So I have 11k on my bike with Rosso 2's and so far I have been through four rear tires and two fronts.  I admit I ride fairly hard but this last rear tire I only got 2500 miles out of and that seems like not much at all.....

I am not sure I need the stickiest tires ever however I am pretty used to the Rosso's sticking like glue.  Has anyone on here that rides hard in the mountains tried out the Michelin PP4's?  It would be nice to buy fewer tires but I do not want to give up the grip of the Rosso's.

Any other thoughts?





Yes I know 200 threads about tires but this is 2014 and there are some new choices.  Kinda sick of blowing through two se

Er do you mean Pilot Power 3 or Pilot Road 4?

Erg,  too damn many numbers in my life.  I meant road 4's.  I understand I can expect about the same life (and traction) from the P3's as from the Rossos.

I've gotten very good mileage out of Pirelli Angel ST, 2 rears went ~12k miles, and I've got a front still rolling, past 20k miles.

I don't ride like a maniac, but you get my point. 

The ST has been superseded by the GT, which must be better as it's a G rather than an S.

Quote from: Speeddog on June 16, 2014, 08:49:58 PM
I've gotten very good mileage out of Pirelli Angel ST, 2 rears went ~12k miles, and I've got a front still rolling, past 20k miles.

I don't ride like a maniac, but you get my point. 

The ST has been superseded by the GT, which must be better as it's a G rather than an S.

^^ +1 on this. I think that the Pirelli Angels handle as well as the Rosso 2's, only last ~ twice as long. Although I can't vouch for the mileage yet because I haven't had mine that long, but this is what I've been told. My Rosso 2's lasted 5300 miles before they became unrideable.

check out the Q3s. Great tires and dunlop has a 40$ rebate going right now that makes them cheap as hell.

Quote from: El-Twin on June 17, 2014, 08:39:03 AM
^^ +1 on this. I think that the Pirelli Angels handle as well as the Rosso 2's, only last ~ twice as long. Although I can't vouch for the mileage yet because I haven't had mine that long, but this is what I've been told. My Rosso 2's lasted 5300 miles before they became unrideable.

Same 5,300 here, but those were Rosso's which came on the bike, not Rosso II's.  Rosso II's are dual compound. (Angels come standard on the 696.) Just put a Rosso II on the back. Feels like the Rosso.

Sky must ride loke a loon.  Those canyon roads might also be more abrasive than the roads around here too. Not sure I'd want less grip than the Rosso's personally and I like the kind of feedback they give me.

Michelins used to ride rather hard. I doubt that's changed.

Quote from: Curmudgeon on June 17, 2014, 02:54:14 PM
<snip>

Michelins used to ride rather hard. I doubt that's changed.

Not sure what the last Michelin you rode was, but the Michelins these days can almost be changed without tire irons.

The carcass is very flexible and give a good ride.

Quote from: ducpainter on June 17, 2014, 02:59:23 PM
Not sure what the last Michelin you rode was, but the Michelins these days can almost be changed without tire irons.

The carcass is very flexible and give a good ride.

Some kind of Pilot Powers IIRC which were on an STRs my son bought a couple of years ago. They weren't all that old but did something he didn't like under braking and rode hard. He's not as fussy as I am either.  After riding my Rosso's, he bought a pair and liked them fine until he sold that bike. He's large, and even with some risers, etc., etc., could never quite get comfortable on it. Sold it a year later for break even.

Will take your word on the latest iteration.

Quote from: Curmudgeon on June 17, 2014, 02:54:14 PM
Sky must ride loke a loon.  Those canyon roads might also be more abrasive than the roads around here too. Not sure I'd want less grip than the Rosso's personally and I like the kind of feedback they give me.

I ride like a wuss and can't even do a wheelie.  There was a time I did not ride like a wuss but I no longer heal as easily (still could not do wheelies) so I backed off a lot.  I do like to keep a quick pace in the local hills and we do have some pretty grippy surfaces. My riding style is into turns slow enough to deal with crap in the road and out hard.... it wears on back tires.

I do use up most of the back tire though and have maybe 1/8inch chicken strips, maybe........

I would hate to expect a as much grip as the Rosso's in another tire and not finding it.  With DTC off I can slide the back a bit with the Rosso's on a hot day, with it on, not so much.

I remember when there were only a couple of good choices, now there seem to be many with slight degrees of opinion seperating them lol.   

I personally choose the Rosso II over the Michelin brand.  I'd rather get 4-5k and have peace of mind.  I never had a set of Michelin's that didn't slip on me, never had that problem with the Rosso.  The Pirelli Angels are a great choice but you can't ride as aggressively, then again the Angels I had were on an M900 compared to Rosso's on my S4R. 

I love my Pilot Power 3s, Had Pilot Road 2s that I did ride to the edge of the tire with now issues with grip. Haven't had the opportunity to try woth the PP3s but should get a chance this weekend up around Julian CA

 I just rode down 1 from Leggit to Ft. Bragg, scrubbed the pp3s to there edges, never leaned a bike over as far as this DB5R, and the tires were solid and secure everywhere. I have about 2k on the back now and it it doesn't look worn.

Quote from: SpikeC on June 19, 2014, 10:43:36 AM
I just rode down 1 from Leggit to Ft. Bragg

Best road ever!!

Yup! I try to ride that road all the way to San Simeon at least twice a season.  This season will be four times.  Hard to beat when the traffic is not around.