best tyres ?

burkerider

burkerider

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Hi people. I've been reading that not too many of you have much faith in the original tyres that came with their bikes. I bought my 08 FZ1 pre-loved so am not sure what it had at birth. It now sports metzlers, but on my old R1 i swore by dunlops for that stuck to the road feeling. The metz feel good but am i putting a too much faith in them when i'm hard over in the twisties? Almost due for a new set so any comments much appreciated. Oh, and to all you who say you can't do a power wheely, just take it past 7 grand then close and open the throttle and look at the sky. i don't have a power comander but it lifts every time. Don't forget to hold on tight. Buena suerte:icon_beer:
 
I'd have a look at your tires after you've had the bike for a while... take a look at how you're riding... not everyone needs the stickiest tire on the market... if that were true, we'd all be running track slicks all over the place... or DOT Race tires...

When you get down to the truth of the matter... some people are fine with Pilot Roads, others need Pilot Power Race.... you've just got to figure out which type of rider you are... otherwise... you may be wasting your money on more tire than you really need.
 
Yes the OEM Michelins are not the best tyres, Every written off bike I see lately have Michelins on them with a lot of the bikes under 3000km on the clock very interesting coincedence? I have ran the standard Pilot Powers and they were ok except on the track I had a couple of slides on the rear they scare the sh*t out of you, My riding style has changed and I am a believer that your tyres need to suit your riding style, I am now running Metzeler Racetec K3 and really like them they are more sticky, Give you better stability in the corners and feel more compliant overall I feel more confident on the bike which is the biggest factor when riding to your limits.
 
As I recall, i haven't tryed them in a long time, metzlers are a good lower end tire. I had always like them. But did not last very long.
The Perilli Diablo's I have had on the bike scare me. I've been on my ass two times, and 3 very close calls. With no warning they just let go. All my other bike's I ran the Power Roads. I have always been happy with the Power's and have a set waiting to go on the FZ1. With my past experiance the Powers last a little longer and grip as well if not better. Also once the powers do start letting go, if your good, you can bring them back. The Diablo's just let go with no feed back.
 
I ran Diablos on my Aprilia RSV and loved them. They took me on a very sporty trip around the Swiss Alps and a few circuits of the Nurberg ring ta boot.
My FZ1 came with a Power on the back and Battlax 015 on the front. Not my choice but haven't really pushed the bike so don't know if they work well together or not.
I've tried Michelin, Dunlop and Pirelli sport tyres and they all seem fine to me. I would say that back in Europe I rode quite quickly but I always try to ride smoothly and I guess under those circumstances most decent tyres will work.
 
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I have the Pilot Road 2's on mine (2002 FZ1). Much better than the 016's that were on it when I got it, done 8000km on them so far, mix of commute/touring 80% vs twisties 20%. They are holding up very well. Then again I'm not the fastest bloke out there...
 
Burnesy said:
I have the Pilot Road 2's on mine (2002 FZ1). Much better than the 016's that were on it when I got it, done 8000km on them so far, mix of commute/touring 80% vs twisties 20%. They are holding up very well. Then again I'm not the fastest bloke out there...
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you're the first I've heard that didn't like the 016's (for street)
what didn't u like about them?
or maybe different bikes act diffently with same tires?
had the 016's on my 08 blade
 
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:icon_beer:Mi amigo motociclista en la parte inferior tierra.....ola. Tires are subjective. I'm begining to realy like my Michelin ct 2's, but we have 'animals' like VA who are (likely as not) putting them to their limits daily. His choice's here has alot of sway if you too want to go extreme. I think he was saying he liked the ..............
ps. BT 16's not so good?????? hmmmm, that shouldn't be the case other than quick wear, their pretty grippy.Diablo Rosso's and Bt 16's seem to be the 'trick' thing, if the 16's aren't doing it for you, I'd suggest looking a bit to find the BT 14's, those I 'way' trust, had them on my Buell, and buggered them down to within 1/4" or better of the edge, and scraped my boots! They never slid or skipped on downshift, wore sort of quickly, actually they were round for about 800 to 1,000 miles before the flat appeared, but at that point were still pretty good feeling.
 
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Also, you might add the season. Your getting ready for the 'cold' season in just a couple a'three months when the asphalt will be cold. In that case I liked Bridgestones or Avons. They seemed to do well on cold tarmac once 'they' were warmed up. Felt responsive and sticky even if the road was cold and slippery 'greasy'I haven't been confident with ct 2's in the winter cold, something I just couldn't shake, but now that the roads and weather are warmer, they seem excelent, just not in cold (for Me).
 
Burnesy said:
I have the Pilot Road 2's on mine (2002 FZ1). Much better than the 016's that were on it when I got it, done 8000km on them so far, mix of commute/touring 80% vs twisties 20%. They are holding up very well. Then again I'm not the fastest bloke out there...
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Yup. You won't get 8,000km out of 016's. Having said that the 016's are loads stickier than the Road 2ct's. But the Road 2ct's are great in the wet as opposed to the 016's which are not. Horses for courses.

I really enjoyed the BT015's on this bike. Pretty much destroyed them in 3 hours of very hard riding, but geez they were fun.:party0011: I scrubbed them in and did a very short ride on them, and then spent a day that weekend chasing a guy on a 206 RWHP Busa. Got home and was horrified to see they were looking like a slick from one edge to the other...lol. I reckon they'd be pretty good for a track day. Don't expect more than 3 or 4 hours of flat out riding on them though.
 
ozzieboy said:
Yup. You won't get 8,000km out of 016's. Having said that the 016's are loads stickier than the Road 2ct's. But the Road 2ct's are great in the wet as opposed to the 016's which are not. Horses for courses.
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I think that may well be the reason. The wet. I commute to work everyday and when I had the 016's on they didn't really inspire confidence, and it was pretty wet when I first got my bike 9 months ago. Had some mates that had the Road 2CTS' and I do similar riding to them so that is what I went with. They (2CT's) seem plenty sticky enough for what I get up to in the dry and are the best tyres I've come across in the wet. Of which I've had too much practice of late.
 
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Burnesy said:
I think that may well be the reason. The wet. I commute to work everyday and when I had the 016's on they didn't really inspire confidence, and it was pretty wet when I first got my bike 9 months ago. Had some mates that had the Road 2CTS' and I do similar riding to them so that is what I went with. They (2CT's) seem plenty sticky enough for what I get up to in the dry and are the best tyres I've come across in the wet. Of which I've had too much practice of late.
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Spot on there. I've been hanging off the bike with a peg on the deck in the wet with Road 2CT's...lol. The 016's take a bit of warming up to get to full potential as well, so on a commute they may not get there. One thing to watch out for (just trying to remember living near Wollongong...Lived in Canberra) if you get crisp cold nights on the verge of frosty (around the 0 degrees C mark) and are in hills or twistys the Pilot Road 2 CT's struggle to get up to temp and tend to slip and slide a bit if you try to push them.

I did 50,000km on my FZ6 in 15 months before a 4WD ate it, and went through new tires very regularly (every six weeks-ish). Tried a few varieties. If you have trouble getting Road 2CT's (usually around Phillip Island MotoGP time) and you get desperate, the Dunlop Roadsmarts are similar in performance (not as good a shape for hitting a lean angle and holding it) in the wet, and dry, and have only marginally less life span. Warning though. With the Dunlops When you see the hard centre capping on the rear tire appear to delaminate (it's not...it's just the hard compound wearing through onto the softer one under neath) be aware that it will wear very quickly.
 
Yeah the 2CTs are a good road tyre, fairly good grip, good turn in, but be warned when they go they go!!! they have their limits. Did a trackday last thurs with Metzeler k3 I cannot say enough they are awesome, made quite a few of the sportbike riders look silly!!!

Good tyres + Good suspension = Fast laps
 
One word, Shinko's
005 front@36psi 009 rear@40psi one up 42psi two up.
Even in Melbourne foulest weather, hooks up and goes.
Sure the shyte beats the hell out of the standard dunlops.
But next time round I might try out a 006 front.:thinking:
 
Buildercher said:
Yes the OEM Michelins are not the best tyres, Every written off bike I see lately have Michelins on them with a lot of the bikes under 3000km on the clock very interesting coincedence? I have ran the standard Pilot Powers and they were ok except on the track I had a couple of slides on the rear they scare the sh*t out of you, My riding style has changed and I am a believer that your tyres need to suit your riding style, I am now running Metzeler Racetec K3 and really like them they are more sticky, Give you better stability in the corners and feel more compliant overall I feel more confident on the bike which is the biggest factor when riding to your limits.
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just wanna go against ur post sorry !!! I run Pilot Road 2's on mine, and enjoyed eating an R1 for breakfast just the other day, he was usin Pilot Power Pure's which are a VERY STICKY hypersport/track tyre and he could ride !!! But this guy couldn't get near me on the corners! For me, the Pilot Road 2's are the Bee's Knees ftw !!!
 
I have agree with SETH46. My bike came new with Michelin Pilot Roads. I was happy enough with them except the rear would squirm a little when pushed. I switched to the Pilot Powers and just loved them. The Michelins wet/damp road performance is also very impressive. I got 7,000km out of the rear, which is not too bad. I now run a Pilot power on the front and a Pilot Road 2 on the rear. I can't pick the difference between the Power and the Road 2 on the back but the wear rate is much better. In the twisty stuff I try not to be too aggressive on the brakes and throttle. I've got to say that I now find that it's not the tyres that limit my cornering but the bikes geometery. The pegs scrap fairly easily and if you push on you will hit something more solid, like the side stand or exhaust. When you hit the solid stuff it tends to throw the bike back up and makes for an exciting cornering experience to say the least.

This is my Road 2 with approx 7,000 km. Still looking good and only now is it starting to lose it's shape.

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This is the Pilot Power on the front with approx 4,500 km. Note how clean the edges are yet I've still managed to grind the hero knobs off!!

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Here's some damage to the side stand from cornering.

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Here's where the exhaust touched down, unlike the pegs it didn't retract. I've now got a Akrapovic slip on which hasn't touched down.

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I guess a lot depends on your riding style and own personal preferences but the Michelin Pilot Power and Road 2s get my vote.

Cheers Bluey
 
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