Need help ... time to replace tires

[staticghost]

Hi All,
Well it has been now 8 months into my motorcycle riding life. And let me tell ya, it never gets old. Every time I go out for a ride its like I feel reborn. I LOVE RIDING I TELL YA... and of course I love my FZ6.
Am still on my stock tires now BT014's and have about 6400 miles on them and they still look good. But since my riding has been improving, I am leaning a whole lot more like half way knee dragging and i noticed couple of under slips in which it scared me. I don't ever want this to happen again so its time to upgrade to new good grip tires.
I do not go to a track I just do lots of highway miles and weekend twisties.

By reading the forum here and there about tires I have narrow it down to
BT021's, Michelin Pilot Roads 2 and pirelli diablo strada. Or some other tire that is in this good class...

Can all of you veteran riders out there help out a rider in a decision in getting a good high mileage tire with a good grip.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dako81]

I know it doesn't help much since I haven't had them yet, but my stock set is getting replaced by Michelin Pilot Road 2's. I haven't really seen anything bad about them. Supposed to be top notch.

 

[DefyInertia]

all 3 choices are good ones.

now that that is out of the way, let's talk about your riding. which tire and under what conditions are you getting some slip? how often are you scaring youself?

 

[Rob2222]

Hello,

I had the Michelin PR2 on my TRX and have them now on my FZ6 sinde 2 weeks. They are pure pleasure in comparte to the BT20 that was on my FZ6 before.

Here are some links from the test 2007 and 2008. In german but maybe the scores are enough. Or translate it with google.
Touring Sport Tires Test 2007 - Points
Touring Sport Tires Test 2007 - Durability
Touring Sport Tires Test 2008 - Points

If you need some words translated: dict.leo.org

PS: Michelin PR2 = test winner 2007 and 2008

BR Robert

 

[Humperdinkel]

Have you given any thought to a set of , Shinko Advance 005's :thumbup: , i use these and find them amazing and if you havent heard of them they are just Yokohama's motorcyle division :thumbup:

 

[reiobard]

Have you given any thought to a set of , Shinko Advance 005's :thumbup: , i use these and find them amazing and if you havent heard of them they are just Yokohama's motorcyle division :thumbup:

+1, i have used dunlop's, stock dunlops, Pilot sports, and 2 sets of Shinko's and i will be using the Shinko's from now on, for the price they are a great gripping tire that lasts 10,000+ miles (for my riding at least) they can be found for about $170 for the set of front and rear.

eBay Motors: SHINKO 005 ADVANCE MOTORCYCLE TIRE 120/70-17&180/55-17 (item 110350118840 end time Feb-18-09 06:08:21 PST)

 

[Hellgate]

I picked up a pair of the Pirelli Diablos this Fall and really enjoyed them. Great traction, good wear, good feel of the road. I did two track days on them, they stuck great, and if they drifted it was very controlable.

 

[coursonap]

I have the bt021's and I love them no problems here and they are wearing great.

 

[Red Wazp]

Most of todays tires are good but IMHO Pilot Road 2's are the best. Sure you will pay more but these babies are worth every penny.

 

[jniedermeyer]

I picked up a pair of the Pirelli Diablos this Fall and really enjoyed them. Great traction, good wear, good feel of the road. I did two track days on them, they stuck great, and if they drifted it was very controlable.

im guessing u got em the same time i did from that cyclegear sale. thanx for the info cause i have been stuck inside all winter and havent got to try em out yet.

 

[ReblTeen84]

I don't have the originals to compare to, but when I bought mine this past fall, it had an almost brand-new set of Dunlop Qualifiers on it. I've put a couple hundred miles on them, mostly weekend riding and they grip well and no problems on the twisty roads around here. I've had a tire slip on me once, and part of that is my own fault...decent lean on a road with salt and sand on it, the front tire felt like it slipped a little, but recovered nicely. Otherwise, comfortable ride as well.

 

[staticghost]

all 3 choices are good ones.

now that that is out of the way, let's talk about your riding. which tire and under what conditions are you getting some slip? how often are you scaring youself?

Well the only tire I know now is the my stock Bt014. Would say maybe 2 to 3 times it kind of slipped a little under, enough for me to notice it when am going out of the turns and with a little aggressive throttle twist. I am leaning fairly enough almost enough to scrape my pegs but I do it by shifting my hips to the side, stick my knee out, bring my upper body to the side and just take the turns. Kind of what those professional riders do on track, but of course no where near as good. Still in my learning faze of taking the turns with out clinching my both feet against the tank, and leaning my body with the bike. And these tires take a long time to warm up as well. Over all am not to happy with them, and since tax return check is on its way, I figured I get some nice tires u know.

 

[staticghost]

+1, i have used dunlop's, stock dunlops, Pilot sports, and 2 sets of Shinko's and i will be using the Shinko's from now on, for the price they are a great gripping tire that lasts 10,000+ miles (for my riding at least) they can be found for about $170 for the set of front and rear.

eBay Motors: SHINKO 005 ADVANCE MOTORCYCLE TIRE 120/70-17&180/55-17 (item 110350118840 end time Feb-18-09 06:08:21 PST)

Hey Buddy,
Thanks for the reply. I have never heard of Shinko's at all. I am going to research these tires a little closely now. And for $170 for both, this is a great deal.

 

[staticghost]

I have the bt021's and I love them no problems here and they are wearing great.

Great.
How many miles have you done on these tires so far. We all know of how expensive it can get to get new tires and all, so am just trying to get the best high mileage tire for the buck, with out sacrificing performance and grip.

 

[fz6nick]

Well the only tire I know now is the my stock Bt014. Would say maybe 2 to 3 times it kind of slipped a little under, enough for me to notice it when am going out of the turns and with a little aggressive throttle twist. I am leaning fairly enough almost enough to scrape my pegs but I do it by shifting my hips to the side, stick my knee out, bring my upper body to the side and just take the turns. Kind of what those professional riders do on track, but of course no where near as good. Still in my learning faze of taking the turns with out clinching my both feet against the tank, and leaning my body with the bike. And these tires take a long time to warm up as well. Over all am not to happy with them, and since tax return check is on its way, I figured I get some nice tires u know.

Hopefully your wearing proper gear?

 

[staticghost]

Hopefully your wearing proper gear?

LOL. Of course. I never go riding with out my full gear. No jeans or snickers. A full, head to toe motorcycle gear. :rockon:

 

[07FZ6]

Shinko's sound great, they come OEM on some bikes these days. HOWEVER, I am a HUGE fan of the continental Sport attack... they can be found cheap. I also saw they now offer a street attack, and a race attack. I used them on my Katana with mods, and was amazed with the grip and the way they leaned into a turn. I rode them for several thousand miles and they had just started to show the tiniest amount of wear

I have also seen them as OE equipment on a few models of BMW bikes, if that tells you something about their performance.

I think I'd get a set of whatever you can get a better deal on out of the Conti's or the Shinkos

 

[DefyInertia]

Shinkos are retreads, right?

 

[reiobard]

Shinkos are retreads, right?

Nope, they are a real life tire company, Yokohama sold off their motorcyle division a few years back and they stayed open under the new name of Shinko.