Tyres, tyres, tyres

[bazz20]

Gah, you're right of course, I got that arse about...

"2 or 3 rears for every front" is what I _meant_ to type...

big (I notice Mick picked up on exactly what I meant, instaed of what I said, perhaps we're drinking the same beer at the moment?  )

you need to get over here for a holiday only get 2500 kays out of the front and the sides are past wear limiters

[dragonworld.]

I recently needed to replace my rear Pilot Power and talked to the bloke I usually see here in Frankston, and he suggested I try one of the dual compound Pilot Powers! (A fair whack of commuting  )

I queried him about the edge compound and he said it was as grippy as the Pilot "R" tyres.

"Ok" sez I, "go ahead!"

Well a month or so down the track and I've had the back end step out on me 3 or 4 times powering out of roundabouts/corners and, when going to work on Saturday morning nearly went arse up going around a roundabout a lowish speed. 

To be fair, on Saturday it had been showering and with the roads being filthy with not having any moisture on them for quite a while it was probably an extenuating reason for the episode.

But I wont be using the Pilot dual compound again, might get the mileage but not the grip I like.

Maybe the Bridgestones next time, heard lots of good things about them.

[CairnsDuc]

I have the Bridgestone BT016 front and rear, the front has 8000 k's on it and still looks like brand new, the rear has also got 8000k on it and it is probably only got another 1000 to 2000k's left, grip has been awesome, well beyond what I can ever use, And considering they are not recommended for wet weather use, they do stick surprisingly well in the wet, and when they have let go I have always found them to be very predictable.

I commute mainly on my S2R, but as soon as I start working for the local Ducati dealer, the S2R will become a weekend warrior, but everything I have thrown at these tyres, it has just gripped and gone. very impressed!
 
Very happy with the tyres, as soon as this rear is rooted, another 016 is going on in it's place.

[dragonworld.]

If I had the Pesos this Pilot would be off NOW!!

Yep , those bridgestones have a good reputation. 

Dont think I've heard a bad word about them except maybe "expensive". 

[bazz20]

I recently needed to replace my rear Pilot Power and talked to the bloke I usually see here in Frankston, and he suggested I try one of the dual compound Pilot Powers! (A fair whack of commuting  )

I queried him about the edge compound and he said it was as grippy as the Pilot "R" tyres.

"Ok" sez I, "go ahead!"

Well a month or so down the track and I've had the back end step out on me 3 or 4 times powering out of roundabouts/corners and, when going to work on Saturday morning nearly went arse up going around a roundabout a lowish speed. 

To be fair, on Saturday it had been showering and with the roads being filthy with not having any moisture on them for quite a while it was probably an extenuating reason for the episode.

But I wont be using the Pilot dual compound again, might get the mileage but not the grip I like.

Maybe the Bridgestones next time, heard lots of good things about them.

yep that seams to be the prob with pp 2cts they take a while to warm up a few around here have tried them and all have gone back to the standard pp,s and if your on the side off your tyre alot they wear quicker cheers bazz

[dragonworld.]

Heh, anyone want to buy a tyre?? ..........................................................Anyone??

Geeez its quiet out there.

[Desmostro]

here's my 2 cents:

Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pro  - Just put 6,000miles (9,656 k) on them. The rear is pretty bald. The front is ok, but showing a little wear.

I love them. But they are a little spendy.
By far the stickiest tires I've ever ridden hands down. They heat up and get sticky fairly instantly, (just a couple of stops gets them warm.)
I haven't taken them out in the rain much because it's been the worst drought in California history - but they seem pretty good in the wet too.

Going for the Pirelli Corsa III next.

Second choice:
Mezler M3 + 1 excellent tires, wet or dry. When they warm up, they are very confident.

Dunlop - worst tires I've ever ridden on the street. They never got warm enough around here.

[dragonworld.]

Ditto on the Dunlops. !! 

Only good for laying around a Rose bush. 

[MonsterDorf]

OK against my better judgment, I fitted my Monster with a Pilot Road 2CT on the rear (Pirelli Diablo still on the front).

I did this to ride in the "Long Ride" a couple of months ago.

Well I couldn't be happier. Great wear and grip. To my delight I chased Bevan from EuroTwins around Mt Lindsay on the weekend and didn't see hide nor hair of the rest of the pack until well after we stopped for a leak. Later in the day we headed back towards Brissy via Hinze Dam in quite wet and wild weather and I've gotta say I that it performed exceptionally well; again keeping Bevan honest whilst the pack followed at some distance 

Fun day out - pitty none of the Brissy Monsteristas could make it 

[heatherp]

Knew I'd be up for new tyres soon.  Checked the rear after the WSBK run and it looked okay.  Looked at it after riding 100kms to Port Fairy and it had a groove round the middle.  Looked at it 100kms later when I got home and I can see metal showing through!!!!!!!!  Must be all that pasta I ate at Phillip Island 

This rear tyre was the Pirelli Diablo Rosso and I liked it from day one.  Nice and grippy.  Ridden in the rain heaps with no problems.  But only got 7000kms out of it.  Front is a corsa 3 and got 13000kms out of it.  No complaints about this tyre either apart from mileage. 

So next up I'm trying Bridgestones BT014/BT020 front/rear.  Still trying to get 10k and 20k out of the rear/front.  Maybe this time.

[goldFiSh]

Knew I'd be up for new tyres soon.  Checked the rear after the WSBK run and it looked okay.  Looked at it after riding 100kms to Port Fairy and it had a groove round the middle.  Looked at it 100kms later when I got home and I can see metal showing through!!!!!!!!  Must be all that pasta I ate at Phillip Island 

After the return trip, my rear tyre is also done. It was an a std pilot road, and I've got a pretty new pilot power on the front.

I think I'll put a std pilot power on the back this time, and next complete swap might try something different, like the 'stones.

What are peoples thoughts on different manufacturers on the front / rear? Any issues?

[dragonworld.]

For road use I prefer to stick to a "matched pair" of the same manufacturer.

I learnt the hard way about mixing tyres, K81 Dunlop on the front of my Bonneville with a K83 on the back and got sat on my arse PDQ! 

Not so grippy, lower performance rear tyre just couldnt keep up with the front higher spec one.

Expensive lesson learnt.

[loony888]

For road use I prefer to stick to a "matched pair" of the same manufacturer.

I learnt the hard way about mixing tyres, K81 Dunlop on the front of my Bonneville with a K83 on the back and got sat on my arse PDQ! 

Not so grippy, lower performance rear tyre just couldnt keep up with the front higher spec one.

Expensive lesson learnt.

yeah but nobody uses cross plys anymore.......................











paul.

[ducmeister]

OK, so I come home after a month touring the wilds of outback Queensland to find that the back tyre on the 'meister monster is as flat as Sturt's Stony Desert.     I pump it up again but find that it has a bit of wire stuck in it so will need repairing.  I ring the local bike shop and he says "yeah, no worries.  Bring it down" so I ride on down and after waiting half an hour for him to come back from breakfast he gives me the "It's nearly down to the wear indicators so it's not economical to repair and by the way the front is illegal too because it has uneven wear so how about you buy these great new Dunlop Qualifiers, they're only about $600 a set" spiel.  Do I have "sucker" written across my forehead or what?
So I've come home to consult with my highly knowledgeable tyre testing friends at Oz Monsters.

My questions are these:

Is a front tyre deemed illegal just because the tread grooves are rounded on one edge and picked up on the other?

If and when I do eventually need tyres it sounds like Pirellis or Michelins are the go.  Where should I be going to get these in Melbourne?

Coming home to go back to work sux but coming back to the DMF is just fine!

Cheers,
Rob.

[MonsterDorf]

My son runs Qualifiers on his bike and he swears by them (in a good way).

The only thing is that they seem to be wearing a bit quicker than he'd like.

For my next set of tyres I'll definitely be going back to Pirelli, most likely PIRELLI DIABLO ROSSO.

Personal choice but I like the turn in I get with a Pirelli front.