New tires for fairly new rider

[JoeSTL]

Been riding a little over a year, but haven't really leaned too far in the corners. The tires on my beginner, the gs500, were terrible and the stock tires on my FZ6 I just bought are 6 years old. 90% of the riding I do is either around town or on the highway. Very little twisties, though I'd like to change that this summer! I've also never ridden (yet) in the rain so I want tires that are capable for wet use when I actually get the chance to ride in the rain.

I've read a lot about the pilot road 2's and that's where I was leaning towards, though a mechanic I saw today was telling me to check out continental motions. I've also read a lot of good things about BT023's and the Roadsmarts.

So what's a good tire for someone like me? 90% city/highway, confidence building, great in the wet, and something that will last long. I can spend about 300 bucks for the set. Thanks for your opinions!

 

[greg]

most dual compound sports touring tyres will be up to the job

they are harder wearing in the centre for highway riding, and softer at the edges for twisties.

you might be able to get a good deal on some older model tyres like bt-021's

i would avoid any tyres manufactured more than 2-3 years ago though (the week and year number is stamped on the tyres)

 

[ChevyFazer]

I've gone through a couple of shinko 009's and I can't tell you how pleased I have been with them. I can get well over 12,000 on them and still drag pegs in the turns. They also have GREAT wet traction, I've literally tried to get the rear to spin in the wet and couldn't, it actually wheelied instead. Not to mention that they are dirt cheep!!! I've herd a few people say shinkos are garbage but haven't ever herd anything bad about the 009's.

 

[Motogiro]

BT-023 replaces the BT-021

 

[grouzer]

I just got a pair of PR2's from Chaparral's for $257.

120/70 17, 180/55 17 Michelin Pilot Road 2 Tire Kit - Chaparral Motorsports

 

[FB400]

I think you will be very happy with the Pilot Road2's. Highly rated by everyone who has had them and give great longevity.. talking 12k or better. I have 11k on mine now and will probably get another 5k out of them

 

[JoeSTL]

I think you will be very happy with the Pilot Road2's. Highly rated by everyone who has had them and give great longevity.. talking 12k or better. I have 11k on mine now and will probably get another 5k out of them

Yeah, I'm still leaning toward the PR2's. I figure I might as well spend the cash while I have it now. If they last me that long, I'll be in good shape!

 

[DownrangeFuture]

I have PR2's on mine. I put them on at 4500 miles because the PO had left the tires under-inflated and the tires were thrashed by then. I just passed 20k today and the rear is just starting to get a bit square. Probably over half the tread left in the middle though. The front you have to feel to know it's squaring off at all. I'd say at least 5k left, if not another 10k.

If you keep the PR2's inflated properly, they'll last forever. I don't drag knee very often, but they bite like crazy in the turn, and I honestly can't tell a difference when I'm riding in the rain. I still dial it back some though, just to be safe. Never know what cagers are gonna do in the rain.

The bike is my daily driver so I ride 365, rain, shine, 110F to 30F. The only time I wished I had a car is when it was 38F and just pissing rain. These tires have been there for almost 2 years now and I'm starting to wonder if I'll have to change them because the rubber is too old before the tread wears out.

 

[motojoe122]

I've gone through a couple of shinko 009's and I can't tell you how pleased I have been with them. I can get well over 12,000 on them and still drag pegs in the turns. They also have GREAT wet traction, I've literally tried to get the rear to spin in the wet and couldn't, it actually wheelied instead. Not to mention that they are dirt cheep!!! I've herd a few people say shinkos are garbage but haven't ever herd anything bad about the 009's.

Thats good to hear, I have a set ready to go on when the sportmax stockers are worn out.:thumbup:

 

[tyler2011]

I haven't had any problems with the Shinko 009's (Raven). I have ~5000mi on them and my brother has ~8000 on his. The bike and tires seem to take all i'm willing to throw at them, only been riding for a few years, ~8000mi seat time. No they aren't a track tire but more than I need for street use with moderate highway travel.

 

[chunkygoat]

I want to try the shinko 009's now chevfazer.....i just bought pilot POWER's only because I still have 70% tread on the front and I need a matching rear. When this front tire is up I think I'm gonna try the shinko's next thanks!


And heads up holmes, I've heard lots of bad things about michelin's in general. I had the pilot power 2ct's and they lasted all of about 4,000 miles. They had great grip but not really practical for street use. I've been using pilot power's the past 2 sets and they last slightly longer, with decent grip - but again be careful with the michelin's. I've seen a number of threads on here where people's tires literally explode for "no reason"

But hey when you're shoppin aroung check out eBay. There's TONS of motosport suppliers on there and tires are really cheap, free shipping. I think I paid 120$ for the rear and 89$ for the front, both free shipping. Pretty decent price - just saying don't rule out eBay as an option.

The stock battleax wasn't bad in my honest opinion - had alright grip and lasted me nearly 12,000 miles. That's always a thought too because they're fairly cheap in comparison to some of the other 2 compound tires out there.

I'm no expert though, just speaking from experience.

 

[ChevyFazer]

I want to try the shinko 009's now chevfazer.....i just bought pilot POWER's only because I still have 70% tread on the front and I need a matching rear. When this front tire is up I think I'm gonna try the shinko's next thanks!

Honestly for the price you can't beat em with a stick!!!

That being said I was planing on trying one of the "popular" sport touring tires on my next set to have some better comparisons but after my front flat last week I had to end up just ordering another shinko since my rear has so much tread left. Not that I have any complaints with the shinkos but for one I know what I can do with the shinkos and I want to see if I actually can notice a handling difference, and for two if I can get well over 12,000 on so called "cheep" tires I'd like to see if I can go further on "you get what you pay for" tires.

I got a feeling though that the only difference I will notice will be in my wallet!!!

 

[DownrangeFuture]

And heads up holmes, I've heard lots of bad things about michelin's in general. I had the pilot power 2ct's and they lasted all of about 4,000 miles. They had great grip but not really practical for street use. I've been using pilot power's the past 2 sets and they last slightly longer, with decent grip - but again be careful with the michelin's. I've seen a number of threads on here where people's tires literally explode for "no reason"

That always makes me wonder though. People ship their tires to the manufacturer and get upset when they just get shipped back with the "tire was improperly inflated" response. They claim they check their tire pressure daily, but let's be realistic. The guys who remember to check their tire pressure once a week are the exception, not the rule. I check my tire pressure more often than anyone I know, and I only check most every time I fill up. And almost invariably I have to add air or let it out.

To me, it's kind of like the guys that say "My gun just went off, I didn't do anything!" Well, any gun made since say 1950 won't just "go off". You pulled the trigger. Or you modified the trigger group in a dangerous way.

Like the tires. Modern tech is so good that tires don't just "come apart". Either you hit something, or ran the tire with low pressure and let it get over heated because of it. Or you ran it way too long. The failure rate on tires these days is such that you'd probably have a better chance of winning the lottery, than getting a defective tire.

EDIT: Just thought I'd add that retreads are highly susceptible to heat related failure. Dual compound tires are most often made by making a tire at the softer compound. Then they cut out a section for the harder compound and re-tread that section with the harder compound. This makes heat related issues trivial to spot on these tires. How so? Only the center "blew out" and you can see where just the tread flew off. This weakens the radial section in the middle leading to the blow out. That type of failure where the tread just comes off leaving the belted section, is fairly unique to retreads, making this failure easy to spot. Lots of these guys either ran their air low to do wheelies and stoppies, or liked to do burn outs and caused the thermal failure you normally see. The failure may not cause the tread to fly off while you're stunting/doing a burn out, but that's most likely the cause. The last guy I say bitching about the PR2's "failing" on him, had the slicked out middle that shows without a doubt he did a burn-out within 100 miles of the failure. No wonder Michelin told him to take a hike. Moral of the story is, dual compound tires aren't supposed to be used for stunting. Get single compound tires if you ever even want to consider it. Dual compound tires are for 70-90% highway and the rest being aggressive twisties. Right tool for the job and all that.

Even re-treads don't fall apart much these days.

 

[JoeSTL]

I just got a pair of PR2's from Chaparral's for $257.

120/70 17, 180/55 17 Michelin Pilot Road 2 Tire Kit - Chaparral Motorsports

Thanks for the link! Just ordered them myself!

Thanks for everyone's input. Once I have a few miles on them, I'll let you know what I think.

 

[aid-90]

get the pilots roads 2!! they are a bit pricy but the handling and performance is night and day when compared to the stock bt20's that were on it when i got it. i have about 2k miles on them so far and find them fantastic. getting down nice and low on the rear aswell, chicken strips are bout 5mm