[Alien VFR]

In my quest for a cross country trip in the spring, it's time to buy tires for the bike.

I plan on riding the entire trip at an average of 6/10th's. I'm not looking to carve it up as much as take it all in on this trip, so sport characteristics of a tire aren't all that important. I want high mileage and durability in case I end up on the occasional dirt or gravel road out west.

Is it absurd to fit an adventure type tire to the VFR?

If you were going to ride like I've described, and if you were planning a 7500 mile + trip on the VFR, what tires would you use and why?

[shaynej]

oh great, another tire thread...

I use Dunlop RoadSmarts. Currently I have just over 7,000 miles on my rear and plenty to go. Replaced the front at 5,500 miles.

I hate straight roads. I wear the sides before the middle. Never heard of chickenstrips. Hope that helps.

[AB-Oz]

I would use:
Front: Pilot Power or Pilot Road 2CT
Rear: Pilot Road 2CT

I've gotten ~12,000 km out of that combo.

[Lobster]

I usually get about 8,000 miles out of my Metzler Z6s...solid in the rain, too.

[vfrrider17]

Being a total Pirelli guy..

I have heard good reviews with the Strada for long distance. If you take it easy, you can get about 5k out of a rear on the regular diablo, something with more bit.

OR just pack a few Corsa III's with ya! with lots of

[Bad Boy]

The new Pilot Road 2 is what I would choose. Great reviews, Dual compound, high mileage. It costs more but the extra mileage makes up for it.

When I ran short of rubber on a long trip I was able to get a quick replacement at Cycle Gear store for much more reasonable price than dealers. About $150 for rear tire and $20 to mount. At dealers I paid over $300 to have a front tire replaced. The trick with cycle gear is you have to have the tools to remove the wheel from the bike. I was in and out in an hour.

[Trinith]

I've been running Pilot Road 2CTs for about the last 8,000 miles and they're showing no real signs of wear yet. That includes a lot of freeway riding, a LOT of high speed sweepers, and about a dozen runs across the dragon at moderate paces. If I was going to ride clear across the country and back I'd throw on a pair of those things without thinking twice. They'll take a lot of abuse and just keep on going. Dunno how they handle on dirt though, probably about the same as any other street tire.

[SAFE-T]

If you look around the site, you will find an area with different tires rated by owners/users that will tell you what kind of mileage to expect.

[ECX585]

shaynej, on Jan 7 2009, 06:49 PM, said:

I hate straight roads. I wear the sides before the middle. Never heard of chickenstrips. Hope that helps.

Hey! Chickenstrips can be sexy! (At least that's what i keep telling myself LOL)

[ki-speed]

Mich Pilot Power front

Mich Pilot Power Rear

I get approx. 9,000 miles out of a set.

[pres589]

vfrrider17, on Jan 7 2009, 06:58 PM, said:

Being a total Pirelli guy..

I have heard good reviews with the Strada for long distance. If you take it easy, you can get about 5k out of a rear on the regular diablo, something with more bit.

I've got about 7,500 on the Stratas front and rear on my 6th gen. The centers are worn smooth though, especially the rear, so I'm looking to get fresh rubber mounted before the riding season really starts again. Will either try the Conti Road Attacks or get another set of Stradas, if the price difference is greater than 15% I'll go with the cheaper option and I think that would be the Strada.

These things are miles ahead of the screwy Dunlop D204 rear / D220 front combo I had on before, although turn in is very different and was something to get used to.

[The mailman]

I had been plenty happy with Dunlop 220's but they don't make it for the VFR anymore so I opted for the new Roadsmarts this past September prior to a 3500 mile mid-west run from Colorado looping Lake Michigan and then back home. I had four sets of 220's in the past and got about 6k out of all of them. The Roadsmarts (front) wore horribly within 1500 miles and their roadworthiness was a concern the rest of the trip. The (rear) was 2/3 of the way to the wear bars and badly flat spotted at the end of the 3500 miles. This was 100% two lane country highways, mostly straights, however we did encounter EXTREME crosswinds on the return leg of the trip for almost 400 miles. My local dealer and Dunlop combined forces to replace both tires upon my return to Colorado and I now have a new set with the "whiskers" still on the tread but I'm very wary of how they'll perform once I can get some real riding in when the weather breaks in the spring time. I have always been a Dunlop fan due to grip and mileage but now I would absolutely NOT pick the Roadsmarts for a long straight ride!!!



Dunlop Roadsmarts

Que the Amy Winehouse: I don't wanna ride the Roadsmats, NO, NO, NO!

-and as far as dirt riding goes, these are not dual sports by any stretch of the imagination however my ride did include about 25 miles of gravel riding and as long as I kept the speed in the 35 - 40 mph range, I was OK. - except for that one patch of deep loose gravel after crossing a bridge >>> pucker factor X 10 baby but I made it.

[SEBSPEED]

Nobody mentioned Avon - so I will. I did a 7000 mile trip in 06, started wit ha fresh set of Avon Azaros. Got back home and put another 1000 on them.

They've been replaced by the Avon Storm, which is still a good tire, good grip in all weather, but slightly less mileage.

I should note that there was a lot of "triple-digit sightseeing" involved in the '06 trip.

Otherwise, I hear good things about the PR2.

[VFRGEEZER]

vfrrider17, on Jan 7 2009, 07:58 PM, said:

Being a total Pirelli guy..

I have heard good reviews with the Strada for long distance. If you take it easy, you can get about 5k out of a rear on the regular diablo, something with more bit.

OR just pack a few Corsa III's with ya! with lots of

I found the cords on the rear tire at about 7k miles on Diablos. Nice tire but no good wear bar for center wear. I'm going back to Metzlers.

[BaileyRock]

Michelin Pilot Road 2's.

[SAFE-T]

I got 15,000 km out of a pair of retreads

[magicman]

I've got just over 27,000KM on my Pilot road front. No BS. And it's worn pretty evenly. The middle did swell when I rode straight from Quebec to Nova Scotia averaging around 150kph. Montreal to Halifax in 11.5 hours including 4 fuel stops, and getting pulled over once (no ticket). God New Brunswick is boring!

I imagine the 2ct should live up to that. And give a little more play in the twisties.

[vic28222]

Alien VFR, on Jan 7 2009, 06:29 PM, said:

In my quest for a cross country trip in the spring, it's time to buy tires for the bike.

I plan on riding the entire trip at an average of 6/10th's. I'm not looking to carve it up as much as take it all in on this trip, so sport characteristics of a tire aren't all that important. I want high mileage and durability in case I end up on the occasional dirt or gravel road out west.

Is it absurd to fit an adventure type tire to the VFR?

If you were going to ride like I've described, and if you were planning a 7500 mile + trip on the VFR, what tires would you use and why?

I did a similar trip summer before last.... 8100 miles .... and ran Avon Storms. I got 7100 miles out of the rear before I had to change it (and twice that out of the front). Much of the time I ran 80-85 with some higher and of course some lower. The bike was heavily loaded (60 lbs in two Givi E360s) and for 4000 of the 8000 miles I had my 110 lb daughter on the back. Since I am about 210, when I had my daughter on the bike and full luggage, we were pushing the rated weight limit for the bike. Had I not been so heavily loaded and had I kept my speed down to 75 or under, I would have easily made the full 8100 miles on one rear but what's the fun of that! LOL

My normal riding is a bit more aggressive and the Storm I put on the rear last only lasted 5600 miles which is about what I have gotten out of Metzler Z6s and Pirelli Diablo Stradas so much has to do with the type of riding you are doing. I suspect you could get close to the same mileage out of many if not any of the currently popular ST tires.

Vic

[CBR_Rod]

VFRGEEZER, on Jan 9 2009, 06:45 AM, said:

vfrrider17, on Jan 7 2009, 07:58 PM, said:

Being a total Pirelli guy..

I have heard good reviews with the Strada for long distance. If you take it easy, you can get about 5k out of a rear on the regular diablo, something with more bit.

OR just pack a few Corsa III's with ya! with lots of

I found the cords on the rear tire at about 7k miles on Diablos. Nice tire but no good wear bar for center wear. I'm going back to Metzlers.

I think every tire they make might have the word 'diablo' on it. My OEM set on my RR were perelli corsa diablo's. I changed the rear tire to a strada 'diablo' at 5500 (cords were showing on the rear). I have 8300 on the corsa diablo front and have a strada diablo to replace it when I can get it in here to the shop. I was less than thrilled with the feel of the strada compared to the Bridgestone BT-021's I put on my F4i, to my surprise though, I scrubbed the strips off the Stradas before the BT-21's! The BT-021's did an AWESOME job in the rain on a two particularly rainy occasions, but then again, The Perelli's did too on the MotoGP trip.

After 3000 miles on the BT-021's the wear is much better than that of the OEM BT-010's (I think that was the original tire on that bike).

[NVR2L8]

I can't think of a better long distance sport touring tire than the Pilot Road 2. Excellent dry/wet handling characteristics and exceptional longevity. Most of my miles are from commuting but there are about 2000 or so miles of touring on my current set of PR2's, and I just replaced my rear tire at 9392 miles. Yes, I actually keep track of the mileage when I install tires, but I also have a Speedohealer installed so my actual mileage is probably 5% higher.

[sparkyd31]

This answer is a "no brainer" on tires to use.For my ride it's the Michelin PR2's hands down.As most my time on the bike is straight roads and NOT TWISTIES,many people on this site said the same to me as I'm saying to you.Seeing that people on here ride twice as hard as me with great results I thought I would give them a whirl and could not be happier with this tire set up.My next pair will be the PR2 in the rear with the pilot power in front.You can use whatever tire you want but "IMO ONLY" speaking here I'm putting my trust in MICHELIN'S FOR THE LONG HAUL. Take care,sparkyd31

[spud786]

IMO, the road 2 rear, is the best performance rear on (life) ive ever run.

Anything else you get with more life will come with great performance deficiencies

The road 2 rear consistantly outlasts the famous Z4 rear which was known for its iron wearing ability. But it doesnt hold a candle to the road2 on performance. and the road 2 out lives the origanal pilot road, which was a crap performance tire.

I wont say the miles I get, cause it might scare you , what ever your running expect 20% more life to the bars with road 2.

Rain or shine the road 2 will perform adaquately

[BlueFireIce]

I would go with Pilot Road 2's, I have the Pilot Power front/Pilot Road 2 rear and it's held up very well so far, I went though some rear PP's in less than 3,000 miles, I have that on the PR2 now and can't even tell. The last 3 miles to my house is one large dirt/gravel pothole, wile I am use to it they seem to do just great on it, nothing scary, unless dirt scares you, but then it will not matter what tire you have. But the PR2's will also let you have some fun if you happen across a nice road or two.

This post has been edited by BlueFireIce: 28 January 2009 - 08:08 PM

[Beck]

PR2CT would be my choice too,

I'm really amazed on how little the crown of my PR2CT tires have not shown any significant amount of wear despite the many long trips I already took on the super slab. Heck, there's still a bit of very thin mold flashing left right on the center seam of my rear tire that just will not wear away, even after over half a season of use last year and some more miles this winter.
Unbelievable mileage I am getting so far with these Michelins!

Beck
95 VFR

[WhiteChocolate]

I went with roadsmarts, I believe they are a little cheaper then the pilots. Atleast they were at the time. 8-10,000+ miles is what your supposed to get with these. Like the pilots they are dual compound (softer sides, harder longer lasting in the middle). Put over 6000 on them last year and plenty left to go. Little flat in the middle because of no existance of twisties where I live.

[TimC]

I had great experiences with Continental Road Attacks. They had great grip for sport-touring skins and terrific tread life, too.

[Alien VFR]

Well after running a power front/road rear and being very happy with that setup, I think I'm going to take the advice of the majority here and go with the PR2's.

Even though it seems they are on the pricey side, no matter where I look, it seems that everyone likes them, so I'll give them a shot in the spring.

[sirimiri]

All I can say, is what NOT to use: Bridgestones, BT020s or 021s.

As I'm fond of saying, and you can collective roll your eyes here...."they cup more than a drunken boi at a West Hollywood nightclub".

Had to say it. But really, I am done with Bridgestone, for good.

[soundmaster31]

Alien VFR, on Jan 7 2009, 06:29 PM, said:

In my quest for a cross country trip in the spring, it's time to buy tires for the bike.

I plan on riding the entire trip at an average of 6/10th's. I'm not looking to carve it up as much as take it all in on this trip, so sport characteristics of a tire aren't all that important. I want high mileage and durability in case I end up on the occasional dirt or gravel road out west.

Is it absurd to fit an adventure type tire to the VFR?

If you were going to ride like I've described, and if you were planning a 7500 mile + trip on the VFR, what tires would you use and why?

After asking myself the same question I came across a Michelin description stating they had the best wet grip and tread life in the sport touring class according to independent tests....WHAT independent tests I thought???...I finally found some info on it.

Quick reference to Pilot Road 2ct with test information:
http://www.michelinm...vent=pilotroad2

CHECK out PAGE 3 on the bottom right hand side in the tables for test info or the list at the end for fitments.

http://www.michelinm...fitment2008.pdf

I myself have gone through 2 sets of Pirelli Diablo Strada's with 5k plus on them(I weigh about 360lbs atgatt and ride aggressively and sometimes ride two up- I have upgraded the suspension fyi) and about 4k on a set of diablo supersports (regular plain old diablo) until i caught a nail in a parking lot. I love my Diablo Strada's dry grip and they've been great in the rain (even fairly steady at 100mph in the rain -nuts i know...it was short) however I've been slightly dissatisfied with the center tread since I ride slab so much on my commute. The fact that the Michelin's have a dual compound is the only way they beat the Diablo Strada's. HOWEVER, Pirelli has recently came out with some new dual compound tires as well which weren't in the 2006 Independent Tests.


It would be nice to know all conditions though...not just wet handling and mileage performance. If we knew the dry grip of the Michelin is superior then I guess they'd win. One thing to note, the Michelins are about $40 more for a rear than the Pirelli Diablo Strada. It'd be nice to know exactly just how much better the mileage life is of the Michelin to see it it's worth the extra 40bucks for the mileage/wet grip benefit...

Has anybody had any experience with the Pirelli Diablo Rosso or Pirelli Diablo Corasa III? Wondered how the mileage and wet/dry grip in those are.

Hope this helps, cheers!

This post has been edited by soundmaster31: 29 January 2009 - 05:34 AM

[sparkydog21]

As a daily highway commuter in and out of Hollywood (68 miles round trip) and long distance rider (Iron Butt too), I've used Dunlop 205, 220 and now Roadsmart, not because I think they are great tires, but because they handle "okay" in the rain and I can get 15K-16K on slabs - just what you need for touring. If I wasn't divorced, with one of my sons having Luekemia - maybe I'd have the cash for different tires, but the Dunlops have worked well for me.