Gooday fellow (and fellowette) XL enthusiasts,
I need to replace my tires this spring, and have read quite a bit about opinions on Avon, Metzeler, and Dunlop tires. Those apparently being the favorites. I was wondering if any of you have used some of the other "off-brands", and if you were happy with them. Specifically, GBC, Kenda, Maxxis, Cheng Shin, and any others floating around out there.
Here is the deal. I am trying to "pay taxes" as you all refer to it, but have to stretch my "tax" dollars as far as I can. I was going to order Avon Venoms, but then got to thinking that I dont run the bike that hard, I like to lay back and cruise only pushing it moderately in the corners, I dont ride in the rain unless I am out and get caught in it, and I dont generally race with it, at least not normally. I dont believe that I really need to spend the cabbage for a set of Venoms, ME 880's, or the 491 Elite II's that were on it. There are several "off brand sport" tires that claim good traction and decent wear, that are about half the price of the previously mentioned ones, thus saving $$$ for some other "tax" projects that I would like to complete. Are there any you all have used and would recommend?

You forgot one favorite... the Bridgestone BT45V. I have a set on now and love them, except for the high cost and poor mileage. I've been doing some serious tire research over the past months and have not found a single bad remark about the BT45 (or the Metz 880 for that matter). I can't say the same for the other top names.

To answer your question... In my research, it seems that the low-budget tires of choice are the Cheng Shin Barracuda (C915/C926 H-rated) and the Kenda Sport Challenger (K657). I've read many positive comments on both of these models. I haven't run either of these, but I had a set of IRC tires on an old Honda Shadow and they worked just fine. Personally, I'm leaning toward trying the Cheng Shin Barracuda V-rated tire (C6000). The tread looks an awful lot like a Metz 880, the dual tread compound smells an awful lot like the Bridgestone BT45, the tire has a V-rating, and it is affordable (about $120 per set shipped to my door). I wouldn't expect high mileage, but what the heck, I didn't get high mileage from my more expensive BT45V's either.

if your not riding the bike hard and you dont ride in the wet you may aswell take the cheaper option ,personally i use the venoms , but a freind has used the cheng shin you mention and has been very pleased with them,we all tend to stick with brands we have heard of before but to be honest as someone who makes their living selling tires ,all of the brands i sell come from korea ,china, etc and they all perform well at a good price

I personally didn't skimp out and went for the Metzelers on mine. Got an ME 880 rear and ME 33 Lazer on front. I did notice a better amount of traction gained by the rear tire change from the stock Dunlop.
I try not to ride in the rain, but it will happen...it's inevitable, so I want a tire that'll keep my bike upright in all situations I might run into.

The first bike I ever rode on (honda 450 automatic). Had a Kenda on the rear and a cheng shin on the front. the Kenda seemed ok. It was somewhat slippery on the asphalt paint but not too bad.

The cheng shin front seemed really grippy for a 40$ tire. It has a more retro look to it as its an old tread pattern.

I did some looking around and I just ordered the me 880s for front and back they are more expensive but everone here has only had good things to say about them. (hot and dry locations and wet and cold)

The way I look at it is two tires are the only thing that keeps me off the road and at 70-80 mph I don't have that much skin to loose.

I will spend the money and come home at nights. Just my two cents.

Hope you find a good set for your needs. Ride safe.

Tires are THE LAST THING I would go cheap on. Maybe I'm a brand whore, or maybe I'm a sheep, but either way I wouldn't trust cheap tires a bit, and whether or not my tires are gonna grip or not is about the last thing i wanna be thinking on my bike. Anywho, thats just my personal opinion, good luck with whatever you decide.

This may offend someone but I don't buy cheap tires for safety reasons. I'll cut back somewhere else like beer, food or heat but not tires.