Tires tires Tires - what tires are best for touring?

[Vlad]

PR2 rear lasted consistently 18-20,000Km on my bike (heavy, plenty of torque) and with my kind of riding (read: likes to accelerate a lot). I was quite happy with all characteristics of the tires except the price.

I just wore off a Shinko 009 on my 15,000Km trip through US and was very happy with their behavior in all weather conditions (from +7 in rain to +47 in the desert). They didn't give me a slip even once and handled very well in the corners on a heavily loaded bike (I'm not a knee dragger, but I'm no slouch either). For the first 10,000Km or so these tires really inspired confidence in corners, albeit they had a tendency to fall into them easier than I was used to with PR2 (this may be just my perception). 16,000Km after they were installed the rear was severely squared and past the wear marks (I'll take a picture when I get a chance, still have the tire). The front is still in very good shape with plenty of thread and no noticeable cupping. Last 3-4,000Km leaning it in turns was harder and the front became wobbly at low speeds (due to the wear of the rear tire, not front) but traction was never compromised.

All in all, at $170 for a pair shipped to my door Shinko is the best deal ever. I'll consider PR3 if I find a good deal or am going on a trip longer than 15,000Km and don't want to ride the last 1,000Km on the steel belt, but other than that Shinko will remain my weapon of choice.

[Ikan]

Motorcycle.com's road test of Dunlop RoadSmarts tire:

http://www.motorcycle.com/products/d...iew-75375.html



I have used them on a 750cc bike and gotten 25,000 & 27,000 kms per set.
Dunlop says they are the best wet weather tire they make. My experience was just that.
I have also had them to the very edge (no chicken line) and never had an issue.
As with all tires, tire pressure is what makes a tire last I find. I up the pressure when I go on a trip with luggage.

[boarder360]

So has anyone ran both the pirelli angel and the pilot road 2's? Its a toss up between the two for me. Is there any advantage of the pilots dual compound over the angels single compound?

[roadhamr]

has there been any discussion about psi in the tires? i haven' t read all of it to be honest but i did skim and didnt see any discussion about inflation of tires and what is most appropriate. it has been my experience over the years that this has a huge affect on tires and varies from rider to rider and bike to bike. i see very low mileage on my tires for a touring tire unfortunately because of the nature and weight of the bike. i am not a crazed knee dragger but i can make that bike Valkyrie of mine hustle as well. what kind of tires and what psi you run them at and the kinds of riding conditions you typically see would be great info to include so we can all get more from this thread. so far it is a really good one.

[Vlad]

has there been any discussion about psi in the tires?

No, likely because there's too many factors in that equation. I don't think you can get even riders of the same bike and style of riding to agree on a broad recommendation, let alone useful guidelines for all bikes, loads, riding styles, road conditions, etc.

That said, I go with manufacturer's recommendations which are 36psi both front and rear. My tires would have to be over or under-inflated by at least 5psi for me to be able to tell the difference. Therefore, I don't check my tire pressure very often, usually once a month or so. I didn't check it at all during my three week 15,000Km trip and although I was considerably less confident in corners by the end of the trip I attribute that to the changed tire geometry rather than pressure.





As you can see the Shinko Raven 009 got a pretty bad flat spot (actually even a bit concave), but that's to be expected on such a trip. Considering it's price, the fact that it's a single compound tire with longevity comparable with Michelin Pilot Road 2 I conclude that Shinko is by far the best bang for the buck. No rear tire I know under $200 would perform that well for me, and these cost $170 for both front and rear, delivered to my door.

Speaking of pressure, I think I should have kicked it up a notch, maybe to 40psi, having in mind that the bike was fully loaded. That would likely extend it's life a bit, make the flat spot less pronounced and the handling a bit better by the end.

[adri]

The way CG rides I'm not surprised she's burning rubber lol

[Baggsy]

Have you tried a bike specific site? Lots of people here riding different bikes with different tires that they like. But on a bike specific site you can tap into the plethorea of testing that others have done running different tires on your bike.

My used Concours came with tires made for a Goldwing, as the previous owner was getting into iron-butt rides. I found the tires wore extremely well, but they felt like wet newspapers when it rained. I switched them for Avon Storms which were heaven in the rain, but felt more squirrelly because of the size difference.

[Barneycanoe]

avon storm , there good for over 10000 kms, and there very sticky for a sport touring tire

Yes, but on my Trophy I have also kind of squared them off - not enough twisties!

[canadianshark74]

I love my PR2's... I have to order another set over the winter. This set has seen Deals Gap and the BRP, and another trip to PA.
The rest is all Ontario roads.

Attachment 0

[rib]

I bought a pair of pr2's a month ago, and have about 7000k on them now. And have almost no sign of cupping.

They are fantastic in the rain.

I went to deals gap on them, and I have to say I could notice that they are not as sticky as some of the other tires I have used . Bt016, pilot powers. Even after a few rips back and forth down the dragon, they never really got 'sticky'

They also take a lot longer to warn up.

would I buy them again?... I'm on the fence with that.. I think I'd rather have a bit less tire life and a bit more grip.

[daught]

I have the SM Distanzia (softer). They last 9000KM but I swear for street they are better than any sport tire I ever tried. They can handle a bit of mud too.

[MacDoc]

I had Metzlers on the last Burgman and huge gain in cornering stability and sticky - never did get to see how long they wore but different profile was much better than the rounder stock that tend to flatten quick on the back ( mine got a kickstart on that by the newbie previous owner who but 5k on under inflated and clearly few twisties. )

Correct pressure helped but I'm just going to suffer this year and replace them in the spring with Shinkos which at their price $37-56 seem decent and you don't mind swapping them a bit more often than the expensive. All the riders reporting good rain performance and cornering.
Lot of the US Burgman riders have switched for the performance/value curve. Apparently Shinko bought a Yokahama division producing mcycle tires.

[Rotten_Ronnie]

No, likely because there's too many factors in that equation. I don't think you can get even riders of the same bike and style of riding to agree on a broad recommendation, let alone useful guidelines for all bikes, loads, riding styles, road conditions, etc.

That said, I go with manufacturer's recommendations which are 36psi both front and rear. My tires would have to be over or under-inflated by at least 5psi for me to be able to tell the difference. Therefore, I don't check my tire pressure very often, usually once a month or so. I didn't check it at all during my three week 15,000Km trip and although I was considerably less confident in corners by the end of the trip I attribute that to the changed tire geometry rather than pressure.





As you can see the Shinko Raven 009 got a pretty bad flat spot (actually even a bit concave), but that's to be expected on such a trip. Considering it's price, the fact that it's a single compound tire with longevity comparable with Michelin Pilot Road 2 I conclude that Shinko is by far the best bang for the buck. No rear tire I know under $200 would perform that well for me, and these cost $170 for both front and rear, delivered to my door.

Speaking of pressure, I think I should have kicked it up a notch, maybe to 40psi, having in mind that the bike was fully loaded. That would likely extend it's life a bit, make the flat spot less pronounced and the handling a bit better by the end.

Where are you sourcing these from, Vlad?

I just bought a rear Metzler Z-8 from Pete's Superbike for the Bandit. I was going to stick a PilotRoad2 on again, but he was out of stock. Ted Rose had an 009 Raven for $150 taxes in at his shop, but as I've Metzler up front I thought I'd stick with the same manufacturer's profile front and rear on the Bandit.

[Rotten_Ronnie]

I bought a pair of pr2's a month ago, and have about 7000k on them now. And have almost no sign of cupping.

They are fantastic in the rain.

I went to deals gap on them, and I have to say I could notice that they are not as sticky as some of the other tires I have used . Bt016, pilot powers. Even after a few rips back and forth down the dragon, they never really got 'sticky'

They also take a lot longer to warn up.

would I buy them again?... I'm on the fence with that.. I think I'd rather have a bit less tire life and a bit more grip.

The Gap would have shredded your BT-016's. I did it on BT-021's and scrubbed off the shoulders of my front tire while riding my VFR down there and back.

[Vlad]

Where are you sourcing these from, Vlad?

http://www.jcwhitney.com/

They were $170/pair delivered to my door, arrived in about a week. They were out of stock the last time I checked (August) so I'll confirm via e-mail/phone next time I order.

I love my PR2's... I have to order another set over the winter. This set has seen Deals Gap and the BRP, and another trip to PA.
The rest is all Ontario roads.Attachment 0

What's your bike's weight, torque and what's your riding style? There is no way in the universe that a PR2 rear would look like that after 20,000Km on my bike with my acceleration-loving riding . More like 2,000, but definitely no more than 5,000. The last two I had were worn beyond wear markers and flattened (not a lot, but visibly) by 18-20,000Km.

[jefflthomas]

I'm probably at 7k, they're not worn out, just you can see they aren't quite round anymore

similar to my Metzeler Z8 at over 8000km...but there's ton's of rubber left & it feels fine

previously had a Z6 on the rear of my ZRX1200 & it was still round when i took it off at around 13000km...still had a couple of thou' left on it too

so the Z6 might what you're looking for...but the Z8 seems way better for the sport in sport touring so far

Thats another thing that the pr3's have done is cup on me on the front...

slightly higher tyre pressure for the straight roads should help with that

my sport M5 front is slightly scalloped because i didn't check the pressure for 6 days on the road with varying weather & temperature....

pressure was low

[kiterider]

got the Metzeler Z8's from petes (had a great deal on them) and had them installed by recidivist. Only got 2k on them right now, but they are amazingly sticky in the corners and real good in the rain. They're supposed to wear real well and I expect to get between 12-15k out of them, but time will tell I guess.

80% of my riding is commuting with more or less spirited weekend riding on twisties If I can find 'em. I've got some pretty good lean angles on corners the last few times I went riding in the kawarthas.

[Jenerator]

Nevermind - I posted a poll!

[jefflthomas]

I expect to get between 12-15k out of them, but time will tell I guess.

that's my estimate for my M5/Z8 combo...the ZRX isn't that hard on fronts

[mikem]

got the Metzeler Z8's from petes (had a great deal on them) and had them installed by recidivist. Only got 2k on them right now, but they are amazingly sticky in the corners and real good in the rain. They're supposed to wear real well and I expect to get between 12-15k out of them, but time will tell I guess.

80% of my riding is commuting with more or less spirited weekend riding on twisties If I can find 'em. I've got some pretty good lean angles on corners the last few times I went riding in the kawarthas.

I'm running z8's now and love them, i use to get 17000 or 18000 out of m3's so I'm hoping to get better than that from these.

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