Best Tyres money can buy.

[TechnicalNonsense]

Hey guys, my Fazer is in need of a new rear tyre in a few thousands miles which is some ways away but here in Texas, a few hundred miles is pretty common to put on a bike in a day.

My question is; what is the best sportstouring tyre I can get my bike? I"m going to buy front and rear together. I'm looking for something with the most grip in the dry *I never ride in the wet* that can also handle some track days and have some decent life and by decent life I mean if I can get 6-7K on the rear I be a happy bugger. Money is no issue because the way I see it is if I have two types that keeps me from eating asphalt then I'll spend money to make sure it stays that way.


Currently, the bike has a set of Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart 2 and I'm pretty happy with it but hey; theres always room to improve right

 

[JoeSTL]

I have Michelin Pilot Road 2's on the front and rear. So far I've put about 6k miles on them, and they still look great. I mostly ride city/highway and maybe 10% twisties. These are considered to be a sport touring tire, so they won't be as grippy as some others, but they'll last a lot longer. You may think about getting these, then buying Pilot Power 2CT's specifically for the track. If money is no issue, then you should really get tires just for track use.

 

[Humperdinkel]

There is bucket loads of threads on this matter & a million & one different opinions , just search till your heart is content :thumbup:

IMO though , you will never find a better sport touring tyre than Metzler Z8 Interacts :rockon:

 

[Kazza]

^^^^^ What he said.

Both search button AND Z8's

 

[mave2911]

you will never find a better sport touring tyre than Metzler Z8 Interacts :rockon:

Yup - what ^^^^^ they said!

Cheers,
Rick

 

[agf]

Yeah^^^^^^^+1 on what has already been said
Z-8 's!!!!!

Had the dunlops on mine and it was real squirrelly over tram tracks (like a tar snake but worse), in the wet and a bit in the dry too now the Z-8's I don't need to worry at all wet or dry turn in is really good braking is positive cant say anything bad about them

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner and it works every time !

 

[greg]

a regular road tyre is probably going to be trashed after 3-4 trackdays, just something else to factor in

 

[OneCheekRider]

I think your question is a bit subjective but it all boils down to how you plan to use them.

IMO, for street use, all of the popular sport touring tires offer more than enough grip than you'll need and provide great mileage (BT023, Z8, Pilot Road, etc). However, because you bring track use into the equation, then break it down like this:

Are you new to the track? If yes, then any of the popular sport touring tires listed above should be great. You wont be setting track records and should want to improve your body position and lines before dropping lap times. I can run a good sport touring tire comfortably to a mid-intermediate pace

Have you been to the track before? Is your body position ok (as confirmed by control riders/instructors)? Are you consistent and hold a line well? Are you comfortably dropping lap times? If yes, then I'd consider a hypersport tire (Pilot Pures, Q2's, Pilot Powers, S20, BT016). I can run a hypersport tire to a slow advanced pace.

All the major tire brands offer some great rubber and you really can't go wrong with any of them. From my research, the BT023 is the best bang for your buck if they're still selling sets for $217/shipped. I certainly haven't been disappointed.

 

[why_not_Zoidberg?]

I have Michelin Pilot Road 2's on the front and rear. So far I've put about 6k miles on them, and they still look great. I mostly ride city/highway and maybe 10% twisties. These are considered to be a sport touring tire, so they won't be as grippy as some others, but they'll last a lot longer. You may think about getting these, then buying Pilot Power 2CT's specifically for the track. If money is no issue, then you should really get tires just for track use.

I'm another RP2 vote. I've put about 4k miles on them this year, the front looks fairly new still, and the rear is a bit squared because I use the bike mainly for commuting, probably only get to the twisties once a month or so (so three times over the summer here in PA).

I know you said wet grip doesn't matter to you, but I have ridden in the rain a good bit on these, and I was always comfortable. I obviously slow down a lot and don't lean much, but still they seem to grip well for accel/decel.

However, you have to take my opinion with a grain of salt, these are the only tires I've put on this bike. When I bought the bike, there were tires that had about 50 miles left, and by the time I got new ones put on I was showing metal. Frickin scary.

If you get something other than what's been mentioned, make sure to do a write-up for us

 

[TechnicalNonsense]

Thanks for all the great advice and info.

To sum things up; Yes, I've been to the track before so this is nothing new to me and as far as my body position and line; its not perfect but not bad.

I was currently riding in Level 1 but my instructor said that if I did one more track day then he'll be comfortable putting me in Level 2.

I would love to put one of the hypersports tyre on my bike such as the Q2, or the CT2 but my only concern is that how much miles do you reckon I can really get out of these babies, if its over 5k if I don't ride like an ass then I'm all in

 

[TechnicalNonsense]

I think your question is a bit subjective but it all boils down to how you plan to use them.

IMO, for street use, all of the popular sport touring tires offer more than enough grip than you'll need and provide great mileage (BT023, Z8, Pilot Road, etc). However, because you bring track use into the equation, then break it down like this:

Are you new to the track? If yes, then any of the popular sport touring tires listed above should be great. You wont be setting track records and should want to improve your body position and lines before dropping lap times. I can run a good sport touring tire comfortably to a mid-intermediate pace

Have you been to the track before? Is your body position ok (as confirmed by control riders/instructors)? Are you consistent and hold a line well? Are you comfortably dropping lap times? If yes, then I'd consider a hypersport tire (Pilot Pures, Q2's, Pilot Powers, S20, BT016). I can run a hypersport tire to a slow advanced pace.

All the major tire brands offer some great rubber and you really can't go wrong with any of them. From my research, the BT023 is the best bang for your buck if they're still selling sets for $217/shipped. I certainly haven't been disappointed.

Thanks for all the great advice and info.

To sum things up; Yes, I've been to the track before so this is nothing new to me and as far as my body position and line; its not perfect but not bad.

I was currently riding in Level 1 but my instructor said that if I did one more track day then he'll be comfortable putting me in Level 2.

I would love to put one of the hypersports tyre on my bike such as the Q2, or the CT2 but my only concern is that how much miles do you reckon I can really get out of these babies, if its over 5k if I don't ride like an ass then I'm all in

 

[outasight20]

I have the PR2's as well and haven't had any issues with them yet. Only put about 2K miles on them so far but the grip is great.

 

[outasight20]

Thanks for all the great advice and info.

To sum things up; Yes, I've been to the track before so this is nothing new to me and as far as my body position and line; its not perfect but not bad.

I was currently riding in Level 1 but my instructor said that if I did one more track day then he'll be comfortable putting me in Level 2.

I would love to put one of the hypersports tyre on my bike such as the Q2, or the CT2 but my only concern is that how much miles do you reckon I can really get out of these babies, if its over 5k if I don't ride like an ass then I'm all in

You'll probably get about 3-4K miles out of those hypersport tires (The rear that is, the front should last about twice as long). Maybe more if you're gentle on the throttle and brakes.

 

[Neal]

Thanks for all the great advice and info.

To sum things up; Yes, I've been to the track before so this is nothing new to me and as far as my body position and line; its not perfect but not bad.

I was currently riding in Level 1 but my instructor said that if I did one more track day then he'll be comfortable putting me in Level 2.

I would love to put one of the hypersports tyre on my bike such as the Q2, or the CT2 but my only concern is that how much miles do you reckon I can really get out of these babies, if its over 5k if I don't ride like an ass then I'm all in

Q2 is the best tire I have ridden. However the rear is shot at around 5k and one time I only got 3k out of it (should have inflated the tires more).

 

[kfive]

Just got new pilot road 3's ....Best tyre ever.... 18,000 miles and front is still like new ....probably could have got more miles but did 1400 mile trip and Headin into winter in Washington.... I feel more confident in the rain on the pr3's than on my old dunlops on dry flat pavement.... definitely worth the investment

 

[Yasko]

DFW metro area will mount and balance for $15off and $25on the bike.

Cliff at 586-855--7148

 

[Yasko]

Thanks for all the great advice and info.

To sum things up; Yes, I've been to the track before so this is nothing new to me and as far as my body position and line; its not perfect but not bad.

I was currently riding in Level 1 but my instructor said that if I did one more track day then he'll be comfortable putting me in Level 2.

I would love to put one of the hypersports tyre on my bike such as the Q2, or the CT2 but my only concern is that how much miles do you reckon I can really get out of these babies, if its over 5k if I don't ride like an ass then I'm all in

What tire did you buy?

 

[TechnicalNonsense]

I haven't bought them yet. Its getting a bit chilly area here so I haven't ridden as much as I would like but most likely I'll be buying a set sometime early next year. My Dunlop still has a good amount of thread left and you know the old saying; "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

But thanks for all y'alls input.

I'll most likely be going with the Pilot Road 3.

 

[Hellgate]

Track days? It's hard to beat a set of Q2s.

I get 4 to 5 track days out of them. That's about 750 miles.

Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Raptorman53]

I like my Pilot Power 2ct's. At first I didn't like the turn in I got from these tires, but I have to say that I like it now. Mileage isn't that great at 4,500 miles I would be lucky to get another 500 out of the rear. I think the front should last 8-9,000 or so. For a hypersport tire I've been pleased. I think I paid $235 for the set another $70 for the mount and balance. Are they the best tires money can buy? Probably not. I do think they are a very good tire for the money and I haven't had one moment in 4,500 miles where I said "Man I wish I wouldn't have got those tires".