New Tires

[JonnyF]

I have the IRC's on my Ninja, the soft compound ones, pretty sure they're the iz's but I'd have to check.

 

They're good tyres, excellent value. Not to be confused with the IRC tyres that come stock on many bikes, they are a much harder compound and basically they are cheap crap. I changed the stock IRC's within a few weeks of buying the bike as the rear was locking up even on moderate braking, they were downright dangerous in my opinion but the higher spec IRC's are good.

[PattayaDavid]

I made the decision to change out my stock IRC's with the IRC iz's.  I went down to the imoto shop yesterday afternoon after he called to say that the tires had arrived from Bangkok.  Man, those guys can change out a set of tires fast.  I went inside the office area where he showed me the tires and the manufacturer dates and when I came back out, couldn't have been more than 5 minutes if that long and my bike was on the stands and both tires had already been removed and one tire was being broken down, wow.  The mechanic was very professional; you could tell that he does this day in and day out by his efficiency.  I would not want to venture to say how long it would take me to do it myself even using their equipment (lol).  He had put 25psi in both tires; I was a little skeptical of this as I always ran 29 in the original tires based on the manual recommendations.  The recommendation printed on the swing arm listed 25 to 29 front and 25 to 29 rear or 32 with a passenger.  He said that it was up to me, but I went with his recommendation and give it a try and make adjustments as I saw fit.  I paid the agreed upon price of 3,500 baht plus my tip for good service and went on my way.

 

I followed the exact same route home that I had used to go to the tire shop to compare the old tires to the new ones.  On the way to the tire shop, I could feel the hardness riding over the bumps and the looseness of the original IRC tires when driving over the full road width metal water drainage grates on Soi Khao Noi and the wobbling, movement, when driving over the line of mini speed bumps at some of the intersections along the railway track road.  On the trip back home, the new IRC iz's felt very smooth on the road even over the bumps possibly due to the lower pressure and the softer compound of the tires.  The mini speed bumps and the metal water drain grates did not affect the tires at all, no squirming or wobbliness, road over them as if they were not even there.  I'm sure that these tires won't last as long as the hard compound original tires, but so far I like the way they feel.  I plan to go out this coming weekend to break them in, first by going to a big parking lot and doing some circles in both directions at lower speeds in order to rough up the outer tread then go for a ride on one of my usual routes get a better comparison to the old tires.  I also need to play around with the tire pressure to find a compromise as to what seems to work best for both comfort, grip and durability.

 

Even though I have only a brief experience with these tires, the initial improvements I've noticed has identified just how terrible the stock tires were in comparison.  I'm satisfied with my new purchase, but only time will tell.  I'm a little concerned with their durability as these iz's are rated as a soft/medium compound sport touring tire, but I don't mind sacrificing a little durability for grip, stability and ride comfort.  The iMoto shop also carried Michelin Pilot Street tires which are a medium compound tire with greater durability, but from the way the manager explained it, I think that the iz's are a better overall performance tire, a higher grade IRC tire versus a lower grade Michelin tire.  The Michelin Pilot Street tires sell for 3,600 baht.  Note, there aren't a lot of tire models available for the CBR-150 unless you are willing to go for oversize tires versus stock size.

 

I'll post again once I've had more experience with these tires; thanks to all who have responded.

[PattayaDavid]

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

I have the IRC's on my Ninja, the soft compound ones, pretty sure they're the iz's but I'd have to check.

 

They're good tyres, excellent value. Not to be confused with the IRC tyres that come stock on many bikes, they are a much harder compound and basically they are cheap crap. I changed the stock IRC's within a few weeks of buying the bike as the rear was locking up even on moderate braking, they were downright dangerous in my opinion but the higher spec IRC's are good.

I put the IRC iz's on my CBR-150R yesterday.  With only the ride home from the tire shop, I immediately experienced a positive improvement over the stock tires.  My only concern with these tires is their durability and would appreciate any feedback you have of the tires, grip, stability and especially durability based on your personal use.  The only downside to the tires is that they are not dual compound so I expect that the center tire tread will wear out much faster than the sides. 

[moose7117]

you are so lucky, i spend about 8000 on a rear and am lucky if i get 5000 kilometres out of it.

 

please do not complain about the durability of your tyres.

[JonnyF]

23 hours ago, PattayaDavid said:

I put the IRC iz's on my CBR-150R yesterday.  With only the ride home from the tire shop, I immediately experienced a positive improvement over the stock tires.  My only concern with these tires is their durability and would appreciate any feedback you have of the tires, grip, stability and especially durability based on your personal use.  The only downside to the tires is that they are not dual compound so I expect that the center tire tread will wear out much faster than the sides. 

Difficult to say about the durability, the tyres have been on there about 2 years but the bike is only used for occasional short trips in Bangkok so I've probably only done around 1200 kms on them. If I had to guess, I reckon you'll get 10-12,000 kms on them assuming normal riding (no track days etc.). 

[PattayaDavid]

8 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Difficult to say about the durability, the tires have been on there about 2 years but the bike is only used for occasional short trips in Bangkok so I've probably only done around 1200 kms on them. If I had to guess, I reckon you'll get 10-12,000 kms on them assuming normal riding (no track days etc.). 

Thanks for the reply.  I too, mostly do short trips around Pattaya and try to do a ride out on the country roads over the weekend weather permitting so like you, I don't rack up a lot of mileage on it.  In my case, maybe yours too, the tires will probably age out before the tread wears out if I keep the bike that long.  I'd like to get a bigger bike, considered a 300cc, but I would really like to find a good buy on a 500cc bike.  Almost bought a Honda CBR500R at the same time that I purchased this bike, still regret passing up on a great deal for it.  I was at one of the bike shops today and got my first look at the new 2019 CBR150R.  It looks pretty nice, but I'm not so sure that I liked it over my 2013 model.  It had a sleeker look to it, primarily due to the smaller gas tank as compared to my bike.  It also has all led lighting which looked nice, looked like every other bike out there nowadays, and I read that it is now offered with or without ABS.  I wouldn't buy it myself because I've kind of grown out of the 150cc power wise.  It is still OK for short runs around town, a little under powered on the bigger roads such as Sukumvit, having to really rev it up to get it up to highway speed.  It is a fun bike to ride and I may still keep it even if I do buy a bigger bike; I bought it cheap and the resale is probably not all that great.  I'm plan to take it out this weekend to break-in the tires; I do think that I am going to like them though.

[Randell]

Just a note of thanks for all the  previous information. Also chose the IRC  iz's. And have just come back from the shop. The only down side up here in Chiang Rai is that I couldn't find them . So was relegated to ordering of Lazada. First checking that they were new stock and they were the pair cost 3400 baht delivered but cost me 500 to have mounted. I will continue to try and scout out a shop here locally that I can order from and have installed at close the the prices you quoted. But I am just happy to have them changed. I mistakenly went up a size last time to 110 and 140 17 but now back to original  size  of 100 and 130. so that all I wanted to say I find you guys on here so very helpful with information such a good resource for me as I have only really ridden bike since I came here 25 years ago but still consider my self as a beginner. But if any one up in my neck out the woods knows of a good tire shop please let me know for the future.

Thanks again 

Randell

[PattayaDavid]

6 hours ago, Randell said:

Just a note of thanks for all the  previous information. Also chose the IRC  iz's. And have just come back from the shop. The only down side up here in Chiang Rai is that I couldn't find them . So was relegated to ordering of Lazada. First checking that they were new stock and they were the pair cost 3400 baht delivered but cost me 500 to have mounted. I will continue to try and scout out a shop here locally that I can order from and have installed at close the the prices you quoted. But I am just happy to have them changed. I mistakenly went up a size last time to 110 and 140 17 but now back to original  size  of 100 and 130. so that all I wanted to say I find you guys on here so very helpful with information such a good resource for me as I have only really ridden bike since I came here 25 years ago but still consider my self as a beginner. But if any one up in my neck out the woods knows of a good tire shop please let me know for the future.

Thanks again 

Randell

I hope that you enjoy the tires; I do mine.  These iz tires ride and handle so much better than the OEM tires which felt like I was rolling on rocks compared to these.  They won't last as long as the hard compound original tires, but for the price and other benefits, I don't mind replacing them a little more often.