sport touring tires

As little as I ride at high speed (haven't been over 120mph) and I don't corner a race speeds, why not get a sport touring tire that gets almost three times the mileage of a sport tire?

I'm not sure this goes everywhere, but at least in Denmark You need to use tires that are approved for the specific bike. This goes particularly for speed index.

towa said:

I'm not sure this goes everywhere, but at least in Denmark You need to use tires that are approved for the specific bike. This goes particularly for speed index.

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A lot of shops here won't mount tires that aren't rated for the bike either, but nothing saying you can't do it on your own, just as long as you understand the risks. My car is rated for high performance tires so when i took it to one shop for tires they wouldn't sell me a set of tires because they only had a rating of 138MP/H or something crazy like that...

they have to be ZR rated tires. or else they may not hold up to the power first off, second off if the cop knows what hes looking at he will write you up for some nasty tickets! Safety violations!!! just look towards a high mileage sport tire i am putting a dunlop roadsmart on the back of mine. they are a dual compound harder in the middle and soft on the side so you get better mileage out of a tire.

Fitment Guide for Dunlop Motorcycle Tires
then click on fz6 it shows them as a oe replacement.

My husband put the new Metzler Roadtec Z6 tires on his ZX-11 (it takes the same tires as the FZ6) and he's really impressed. They are a dual compound sport tour tire (harder in the center, and softer on the sides) and wore really well on our 8,000 km trip through the states in June.

I had about 1,500 km on my tires when he put the new ones on his bike, then we both rode the same miles and roads on our trip. This included some wet/cold roads (through Yellowstone), twisties (California and Oregon coast), as well as some long straight stretches through the desert going from Las Vegas accross to San Francisco. When we got home to Calgary, I needed new tires (about 1 mm left on the rear) and his show very little wear, and no significant flat spot in the center.

He's more aggressive in the twisties than I am and he said that the tires stuck to the road really well through the curves!

I'll definately be putting a set of these on my bike very soon!

But you can get a sport touring that has a 168mph rating. Shouldn't that be enough?

Well, you won't have the same amount in reserve (think emergency braking, rain, cold, etc.) but the difference is probably negligible in most cases.

+1 on the metzler Z6 and the very similar pirelli tire. I hear the avons are great as well.

wrightme started a huge long thread on all the tires that fit our bike and what they do well/poorly.

BranNwebster said:

But you can get a sport touring that has a 168mph rating. Shouldn't that be enough?

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Surely it is. There are few bikes under 1000cc that can go 168mph. FZ's are definitely not one of them.

BranNwebster said:

As little as I ride at high speed (haven't been over 120mph) and I don't corner a race speeds, why not get a sport touring tire that gets almost three times the mileage of a sport tire?

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I do a LOT of commuting with occassional days off of fun on the few and far between twisties, but mostly commuting. That's why I opted for the Michelin Pilot Road tires, and my next set will be the new Michelin Pilot Road 2's.

Troubl said:

I do a LOT of commuting with occassional days off of fun on the few and far between twisties, but mostly commuting. That's why I opted for the Michelin Pilot Road tires, and my next set will be the new Michelin Pilot Road 2's.

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I mostly a commuter myself. Those Michelin P R 2 look like a contender. Continental Tires seem to get good ratings and the Conti Force Sport Radial look good but I can't find any professional reviews. Well one person gave a good review at kneedraggers says he put them on a Yamaha FZ1

Continental Force Sport/Sport Touring Radial - Rear Tires - Read Reviews and Buy at KneeDraggers.com

Troubl said:

I do a LOT of commuting with occassional days off of fun on the few and far between twisties, but mostly commuting. That's why I opted for the Michelin Pilot Road tires, and my next set will be the new Michelin Pilot Road 2's.

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I put 8000 miles on a set of Michelin Pilot Road² tires and replaced them last week. They were worn more on the sides than the middle but they were down to the wear bars both front and rear. They were fine in the rain and didn't develop a flat strip in the middle. However...

I will NOT buy them again. They were a bit pricey and I did not like the change they imparted to the overall feel of the road. They "fell" in to corners and were quite unforgiving when it came to tar snakes and road imperfections. I went back to Pilot Powers and my confidence in the FZ6's handling has been restored.

If you want a high mileage tire go with the Continental or Metzler. If you want a tire you can count on in all conditions, and you're willing to sacrifice a bit of mileage, go with the Pilot Power or the Bridgestone BT-014 or -016.

Just my opinions, as always...

FZ6's rear Tire/Rear is 180/55-ZR17 and FZ1's Tire/Rear is 190/50-ZR17

Has anyone put the wider FZ1 tire in the back of an FZ6 or is there an issue doing so?

Thanks in advance!

my buddy put a 190/55-17 on the back of his 05 fz6 works fine. there is no prob there it is a very tiny difference

I've got ~4k on Pilot Roads (not Road2) and think they'll go another 3-4k. I like them and would happily get them again but will qualify that they're only my second set of tires (the first being the end of the OEMs) so I'm sure I don't know what I'm missing from other choices.

For what it's worth my normal riding group is largely sport-touring oriented and the Pilot Roads and Avon Storms are the most popular tires across the group. (other bikes include Duc ST4, Triumph Sprint ST, FZ1, VFR800, etc)

For what it's worth the Bridgestone bt021 is a sport touring tire and it's z rated.

rvbiker said:

For what it's worth the Bridgestone bt021 is a sport touring tire and it's z rated.

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I have a set of those and my comments:

1) Much better grip from Diablo stradas (and I think the Metzelers Z6 are about the same as Diablo Strada)

2) Fall into the corner easier which is a plus for me

3) Different compound on the sides and centre

4) And the most important: they need some time to get into temperature. Need to be a bit carefull in the city streets for the first 1-2 miles. Nothing scary but the stradas were easier to get into temp.

Overall they are better than BT-020 (night and day) and I still prefer them from the Diablo stradas I tried

I plan to put some more miles on my factory set, just got my '08 Cobalt Blue baby less than two months ago and have 1500 miles on it. But just from murmurs here and there I would really like to get rid of the stock set. I was really liking the reviews on the Pirelli Diablo Strada sport touring for the extended wear, all weather confidence, and the all sport feel, handling and stickyness. Just seeing if anyone knowledgeable has a thought or two on if i should just dump the stock set and get a fine set of pirelli's or if its cool to hold off. Oh, and the set on now is Sportmax 252's

Thanks

it rained pretty hard here and I got soaked today was flying trying to get home basically standing water raining hard was doing 60 rear dunlop road smart stuck to the ground great just for the heck of it got on a straight tucked down below the wind screen and took it up to 105mph and that rear tire stuck to the ground amazingly. never hydroplaned or anything I almost think the tire is better in the wet than it is on dry. after todays ride the road smart is like night and day compared to that dunlop stock tire. will be getting the front roadsmart as soon as the front stock dunlop wears out!

Rekon said:

I plan to put some more miles on my factory set, just got my '08 Cobalt Blue baby less than two months ago and have 1500 miles on it. But just from murmurs here and there I would really like to get rid of the stock set. I was really liking the reviews on the Pirelli Diablo Strada sport touring for the extended wear, all weather confidence, and the all sport feel, handling and stickyness. Just seeing if anyone knowledgeable has a thought or two on if i should just dump the stock set and get a fine set of pirelli's or if its cool to hold off. Oh, and the set on now is Sportmax 252's

Thanks

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two months and you only have 1500 miles you need to get out there! i picked up my 08 cobalt blue may 7th i think it was and i have just under 3800 miles....

08fz6 said:

they have to be ZR rated tires. or else they may not hold up to the power first off, second off if the cop knows what hes looking at he will write you up for some nasty tickets! Safety violations!!! just look towards a high mileage sport tire i am putting a dunlop roadsmart on the back of mine. they are a dual compound harder in the middle and soft on the side so you get better mileage out of a tire.

Fitment Guide for Dunlop Motorcycle Tires
then click on fz6 it shows them as a oe replacement.

Click to expand...

I have a Roadsmart as well and love it! Its great for the twisties. I have had no issues with it. I'll see how long they last ^_^