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It's Time For New Tires!


adg44

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The tires on my VFR are from 2007, which put them 7 years old, and after 5 years you are risking it riding on dry tires. Some people like to take this chance, I don't considering how cheap it is to buy new tires.

On my '07 VFR800, I had ContiRoadAttack 2s, which were fantastic. Only problem is these have gone up in price a lot since i last purchased them, so I'm not as eager to buy them again.

Bridgestone now has the S20 which seems to be a hypersport street tire, like the RoadAttack 2s. Has anyone used these? I have read that these have a very short tread life, however.

I also see the new Bridgestone BT-023s, which seem to be well rated, but When I think of Bridgestone sport touring tires, I remember the BT-020s that were on my Triumph Sprint ST, and they were horrible tires. I'm sure these have improved a lot since 2006, however.

And of course there are the Michelin Pilot Road 2, 3, and now 4 tires. I don't need super wet grip, as the only time I ride in the rain is if I get stuck in it, so picking up the Road 2s at a good price may also be something I'd consider.

Any other tires I'm missing?

- Anthony

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Pirellies and Metzlers are great tires as well depending on how hard you ride the bike , also don't discount some off brands like Maxiss very good all round tires for the price .

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If you have 7 year old tires you must not put on a lot of miles. In that case, maybe you can tolerate a low mileage pure sport tire like the S20 since sport touring tires may age out before they wear out. However, if you plan to ride more, definitely go sport touring. I really like the Bridgestone BT-023. I'm currently running the Angel GT and like them as well, but withholding judgement until I see what kind of mileage I get. I prefer both of these over the Road 2, but I haven't tried the newer Michelin sport touring tires.

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Glad you brought this up actually, as my '07 needs new tires as well I noticed today. I currently have Pilot Road 3s on it, but since I bought the bike used I have no idea how many miles are on them.

Not to hijack this thread, but personally I am most concerned with high mileage above all else. I'd pay more if I got more miles.

Oh....answer me this if you can: can I put a 170/60 ZR17 on my rear wheel that currently runs a 180/55 ZR17? I have a 170/60 unused on the shelf.

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If you have 7 year old tires you must not put on a lot of miles. In that case, maybe you can tolerate a low mileage pure sport tire like the S20 since sport touring tires may age out before they wear out. However, if you plan to ride more, definitely go sport touring. I really like the Bridgestone BT-023. I'm currently running the Angel GT and like them as well, but withholding judgement until I see what kind of mileage I get. I prefer both of these over the Road 2, but I haven't tried the newer Michelin sport touring tires.

I probably should have clarified. These tires on the bike were replaced by the original owner back in 07 and he put about 1000 miles on them only. As such, they sat a lot and the front tire is badly flat spotted.

I usually ride 2-3k a year, so super high mileage isn't that important, but I don't want anything that will wear out in 3k miles.

How long did you run the BT-023s?

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Glad you brought this up actually, as my '07 needs new tires as well I noticed today. I currently have Pilot Road 3s on it, but since I bought the bike used I have no idea how many miles are on them.

Not to hijack this thread, but personally I am most concerned with high mileage above all else. I'd pay more if I got more miles.

Oh....answer me this if you can: can I put a 170/60 ZR17 on my rear wheel that currently runs a 180/55 ZR17? I have a 170/60 unused on the shelf.

Theory says you can run any tire size you want that will fit on your rim, but the way it sits on the rim may affect the handling, sometimes it sharpens things up, other times it slows things down. I would imagine the narrower width of the 170/60 on th rear would mean you would reach the edge of your tire much sooner than the 180/55 when leaned over. How this feels to you May or may not be an issue. My Duc came with a 170 on the rear but now I run a 180 and I really can't tell much of a difference in handling.
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I don't that've much experience with different tires except the OE dunlops & the metzler m5's. I really disliked the dunlops. I love the m5's. I only have a little over 1k on them but there great.

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I thought the RC51 was stock with 190/50 size (like my FZ1)? Do you like the taller rear for better turn in?

I am also shopping. what shall I put on the RC51? (of course the most expensive size in all brands is what I need: 190/55/17)

Thinking Pilot Power 4

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How long did you run the BT-023s?

Here is a summary of tire life of the various tires I've used on my Multistrada. I was getting similar mileage on the VFR.

PR2: I wore through two sets with front and rear wearing evenly. First set gave me 3,400 miles and second set 2,800 miles.

While I am normally a fan of Michelin, on the Multi they start to feel a little greasy to me in the last few hundred miles.

BT-023: I wore through two rear tires and one front. Rear tires gave 2,500 to 2,900 miles. Front gave 4,000 miles.

I really liked the BT-023, they gave consistent feel throughout the life of the tireicon1.png.

S20: I wore through two sets. Rear tires gave 1,400 to 1,600 miles. Fronts gave 1,800 to 1,900 miles.

A good tire, but too short a life. Granted, it's a sporticon1.png tire instead of sport-touring, but the extra grip is not worth the reduced mileage for me.

Angel GT: Currently running and they feel as good or better to me than the BT-023. We will see how they fare over the life of the tire. I currently have approximately 2,000 miles and they are showing wear. Will probably last similar to the BT-023.

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Dunlop Q3. Made in 'Merica!

This is a sport only tire and might be great for "play time" but not sure for sport touring. What kind of mileage have you got out of them or currently getting. I had the Q2 on my Duc and they barely lasted 3K miles, had great grip though!

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I am also shopping. what shall I put on the RC51? (of course the most expensive size in all brands is what I need: 190/55/17)

Thinking Pilot Power 4

I tried the Bridgestone BT 003's on my CBR when they first came out. I loved them, also ran them at the track and they slide and spin up very predictable. A friend was running them last year at Jennings on his RC 51 and loved them. Had decent lap times.

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Dunlop Q3. Made in 'Merica!

This is a sport only tire and might be great for "play time" but not sure for sport touring. What kind of mileage have you got out of them or currently getting. I had the Q2 on my Duc and they barely lasted 3K miles, had great grip though!

Mileage can vary a lot depending on your riding style and what pressures you keep them at. I can't say for sure how many miles are on my Q3's (they were on it when I got the bike) but I've put about 3k on them so far and there's still plenty of tire left. The way it's going, I expect another 3-4k at least out of the rear. A lot of my miles are commuting at the max recommended 42psi and a couple weekends lower around 36psi.

OP is not putting a lot of miles on his tires anyway, and the Q3's have great grip, stability, decent wear, are great in the wet (if he gets caught), warm up quick, etc. They're also trusted by the YCRS for all of their bikes, which is not only a testament to performance, but also to their cost effectiveness.

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Dunlop Q3. Made in 'Merica!

This is a sport only tire and might be great for "play time" but not sure for sport touring. What kind of mileage have you got out of them or currently getting. I had the Q2 on my Duc and they barely lasted 3K miles, had great grip though!

Mileage can vary a lot depending on your riding style and what pressures you keep them at. I can't say for sure how many miles are on my Q3's (they were on it when I got the bike) but I've put about 3k on them so far and there's still plenty of tire left. The way it's going, I expect another 3-4k at least out of the rear. A lot of my miles are commuting at the max recommended 42psi and a couple weekends lower around 36psi.

OP is not putting a lot of miles on his tires anyway, and the Q3's have great grip, stability, decent wear, are great in the wet (if he gets caught), warm up quick, etc. They're also trusted by the YCRS for all of their bikes, which is not only a testament to performance, but also to their cost effectiveness.

Wow , perfect timing guys, shop just called -out of P3 set , but offered a new Q3 for rear knocked 40.00 off and thru in install . Jumped on it based on what you mentioned , thumbs up.

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So I can get the BT-023 for $239 shipped through Amazon sold by motorcycle superstore, I think I may just do that. Pilot Road 4s seem nice but are considerably more expensive. It's also a Japanese bike so I should put Japanese tires on it. ;)

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I have a set of Q3's on my cbr and I really like them. The rear only last about 1500 miles but I did two track days on them. One of them be Talladega which is super abrasive.

I have road 3s on the VFR and my next set will be Q3's. They're super light and turn in and traction is great.

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How long did you run the BT-023s?

Here is a summary of tire life of the various tires I've used on my Multistrada. I was getting similar mileage on the VFR.

PR2: I wore through two sets with front and rear wearing evenly. First set gave me 3,400 miles and second set 2,800 miles.

While I am normally a fan of Michelin, on the Multi they start to feel a little greasy to me in the last few hundred miles.

BT-023: I wore through two rear tires and one front. Rear tires gave 2,500 to 2,900 miles. Front gave 4,000 miles.

I really liked the BT-023, they gave consistent feel throughout the life of the tireicon1.png.

S20: I wore through two sets. Rear tires gave 1,400 to 1,600 miles. Fronts gave 1,800 to 1,900 miles.

A good tire, but too short a life. Granted, it's a sporticon1.png tire instead of sport-touring, but the extra grip is not worth the reduced mileage for me.

Angel GT: Currently running and they feel as good or better to me than the BT-023. We will see how they fare over the life of the tire. I currently have approximately 2,000 miles and they are showing wear. Will probably last similar to the BT-023.

Similar to what I have found for each model listed Bill though I never got used to the 023's lack of grip after I tried the S20s. I was most impressed with the Angel GTs and I eventually hit just over 3K with them but they did feel a little strange after 2,500 miles. Just to see if it was me I did one semi-crazy Dragon run on them at 3K and they didn't throw me off the mountain so I give the Angel GTs my top sport-tour rating of all the tires i have tried. To me they have better grip and wear than anything else.

I don't rate the 023's with the rest because I figured they lasted only because they didn't grip well enough to really stress the rubber. I never did try the 023 GTs which may have been better for the big boned VFR. I tried the new T30s last month in Florida and they felt an order of magnitude improved over the 023's. I was the only one not slipping on wet roads. I will be giving them a proper mountain test soon but I have to wear out this stack of M5s I picked up last year. (great steering sport tire on the VFR btw)

KEB

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And for the record my only issue with Michelin tires is they only work well for about 75% of their service life. They just stop sticking when they get down near the wear bars. They slide really well which makes them fun and they never get dangerous they just force me to slow down which is not really that bad...until I'm chasing Matt down some Gawdforesaken goat trail someplace.

KEB

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And for the record my only issue with Michelin tires is they only work well for about 75% of their service life. They just stop sticking when they get down near the wear bars. They slide really well which makes them fun and they never get dangerous they just force me to slow down which is not really that bad...until I'm chasing Matt down some Gawdforesaken goat trail someplace.

KEB

Gravel, What gravel???

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Sorry to hijack this thread , I need a new front tire not had my vfr long so need some advise I put a pr2 on the rear & was wandering should I put the same on the front or is there a better option ? I want something that will last thanks lads ps I live in so cal , don't ride in the rain so wet grip is not important

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Sorry to hijack this thread , I need a new front tire not had my vfr long so need some advise I put a pr2 on the rear & was wandering should I put the same on the front or is there a better option ? I want something that will last thanks lads ps I live in so cal , don't ride in the rain so wet grip is not important

I'd go with a PR2 if you're mostly doing commuting/touring, but if you like to dice it up maybe the Michelin PP3, that's what I have on my 6 Gen and I like the way it feels. I had a PR2 set on there before and got over 10K miles out of them, so I'm hoping to get at least the same out of the rear tire this time, we'll see how the PP3 last. It's supposedly an 85/15 (Meaning street/track percentage)

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