R3 Tire Suggestion

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mcmoney97

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Last season I got rosso iv's on my bike to replace the stock tires. Make no mistake, they're amazing tires. So much confidence in corners. But there are two things making me rethink what to do for this season.

I did the Fast Riding School last year on a ZX6-r and it was the most fun and insightful motorcycle experience I had. I was obviously putting the bike through a lot more there than I do riding my r3 through the country, and not once at my skill level did I ever get close to actually testing the limits of the tires. The school made a point of saying that they DO NOT use track tires, or even sport tires. I believe they said they used sport-touring tires. Secondly, my r3 tires don't look like they have much more life in them at all after riding 7-8k on them.

I usually do relatively spirited riding in cottage country, but nothing inanse. Southwood rd, 518, Buckhorn etc. I'm thinking that spending the money on rosso iv's might not be that necessary? What do you guys think. Will it be hard to back to a more durable tire after experiencing a whole summer on premium sport tires? Or are rosso iv's and comparable tires overkill for twisty country roads?
 
My only comment is that you will definitely feel a lot more slips and movement out of the "more durable" tire once you become acclimatised to the grippier tire, at least if you ride more aggressively you will. I personally feel that having the best tire available is always a good investment, because it's the only thing that you want touching the pavement. I have had ABS "freewheel" on a dual-ply tire and send me into the grass on my Super Duke, it was just long-bred skill that kept me from dumping the bike. After that, I went to Rosso IV, which has better grip in all senses than the S21s that I replaced. Saving money on tires is a fool's game when one crash would have probably hurt me, and cost me thousands in repairs.
 
Shaman said:
My only comment is that you will definitely feel a lot more slips and movement out of the "more durable" tire once you become acclimatised to the grippier tire, at least if you ride more aggressively you will. I personally feel that having the best tire available is always a good investment, because it's the only thing that you want touching the pavement. I have had ABS "freewheel" on a dual-ply tire and send me into the grass on my Super Duke, it was just long-bred skill that kept me from dumping the bike. After that, I went to Rosso IV, which has better grip in all senses than the S21s that I replaced. Saving money on tires is a fool's game when one crash would have probably hurt me, and cost me thousands in repairs.
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Also, I wonder if part of the reason why the track felt fine on the sport-touring tires (at my skill level) is that well its a racetrack lol, and not rural ontario country pavement.

I think there is definitely something to be said about tires being the one thing you don't cheap out on at all, like you said it's what touches the ground and it affects practically every part of performance. Acceleration, handling, braking, suspension. For one thing I'd never consider going back to the stock tires in the name of saving a buck, the difference was night and day and idc if those last 3 times as long.
 
GreyGhost said:
@Brian P races an r3 when he isn't playing on Superbikes overseas. He probably has good input.
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I also do. I raced on Q3 and Q4 tires. They're fine for that, but they wear fast. I also raced on Bridgestone DOT race tires.
 
I use Pirelli slicks on mine, normally compound SC1. Could not get Dunlop slicks to stay together. But, I suspect this doesn't do the original poster any good, if this is for a street bike.

On other bikes (street), Dunlop Q5S have worked well for me.

Good quality sport touring tires are plenty good enough for most people and they will last way longer. Dunlop Roadsmart, Michelin Pilot Road whatever the latest number is, Bridgestone and Pirelli and Metzeler all have something as well.
 
I'm not sure what the stock tires are on the R3, but the boost in confidence that you got from switching to the Rosso IV might have been more related to the brand/stiffness/profile than the outright grip. I've spent a number of years on track with the older Dunlop Q3+ on the little Ninjas and liked them, although I never really got a great sense of feel from them. The Q3+ was replaced by the Q5/Q5S, which I did not like at all. I finally switched to the Pirelli SuperCorsa SP V4 and was laughing in my helmet for the whole first lap on them. The difference in feedback and confidence was night and day, even though the overall grip is roughly the same as the Dunlops. Anyway, that's just an anecdote about how much personal preference can influence things. You might be a Pirelli person too, and therefore might be perfectly happy with their Angel sport-touring tires if you want something longer lasting than the Rossos.

No matter how much I like the SuperCorsas on track, I personally wouldn't choose them for a small street bike. They are barely-disguised track tires, and the sticker warns not to handle or flex them below 5*C to prevent cold cracking, for instance. Getting any of these hypersport tires (especially the front) into their working temperature range on a small bike isn't really feasible on the street on cool spring or fall days, and a regular sport or sport touring tire is both cheaper and better performing than a cold hypersport tire.
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