| Author | Message | ||
     Mr_grumpy |
I need to get some tyres for the Buells, both of them fronts. The Super TT has a Michelin PR2 on the back which appears to be lasting much better than the Pirelli Scorpion Sync it had before, now the front Scorpion Sync is dead & I wanted to put a Pilot Road 2 on in it's place but the prices have gone through the roof here. PR2 is about 15-20% more than last year, very nearly the same price as PR3. I'm not a madman on the road & I don't do track days so I'm leaning towards a Pirelli Diablo Strada. The M2 had them on & I was well happy with them & will probably replace the front with like, when I finish its rebuild. Now I'm living by the mountains my front tyres are wearing out much faster on the sides, the current one is nearly triangular. Your thoughts would be welcomed. | ||
| Froggy |
You can't get the Stradas anymore, they were discontinued and replaced by the Pirelli Angel ST. I just ordered a pair of Angel ST and a pair of Scorpion Trail, so I'll be able to do a fair comparison on both of them soon. I currently am running Trails on my 1125R, they are amazing, reminds me a lot of the Scorpion Sync except with a thicker carcass. Over 10,000 miles of life on a 1125R too, still have some tread left but I'll be swapping out just because I like the feel of fresh rubber. Avoid the Pilot Power 2CT and Dunlop D616, I would rather run flat square retreads that those ever again. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Froggy - what's your beef with the Pilot Powers? I rather liked mine... Grumpy - I think Continental has a real budget ST-type tire out now. No first hand experience, though. just another option. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Actually I can still get Stradas here, but the Angels look like a nice tyre about the same price as PR2 though. | ||
| Froggy |
Grip is terrible, I will be leaned over hard in a turn and the rear feels like I am driving on a wet double yellow. The steering feels very vague, it is significantly harder for me to aim the bike where I want it to go, often resulting in me running wide or cutting turns short trying to compensate for the extra effort. Everything is 100x worse in the rain, the grip is so terrible I'm afraid to park it thinking it will wash itself off the sidestand. To top it off, the tires run significantly small, making my bike lower and making the speedometer so inaccurate I need to reprogram the ECM to compensate. 75mph indicated is 69 actual. This really screws with my fuel economy numbers as it makes it look like I traveled further than I did. Bobby reported the same on your old CR, said traffic on the Northway is going a good 5mph higher than normal. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
One of the online tyre places here are doing a special on "FullBore USA" I've never heard of them, any experiences? they're very cheap, about 60% of a PR2 or Angel ST. | ||
| Froggy |
FullBore USA isn't even made in the USA. I haven't met any souls brave enough to try their stupidly cheap tires though. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Made in Japan according to the blurb, the reviews on the site all say they're virtually as good as name brands but way cheaper. I'm tempted by the price, €63.90 as against €99.90 for the Angel ST. tax & del included. But if they're that good for the price how come I've not heard about them before? | ||
| Froggy |
I've seen pictures of the tires on ebay, the stickers say Made in China. I am really tempted to get a set to try, I just spent over $700 on tires yesterday, it would be nice to cut that number in half in the future. | ||
| Sifo |
Pony up for the PR2 then just enjoy the long term savings. Mine pay for themselves. If you aren't doing track days or treating the street like a track, they are beyond adequate. | ||
| Etennuly |
I'm with Sifo on this. The extra 20% in cost will be made up in extra miles per tire, overall costing less due to changing them less often. Well that and the matching set is a nice thing. Or put another front Sync on it. I recall that being a pretty fair set up on mine. | ||
| Fahren |
Heard Japanese tires are getting some glowing reviews lately. Fukushima Reactor III's heat up really fast. | ||
| Aesquire |
Japanese tires should be fine, Chinese tires a crapshoot. Seeking opinion. Time to re-shoe the M2. Desires..... Good cold and wet traction essential. I live in the cloudy lands, and need the tire to have grip pretty darn quickly, as they will not ever be "race hot" on a 15 mile commute to work. Will trade tire life for grip, happily, but don't do track days. Forgiving is more important to me than absolute grip. Suggestions? ( front & rear ) | ||
| Datsaxman |
Frank, you have! I put a Full Bore on the Ulysses when the stock rear wore through to the cords out in Joshua Tree last Summer. Their selection was... limited. I thought I was bummed that the Pirelli was shot after 4800 miles. 2400 miles later, the Full Bore was used up. NOW I was bummed. Worst. Ever. | ||
| Doz |
Too funny Fahren | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
Grumpy - I think Continental has a real budget ST-type tire out now. No first hand experience, though. just another option. I'd guess that would be the "Conti Motion", they're getting good write ups as a good value do everything tire, kind of equivalent to the Stradas. My tire shop highly recommended them (and he highly recommended the Stradas when they were available), however I'm going for something grippier, the SportAttack2's  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Well, I was poking about on the net yesterday looking for a decent compromise & Dafy Moto who are about the biggest motorcycle accessory/parts chain in France were having a flash sale on Michelins, so I called my local shop who weren't aware of it but promised me the web price. Couldn't possibly fit me in til next week though (when promo is finished) I'd have to go by & pay first & also they needed to check if they have the tools for a Buell because it's got that funny front brake. So I said "how about if I bring you the wheel?" "No prob we can do that anytime between jobs." The upshot is my XB is now shod with a Michelin Pilot Road 3, for less than I could get a PR2. So far it feels very nice, but after a triangular Pirelli that's not difficult. All reports seem to say it's as good if not better than the PR2 in the dry but totally outstanding in the wet. It'll be interesting to see how it wears, I'll keep you posted. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Update. Out yesterday playing around the lower Alps, some nice fast national roads a little autoroute & quite a bit of twisty mountain. All in about 150 miles. The Pilot Road 3 is excellent! Feels nice & solid, very confidence inspiring, very planted, no nasty surprises even going from dry to wet in a hairpin. This is a new tyre mind, so it'll only get better too. I'd happily recommend it. Remains to see how durable it is. | ||
| Notpurples2 |
Lemonchili, The SportAttack front and RoadAttack rear makes an awesome combination for grip and longevity. I've used them on the road and on the track on my XB9. The rear only slid a little bit a couple of times while riding hard on the track and it was very controlled and manageable. I think the Roads are the same compound as the Sports but the center is treated to be harder and wear longer. It's suppose to create a gradual change from hard center to soft sides instead of the drastic change of multi-compound strips. I'm considering going to Motions as I'm using the 9 more and more for commuting and less for play since I got the CR. However, the new RoadAttack II looks really nice. http://www.contiroadattack2.com/en/ (Message edited by notpurples2 on March 16, 2012) | ||
| Jandj_davis |
I have the ContiMotions on my 9R. They are definitely not as sticky as the BT-014's I had on there, but the bike turns in much faster and maintains it's line much easier. And for under $200 for a full set, they seemed like the great choice. I got 7K miles out of the rear BT-014 and 10K out of the front, so I figure I should get 12-15K out of this set. | ||
| Jandj_davis |
And for some context, I use my bike for commuting in IN, which means that I get to see a curvy road about once a year. So I am more interested in longevity and comfort than I am with ultimate grip. The tires are good enough for me, but I'm not sure I would want them inTN or NC, around those nice roads. | ||
| Jstfrfun |
Two years ago Full Bore came on the market from Korea at the same factory as Continental, literally in the same building. The tire was made by Yokohama in Japan when Yoko decided to sell the branch to the operators and employees. The compound is soft to intermediate, and yes they do wear faster than say a BT016 or like tire, but stick like a Qualifier. | ||
| Crusty |
I have Conti Motions on my Norge. They work well in the rain, and they're much more reasonably priced than other Premium brands. The Norge is heavier and makes a little less power than my XT, but they haven't scared me in the twisties, and they're giving me good service. They also seem to be lasting as well, which is a good thing. They're not a race tire, by any means, but they stick well enough on public roads at speeds that will earn you a Certificate of Merit from a Uniformed representative of the local Government. | ||
| Sifo |
Last year I had some folks visiting from out of town and we went for a ride and got caught in some heavy rain on the way home. My wife and I were on PR2s, not sure about the other 4 bikes. My wife had no problems, I was pulling wheelies coming away from stop lights. Some of the others were just spinning their tires trying to catch up. I can't wait to try some PR3s. I don't doubt that there are other good tires out there. I just know I've found one that works great for me. | ||
| Gunut75 |
I've been riding in the rain for 2 days on my PR3s. LOVE EM!!!! | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Been out this afternoon in the hills with my lad on the back, the PR3 is bedding in nicely & is awesomely grippy in all situations so far. I have utmost confidence in it which helps my riding a lot. |
