General Comments

You just can't go wrong with the classic ME-33/ME-88 combination from Metzeler.  They have legendary water dispersal, good traction and wear, and have a rounded neutral profile that makes it fun to throw the bike into corners.  In these sizes, they're not even that expensive (as tyres go).  You can fit a pair of these and forget about them, just ride the bike and they'll suit whatever you're doing at the time.  The downside is that the ME-33 takes a little while to warm up for maximum traction, but that's just a minor nit-pick.

The Kenda is superb value for money -- it does quite well on wet and dry traction, and tread life.  It's a great tyre for the rear, but doesn't do so well on the front in terms of wet traction and highway stability.  So if you can spring the extra $15 for a Dunlop K491 front, do so -- it's still cheap, and will work very well with the Kenda on the rear.

The advent of Metzeler's new ME-880 Marathon tyres has changed the whole picture here.  Suddenly there's a clear choice for touring, sport-touring, or just general riding around.  These latest tyres show improvements in tread pattern, compound, and and even more linear and confidence-inspiring profile.  There's no question that these would be superb tyres for the Maxim.

It'd be hard to imagine a need for more traction than the superb Avon Super Venoms.  They'll stick like glue, and even if you hang off they'll handle all the power you can put down at peg-scraping lean angles.

The new Metzelers are definitely the way to go.  They complement the light Maxim so well that they just emphasize the all-around fun of the bike.  They're not the cheapest, but in this case I think they're worth the extra dollars.

Avon

Bridgestone

Continental

Dunlop

Firestone

IRC

Kenda

Metzeler

Michelin

Pirelli

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