General Comments

As for me, I see sufficient availability of some very fine tyres in 100/90 for the front, and see no reason to sacrifice handling and agility by putting a 110 on there.  With the front end kept narrow enough, going up to a 130 on the rear shouldn't make the handling too sluggish, and opens up the availability range substantially.

Even so, the conservative choice is as the EX500 FAQ says -- the ME-33/ME-55A -- although fitting a stock 100/90 on the front will result in better handling.  For this bike, though, I think there are better choices, none of which are more than a few dollars more expensive than the Metzelers.

In this case, with 90-series tyres at both ends and not much range of prices, I will drop back to these IRC sport-touring tyres.  Don't expect as much stick or wear as you'd get from the other choices, but at around $80 cheaper the pair they're a significant savings.

Although the K591 Dunlops and Avon Super Venoms are excellent potential choices in these categories, I'd select the new BT45's from Bridgestone.  Successor to the successful BT35's, these have improved compound and different tread pattern, and are designed for smaller light machines like the EX500.  They should work very well for most purposes -- even touring, as the BT45's use Bridgestone's Dual Tread Compound technology to reduce squaring-off and centre-tyre wear.

For Sport-Riding, I'd pass on the Bridgestones in favour of these Avons, although there's no doubt that the BT45's would do admirably.  The Super Venoms work very well on this sort of bike, and for the twisties that's what I'd want on there.

Here I'll go with the BT45's.  Although I am a great fan of the Avons, I think that on this bike the Bridgestones are a better choice for the sort of riding I'd do.  I like pushing a bike hard in appropriate circumstances, but I put on a lot of miles too, and running a slightly wide 130 on the back would tend to encourage squaring-off -- a tendency which the dual-compound Bridgestones will help resist.

Avon

Bridgestone

Continental

Dunlop

Firestone

IRC

Kenda

Metzeler

Michelin

Pirelli

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