[Marv]

I'm due for a new tire for my 2012 650. Living in Florida I go through a rear tire every 5,000 miles with the OEM tire. Of the three or four major tire companies that make tires for the Burgman 650 which gets the best mileage. I once tried the Michelin tire on a 2009 650 I had at the time and it introduced a front wheel wobble at high speed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
BTW: I would like to stick with a radial tire.

 

[Jeff_MdR]

I think the Bridgestone OEM's are fine, but I followed the recommendation of Buffalo and Cherie (and others) for my current set: Michelin Pilot Sport in back with the Bridgestone OEM up front. I have about 1000 miles on them and I'd say they are more responsive (sportier) in turns. Full OEM's are maybe a bit more planted on the straights. I'm enjoying the Michelins, but I'm not married to them, (yet). Regarding wear, my impression is it's a push.

 

[Chérie]

Best combo find and been using this last several year is:

Bstone Batlax TH01 front with Michelin Pilot Sport SC rear.

Bstone rubber compound bit harder so in Florida perhap better with harder compound. Try one Michelin in rear with Bstone in front and see if better in Florida. BStone & Michelin price about same here.

Normally get 5500 - 6500 mile on rear Michelin, perhap get 250-500 more on Bstone rear, much prefer handling of Michelin in rear however.

 

[Quai_Oui]

2010 I fitted with Michelin Sports Radial, front 7500km and rear will give about 13500/14000 by the look of it. City roads here (in the area where I live) are atrocious after earthquakes, and after that it is open road. 2013 has Bridgestones and only 2300km so far. Out with a friend on 2010 and me on 2013 other day and it was his first ride on a Burgman and he could outrun me and I would say just due to comfort of grip alone. I have a set of Sports Radials to fit to the 2013 soon.

 

[ChipDoc]

I've actually been fairly impressed with the Bridgestone OEM both front and rear. The rear is developing a significant flat spot, but Lincoln's head is still buried in the tread. The front is fine. Replaced them both when I bought the bike 10k miles ago.

 

[MJR]

I've only ever used the OE Bridgestones and Pirelli Diablos. The Pirellis are bald in less than 5,000 miles front and rear. The Bridgestone rear I can get about 8,000-9,000 miles out of running it down to just as it shows a cord. In fact the Bridgestone rear is thicker than the Pirelli so you can actually get a couple thousand miles on it after the the center tread until it shows a cord. Mind you I ride 15 miles to work so I'm not concerned about running it till I just just barely see a cord. The front Bridge stone I get about twice the rear mileage.

 

[QuantumRift]

I have an 06 650, and I bought it at 1200 miles in 08 (original tires). At the time I was living in SE AZ (heat is **** on tires there) and I got about 10K. I replaced with a set of OEM Bridgestones, got about 10K. The last set I put on are Pirelli Diablos, and I'm Central Oh now, and they are good tires.

If you had a wheel wobble it was either misbalanced or a bad tire.

I'm due for a new tire for my 2012 650. Living in Florida I go through a rear tire every 5,000 miles with the OEM tire. Of the three or four major tire companies that make tires for the Burgman 650 which gets the best mileage. I once tried the Michelin tire on a 2009 650 I had at the time and it introduced a front wheel wobble at high speed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
BTW: I would like to stick with a radial tire.

 

[sbett]

New tires for the Burgman 650

I got about 14k from my rear tire and 20k on my front tire. I replaced the OEM tires with Michelin Scooter Sport SC tires. The Jury is still out on Michelin since it was introduced this year (2007).

SB:The most common recommendation is to stay with the Bridgestone OEM tires. On a 650, the OEM tire can get up to 15,000 on the rear and 20,000 on the front.

Riders continue to explore other lower cost alternatives. In 2007 and 2008, several of members tried Michelin Sport SC tires. What was the final report?

FF: The front Bridgie will give you another 50% more miles. However, this is more than offset by the lower costs of the Michies, which, where I live is around 1/2 that of the Bridgies.

PCB: The (Michelin) Pilot Sport SC comes as a radial and bias-ply. The bias-ply has a compound in the center that contains silica for better wear. Most people get the radial and note a marked improvement in handling vs. the Bridgstones.

JK: Same tire: replaced at ... the wear bars. F.I.L only got 8,800 but I got 15,000... go figure

 

[Penforhire]

I continue to use the OEM tires because they work so well in both wet and dry conditions. I'd love to get more mileage out of them but I am resistant to trying another tire. I'm getting around 4,500 miles out of the rear (until almost touching the wear bars). I could probably push it another 500 to 1,000 miles but not if there is any chance of riding in the wet.

 

[sirkitrider-2]

ah, another tire thread .... dull and boring UNLESS you need tires soon ... AS DO I!

Good discussion - Thanks.

I'm on my second Burgman. OEM's except for a set of Michlen City Grips on the 400. They felt strange at first but I was going from radial to bias ply. Got used to them after a while. Good price point for the 1st generation 400's. Sold it soon afterwards so I don't know how they wore.

On the 650 I'm running OEM's THOR. I like them but may go with Metzler just to see if I can squeeze a few more miles out?? I like the OEM's. Smooth as silk on the superslab, and grippy enough for my riding style.

Curious though ... what's the difference between the OEM THOR and the OEM Battlax?

And anyone try Metzler's?

Sirkitrider

 

[TwinTri2]

650 tire choice

You might look at Shinko tires they are a fraction of the prices of Bridgestone or Michelins. They are not radials but will easily surpass 5000 miles. I put a pair on my 400 for less less than 1/2 of of one tire would cost. They have great grip, some say better than O.E.'s. The Motorcycle Superstore will let you select an installer other than Suzuki dealer that can easily save you another $60.00. They drop ship, you make appointment and ride up for a tire change while you wait. They have all the name brands too. Check your choice here...
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/motorcycle-tires?wt.ac=home_-_main_hero_01.11.15_jantiresale#&&SearchParameters=53-0-0-0-0-1-24-1-6_1-11_5

 

[Dave_J]

I would say that 85% of us that have tried Shinkos have had a good review. I ran just a front Shinko with my Car tire on the rear and the feeling was neutral and it ran over 10,000 miles when I found that I had a slow leak in a valve stem and had run them down below 20 PSI twice. They wear fast at below 20 PSI and developed cracks.

I am now running a "Old Stock" discontuned Michelin Gold Standard off Ebay. These modern Bias Ply tires are NOT the same as the 70's Bias plys. They run true and without the "thump thump thump" of the old Bias ply tires when cold.

 

[Doc Wheezer]

The week before Christmas I replaced the front and rear tires on my Burgman 650 with Shinko's SR-567 and SR-568. Here in Vegas, Carter Powersports and Ridenow both offer free mounting and install. I paid $148.00 out the door for both tires. Prices are about the same at both places.
I read the reviews and I thought it was a good price.
So far, they are a lot better than the 7 year old tires that were on it when I bought it.