ChiefGodzilla Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Yeah...title says it all. New to Moto tires, sizes, brands and anything else rubber. I am looked through the forums and was lost faster then Dorothy in OZ. First Question: What brand or brands MUST I stay away from? 2: What am I looking for in a tire? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinigami Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 What kind of riding are you planning on? Commuting, touring, railing the twisties, or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted December 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer HughJebolzak Posted December 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2015 Stay away from these ones ^ Even though they appear to be British, I'm sure they are made in China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atx Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 The guides at revzilla are pretty good, and they have decent reviews on their site. Their prices on some stuff is bonkers so make sure you shop around, but it is good info. http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/motorcycle-tires-101-guide http://www.revzilla.com/2015-best-motorcycle-tires-buyers-guide I went with Angel GT's in the stock sizes on my 96, haven't had a chance to try em out yet though. Seem like a great bang for the buck, but what do i know. I read a ton of reviews and asked some folks, nobody i could find had anything bad to say about em for the cash. The Pilot Road 4's are supposed to be the bees knees, but i wasn't willing to pay the premium... denniskirk.com was the cheapest i found em at, though still search around to be sure, tax/shipping/etc may differ for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Burns Posted December 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2015 tires are almost as bad of topic as oil. Everyone has their preference. what kind of riding do you do, what's your budget, etc... you have a 4th gen it looks like, so make sure the tires you're looking at have that slightly odd 170 rear available.. I've had Pilot Road/power combo on my 4th gen for a while now (like my 3rd set) and cant say enough good about them, FWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duccmann Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Cant go wrong with Michelin PR3...or for more wet riding PR4's...have had both... superb handling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRicer Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Cant go wrong with Michelin PR3...or for more wet riding PR4's...have had both... superb handling +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted December 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2015 Topic starter has a 95 so a 4th gen. You can of course fit a 3rd gen rear rim on a 4th gen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer wagzhp Posted December 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2015 Cant go wrong with Michelin PR3...or for more wet riding PR4's...have had both... superb handling +1 +2 Other tires that have received high praise around here are the Pirelli Angel GT, Bridgestone TC30 EVO, and Dunlop RoadSmart 2. I've also run Dunlop Q2's, and Bridgestone BT16's, and while they provide OUTSTANDING grip, they just didn't last long enough for me. My bike sees primarily commuting duty with occasional weekend twisty riding. With the service my bike does the softer/stickier tires square off and start showing cords in the center before I can even use half of the edges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duccmann Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Thats what happened to my last set of 4's....but I'm sure outside temp up to 106 through out summer commuting did help.....went back to the 3's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer FromMaine Posted December 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2015 As mentioned, your riding style should be the deciding factor when looking for tires. I have Bridgestone S-20's on my 97 , also on my 83 VF750F and VF1000R. I ride my bikes hard sometimes and all I care about is sticking to the road. I'm OK if I get 4K out of a rear, but some people aren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefGodzilla Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Thanks for the info. My current riding style would be commuting. school work rain and shine. Thanks for pointing me at revzilla. Time to read..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted December 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2015 For the record, I have been running a Pilot Power 3 front with either a PR2 or a PR4 rear and have been able to go over 10k miles. I am currently running a PP3/PR4 combo again. I should also state that most of the miles are from commuting, but also includes a few long distance sport-touring trips. Grip was never an issue either. I know a few here can attest to the level of "sport" riding that was involved! PP3/PR2 combo: 13,601 miles with two long distance sport-touring rides. PP3/PR4 combo: 11,210 miles with three long distance sport-touring rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted December 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2015 Regardless of brand, for general riding or sport-touring purposes keep an eye out for dual compound treads - where there is a hard compound down the center for longer wear life and a softer compound on the shoulders for more grip when cornering. Michelin offers them and I believe others do as well. If your plans include a lot of wet weather riding, additional siping (thin slits or grooves in the tread for added traction and water dispersion) are beneficial. Michelin Pilot Road 3's and 4's are good examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted December 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2015 Thanks for the info. My current riding style would be commuting. school work rain and shine. Thanks for pointing me at revzilla. Time to read..... If you can afford them I would suggest the Bridgestone T30 for the riding that you say you will be doing. They are (IMO) as good as the Michelin Pilot Road series and currently cost less than the PR4. Jake Wilson is generally a very good place to purchase once you know what you want. I would also suggest some Shinko's for commuting as they will last longer but I have not experienced them in the rain. One further note, do not take the mileage of tires from members here as what you will get. Riding style, tire pressure and road quality all play a part in how long YOUR tires will last YOU. The most you can hope for when considering average mileage posted by other riders is to review how many miles they get from different brand tires to determine which tires wear more slowly than others. For example post #12 in this thread is a guy from Maine who gets 4,000 miles from the Bridgestone S20. I would love that tire even more if I could get more than 2,200 miles from it on the abrasive roads prevalent here in the mountains of the southeast. He is right, it is a very good tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dadofseven Posted December 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2015 Pirelli angel GTs. 2nd set on the bike now...2 track days, lots of twistys, commuter ride, can't go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed_viffer Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Thanks for the info. My current riding style would be commuting. school work rain and shine. Thanks for pointing me at revzilla. Time to read..... I would also suggest some Shinko's for commuting as they will last longer but I have not experienced them in the rain. Nup. Not Shinkos, nor Avons. Both priced well, but for a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca315 Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I'll swear by Metzelers. Germans know a thing about wet weather, and how to build quality. You would find it hard to go past a set of Z8's, currently rated as one, if not the, best wet weather tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer paulmeisterpk Posted December 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2015 For the record, I have been running a Pilot Power 3 front with either a PR2 or a PR4 rear and have been able to go over 10k miles. I am currently running a PP3/PR4 combo again. I should also state that most of the miles are from commuting, but also includes a few long distance sport-touring trips. Grip was never an issue either. I know a few here can attest to the level of "sport" riding that was involved! PP3/PR2 combo: 13,601 miles with two long distance sport-touring rides. PP3/PR4 combo: 11,210 miles with three long distance sport-touring rides. This is the exact setup I'm running. Plenty of front end and rear end grip, and both tires seem to last about the same mileage. I would recommend the power up front and road in the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MaxSwell Posted December 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2015 I'm a cheap guy. I really like the Pilot Road 2. Nearly as good as the PR3/4 but cheaper. I do all sorts of riding but my main use is touring the twisties in the USA. Usually get 8,000 to 10,000 miles. I'm an all-weather rider. They have done well for me in the rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer adeyren Posted December 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2015 Pirelli angel GTs. 2nd set on the bike now...2 track days, lots of twistys, commuter ride, can't go wrong. +1 ^ Second set. All of above plus lots of touring.Personal choice i think, most tyres these days are pretty good but everybody rides different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted December 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2015 For the record, I have been running a Pilot Power 3 front with either a PR2 or a PR4 rear and have been able to go over 10k miles. I am currently running a PP3/PR4 combo again. I should also state that most of the miles are from commuting, but also includes a few long distance sport-touring trips. Grip was never an issue either. I know a few here can attest to the level of "sport" riding that was involved! PP3/PR2 combo: 13,601 miles with two long distance sport-touring rides. PP3/PR4 combo: 11,210 miles with three long distance sport-touring rides. This is the exact setup I'm running. Plenty of front end and rear end grip, and both tires seem to last about the same mileage. I would recommend the power up front and road in the rear. I like that setup but not for wet weather. The PP3 front has no siping from about 3/4" to the edge of the tire and you can bust your bottom if you need that margin in the wet. Don't ask how my son knows this. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefGodzilla Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Alright I have narrowed down what I want to what is avaliable and I can get my hands on. I'll update yall when I finally make up my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted December 11, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted December 11, 2015 For the record, I have been running a Pilot Power 3 front with either a PR2 or a PR4 rear and have been able to go over 10k miles. I am currently running a PP3/PR4 combo again. I should also state that most of the miles are from commuting, but also includes a few long distance sport-touring trips. Grip was never an issue either. I know a few here can attest to the level of "sport" riding that was involved! PP3/PR2 combo: 13,601 miles with two long distance sport-touring rides. PP3/PR4 combo: 11,210 miles with three long distance sport-touring rides. This is the exact setup I'm running. Plenty of front end and rear end grip, and both tires seem to last about the same mileage. I would recommend the power up front and road in the rear. I like that setup but not for wet weather. The PP3 front has no siping from about 3/4" to the edge of the tire and you can bust your bottom if you need that margin in the wet. Don't ask how my son knows this. ;-) I like this setup too and has been great here in So Cal read: not a lot of rain. However I was really surprised on how well the bike handled when I spent 2.5 hours in the rain on the twisty roads in Yosemite. I usually tone it down quite a bit when the roads get wet so as long as I live by that, I'm not overly worried. I hope your son is doing well. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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