What's a good long lasting rear tire for an aggressively ridden touring motorcycle?

Question

I ride a '99 Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad VN1500. the front and rear are both the same size, 150/80 16 M/C 71H. I ride fairly aggressively, with one riding season here in the foothills of Colorado bringing the pegs and floorboards to a half scraped away condition.

I was unimpressed with the Dunlap D404s I had on my last bike (CX500C), they didn't last even one season. There's Metzler ME880s on the bike right now. The front is still brand new, but I've already worn the rear to the base bias ply after a season (maybe 4K). When they were new, I disliked the feel of the bike in corners, it felt almost like I was on a knobby dirt track tire.

Any suggestions for a rear tire? I ride about 80% one up on the highways and 20% one up canyon chasing.

Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

I've had great service out of Avon Venoms.

I'm a flatlander but they felt good in the Ozarks and Appalachians.

Answer 2

If your on a budget look at the Shinko 009 Raven, I have run them on my FZR1000 at 3K miles they looked practically new. And gripped as well as the Dunlops I had on it before.

Answer 3

Go with the Shinko Raven 009, great tires and good price..

Answer 4

Several members of The VRA and VDOG UK (Vulcan Drifter Owners Group) currently favour the Wide White Wall Continental Milestones.

I have had Dunlop and Venoms but the Conti Milestones are great for hard wearability and superb in the wet.

If you don't want WWW tires, you can have them plain and a Bit cheaper, but they are the Mutts Nuts.

Answer 5

Pirelli MT-66 'Route' Made for the Cruiser, matches the full spec of your tire.

Answer 6

I am currently running Avon venoms on both front and rear and like how they feel in the corners ,so far most tires I have tried have lasted me around 10,000 to 12,000 miles my last set was a rear Metzler M880 with an Avon venom on the front

so far I like the Avon's best and I ride a canyon road 90 miles a day round trip with lots of turns if this helps you any and the cheapest place I have found for tires is americanmototire.com

Answer 7

Michelin Pilot Road