Buying motorcycle tires: why is this so hard?

I've bought my car tires online for the last 15 years now, and I've always found it easy to find some comparison tests as well as clear categorization of a tire's intended purpose. 

Is it wrong to expect the same for a motorcycle tire? 

This week I've found a need to replace the tires on a project motorcycle, and discovered that buying tires for a bike is a VERY different experience from cars. There's no clear classification/categorization system (like high performance summer, touring, etc. with cars) that everyone adheres to. The few reviews I can find are years old and usually blather on for 2000 plus words without actually talking about the performance of the tires at all. Am I doing this wrong? 

I'm looking for a sporty tire for a slightly vintage bike in sizes that aren't usually too sporty. 110 90 18 for the rear and 90 90 18 for the front. I'm willing to sacrifice mileage (both fuel mileage and tire life) for performance. Wet performance needs to be considered since I live in the Pacific Northwest and I get caught out on wet roads often enough to know how bad some tires can be in the wet. 

Where do you buy your motorcycle tires?

Motorcycle tires, and motorcycle parts in general, were hard to find  due to Covid the last few months. Lots of buyers and limited production and difficulty with both sea freight and US land freight really cut down selection.   This doesn’t address your comparison and reviews with which I agree.  Way too much “it’s the latest thing so it must be best” and other subjective anecdotal “data” to make for informed decisions.  

Vintage motorcycle tires?

Avon. 

I've had them on three bikes now and never been disappointed.

Bought them from Chapparal and from our local dealer, ITC Tire. 

There is an AVON RoadRunner Rear tire that I believe is a dual compound and has a solid band of tread in the center, that has held up very well for me.

Traction in a straight line in the wet is compromised but plenty of grip in turns.

Bike stuff in general isn't nearly as well-documented online as car info. It's always been like that and it probably has to do with bike folks not being as net-surfy as other people.

I've always had good luck getting parts from Dennis Kirk.  Their website allows you to filter tire results by size, which helps narrow down the selection process.  https://www.denniskirk.com  That said, I always defer to buying motorcycle stuff from a local parts shop if possible, it allows you to talk over what they have available face to face with an actual person.

Yeah, COVID and seasonal demand doesn't seem to be helping; the tire places I've checked seem to be out of lots of things. 

The Avon Roadrunner tires are available in my size and seem like a safe bet. What I was trying to find in my searches is to determine if anything makes them worth double the price over, say, the Shinko 712?

I've had both Avons and Shinkos. Honestly, I was very happy with the Shinkos and would buy that brand again.

My triumph tiger 1050 came with shinkos and I was not impressed. I thought RevZilla had a decent tire review section?

Guys on the Rebel forums have a lot of good things to say about the Pirelli MT66 ("Route 66") tire - that it's pretty good at everything (dry, wet, wear) and not too expensive.  I know it's available in a 90 90 18 - not sure about your rear fitment.

I've run Shinkos as well. 

My Avons didn't need balancing, Shinkos did.

Other than that, my last name isn't Rossi so I couldn't tell you the difference.

I've had great life and handling from several sets of Dunlop roadsmart dual compound.

stuart in mn said:

I've always had good luck getting parts from Dennis Kirk.  Their website allows you to filter tire results by size, which helps narrow down the selection process.  https://www.denniskirk.com  That said, I always defer to buying motorcycle stuff from a local parts shop if possible, it allows you to talk over what they have available face to face with an actual person.

Gonna have to go to the local shop to get them mounted anyway. I know plenty of people mount their own dirt bike tires (I don't) but street tires? And you want to get them balanced.

ShawnG said:

I've run Shinkos as well. 

My Avons didn't need balancing, Shinkos did.

Other than that, my last name isn't Rossi so I couldn't tell you the difference.

That's a good point, unless you buy vastly different tires, just the fact that a tire is new is such a big deal on the street. A tire with even 1000 miles feels worse than a new one but you gradually get used to them wearing out as you ride.

Try searching on Youtube, lots of reviews there.  Revzilla as clutchsmoke mentioned, fortnine, etc. There are some good channels.  Just go through there video section and you should find what you're looking for. You can also try searching by the name of the tire you're considering.

GCrites80s said:

Gonna have to go to the local shop to get them mounted anyway. I know plenty of people mount their own dirt bike tires (I don't) but street tires? And you want to get them balanced.

Mounting the tire is as easy as a bicycle tire. As far as balancing, 2-3 ozs. of ceramic balancing beads  works great. Install them before inflating the tire.