BiKenG Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 My eVo4 is far from a standard VFR1200F - the intention was to make it more of a sport naked, so this may be of less relevance to others, but I have recently completed our annual European tour, just prior to which I fitted a pair of the new Bridgestone S21 tyres. These are the replacement for the full sports S20. I previously tried those on my (FireBlade based) FireFighter on a similar trip and they were already illegal before I got back to the UK, after merely 2,400 miles total. I complained to Bridgestone but they unsurprisingly said there was nothing wrong with the tyres. However the S21 is intended to improve grip (obviously), but also extend mileage as they realised they'd got it a bit wrong with the S20. I fitted the standard sized front (120/70) but a 200/55 rear. This is actually narrower than the 190/55 Michelin PR2 that was on there previously, but does have the slightly larger diameter as it should. Anyway, suffice to say, they work extremely well. After 2,500 miles there's still plenty of wear left. Probably not another 2,500 mile trip, but I'd say they'll go to 4,000 which is pretty good for a full on sports tyre these days, especially on what is not a super light race style bike. As I said, possibly few of you will be interested in sports rubber on their VFR1200F, but if you are, I can recommend the S21. As a side note, on the trip I came across 2 of the BMW S1000XR adventure bikes. Both had the original (Pirelli I think) tyres as supplied on the bike when new and both were worn through to the cords before 2,800 miles. That means only a hundred or so to total deflation as they're VERY thin by that stage. Anyway, point being that this is not great mileage from what is after all purported to be some kind of touring bike. It is offered as an 'Adventure' bike after all, but BMW have obviously sought to endow it with race type tyres. No doubt this engenders great reviews from the press, but it strikes me BMW are short changing their customers over this. As indicated by the fact that 2 of them that I saw had been completely caught out by this and nearly had their holidays ruined by the surprisingly short life of the rear tyre on such a bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RC1237V Posted July 30, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 30, 2016 I just fitted some Metzeler M7RR's on the 1200 and they are fantastic. I will list the mileage when they are done. The Metzelers have an easy natural feel to them and they roll over so smoothly that they seem to have less "feel" going over than the PR4's. I think their grip is better, but I'm still getting used to the easy roll-over. The stock Bridgestones only gave me ~2500 miles, and the Pilot Power Rear and PR2 front combo gave me around 3K. The Pilot Road 4's felt every bit as good as the sport tires, but returned 5,000 hard miles. In fact they were squared off on the highway 120/4 ride, and after that I enjoyed trying to cook off the edges only, in order to get my money's worth. The last 1000 miles the centers were flat, so I was really easy on the straights, and hammered them in the corners. It's a different feel when you have to dive past the flat spot to get to the good meat, but then you can just dig in! Any way the PR4's proved they are worth the extra money. I will try them again after the Metzelers and then the Angel GT's.The Angel GT's are on my VFR750 and are perfect from day 1. They were also on the KTM 1290 GT I rode last weekend and there seems to be no learning curve as they have great feedback and great grip the instant you start riding on them. After that I will try another Bridgestone, but the stock tires were so horrible for this bike that I may be overly biased against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 i know what you mean about the OEM tires .....i have a set of Dunlops in my garage with 200 miles on them...swapped them out for PR4s......they were scary!!! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rider14 Posted August 16, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 16, 2016 PR4's have been great for me for the last 3k miles. I go with them for their grip in the wet - I've been caught in enough rain (commuting) to want good water displacement and I can only give the PR4's a big thumbs up. Better in a storm than the PR3's on my Sprint. Great grip. BUT - i've never had other tires on the big Viffer. Picked up a 2010 with original tires (really really low mileage) but they were old so I replaced them straight off. - Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrenk Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 On 6/9/2016 at 8:01 PM, Darrenk said: Well, I love them just the same! OK, I've now got over 4000 miles on the Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT's and they still look pretty fresh, plenty more miles left in them. I'm really impressed with the tread life on these compared to the original Bridgestones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RC1237V Posted November 13, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted November 13, 2016 Ordering a new PR4 today to match my rear tire. The front is a Metzeler M7RR squared off, and down to the wear bars. The front is twitchy, while the rear being brand new, is perfect. Also I'm thinking, the rubber compound may be different as it gets further down, because when I go hot into a corner and really load the front, it feels like it's bouncing like a basketball. Anyone else ever feel that sensation from a worn front tire.............? If I do ride, I will be taking it smooth and easy, until I get my new front tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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