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Tires (sport or sport touring)

Joined
Feb 19, 2004
Messages
420
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10
Location
Conroe, TX
It's getting to be the time to get new tires for the Sprint.

I know the sport tires will stick good but, don't last as long.

I want something that has decent wear but, will stick like glue and it doesn't take forever to heat up when all leaned over in a turn.

Does anyone have a suggestion?
 
After trying Mac 90's and Pilot Sports and seeing the results of BT-020's, Pilot Roads, Dulop, 220's, 208's and 207's, I'm sold on the Avon Azaro 45/46's. Good traction, long wear, moderate price.
 
I've been very happy with my Pilot Roads. They felt great in the hills around Birmingham and are showing very good wear so far.

Pete
 
I like stickiness. I ride with Metzeler Sportech M1's. I get about 4000 out of the rear and 8000 on the front. Warm up fast and stay stuck.
 
Long answer: Depending on your location, type roads that you ride and the bike that you are mounting tires onto, there are plenty to choose from. I was/am sold on Bridgestone BT020's, but they are not the best tire for a pure sport bike in the liter range. Horsepower plays a big role in deciding the tires to buy. My SV1000S didn't like the 020's, it loves Sporttecs. My SV650S loves 020's and that is all it needs. In other words, it is over kill to put Sporttecs on that bike unless you are only doing trackdays on it. I used to be a firm believer in Dunlops on my Katana until I tried the Bridgestones. They are less expensive, last longer, handle as good or better depending on the model tire. The new Pilot Road tire seems to be a great tire from what I've heard. I know someone who uses them on his GSXR1000, he says that they are great for longevity and normal street riding. So, it's really up to your wallet as to the brand/model tire to buy.

Short answer: I think that the Bridgeston BT020 would work great on your bike.
 
I have about 3,000 miles on a set of Pilot Roads and love them. No flat spot or any other unusual wear. Judging from how the rear looks now, it should be good for another 4,000 plus miles. Good choice for SPORT-touring.

Steve
 
Hey Todd,

:tab Welcome back! I was trying to email you a while back and the address I have for you kept bouncing. Glad you found your way here!

Adios,
 
I use a pilot sport on the front, pilot road on back. Sticks well, lasts long, no flat spots. :-D
 
Hey Scott,

I dropped Roadrunner so my email address is now His_Suzuki@yahoo.com

I am looking forward to riding with you all. I will be deployed this summer (June - August) but when I get back I hope to meet more of you and ride with you all.

Did any of you ride to Barber Motorsports Park to watch the AMA Superbike Finals back in Oct? A real nice place (except for the showers, but they are working on it) and I am planning on camping at the track again this year. That's a nice bike ride from TX. Maybe we can get a big group to go from TX .
 
I'm running the Bridgetsone BT020 on the rear and a BT010 on the front. Very happy with the wear and traction and after 4500 miles I'm getting great wear on both. I should get two rears for every front replacement.

My confidence in the Bridgestones has greatly increased my riding to the point that I'll be sticking with them for the duration. Started out with the Metzler Z4's and was scared to death to lean the bike over.
 
Hehe... he said Z4's :puke:

Beth's SV650S came with those things. I promptly removed them and put some decent tires on. They are still sitting out back rotting. They were indeed scary!

My take on the tire thing is that there is no one best brand or model. Tire wear is so sensitive to how you ride, the roads you ride, temperature, etc,... Everyone was raving about the BT020 rears so I decided to try them. Barely got 4000 miles out of them before the chords were showing :brainsnap Needless to say, I was a little disappointed. So I tried the Pilot Roads, a little better but still shot by 5000 miles.

My riding style on the VFR's is to use a lot of engine braking. This transmits all of the slowing forces to the rear tire. If you brake going into the corner, it puts more of the loads on the front tire. So my riding style eats rear tires but I can go upwards of 12-15K on a front.

The 020's, the Pilot Roads, and the new Avon ST tires are all great tires. The real issue to me now is that of tire profile and handling, not wear and grip.

Adios,
 
I've got about 2,000 miles on a set of Avon 45/46 ST's. They are the best handling ST tire I have ever used (in my past 8 years of ST tire purchasing). I like the way the round profile works and they stick well even when cold. I rode on some wet roads yesterday with the scattered rainshowers in the NW Houston area and the grip was solid and sure (granted I was riding slower, but not that slow).

I bought a Pirelli Diablo rear and got a free front with the offer and I have read that they actually wear pretty well for a sport tire. A buddy of mine sent me a copy of a test from an online motorcycle magazine a while back and I believe they lasted for 6,000 miles on a Hyabusa. I found it hard to believe but I install my own tires so for a free front its worth a try.

So if you're looking for a good ST tire give the Avons a try. If you're looking for a longer wearing sport tire the Diablos may be the way to go.
 
Since we're on the topic of sport/touring type tires, I have to add that my new front is FINALLY on its way here. Due to some sort of stocking issues I assume, they've finally gotten some in and have shipped out a BT-010 for the front of my VFR. I've had an 020 on there for the last 6500 or so miles and the combination of the heavy VFR and the chipsealed pavement around College Station has really shagged the tread off the front tire. It is cupped pretty bad and is really worn on the left side I'm assuming from a left hand turn I make on a daily basis commuting to school. I think I'll try a different route with the new tire. ;-) Anyway, I've gotten good results from my BT-020 on the rear and really the front was good until just recently. My only real gripe with it is that the center tread rib likes to follow grooved pavement. More and annoyance than anything else, but there nonetheless. I'm hoping this will disappear with the addition of the 010 front. The tracking info says it'll be here mid week, so that makes it after my midterm, so I should have a good shot of getting the tire mounted and slapping on some new braided front brake lines by the end of the week. I can almost hear FM 390 calling my name on Sunday... :-D
 
Don't listen to Chris, he never actually rides any more... :-P I can't remember the last time I saw him on a bike :lol:

Adios,
 
Chris

I saw Chris on a bike last October when he came up to test ride my SV which was for sale! :lol:
 
Hey, I ride daily dangit! :lol: It's just between school and home, school and work, and home and work. :-( No fun. Hopefully that'll change as the semester winds down, but it never seems to happen. Maybe if motorcycling was my ONLY hobby... ;-)
 
Motorcycling is not a hobby! It is a way of life :-P Although, some might think of it more like an addiction or a disease...

Adios,
 
On tires, I haven't found a thing wrong with the Metzler MeZ4s that came on my SV, so I bought a new rear. The front is still in great shape. The rear got about 5500 on it before it needed a change. The front is going strong at 6500 right now. They handle well on the street, wouldn't recomend them for track days of course, and they're reasonably priced. They are on the sport side of the sport touring scale, but I wouldn't quite call them pure sport tires. Still, they handle quite well on the street on that bike. I don't like any ONE thing about 'em. I mean, there are cheaper tires out there, there are tires that last longer, and there are tires that handle better. But, the MeZ4s combination of reasonable cost, reasonably long life, and reasonably good street handling are hard to fault on an everyday street bike.
 
Howdy,

:tab That is interesting. Could your opinion be based on the fact that you might be comfortable with your bike sliding around under you? :-P When I was riding the SV with them, I was riding very conservatively because the bike was new and not mine (wife's hehe). Even still, they felt horrible when leaned over. I've never felt any other tire like that. The bike was failry new, bought in early 01 and it was an 01 bike, so I doubt the tires were getting dry and hard already. I wonder how much variation there might be between production runs? :scratch
 
Only time I really slide it is into corners. The rear will swing out pretty easily under heavy braking. I've only ridden it on the street, not track days or anything. I know these wouldn't be the tires for the track, for sure, but just saying while they don't offer the max in traction, they do offer good traction for the amount of miles they last. Some good track day tires would do good to last me 2K on the rear and I can't go there. :lol: 5-6K seems reasonable for the trade off in a little stiction on the street.

Yeah, I am quite comfy riding the slide. :lol: These tires slide relatively predictably. But, really, I don't push 'em that much on the street unless I really know the road and the corner. They have good limits for a spirited back road blast IMHO. Would I rather be on race pilots or 207s? SURE! Would I rather pay for and buy new every three months the race pilots or 207s? No, don't think so. Street tires are a compromise always if you lack unlimited resources. But, I find the limits on the MeZ4 well past the safe limits of corner speed on a road that might have a gravel patch at the apex. I'm always riding a little wary on the road and these tires can handle anything I ask them to do on the street, pretty much. There is a corner down the road, best corner in Calhoun county, well, ONLY corner in Calhoun county... :lol: ...that of course I know and is good pavement. I can get 'em on the edge and twitchy there, but I've almost got an unprotected knee on the ground doing it.

I got some used stones off Gil Adair a while back. They are the track day compounds, forget the designation. He got 'em for a Priller 250 or something and didn't like 'em. They have 600 miles about on them. The front was still near new when I changed the rear on the SV. Next tire change the stones go on both ends and I'll see what I think. Gave Gil something like $35 for the pair... :lol:
 
Well now I get to add my two cents on the Mez4s. While I did like them on the SVS when they came OEM I have since gone with BT-010/020 set up which I think is great for the little zook. No general problems with te Metzs but they sure did take a long time to warm up.

Now I just got a set of Mez4s on the VFR 4 weeks ago. Got a great price on them, $250 installed, that I couldnt pass up. I have since put about 3k miles on them, including a 2300 mile trip to TN and back. Did not notice any problems with them on the long ride but just in the last couple of days have started to notice that they are kicking out a little more than I like. In fact today, I almost had a low side at an intersection when the back end went out making a left turn from a stop sign. If I hadnt had an old instinct to put my foot out front and down I surely would have been on the ground. It was very unnerving and I am now seriously considering yanking them and going back to the D220s I just had (and liked BTW).

I think I will probably end up sticking with the Metzs just because I cant really afford to replace them but I definitely wont be getting them again.
 
Sprintguy said:
I want something that has decent wear but, will stick like glue and it doesn't take forever to heat up when all leaned over in a turn.


OK, most all of the tires mentioned so far are "good" Sport-Touring tires. But if you really want a tire that "sticks like glue" I have an alternate suggestion. And since I also ride a Sprint-ST my experience should translate well to your needs ;-)

Quite by accident I am running Pirelli Diablo's at present. I needed an emergency rear tire a few weeks back and Pirelli was the only thing I could find in Harrison AR, on a Friday, at 4:30 p.m. When I got back to Dallas, I had RPM fit a matching front. Now, I have no idea what kinda mileage I'm gonna get. I have about 1500 on the rear, and 1000 on the front. But after a run thru east Texas into Louisiana last weekend, I DON'T CARE, about the mileage!! :mrgreen:

These things stick like dried eggs on a plate. Seriously, I was entering corners at what used to be close to maximum velocity but I felt like, "hey, I can go faster than this". Truth; I can enter most corners now at maybe 10-15% faster than I ever could on BT-010's BT-020's Dunlop 205's OR 207's !!! And acceleration thru the corners is a very confident feeling, very confident. I also spent a few hundred miles in sloppy wet rain, they were very planted in the wet as well. Turn in is very linear and predictable and they just plain stick. Awesome.

Here's to STICKY rubber!! :chug:
 
Hmm, well, I've got Pirelli's on the XR for mini racing, Demons. I'm a bit less than impressed, but don't have a lot of choice since i'm running 16" wheels, but I'm so used to racing rubber on the track it might just be the bridgestone ultra soft slicks I spooned on the KX are swaying my opinion of the Pirellis since I ride both bikes in a given weekend. If it rains, I've found I can carve those slicks with a tire knife and make 'em stick better than ANY street rubber, honest! I couldn't believe it myself. Last season last race at Katy I was going to just run the XR in sprints cause it had street rubber on it. It was raining like ****! But, the XR had a carb problem as practice was opening, friends were working on it, so I took out the KX on SLICKS. It wasn't puddling yet, just rain slick, and I was sticking one HECK of a lot better than the XR. Grooved those slicks and went out and won three classes that day. I won three classes at Denton last year on the bike on ungrooved slicks on a wet, but not puddling track, but Denton has a lot more straight that I can turn the KX loose on. It's got a **** of a lot of motor, even though there are a few bikes out there that rival it. But, that turned out not to be a fluke. Katy was not only wet, but COLD. Katy is a very tight track and horsepower really doesn't matter that much.

So, what that taught me is that compound is everything on a wet pavement. If it's stickier in the dry, likely it'll be stickier in the wet. Sure, grooving is important especially when the water is puddling, but it's not as important as compound. If you've ever felt full rains, they're like gum!

Don't know what all that had to do with sport touring tires... :-? I started out with Pirellis on my mind and it morphed into a wet vs dry thread... :lol: The Pirelli Demons are, however, seem better than the BT45 I had on the rear. I can't really say how it stacks against the Avon race compound I had on the front because that was a 19" wheel and I'm now running a 16 on the front. That has lowered the bike and taken almost completely away the understeer it had. That understeer was so bad I really couldn't test the limits of the tire, but the compound was really good and soft. But, the Pirelli is quite stable now and there's no more push so effectively I have more corner speed with it. I can say one thing, had a 591 Dunlop on the rear for a bit and it was TERRIBLE! LOL!
 
In case anyone's interested, I just came back from cyclegear here in Houston and they have pretty good prices on the 020's. The 180/55 are $113.99, and if you bring in the wheel they'll mount and balance em for $11.99. I inquired about the Diablos, unfortunately those can be had much cheaper mail order.
 
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