| Author | Message | ||
     Ksfirebolt |
I've posted another thread here about the tire problem I've been having. Can anyone recommend a good tire for the winter? I need to get some this week so I can start riding to work again. | ||
| Syonyk |
Pilot Roads are pretty good winter tires. I hear very good things about the Road IIIs, and will have a set in a week or so. I've run Dunlop Q2s for commuting in the winter, and they're OK, but definitely don't grip well when cold. If you're just commuting on dry pavement, anything should work fine - just don't expect summer levels of grip & ride accordingly. If you've got a lot of snow & ice... um. Good luck. | ||
| Ksfirebolt |
Thanks for the info, Syonyk. I ride pretty much whenever the road is dry during the winter and all the time during the rest of the year. After riding lots of junk bikes, I'm pretty good at taking it easy/careful when conditions and machines demand it.  This is my first modern bike and with it comes the bigger tire expense and I'm having a hard time plunking down a couple hundred dollars on tires, but I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and do it. | ||
| Syonyk |
*mutters something about $400 worth of rubber every 6 months* There's no good way around it - sportbike rubber is pricey. If you take it easy on the throttle, you can get a /lot/ more life out of tires than many people do. I've got 6k+ miles out of a set of Dunlop Q2s on an 1125. Most of my riding is fairly gentle, so I'm moving the Road IIIs for some longer life. | ||
| Slaughter |
Regardless of your choice in tires - take a gage with you when you ride. If you are going to be doing more "spirited" riding, you will want to drop the pressures to recommended levels for handling. For commuting and long distance (slab crawling) - you will want to keep pressures at factory recommendations. Tire sales are very often new old stock. Not a problem but if you're pushing your rubber HARD (sorry, that just sounds BAD) - you may want fresher. Something to consider is going to a local race event and walking up to the tire vendors and ask them directly. In one place you'll get Pirelli, Dunlop, Michelin, Bridgestone and when they're not killer-busy, they will always talk to non-racers about your tires. Tire pressure recommendations are all over the map depending on construction but set for "spirited" riding, you will see better handling but far less life. |
