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Best tires for the VFR??? Updated 2011


Guest apaquin

Which is the best tire for the VFR?  

861 members have voted

  1. 1. Which is the best tire for the VFR?

    • Pirelli Diablo Angle
      14
    • Avon AV45-AV46
      5
    • Michelin Pilot Road 2
      80
    • Bridgestone 023
      13
    • Metzeler Z6
      11
    • Bridgestone 016
      2
    • Michelin Pilot Power
      32
    • Conti Attack
      4
    • Dunlop Roadsmart
      12
    • Dunlop Q2
      9
    • Rensports
      0


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  • Member Contributer

I'm putting a new set of BT23s on at Wheelers next week... Because thats what works for me.. Tires are like underwear, lots to pick from, and when you find a pair you like, you tend to stick to that brand. :fing02:

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  • Member Contributer

My guess is that Most slips are "Crap on the road surface" issues vs the tire grip problem when running any decent tire.

That could very well be. And I probably lightened the front end with premature accelleration. Thanks.

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I went out on one of my 5th gens yesterday which has PR2 s front and back. They have been great in the several hundred miles I've owned the bike. However, yesterday,

. So the questions becomes: what's the difference in life of the PR and the Diable. The Diablo has been great, has over 5,000 mi. and looks like it is only half worn out.

So I'm giving a happy shout out to Perelli Diablo s at least in front.

Which diablo, theres' about a 1/2 dosen types, if running the track type, naturally it will offer more traction than a Sport tour?

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  • Member Contributer

So I'm giving a happy shout out to Perelli Diablo s at least in front.

Which diablo, theres' about a 1/2 dosen types, if running the track type, naturally it will offer more traction than a Sport tour?

The tire just says diablo. I needed a tire while on tour, and this was the only suitable one they had. I was told it was a sport-touring tire. And with several thousand miles on it, it is not very worn so it could not be a track tire.

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Well, I dont run Sport tours on the front, I thought maybe you found a Good Perilli , that I might try

I used to run sport tours on the front, but I found the Front Ppowers, are superior in performance , and still get the same milege as many sport tours , or maybe 20% less. Just not worth messing with the sport tours on the front.

Edited by spud786
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Member Contributer

That is the cheapest I could find for you too.

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That is the cheapest I could find for you too.

Alright. Thanks for trying.

Reading this thread, it seems the PP front/PR2 rear is the ideal combination?

But what is it about this combination instead of a PR2 front and rear?

Thanks in advance.

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That is the cheapest I could find for you too.

Alright. Thanks for trying.

Reading this thread, it seems the PP front/PR2 rear is the ideal combination?

But what is it about this combination instead of a PR2 front and rear?

Thanks in advance.

I'd say they like the PP(F) better for the quicker turn in, and it takes the stress of staying planted while in the turn.

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  • Member Contributer

I was a little disapointed I could only get a Pirelli Diablo when I needed a replacement on tour. Man, that tire has been fabulous. Seems very well planted in all situations (at least when I'm under control). The few times I've felt is slide it gave lots of warning, was very progressive in it's slide and was easy to recover traction. And it worked better than the RoadSmart front it replaced and works very well with the new PR2 I put on the rear just before T-mac. It looks only half used up after approx 5,000 mi.

Disclaimer: I'm no tire expert and I'm usually rather conservative in my riding. Experience includes Metzler M1 s (12,000 mi), Metzler M3 s (worn to the cords at 5,000), Dunlop RoadSmarts (several sets - let loose too easily but 12,000 mi avg. life) and the Pirelli Diablo with RoadSmart rear and then PR2 rear. Diablo / PR2 best for touring; Metzler M3 best for Dragon slaying. Relative to the tires I've experienced.

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what about a Diablo rear?

There are at least 5 different Diablo models, which are you talking about? Std., Strada, Corsa,, Angle, etc.

I loved the standard Diablo, but it just wore out way to fast.

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what about a Diablo rear?

There are at least 5 different Diablo models, which are you talking about? Std., Strada, Corsa,, Angle, etc.

I loved the standard Diablo, but it just wore out way to fast.

My bad. I meant the standard.

I just ordered the diablos standard front and rear. $164 for both. I could not say no. I'll switch to the PP/PR2s once this set goes. :tongue:

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  • 6 months later...
  • Member Contributer

I have Bridgestone 016 under mine and I hate them.

They always give me the feeling of losing grip in corners.

My next set will be Metzlers Z6, had them under my previous bike and they are very well suited for our Belgium roads.

img_0910.jpg

As our roads are terrible, holes everywhere sometimes big enough to put a cat in.

And after a bit of rain there is all sorts of rubbish on them, from dirt to oil.

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  • Member Contributer

I've got Pilot Powers. Two seven hundred mile trips of Superslab riding has created an unfortunate flat spot on the rear, but the front is okay. I will try the Road2 on the back. I don't do much riding in the rain so I don't think I need the Pilot Power Road 3s.

Also, I know some of you use a Pilot Power up front and a Pilot Road on the back. I spoke to a Michelin Rep who didn't see the need to have the Power up front; he thought I ought to get the road 2 set. Maybe he was just trying to sell me something.

I've had a few front slips that very likely could have been lowsides with a rounder, and harder compound front. I like the elliptical profile, and extra stick of the PP up front on the VFR. I do run a PR2 on the front of the RT, but it's a lot heavier, has less available lean angle, and the Telelever suspension is hard on front tires. It would eat a PP in under 2K.

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  • 6 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • Member Contributer

I am just over 5k miles into a pair of Dunlop Roadsmart2 (Despite being the list favorites, I've never met a Michelin I liked). That includes a track day, where they both performed as mediocre as expected, and many mountain miles. Until I checked my maintenance log, I thought they had 3k miles on them. My discovery of 5k miles makes more sense for teh amount of wear.

The front has 2-3mm left. The rear has 1-3mm left and has some significant cupping/scallopping. I have been running them at 36PSI front cold and 40-42PSI rear cold. Cold pressures for the track day were 32F/32R which went up to 36F/39R when hot off the track.

I'm not sure if I am going to replace them with some combination of Q/Q2/Q3/RS2 or try a set of Bridgestone BT-003/016/023 combo. A friend has the 023s on his VFR and they are fantastic but without the wonderful feedback I love about the Dunlops (my main complaint about most non-Dunlops I've used on and off the track). I never wanted for more grip from the RS2 pair, wet or dry.

There is some old info on here. Any updates from anyone?

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I have Pirelli Scorpion Trail, made for Ducati Multistrada, and they are great for both road & soft off-road. Check this out: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/gallery/album/6919-romanian-apuseni-mountain-trip/ During my trip, I never had either front or rear running from under me on either big rocks or debris, not to mention on tarmac - I've rubbed my boots off during leaning. :) It's true that the suspension is great also: front is with 1kg/mm Wilbers springs, RaceTech Gold rebound & compression valves with 5W oil and near racing Wilbers shock with remote adjustments.

Good rubber + good suspension = Great fun

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  • 2 weeks later...

I already know my next set of tires will be the excellent Michelin Pilot Road 3s, but I'm curious if anyone has ever fitted larger than stock on their 5th gen with good results. Are you better off sticking with the stock size, or going slightly bigger? (speedometer issues aside)

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  • Member Contributer

Still running PP front PR2 rear on the road, and PP rear for track days. Don't see the point in springing for the PR3 as the only advantage is in the wet which doesn't happen here often enough to justify.

I already know my next set of tires will be the excellent Michelin Pilot Road 3s, but I'm curious if anyone has ever fitted larger than stock on their 5th gen with good results. Are you better off sticking with the stock size, or going slightly bigger? (speedometer issues aside)

I am actually thinking of going narrower on the road since I have a 4th gen rear wheel here doing nothing at the moment. If it doesn't work I can always swap the rubber onto the RT.

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Anyone have any experience with the BT 023?

I had the Dunlop Roadsmart dual compound on the Buell which I dug and the R1100S has Pilot Road 2's. Mind you the Buell got pushed MUCH harder than the BMW...

My new (to me) VFR came with Conti Attacks but, the front is semi-cupped (bit of a low speed wobble going on. Pretty sure it's the tire as it's fine at higher speeds)

Also, apologies as I haven't been through the entire thread. (newb to V4 world)

Thanks

Itch

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  • Member Contributer

The BT023 (GT) set now has just over 1600 miles on it, most of that in the twisties. So, the short report is:

Initially, they did turn in faster and sooner than the RS2 pair they replaced. Both tires also slid with some ease when leaned, which reminded me of the Avons I tried on the CB-1. I set them to the stock 36/42 PSI, the same as I ran the RS2s, when I installed them.

Whether it is the mythical mold release, or simply needing to scuff in the tires, they continued to slide as I leaned the bike more and more until the whole tire was scuffed in. Once scuffed in, they worked flawlessly in the dry. Feedback is definitely low in comparison to the RS2. Riding them hard required a lot of trust. I spent much of the last six days on one knee or the other without issue. Admittedly, I have very long legs, so I was certainly not at full lean. Going through standing water at any reasonable lean caused both tires to slide slightly. Nothing dramatic, but nothing that made me want to ride hard on a wet surface.

Alan and I swapped bikes and came away feeling that the heavier duty GT tire model made no difference at all in how the tires worked or felt.

So all in all, they worked “mostly fine.” They were about 75% of the cost of the Dunlops. I’ll have to wait to see how many miles they go to see if I would buy them again. The current 1600 miles is nearly 1/3 of the 5k I put on the RS2 pair before I took them off, so they’d have to go nearly 3800 miles total to provide an equal value, assuming equal performance. More miles would sway my vote.

The front is looking pretty good at 3.5mm, but the rear is already below ½ tread depth and majorly scalloped (2mm on low side of scallop) like the Dunlop was. Right now, I’d buy probably buy the Dunlops to get that wonderful feedback back. That isn’t to say that the tires weren’t brilliant. As some of us have said many times, modern ST rubber is quite incredible. There is no reason I should have been able to ride these tires so hard without a single dry slip, even when cold.

Edited by bmart
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  • 1 month later...
  • Member Contributer

Over 2500 miles on the BT-023 GT pair now, mostly in the mountains. In the dry they work great. In the wet, not so much. The rear scalloping/cupping has gotten worse in the rear. The front appears to be wearing like iron.

Front tread depth is at just under 3.5mm, new was 4.5mm. Over 72% left, so I expect maybe 5500-7500 usable miles total.

Rear tread depth is at or under 2mm, new was 4.5 mm sides and 6.0 mm center. 33% center to 45% side left, so I expect maybe 3500 usable miles.

I've been debating whether to go back to the full Dunlop RS2 set, which I loved or to put on only an RS2 rear (in 1000 more miles) until the BT-023 front is done.

That's it!

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I really like my plot road 3's. I'm about 1700 miles in and have plenty of tread left. Great turn in and great in the wet. I was very impressed with the turn in considering he tire doesn't look like it had a very aggressive profile.

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