Mi SeaRider said:
Question for Pauljo:
If you wouldn't mind, could you give us the Pirelli tire part (or stock, or whatever) number for both front and rear tires on the 650? Also, did you order via the internet (if so, where?) or through a dealer? Many thanks.
Pirelli Front tire is GTS23-05
Pirelli Rear tire is GTS24-05
(The -05 designates the radial tire. They also made a non radial GTS23/24 series, so the -05 is important.)
I've ordered through my dealer before, also from Zdeno (Canada) when my dealer couldn't get a front tire.
For those who haven't dealt with it before... The Burgman 650 is the only machine in production that uses this tire. Therefore, it does not seem to be a very high priority with the tire manufacturers. Tire supply has been sporadic. Last July you could not find a front tire in the USA anywhere, neither Bridgestone nor Pirelli. I got Zdeno in Canada to track down a few - he located 6 front Pirellis. Members of this forum bought those within a week. Right now, I understand that again, front Pirelli tires are impossible to find. The only sane way to deal with this is to order your tires at least several months before you need them. The rear tire I just mounted has been sitting in my garage since the end of August. I plan to order both a front and rear replacement tire this Winter, so that I'll be sure to have them mid-Summer when I need them. Most local dealers do not stock them, so when the distributors run out, you just have to wait until the next batch arrives - and that can be 2 or 3 months sometimes.
There were rumors floating around in July and August that Pirelli was not going to sell these tires in the USA anymore. Those rumors proved to be false. There is currently a rumor that the front Pirelli tire is not going to be available in the USA anymore. I think it will also prove to be false. When the distributors run out, their employees feed bad information to the dealers, who pass it on to their customers.
It is an irritating situation, but I think we will be living with it for awhile.
My recommendation is to pre-order through your dealer, or through Ron Ayers. Ron Ayers price is less, but a dealer will often charge steep fees to install a tire that they didn't sell you. If it is an emergency and you need a front tire now - check with Zdeno, they came through for us before. Neither Ron Ayers nor Zdeno show these tires on their websites, so you have to call them and give them the parts numbers.
https://www.ronayers.com/main.cfm
http://www.zdenocycle.ca/