Best ST tires for FZ-1 daily commuter

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twillet

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I moved to VA from Los Angeles two years ago, and in that time have given two sets of my go-to BT 023's a chance to live up to my expectations here....

I'm finding that they don't really like the east coat blacktop. The concrete on Cali's roads is "smooth" compared to the asphalt here is VA, and these tires have halved their longevity.

I've gotten aprox. 5000 miles out of my current set where I would get 8-11000 on the west coast. Long story short- I've decided to try a new tire after nearly 60,000 on BT 023's.

I have a 96 miles RT commute. Primarily two lane roads, 60-80mph average, regular elevation changes, and about 50/ 50 straight to high-speed corners.

I've heard nothing but great things about the Pilot Road 3's. I've previously avoided this Michelin series because of their V-shape carcass causing front end instability under acceleration and heavy braking for the FZ1, but I see from reviewing the new data on the PR-3's that they have moved to dual compound U-shaped carcass......

Thoughts? Opinions on these tires? Opinions on other options?
 
I have been through a number of ST tires and would rate the Pilot Road 3 the best all around tire by far. There's a long thread here that has a lot of opinions for you to check out.

Tire preferences will vary based on the rider, the climate and the roads (as you have discovered).

I am using BT-023s on the VFR right now. I've got maybe 500 miles on them so far and I really don't like their feel or feedback but the grip levels seem reasonable. I only chose them because the VFR I just bought had a newish BT-023 front and BT-021 rear and I wanted to match the pair. The BT-021 is one of my most hated tires and I had to get it off ASAP in this winter weather.
 
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Another vote for PR2 here. I got over 13k miles out of a set, on my FZ1. Strangely, the front got to the wear bars before the rear did!.

I went with Metzeler Z8 for my current set, but can't speak for longevity yet.. only about 1k miles on them so far. Grip is very good, but they tend to grab edges on steel bridges.
 
Erci said:
Another vote for PR2 here. I got over 13k miles out of a set, on my FZ1. Strangely, the front got to the wear bars before the rear did!.

I went with Metzeler Z8 for my current set, but can't speak for longevity yet.. only about 1k miles on them so far. Grip is very good, but they tend to grab edges on steel bridges.
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When I tried the PR2s, I also wore out the front tire first. Now that I'm running a Dunlop Q2 on the front and a RoadSmart2 on the rear, I am at least wearing my front and rear at close to the same rate. I love the feel Q2 gives when regaining traction after riding through some gravel or pine needles in the turns.
 
Dustin said:
I am using BT-023s on the VFR right now. I've got maybe 500 miles on them so far and I really don't like their feel or feedback but the grip levels seem reasonable. I only chose them because the VFR I just bought had a brand new BT-023 front and BT-021 rear and I wanted to match the pair. The BT-021 is one of my most hated tires and I had to get it off ASAP in this winter weather.
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I suppose it's time for an update! I'm many miles into my BT-023 set now and my opinion of them has changed. The mileage I am getting from these tires is staggering. As the post above says, the bike came with a BT-023 front and I put a brand new rear on to match. I have no idea what the mileage was on the front but I could hazard a guess that it was about 5000 km before I put the rear on.

I've now got 15,000 km (9300 miles) on the rear and probably around 20,000 km on the front (12,400 miles) and there's still life in the rear! I do find these tires a bit on the stiff side and there's not as much feel as I'd like; wet weather performance is not as confidence inspiring as the PR3s, either. That said, the side grip is outstanding and gives a lot of confidence when leaned over.

Rear from a distance
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Rear centre profile
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Rear side profile
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Rear centre wear bar
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Front profile
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Front side profile
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Front wear bar
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Just installed a rear Bridgestone T30 after getting 8800 miles out of the original rear, when my and I got home from upstate NY I found this....


Only have 150 miles on it so far, but grip seems pretty good. Need to get the front mounted after the 4th of July and really find out how well the T30's handle. Really hope to get some decent mileage out of these Bridgestones.
 
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