Quote from: Brian W on January 31, 2011, 12:34:51 PM
Don't quote me, but i am 90% sure that is what Mmick does.......he gets the softer stickier compound for the front and harder on the rear, then both are totally shagged together.........am i correct there mmick  ?

just for my 2c (err 5c showing my age) when I got my bike it still had the original bridgestones on them - they were shite, probably because of their age.  I went to dunlop qualifiers front and rear - excellent tyre great grip but destroyed the back in less than 3000km.  Have gone to an Avon sports/touring tyre on the rear and so far so good.  Not sure whether I will stick with the qualifier on the front - but I agree a harder compound and the rear and softer on the front.

Quote from: Brian W on January 31, 2011, 12:34:51 PM
Don't quote me, but i am 90% sure that is what Mmick does.......he gets the softer stickier compound for the front and harder on the rear, then both are totally shagged together.........am i correct there mmick  ?

CORREEECT!!



                                          Mmick

What are people's recommendations for purely road use (all year, all weather)?  I am debating Bridgestone BattLax BT016R's (already on the bike and have given me 10,000km), Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa's or Pirelli Angels.  My riding is nearly all a 15-20 minute commute on a variety of roads (steep twistys, freeway and town).  On the one hand I'm tempted with the Bridgestones as they have served me well, on the other I have nothing to compare them with so could be missing out on a better tyre.  Advice appreciated.

Stephan, I have Continentals new Sport Attack on my Monster and can't fault them, if its mileage that you are after then their Road Attack would be an option.
Have also fitted Pirelli's new Diablo Rosso's to an MV and am equally impressed, definately not a mileage tyre though.
Decisions decisions mate.......gets a bit confusing eh.....!

Always a fun and interesting conversation.
Purely road use? I'm guessing that you might mean all round use, sport, touring, commuting etc...
Personally I've never had Bridgestone's so I can't comment on them.
With regard to the Pirelli Rosso Corsa, I'd say it's more of a sport focsued tyre being that it comes from a very track derived heritage.
Not much side wall grip, I know the previous generation Supercorsa Pro wasn't much good in the wet.

Pirelli Angels would be a better all round choice, much harder compound and I'm sure a longer life span.
I know a few people who are on them and say they are a great tyre.

Michelin also have a Road 3 out now which have often been a choice of people on the commute.

Myself I have recently gone to Conti Sport Attack which are great (for me) they also have a Road Attack tyre which has a harder compound.
As always it's a personal choice, I like the profile of the Conti/Pirelli. I didin't like the Michelin Pilot Pures but then some do.

I'm tending toward the Angels, certainly compared to the Rosso's, as I agree I value milage over track level performance.  The obvious choice are the BattLax, as I am already familiar with them, but I figure it might be worth experimenting and trying a new tyre.  I'll get some prices and make a decision.  Thanks for the input.

As for prices......give MAW at Castle hill a call as i have been told by many that their prices are good.......
Also stick your head inside MCAS as they usually have good deals on the floor.........

I'm also loving the Conti Sport Attacks  ....  Not sure about longevity yet though  .

Quote from: StephenC on August 01, 2011, 11:43:00 PMWhat are people's recommendations for purely road use (all year, all weather)?  I am debating Bridgestone BattLax BT016R's (already on the bike and have given me 10,000km)

Wow - you did well.  I only managed to get 5,400kms out of my original BT16s.  If I got 10k out of my BT16s I would've had no hesitation in buying them again. But be aware that the BT16s your may buy as replacements are a different construction to the OEM version BT16s supplied with the new bike. 

So far on my Conti's I have done about 3500-4000k and can still see the Cnti attack on the rear tread.
I am doing something wrong? I don't ride that fast 

I will soon be trying a Pilot Pure on the rear. Have heard mixed reports. It is a very light tyre to hold. Must have light side wall construction. What pressure will it need? I run whatever is available for the right price and this tyre came up cheap.

The tyre is light because it's not Steele belted it's Kevlar belted and therefore lighting in construction. You will find it runs best at higher pressure to compensate for the lack of stiffness. When I had mine they were usually up around 38psi, personally I hated mine they just had a vague not all there feeling to them. They never felt good on coarse roads and gave me more than a few moments during there life with me.
However I know a few of us like them and have no real issue with the way they perform, so again everyone is different and gets different feeling from there tyres.

Noticed not many comments on The Michelin Pilot Power's?

I like them as a compromise of a sticky and wear.....more leaning towards sticky......actually wear isn't great

Great lean in, and confidence building tyres.

Anyone got suggestions on different tyre pressures to try, I generally run quite low....around 33-35 psi

Thought about The Pures, however they look a little track orientated for me.....and I wouldn't like to get caught out in the rain with them...

I think one of the things we have never discussed is working temperature, all tyres will have an ideal temp in which they will work best, a pure touring tyre will work at a lower temp to say a pure sports tyre and will by its very nature get better milage, then we have sport/touring tyres which will be somewhere in between the first two I just mentioned that is it will give good grip at lower temps and still work well as it heats up to a point before performance drops off and milage will be reasonable.

Ever been on a ride up through the hills and one of your mates is on the 'pace' and you are thinking, well I've got these super sticky hoops on and yet they feel like they are moving around, squirming and not giving you a lot of confidence, yet that mate of yours seems to be having no trouble at all.  Eventually you stop somewhere for a breather and you look at his tyres and he has brand X sport tourers, well what probably has happened (all else being equal) is that his tyres were more appropriate for the job than yours, his were working in their 'temp zone' again you look at yours and they seem to be ripped or feathered at the edges, your expensive sport compound tyre was showing 'cold tearing' on the rubber, it didn't get to its ideal 'temp zone' and work like it was designed to, so you probably lots of $$$ for a tyre that is not ideal for the job.

   Stephen C is now asking the right questions, he wan ts all year round tyres that will work in lots of different temps and conditions, dry , wet cold, hot and everything in between so he will now be looking for a tyre that will need to be a fair compremise across all these conditions. I will not stand up and say brand X is any better than brand Y or Z because we have too many variables, but I will say I use this brand because.... and if that suits you then you spend your money.

   Remember, its not the latest, stickiest tyre that will suit your needs, be honest with your self and ask, where you will be using these tyres,your riding style, on what bike, and road conditions that you will normally encounter.

Or you may want to Google tyre temps and see what you can find.





                                                    Mmick

I'm not sure if Pilot Powers are still sold, I thought they were replaced by the Pures.
As to them being a track focused tyre, I never liked them on the track my previous Pirelli Supercorsa Pros were far better at track use.

In the wet was when I had the best time on the Pures, the run up the Oxley at the beginning of the year when were saw decent rain was my best experience with them.

Mmick makes a good point as always, operating temp is a major factor in how your tyre performs.

I've gone with the Pirelli Angels, mainly due to the cute angel pictures on the tread!  Actually the real reason is that I agree with Mmick, I don't need high performance track tyres, just long wearing and weather resistant commuters.  I also figured it wouldn't hurt to try something different to the BattLax's I'm already on.

Unfortunately, as I live in Newcastle, there is no MCAS to buy from, just good ol' Frasers.  Therefore I have to wait until they order them in, no matter what brand I go for!  Good thing I have a bit of wear left in the Bridgestones, experience has taught me not to hold my breath.

I did think about the Dunlop Sportsmarts.  They got fantastic reviews in Bike Magazine (UK).  Maybe next time.

Thank you to all who offered advice.