Tire Recommendations

[AllanCook]

I'm getting my annual service done this weekend and I'm thinking I may put some new tires on my baby at 12,000 miles.

I've been pretty happy with the stock Contis, but the dealer does not routinely stock them. They are suggesting Michelins or Metzelers or waiting indefinitely for more Road Attacks. I used Metzelers on my previous Beemer, and they were good but only lasted 6,000 to 8,000 miles. I have no experience with Michelins on a bike, although I've liked them on cars. The Michelins they recommend are very expensive dual-compound tires. By "expensive" I mean about $400 for both.

I'm not a real knee-dragger. I'm not skinny anymore. I mostly ride to work and back and take weekend trips of up to 500 miles, some modest twisties, but mostly sweepers. Not too much superslab, but a lot of crappy city streets. What would y'all recommend?

[kay bill c]

My R1200R came with michelin's pilot road and they have been very good in my opinion.I have about 11,000 on them should get another 1000 i would think.Your riding style sounds somewhat like mine I think you could expect the same.I will most likly replace with the same.If you shop around the internet or some local dealer's or independant shops you might come up with a better price,$400 was that installed?

[ShinySideUp]

I also have a similar riding profile. Got 6300 miles out of the Conti Road Attack rear and that was down to the steel belt. I did a lot more hard acceleration on that tire than I am currently, mostly because I got that out of my system. Now I just use the full-on throttle when I need to.

I took a look at the Pilot Road 2 because the idea of dual compound just made sense for mostly commuting with but a small amount of aggressive sport riding, but they sure want a lot of dollars or euros for those.

I ended up with a Bridgestone BT-021, also dual compound, which I purchased online from American Motorcycle Tire for $115.46 plus $11.54 for ground shipping.

I was a bit skeptical going in, because the BT-020 tires on my Honda ST 1100 were somewhat slippy in the rain. This tire, however, at least on this motorcycle which is a couple of hundred pounds lighter, seems just fine in the twisties. Only one day of rain so far though, but it feels as sold as the Road Attack, which is to say darned good.

I still have my second Road Attack on the front and so far, have found the mixed brand combination to ride and handle well despite dire finger wagging from manufacturers and internet forums. I'd guess it just depends on the particular tires in the combo. I feel no fighting the bike at all ever. The ride seems a bit cushier to me and I've leaned the bike over far enough to drag the pegs (albeit, lowered).

Don't have but about a thousand miles on them so far, so don't know how long the dual compound design will last, but so far, I'm a happy camper.

[Dan-A]

Don't have but about a thousand miles on them so far, so don't know how long the dual compound design will last, but so far, I'm a happy camper.

Someone told me the center compound is the same as the current tires, and side compound is stickier.

This effectively means they will not last any longer but might wear more evenly, and certainly handle better.

[indigoid]

The motard wheels on my Dakar have Michelin Pilots on them. Pilot Road2 on the rear, Pilot Sport on the front. It has proven to be an extremely good combination, especially in the rain. They've probably lasted 10000km so far. The rear has plenty left in it, while the front is perhaps 1mm away from the wear indicators -- no surprises that the Sport is a much softer compound. Have happily worn a bit of metal off my footpegs :-)

I will very likely maintain the same (or similar) combination. Very happy with the Michelins, but then I've not had the need to try anything else...

[eisen]

I was very happy with my road attacks as well - but i decided to try a different tire just for the experience.
My front was completely worn out after 10,000km (and quite a few times @ the local go-cart track). The rear still had about 2 or 3 k left.

So last Sunday i had a pair of Pirelli Diablo Strada fitted to my bike.
I have only managed about 150 km so far, but the bike feels stable & falls into corners easily and willingly.
Also, the bike seems to track better over bad road surfaces.
Next weekend i'll take a long ride and see how the Pirelli's compare to the conti's on more challenging routes

[AllanCook]

I ended up with Metzeler Sportec M1s. That was all they had that fit and I didn't feel like waiting. They seem pretty good after 100 miles or so, but I haven't really put them to the test yet. They seem to be a softer compound than the Contis, which is great for handling but lousy for lifespan. I don't expect them to last more than 8K, if that.