Ducati Monster Forum

Hello,
I will be changing out my tires soon and I don't ride aggressively on the streets.  SOOOooooo,  I wanted to get a pair of sport touring tires.  From my understanding they don't wear as fast as the normal sport street tires.  The reason I am changing both at the same time is because the front tire got a tad deformed in a crash.  Any suggestions appreciated.

There are LOTS of great tires -- it's kinda a matter of preference. However the most important aspect to me is size. When I went from a 180 to a 170 my bike handled sooo much better. The slightly smaller size makes it turn quicker and feel lighter. The big tires are for high speed and high horsepower but on the street 170s or even 160s rock!

i just purchased a Pilot road 2CT. its shaped like a Pilot power, and the edges are teh same rubber as the pilot power, but the center is a pilot road.

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Categories.bok?category=TIRES%2C+WHEELS+%26+WARMERS%3AMichelin+tires%3APilot+Road+2ct (http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Categories.bok?category=TIRES%2C+WHEELS+%26+WARMERS%3AMichelin+tires%3APilot+Road+2ct)

free shipping!

Pilot Sport 2ct  ???

ahh long day. :P pilot road 2ct. its a sport touring tire so the word sport stuck in my head.

asking about tires here is like asking what toothpaste is best, everyone has a favorite.

i say just go for any of the major brand tires that are geared toward touring or sport touring, each one, michelin, bridgestone, pirelli, dunlop, metzeler, etc, all have basically comparable tires in this game, you really can't go wrong with any of them.

1 person will say they hate michelin, another will say they are great, antoher says dunlops are great, another says they are bad.

good luck, its tough but i say personaly look for anything like the word "road, commuter, touring" in the name of the particular tire when looking for tires for your use.

Diablo Stradas are good.

I've been very pleased with the Pilot Road 2 tires on my Aprilia RST.  The profile is not quite as aggressive as the Pilot Powers (not as pronounced of a V shape), but they still provide quick turn-in.  I've put about 4k miles on them, and it looks like the rear will be good for at least another 3k miles.  I would think that on something as light as a Monster they would last for many miles. 

Okay thanks for the input.  I am either going to get the Pirelli Stradas or the Pilot road 2ct (whatever I can get a better deal on).  Found some interesting evidence that the Pilots road 2ct last longer and have better wet grip than the Stradas but I cant tell what the small writing is at the bottom.  I doubt the difference in tread life will be noticeable and I don't ride in the rain anyways so both tires will be an excellent choice for me.


Just click on the left to see the test results
http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Michelin_Pilot_ROAD_2CT_SportRoad_Rear_Tire--623107.html (http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Michelin_Pilot_ROAD_2CT_SportRoad_Rear_Tire--623107.html)http://

those"grips better than" graphs were prouduced by michelin, so they are bias. sbrguy is right ,tis all subjective to the ridder. Try a brand out and see how you like it. I would recommend trying a brand you familar with first. I personally have never tried any tire except for michys. The last 2 tires ive tried were Pilot powers, and i really liked them, so thats my basis for picking Pilot Road 2CTs. My only issue with powers are they die very very fast and my bike is a commuter, so its not worth it.

Good luck

go Michelin!

I think that the pilot powers are definitely better tires simply because they have the softer compound on the side but they are more expensive.  I think I'm going to go with the Pirelli Stradas.   Although the confidence and even wear from the softer side compound on the Rroad Pilots wold be nice,  from what I read the Stradas are plenty for a guy with my canyon cornering skills.  Heck I've never even done a track day in ages...pathetic. 

How much are you looking to spend, those Pilot Road 2CTs are pretty expensive. I looked at my CC bill and wondered why I was $500 in the hole when my personal cost of living is only about $200. Then i realize i bought the tire and some tools. lol

Tell me about it.   I actually found the Perillis for $241 for the set and the Michelins for $310.  I am going to get the Perillis because I can't afford the other ones. 

The Pilot Road tires can be had for $254.99

http://www.tireexpress.com/prod.cfm/cid/6701/pid/5815 (http://www.tireexpress.com/prod.cfm/cid/6701/pid/5815)


The Pilot Power for $10 more...

http://www.tireexpress.com/prod.cfm/cid/6706/pid/11537 (http://www.tireexpress.com/prod.cfm/cid/6706/pid/11537)

i think he is talking about hte road 2cts. they are $310 on SBTG. I wouldnt buy a tire from anywhere else but SBTG, love those guys and you cant beat the free shipping.

$299 on TireExpress

http://www.tireexpress.com/prod.cfm/cid/6706/pid/19298 (http://www.tireexpress.com/prod.cfm/cid/6706/pid/19298)

Free shipping and if you call them up, ask them if they can "drop ship" from their nearest wharehouse.  I've ordered tires from them for years and have gotten them shipped for free in as little as 2 days.

He Man, to each his own, if you are happy w/SBTG good for you.

This place is usually the cheapest.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/28/396/6229/ITEM/Pirelli-Diablo-Strada-Rear-Tire.aspx (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/28/396/6229/ITEM/Pirelli-Diablo-Strada-Rear-Tire.aspx)

Wow, that is cheap.  Are you sure they don't sell tires that are "expired" or really old?

Since I don't work for them I can't really say.  All I can say is that they are a reputable place, and all the tires I and my friends have ordered from them have worked out great.  They are a sub-division of Competition Accesories and focus on just tires.

http://www.compacc.com/ (http://www.compacc.com/)

If you have any doubts call them up and ask them - otherwise purchase from a place you trust.  No skin of my back eithe way...just passing along some cheaper options.  [thumbsup]

Good link!

If you want a bit more variety of answers, there's a Sticky posted at the top of the tech section all about tires.  Good info there with tire longevity, apparent stickiness, price, etc....

BT21's are great street tires and they are cheap. Front tire tread pattern is VERY loud. With all the racket my bike makes I can hear it much anyways.

Ended up getting the Pirelli Strada sport touring tire for the rear and wanted to run a regular tire up front since the front wears slower than the rear.  I just figured why not use the extra grip from the softer compound up front.  Is that a good idea?

Worked good when I did it on my S4.

What did you get up front?  Any recommendations?

I did a regular Diablo front, with a Diablo Strada rear.
No issues whatsoever on the street.

Also did a Diablo Corsa front with a regular Diablo rear.
Same concept, just a stickier pair.

Both sets worked fine

Just ordered the Diablo Rosso front. Came out to $98 including shipping.  For you bargain shoppers out there, just enter "10YEARANNIV" at checkout for an additional 10%!

Edit: http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/ (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/)

I was in cycle gear today and they recommended a sport touring front and regular rear.  But what you said above makes a lot more sense.  He also wanted to push me to a 180 rear.  I didn't leave with any tires.

I think that a sport touring tire would be the best for 95% of my riding.  I am planning on doing my first track day in the spring.  Should I just suck it up and get a tire to support the track day?  Or for a first track day, where I will probably be a big wuss, would a sport touring tire work?

Which bike?

When I read the review for the sport touring Pirelli Strada they said they took it to the track and they thought it was track worthy if you take it easy.  I personally would not do that because the lack of grip would mess with my confidence or lack there of.

'01 Monster 900


That is what I was thinking.  The extra confidence might worth it.   Will probably go with the Diablo Supersports

I've stuck a report on Bridgestone BT021s on the sticky thread. Condensed: lasted 13K km; Pilot Powers steer much better on S4Rs.

Sorry I came late to this thread but here is some input to consider. I do about 45K miles on my motorcycles per year, about 25K of that on the 3 Ducatis. The bulk of those miles are on the back roads, two lane, twisty stuff. I do about 5-8 track days a year. I have had Pilot Powers, Pilot 2CT, and Pilot Roads at one point or another on the M900 and the ST3, Powers only on the S2R1000(the bike i also use on the track). The dry grip of the Powers is addictive on any of my bikes, but I don't like them in the rain - period, the mileage sucks, and for the street we really do not need the extra grip they provide over the Pilot Road. The Pilot Road provides great wet grip, good mileage(as Much as 10K in the rear), and is more then adequate for tearing it up on the twisty's. I have Pilot Powers on the S2R simple because I don't ride it that much on the street but it is the bike I use for the track. I have also run a power on the front and a road in the rear on the M900 and ST3, they seem to work well together and you end up changing both out at the same time. The new Pilot Road II looks to be the best road solution currently and when I need to replace the tires on the M900 or the ST3 that is what I will be doing. - Gene