POLL: My next new tire purchase will be?

[dirtdog72551]

This is your next new tire purcahse, not what you are running now. If I have left out your favorite tire please tell us about it. Why are you sticking to or changing tires.

[glenj]

The Michelin Pilot Sports have scared the bejeezus out of me on more that one occasion by sliding with no warning. They are hooked up and then they aren't with no transition. Has anyone else had the same experience with these tires?

[dirtdog72551]

I have only had one set of tires and that's the Metzler MEZ4's. Coming up on 8000 miles with no complaints.
I am sure you can find better tires for traction but for longivity and touring I think the Z'4s would be hard to beat. I think the tires have lasted so long because when I punch the bike (almost every time I ride it) I am more or less going in a straight line, I take the turns and corners very conservativly.

Dirtdog

[PaulZX9R]

glenj, I had the same problem with the pilot sports, so I switched them for 010/020's. I ride in Ireland where cool/damp weather and fair to poor road surfaces are the norm. When the Bridgestones are having a hard time, I get a controlled, gradual warning which gives me time to control the situation.
No more brown trousers.

[spoof]

I'm on a Falco, but I'll pitch in. I'm on Metzler M1s right now and they are absolutely amazing tires. However, the budget's a wee bit tighter this year and I could not get very satisfactory life out of the sportecs. I've got a few long trips planned over the season, so I may try out the Bridgestone 010 front 020 rear combo, which I've heard is a pretty fair setup.

[DIRTDOG]

Is anyone going to try the Avons?

Dirtdog

[Bikeaholic]

Dirtdog,

Used to run Avons on my 01 Bike and they were brill. I liked them so much that when the first set was done I had another set of Avons fitted. Although they were identical to my first set, I was told that Avon had improved the compound to make them last longer.

300mls later I lost the front under accelleration on a right hander I had done many times before at similar speeds. The bike was written off and I never got a chance to find out whether the new compound would have given me more milage out of a set. I'll not buy Avons again and have gone for BT02/01 and guess what, I'm back up to speed around that corner.

[MWalsh]

I'm more of a touring rider and have been running BT020s for the last few thousand miles. So far they've done great though the front tends to react poorly to rain grooves.

Mike

[DIRTDOG]

Bikeaholic,

I'm easily convinced - no Avons for me, and sorry that you had to find out the hard way that the softer compound tire's were not up to snuff.

Tks, Dirtdog

[mgtx73]

Although I voted for the Bridgestones 10/20, which I currently run, I will be purchasing Avon's on the next set to see how they run.

mike

[Bikeaholic]

mgtx73, good luck.:eek:

[rblue02]

Presently have original Pilot on front & a Bridge 20 on the rear, with a nail hole.
The original Pilot was really worn at ~14K,
so the bike turned slow and was unstable. :p

Didn't like the look of the tread pattern on the Bridge 20 front, and MWalsh confirmed my concern. So with Paul's glowing 10/20 reviews, I'm trying that now.

Bridgestones 10/20 combo in the mail. :D
Wish they mounted themselves.

Noticed the Pilot Roads are cheaper than the Sports.
I'm curious how they will perform.

[mdnixon]

Anybody ever try Dunlop 220s?<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/grin.gif ALT=" >D">

[ckruzel]

bridgstone - yuch, 207rr or pirelli dragon's 207rr's if your looking for a little more milage

[mnrstrider]

Anyone tried Dunlop 208's?

[cmcnamee]

I put the Avon ST's on my Futura about a 1000 miles ago. I really like them. They stick in the corners as well as the MEZ4's and, at least at this point, appear that they will last much longer.

[mdnixon]

A friend of mine runs Dunlop 208s on his Honda 929 and swears by them. :D

I do alot of highway miles that is why I was looking at the Dunlop 220s, I know they are kinda new so I was wondering if anyone had run them.<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/grin.gif ALT=" >D">

I am staying away from French and German products, you know the whole lack of support for the US and UK on the Iraq issue.:mad:

[poloman]

ok so the avons were not fitted to a futura but to my guzz v11sport (being chopped in for a futura tomorrow) I found the avon azaro st brilliant. Enabled me to really chuck the guzz about something I had no confidence to do on the 020's fitted from new. Plus i got in excess of 9k miles and they wear out as a pair. Will try them on the futura when the time comes.

[Ricky J]

None of the above mentioned tires for my next set- I'll try the Michelin Pilot Roads. It sounds as if they are not cold-blooded like Pilot Sports but combine very good stick with durability and excellent small bump compliance.

[Addio]

I switched out the Pilot sport rear at 2731 miles. It had about another 500 miles on it but I was going on 1500 mile trip.

Due to the geography I planned to ride (Cherohala, Deal's, and general mountains of NC and TN) I went with a D208 rear. On the twisties, even wet, it is an excellent tire. :D It is soft, and after a quick jaunt through hard twisties, you can see the friction wear (you can also smell it if you get the tire hot enough.:eek: ) However, they do stay firmly planted, and I was going over pretty hard (1/8th inch of chicken strip - I'm working on it) and accelerating hard.

I rode slab back home, and I could see the wear from the heat. If you are looking for a touring tire, these aren't them. I estimating 3500-4000 miles out of the rear. For the way I like to ride that's acceptable.

Just my $.02 worth (not sure what that's worth in Euros).

Addio

[mikeh502]

How many miles have you guys got out of your rear original Michelin Pilot Sport ?????

My is completely dead at 2500 miles !!!! arrggh.

Think I will be plumbing for a 010/020 combo next time, just didn't expect to be doing it this soon.

[BossBob2]

2500 is not good huh :rolleyes:
I got just under 3000 before changing them, but I was glad I didn't get stopped by the poliss

I then fitted the dreaded Avon 35/36 Azaro's . . . . . .
The rear is due to get changed today @ 7500 miles
<strong>Wow are they bad</strong> :rollin:
Worse than that I bought 3 as a deal, so I have another 4000-4500 till I can justify buying something else
I'd only recommend these tyres to someone I had insured for a VERY large sum :D

In fairness, in the higher temps of EU on tour and in the dry they held well and gave me no real moments, but back home, in the wet . . . . . . . :eek:
Lethal
So, bridgestones it probably is for me, but not for a while yet!!

Rab

[PaulZX9R]

I swopped out the Pilot Sports at about 2,500 miles because they were just too scary for me. I put on Bridgestone 010/020. At 9,000 (last weekend) I replaced them with another set of 010/020. They were past their best but had about another 1,000 miles if I wanted it.

BossBob2, bite the bullet and put on tyres you trust. It is not worth having bad tyres, you won't ride the bike, you won't trust the bike, and worse, you won't enjoy the bike. If you have an unused Azaro, see if your dealer will give you a discount against new tyres for it. The Azaro works very well on other bikes, so perhaps it is just not suited to the Futura.

[BossBob2]

I take your point Paul, I got them mail order tho' and my dealer is fitting for free ( well, the rest of my business ;) )
It doesn't take long in my case anyway so I'm probably looking at another set in September . . . . . . whats 8 weeks in the bigger scheme of things.
It would also leave me with 2 part worn fronts, and extravagance is not my forte' . . . . . . honest!
They were fine in the warm and dry, so I might just have to take them abroad again to wear them out safely :p

We'll see . . . .

Rab

[JoksaR6]

My next set is pirelli dragon evo corsa back and mez rennsport front.

[kenpokev]

I got about 3K from the stock rear Pilot and didn't like the feel from the front end at all, so I swapped 'em out to the Bridgestone 020's. I didn't think of doing the 010 on the front...hmmm, that would likely be a nice set-up.

So far I'm pleased with these, but I'll need to get some more miles logged on them to be sure. I had them mounted up at Laguna and did the Aprilia parade laps on the track...with my bride on the back...the Corkscrew WILL get your attention!

Tires stuck nicely.

[FLUFdriver]

I got 4000 miles out of the OEM Michelins. Hated em'.

I've put 3000 on the Bridgestone BT20's (front & rear) and they are barely worn. So far I have been to the Hill Country a few times with them on and they work well (wet & dry) for the speeds that I ride on the street.

I'm happy with the BT's but I am curious about the Dunlop new 220's. If there is some positive feedback I might give them a try next year when I replace the Battleaxes.

[bryman10]

Well, I've been doing some hardcore research the past few hours, and since my Pilot Sports are toast at 4500 miles, I've narrowed it down to either:
---Metzeler MEZ4 or
---Bridgestone Battlax BT-020
These two tires seem to offer the best blend of performance and tread longevity. BTW, here's a website that seems to have pretty good prices on both tires:
http://www.discountmotorcycletire.com/
bryman

[bryman10]

For those of you/us considering Metzelers, here's a helpful chart (borrowed from Metzeler's website):
http://www.motorcycleproshop.com/tires/metzeler/graph.gif
Makes me consider the M1's along w/ the Z4's....
bryman

[bryman10]

Just bought the Bridgestone Battlax BT-020 (rear) from
Discount motorcycle tire and accessories online (www.dtmaonline.com) for $116 SHIPPED!!! The dealer wanted $205:eek:
God bless the internet and fierce market competition:D :D
bryman

[mgtx73]

I've tried the D208's and they were wobbly on the turns. Feels like they give way to much so I took them off, sold them, and went back to the BT 10/20 combo. Working great for me but I will be trying the Avon's. I don't think one account of a front tire sliding out is enough to steer me away. I ride with a buddy who rides a 954RR and has a set of the the sport touring Avons on his bike. We just did a 500mile day of twisties and elevation changing roads. The days pace was fast and he didn't have a problem at all. Lots of high speed sweepers as well as tight switchbacks. I think I'm going to give them a try based on that testimony.

One thing to note, the rear Avon on the 954 is a 190 and it makes other 190's look really narrow. Looks really cool with the wide profile and the tread patter. Cool factor is 10 and I want to buy them just for that :p :D

[bossbob]

See two posts immediately above dated 07/08 ...... 8th july

I have Avon 35/36 at the moment . . . . . . . and I'll not use them again!
IMHO it depends on your climate, if its warm and dry then they are hot running, very soft and sticky. I'd say from 20-23 degrees C and upward they hold well, and I got 4500 miles out of a rear which is my best ever, I am normally a 3000 miles or less rider.

However, show them a wet road and it is a Jeckel and Hyde transformation, standing water on a cool day equates to an ice rink. LETHAL, no maybes no exaggeration, they have no tread pattern by design (i.e. slick) round 20% of the circumferance 3 times, and this gives a slip-grip-slip-grip sensation as you corner . . . . . . . or try your best to corner :rolleyes:

You can see the tread pattern I mean in this shot

HTH

Rab

[bossbob]

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: