r17 on the rear of a '97 katana. i'd recommend a 120/70r17 for the front as well.

 

[Phease]

I am just getting rid of the 150/60, 120/70 combo on my bike because the handling turned to crap while they were on there (the tyres were dunlop D207's)

Am going to put a set of metzlers on next week back to the original 110/80, 140/80.

 

[Superbird]

M1 tires are the best

 

[LayinLo]

M1's should be perfect for your bike. They are great tires, I'm running them on my bike now. The Michelin's are great too.

I'd get what you can afford.

My personal tire favorites are:
Supermaxx by Maxxis
Pilots by Michelin
M1's by Metzeler
Diablo (Corsa) by Pirelli.

 

[Phease]

Ok who the f* are Maxxis? I saw tyres made by them in a catalogue but they were half the price of the dunlops/pirellis etc

Are they any good? because i just put them down to being budget tyres.

 

[nurider]

issed: This is what happens when I don't stay on the forum!
Saw the multiple posts on the Metz M-1s.
Thanks, EVERYONE, for all the help.
I was busy (yeah, there is work to be done) long enough to put my mental debate to an end .... went and ordered Metz Z6s: a 120/70ZR17 and a 150/70ZR17.

Then I see FreakinOut's post saying I need 150/60R17 on the rear. :wtf: What's up with that?
I thought 150/70 works just fine.

 

[inspiron]

What's on the bike right now?

Unless you want to play with the suspension and change the handling characteristics, keep the same tire sizes that you've been using.

 

[nurider]

At the moment, the tires are the original Dunlops, K655F 110/80 17 front and K655 140/80 17 rear.

 

[nurider]

..... and the original owner never replaced them, even though he had the bike for about 7 years and 10k miles.

 

[LayinLo]

Wow. 7 years & 10k miles!

No the Maxxis rear lasted me about 3500 miles. I still have the other maxxis on the front and the new Metz on the rear. My next set will be either the Pilots or the Pirelli's.

 

[nurider]

Ok, maybe this qualifies as being chicken-s***, but I backed off of the Metz Z-6 120/70 & 150/70 combo - "thanks" to a couple of folks.

But here's how I justified it (heck, I'm still trying to justify it). I'll use the stock sizes (110/80 & 140/80) and see how they handle. And then the next set can be the larger ones so I really see the diff. Since the current tires are OLD and probably pretty hard by now, the new tires should be at least a little different. Incidentally, now looking at the Dunlop D205s (radials) vs the Dunlop GT501s (bias) - planning to use the D205s. Feedback welcome.

Got lucky with cancelling the order. Ron Ayers.com said they had rec'd the tires, but had not shipped them out yet, so they wouldn't hit me up with any cancellation charges. Very cool. :bluethum: :bluethum:

What sucks is the limited choice in the original sizes.

Life goes on.

 

[LayinLo]

205's would be better. . . . . my suggestion still remains above

 

[nurider]

Both places that would mount them are bit*ching about not wanting to mount larger than stock tires. Therefore, my switch to the stock sizes.

Someone recommended Bridgestone Battlax BT45 (bias) tires over Dunlop. Given that the Dunlop D205s are radials, I'm still leaning in that direction.

Should just order the damn things. The longer I take to order, the longer it takes to get the tires, and so the longer before I can ride.

 

[LayinLo]

I HATE Bridgestone Battlax's!!!!!!!

I would never recommend any Bridgestone to a sportbike rider.

 

[nurider]

Tires should be here tomorrow! If the local guy mounts them the saem day, I should be riding this weekend. Can't wait. Don't even much care that I'm back to stock sizes ..............

 

[DragonKat]

FYI for future reference.. u can go safely as high as a 160 on the rear of a Kat, ive even seen 170, but thats definately pushing it, and requires mods to the swing arm in most cases.

 

[nurider]

FYI for future reference.. u can go safely as high as a 160 on the rear of a Kat, ive even seen 170, but thats definately pushing it, and requires mods to the swing arm in most cases.

Keep in mind this is a 1997 Kat 600; from everything I've seen, the 3.5" rear rim can't handle anything larger than a 150. The rim's were wider for the 98+ .... so the 160 should be ok there.