New tires - initial reactions

I recently purchased new tires for my GSXR-1000, and decided to opt for the Pilot Power brand. My initial reaction is... odd.

See, I've never owned a bike for a long enough time to need to replace its tires. Instead, I always handed it over to the next owner with worn down tires, assuming they'd pay for them. So when I realized I'd put 10,000 miles on the GSXR and still hadn't replaced the tires, I decided to try it out.

The first thing to notice is that the dealer told me not to take turns too hard, because of the wax layer on the outside of the tire, and the fact that it reduces traction. Knowing this, I played it especially cautious, so I can't tell you anything about the incredible new lean angles, grip, etc.

When the dealer put the new tires on, they made the bike look brand new. It was impressive, because the tread on my old tires had worn down so much, they clearly looked old, and so it made the bike look dated as well. The new shine on the rubber definitely stands out. But that's just cosmetic.

As for the actual ride, the new tires have definitely more curvature to them, and so turning is so much easier than it was with the old tires. In fact, it's downright embarassing that I rode the old tires for so long, thinking they allowed me to turn quickly. Now, the bike feels incredibly "flickable" (that's one of those terms they use in the motorcycle magazines all the time), and just a small force on one side of the handlebars makes the bike turn immediately. This tells me - in retrospect - that my old tires must have been way long gone, if they actually made the bike harder to turn.

The new feel of the bike also makes me think about all those people who buy bikes with really wide tires. They have no idea what they're missing out on. Like the ability to turn :-)

So far, the new tires seem fine, make the bike feel flickable, and I'm now a total advocate for regularly changing out one tires!