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Another tire thread!

3K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  nmK12 
#1 ·
I'm contemplating new rubber and am looking for experience with a few different tires. Please let me know if you've ridden any of them and what you think. The ones I'm thinking of are: Pirelli Diablo (there are a ton of different versions), Michelin Power 5 or 2 CT, or Metzeler Sported M9RR. What think you all?
 
#5 ·
In that case Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV. The Super Corsa is even better for grip but mileage suffers and the grip levels far exceed my riding ability. I’m also hearing that Bridgestone have really lifted their game with the S22 which is at least as good as the other top brands. I guess it comes down to you pays your money and you makes your choice😁
 
#9 ·
I use those Bridgestones (21 series) on my S1000R. I like them because they are better tire than I need as an old putts. Not a winter tire though. I didn't realize the OP wanted to go this far to the end of the sport scale. o_O
 
#11 ·
Bridgestone S22 is my favorite.
Amazing performance, it’s sticky, planted and gets around 3k on rear depending on your riding habits, works great on my 200hp supersport and both my K12 and K13 bikes. I’ve been caught in the rain and it did just fine!
I don’t trust any bike tire in the rain anyway! if it rains I pull over get coffee and wait it out, works everytime.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for all the input! I prefer a tire on the sport side of sport-touring, but would like to get at least ~4,000 - 6,000 miles out of them. I also like a V-profile front, I prefer tires that fall into the corners. Right now I'm liking the Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV, Bridgestone S22, Metzeler Sported M9RR, Dunlop Roadsmart 3, and Michelin Power 2CT.
 
#13 ·
I really like the Dunlop Roadsmart 3 on this bike. Lots of grip, communication and you'll get some mileage out of them. These bikes are kind of heavy and the although real soft tires will allow you to ride the ceiling they just don't last. It's all about the compromise. And I'll add for a really good time and a only few less miles, the Dunlop Q3+ should probably be on your list.

Chris
07 K12r Sport
 
#15 · (Edited)
Your preferences sound similar to mine. I use Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II on my Honda CB1000R (naked bike that I use alongside the K-Bikes for scratching, track days and town work all year round, unless I'm fast touring and/or its raining when I set out) as they tip in nicely, are super-sticky from cold, have the right amount of flex in the side-wall, are great at track-days and on-the-edge road work, and aren't terrible in the wet (not bad, just not at anything like the same level as a Michelin Road 5 or 6). They even last a decent length of time and wear evenly all round (I get nearly 5,000 from the rear and 7,000 from the front, with no flatting of the rear and little cupping of the front - I've given up braking like a demon these days). Supercorsas are dangerous in the wet (my friends go into a panic if they see a cloud 10 miles away!) and the DRC IV is aimed more at wet weather. Here's a chart showing the Pirelli range and what they're each optimised for: http://www.lerepairedesmotards.com/...eu-pirelli-diablo-rosso-corsa-ii-gamme_hd.jpg (it refers to the DRC III which has now been replaced by the IV - also good in the wet). Dave Moss, the suspension guru who focuses a lot on how tyres and suspension interact, swears by DRC IIs for fast road and track.

Friends have been raving about the Metzeler M9RR on their S1000RRs and Aprilia Tuonos in both wet and dry and I rode the S1000RR (with 217bhp) at a track day and they were extremely good for an all-silica-rubber tyre. They've been through Michelin Powers (didn't like) and Bridgestone BT22's (did like) and say the M9RR is easily the best in wet or dry. Pirelli and Metzeler are the same firm (Pirelli bought Metzeler a while ago) so I suspect the DRC IV and the M9RR are very similar. I would assume they will both last a little longer than the DRC II.

The guy who runs one of the bigger London MC tyre places, rides a 1300S and does track days. He told me the Michelin Power GP is "an astonishingly good tyre" and showed my pics of his after a recent track day. I've no experience of them but they sound good.

I've just bought a 1300S HP Motorsport and it's coming (collecting on Monday :)) with Metzeler M5s on. I'll be trying the wear them out ASAP and will probably fit M9RRs as the bike will be used in all weathers in the UK and Europe. If it rained less and/or I didn't have the Honda for tighter roads/tracks, I'd be trying the DRC IIs or Michelin Power GPs on it.

On my K1300GT I swear by Michelin Road 5 and I hear the new Road 6 is even better. The wet grip is astonishing and they steer nicely. If the 1300S was my only bike for year-round stuff I'd think about using Road 6's on it but will be using the GT in winter. I fitted Metzeler Roadtec 01s on the GT (couldn't get the 190 rear -I've fitted HP Motorsport wheels- at the time) - don't like them: they have good wet weather grip but steer really slowly and make the bike understeer alarmingly when going for it; also too easy to get to the edge on the front. I've always assumed Pirelli Angel GTs are similar (same firm as above) but maybe not.
 
#16 ·
Update: I just spoke to a guy at the London tyre firm I mentioned (you'd got me thinking about tyres for when I get the HP Motorsport). Not the guy who owns the K1300S but a guy who races very competitively in the UK and rides hard on the road. Interestingly:
1) He says Michelin GPs are a superb tyre on road or track and comparable to the Pirelli DRC II in terms of both dry and wet grip. He listed several bikes, heavy and light on which he has them, including his wife's. Also said he was at a track day at Jerez (Spain) when it rained heavily unexpectedly and, not having anything but slicks on his own bike, he borrowed a friend's 2014 Kawasaki ZX10 which had Power GPs on and said he was lapping other people on road tyres and passing quite a few who were on wets. I'm now thinking I'll get some Power GPs on the HP for the summer just to find out (I'm off to the Isle of Man TT in June and the Nurburgring in July so need tyres that'll both get there and perform well once there).
2) Apparently the Metzeler M9RR is meant to be more of a track-oriented tyre than I thought: more like a DRC II or Power GP than a DRC IV. I'd perhaps wrongly assumed that, because my friend on the S1000RR raved about them in the wet, they were better than the DRC IIs I use, but I haven't ridden his in the wet, so perhaps its a more a case of what I/he is used to in the way of wet grip, i.e. I'd need to ride both tyres back to back in the wet to make the comparison. That would explain why they felt good on track.
 
#17 ·
NMK12,

If your out there in Beautiful AZ....... No brianer: Michelin 5's or Metzler Roadtec 01 SE's. I run both of these and they are not made here, in the largest tire manufacturing country on the Planet..... So I have to import them. Bummer.

Also, be weary of your tire sizes..... most of us have 50's on the rear,..... but I can only find 55% the width here in Thailand, which raises the rear axle around 7mm's depending on the manufacturer,

Perelli are not for me as they tend to slip in Bangkok (either via throttle in a straight line or hard U turns) and again not made in 50's only 55's.

There is your subjective input from the membership.

Have fun!
 
#19 ·
I went with the Bridgestone S22's (this time). Stickiness is great, there are no chicken strips on these tires! At about 1000 miles I've nearly worn off the "S22" at the edges -- these pictures were taken soon after I mounted them. Turn in is neutral, there is no fall in to the corner. They are sport tires with no drama, you just point and they go. I have to say I kind of like a little drama of the V-profile front tires, but I have no complaints about the Bridgestones. Tar snakes and gravel I would judge as medium, I've had better tires and far worse. So far no complaints, I just need to see how far they go before they wear out.
Tire Wheel Automotive tire Vehicle Locking hubs

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Tread Automotive design
 
#20 · (Edited)
Update on the Michelin Power GPs is my first set were incredible and is being replaced today after 3400 miles (front and rear) of hard summer riding including a trip to and around the Nurburgring in 43 Celsius heat and plenty of other knee-down fast rides on the road. Here's what they looked like after 2 laps of the Ring (and 600 miles getting there):
Tire Wheel Automotive tire Vehicle Tread

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Vehicle Tread

They got more rough treatment on the road throughout the rest of their life (got to the edge at the front) and just wore evenly all over (no cupping on the front at all). If I'd been riding sensibly I think they'd have done another 2k miles.
A friend fitted Pirelli Rosso 4 Corsas at the same time as me (on a lighter bike - S1000RR) and they were completely worn out by the end of 1300 miles of riding in Europe. He's now fitted Power GPs instead.
They're an absolutely stunning tyre for fast riding in the dry and they grip really well in the wet too for a tyre that's meant to be 50:50 Track:Road - can get good lean angles in the wet and I needed a couple of emergency stops when cars pulled out on me in very wet conditions and they didn't slip at all. Track like you're on rails but change direction easily. You run them soft (33/35 on my K1300s for general use and lower on track) and that gives them a big contact patch, yet they don't squirm at all.
I'd assumed that for the winter I'd go back to M9RRs (great in the wet) but there's no need - these are virtually as good in the wet and way better in the dry.
My friend with the S1000 has had Battleaxe S22s and M9RRs (as well as the Pirellis) and preferred the M9s to the S22s as all round tyres but reckons the Power GPs are up there with the Pirellis in the dry but way better in the wet and last way longer.
 
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