My bike came with Dunlops, but are nearing the point of replacement
I always liked Metezler

what do you guys run?

For the Bird the Avon 45/46 combo or the Pilot Roads are hard to beat for grip/mileage.

If you really push it or do track days you may want something stickier.

I like whatever comes off the trackbike!!!

Although, I will probably buy the Avons for next summers long haul out West.

MaXX

Metzeler- M1 up front, Z6 out back. The set is good for 6-7k, and they're done around the same time.

Hijack
Redbird, I was thinking of doing the same thing. I already have a good M1 up front and was going to use a Z6 out back. My local dealer has shown me a B model Z6 that is supposed to be for heavier bikes like the FJR1300.
Which one are you running...the B model is more expensive
Thanks
Porter

Porter... Metzeler and a bunch of locals advised me to not even bother with the "B" rear Z6... The first rear lasted about 6k miles and the current has about 4.5k miles on it so far... I might cahnge it out a little earlier as I have a set of Pilot Roads that I want to try. Oh and mounting the "B" Z6 is a ROYAL bitch!!! Did it on a friend's FJR...

I'm on my second set of D208's and finally fell victim to the cupping on the front. The first set wore great with no cupping at all. I've ridden the this set more aggressively and after 3200 miles the front started cupping. I'm looking for something as sticky as the 208 but of course without the cup and around the same price range. Got a set of Diablos to try. Anyone ever use these on the Bird? Any reccommendations on a good street/track tire with consistent feedback and predictability?

Best I have experienced on the Bird for street and a track day here and there is the Pilot Sport up front and the Pilot Road in the rear. The feedback & predictability was very good in my opinion. Happy trails kel

Best tire I have used in my years of experience(though I will admit, I haven't bought a tire in nearly 2 seasons) are Bridgestone BT010's. Great grip, good feel and moderately good mileage for a performance tire.

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 6:51 pm Post subject:

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I'm on my second set of D208's and finally fell victim to the cupping on the front. The first set wore great with no cupping at all. I've ridden the this set more aggressively and after 3200 miles the front started cupping. I'm looking for something as sticky as the 208 but of course without the cup and around the same price range. Got a set of Diablos to try. Anyone ever use these on the Bird?

when i first got my bird it had d208s, i found they were a very slippery tyre. replaced them with diablos and havent looked back, they havent let me down. so far ive got 5500 kms out of them so far, fronts got heaps left, rears only got another 1000 max. left in it, id rather have a sticky low mileage tyre than a slippery high mileage tyre

Except they cup like hell.

The Avon's & the Metzeler's don't cup, from what we've seen. On a big bike like the XX, the front tire is much more susceptible to cupping than a lighter sport bike.

Unless you are running the bike very hard, and traction is a constant issue for you, go with either Avon AV45/46 combo, Metz. Z6's or the Michelin Pilot Roads.

You can substitute the stickier front without much loss in mileage life if your riding style dictates it, as well.

Yea I was thinking of mixing, putting a sticky front with a higher mileage tire in back
hmm....

I don't know if they sell them in the USA, but there is a compromise between the Michelin Pilot Road and the Michelin Pilot Sport. It is called the Michelin Pilot Power. I have the Road version now, but some of my mates use the Power. They grip like the Sport, but have a much better mileage. All of them do 6000 up to 8000 miles with these....

I'm running the standard Z6, no B model here.

I'll toss in another recommendation for the Michelin Pilot Roads. I've only
got about 2000 on them, but so far, the wear rate looks good and they
stick well for a long wearing ST tire. A couple of friends I ride with ride
'busas and they are getting around 8000 out of the Roads. I've tried the
Pirelli Diablos, which gripped well, but wore out fast. My '03 came with
Macadam 90X, but I didn't like them much; poor grip, slow to warm up,
and wore out pretty fast.

Yep, Pilot Roads are very good ST tire, imho, and plan to stick with 'em till something better comes out/proven.

Replacement XX had virtually new M1s mounted, rear became toast in short order (hhhmmmm?), front has excellent tread/no cupping. I have new Roads in reserve (2 rears/1 front). I'm going to mate up a new Road rear w the M1 front too see how that goes.

If you balance your own tires, the Michelin Pilot Sport doesn't have a balance dot on the tire. In my mind, that would make it harder to balance.
I'm going to try the Bridgestone's new 014 but I don't put on high miles.

All these reviews, I was gonna say round......................

It should make it harder, and require more weight for a dealer also.

Is this true of the Road also?

Don't know as I only dealt with the sports.

No, the Road is marked.

Pirelli has a nw sport-touring tire coming out, but I fear it will be just like the Z6 that lasts for 4000mi under stress. If not, it looks really good.

FWIW,

I have a sport on the front and had the shop pull the weights, break it down and balance without wt. by spinning the rubber on the rim then balance for wts. and ended up dropping almost an ounce.

Interesting... My new Roads don't... So I emailed Michelin. Here's their response:

No, you are not missing anything. Michelin does not put mounting dots on
its motorcycle tires. The valve whole on motorcycle wheels has no
relationship to either high or low spot on the wheel and is not an indicator
of light or heavy. Therefore, a mounting dot is useless information.

If you have additional questions, please respond to this email or you may
call us at 1-800-847-3435 (toll-free) between 8:30AM and 6:00PM Eastern Time
Monday through Friday to allow one of our Consumer Relations Representatives
to assist you.

Michelin North America
Consumer Relations Department

(Please Do Not Delete the line below.)
Email ID: 1269031

That's weird.....
The mechanic in my workshop even pointed the markings out to me. Maybe they stopped doing it, or just do it in Europe?
Maybe my mechanic was mistaken, that could be....

I will check again in spring, when I have acces to the bike again.

Not if you take the time to find the heavy spot on your wheel before you mount the tire. He's right about the valve stem (whole?), but wheels do have heavy spots, so the dot is useful if you do it right (the way Peter showed me :) )

My vote is for the AV45/46.

True... But it's a moot point without the dots on the tires... :???:

I'm so glad Michelin's doing us a favor. :roll:

I've already found and marked my heaviest spot on both rims. Without a dot on the tire, that's a waste of time. :evil:

I'm so glad Michelin's doing us a favor. :roll:

I've already found and marked my heaviest spot on both rims. Without a dot on the tire, that's a waste of time. :evil:

I'll post up in favor of the 45/46 combo. Might try the 49/50 combo for shits and giggles next summer. Either way I'm gettin the stickier front on my bike and staying with AVON.

The point was Michelin's response concerning the dots is bullshit.

What about the weight of the valve stem? I thought that is why you put the lightest point of the tire to the valve stem.

That's what i thought too!!! :shock: But I guess I'm a dummy (that can at least spell) according to Michelin. So when I mount the tires, I assume I will have to take more time with the balancing.

Edited afer a conversation with Michelin USA...
I'm not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling from them or their website. Acording to the rep I spoke with... Michelin supplies a mounting dot on OEM tires ONLY if the manufacturer requests them?!?!?! And according to the Michelin USA website... The pressure for the Blackbird are as follows...
Fr - 3.5 bar/50.7 PSI
Rr - 5.5 bar/79.8 PSI
WTF? When the rep looked it up elsewhere (ie. somewhere where the public can't access), the recommended pressure was 2.9 bar/42 PSI...

I think I'll go back to Metzeler/Pirelli after these PRs... Better customer service...

MICHELIN PILOT ROAD !!! :)
I love them! also like the BT020, I SPORT tour on my bikes!!! so the a/n suit me perfectly for my type of riding!

I like my Avon 45/46's so far. I'll buy another set.

I am on my second set of road pilots...got just under 12k on the last set with some tread left...a nail ruined that streak but 12k aint nothing to sneeze at either...90% hiway miles by the way

[quote="MileHi"]And according to the Michelin USA website... The pressure for the Blackbird are as follows...
Fr - 3.5 bar/50.7 PSI
Rr - 5.5 bar/79.8 PSI
WTF? When the rep looked it up elsewhere (ie. somewhere where the public can't access), the recommended pressure was 2.9 bar/42 PSI...
[quote]
Yes, recomended pressure is 2.9 Bar, also for Michelins. I guess the French and the Americans don't communicate very well.

I think the whole they were talking about is the hole for the valve stem..... Must be with a funny French accent....
The tires are great, the French are a lot worse......

Just to elaborate, if you do your own mounting and ballancing, the valve stem isn't always the heaviest spot on the rim.

Remove your old tire and all old weights. Then ballance the bare rim. Mark the spot, it's permanent.

On both of my rims, it's not at the valve stem so now I need a lot less weight when I match the dot on the tire to the real heavy spot.

That is at least when there is a dot on the tire. :roll:

Pilot Roads

I will need to replace them at approximately 12,000 miles. Currently, they have just over 11,000 miles with around 2/32nds or tread remaining on the rear.

No experience in the twisties because I live in Southeastern Michigan. I just need very long wear and good grip on dry or wet roads.

Dunlop D208's are the best rubber I've ever had... very sticky, very predictable. I dont care if they wear out fast, I want performance. I should get 5k out of them.

Take it easy on him guys. He is new here. :grin:

Bridgestone BT 020 the last 2 tire change intervals, Front cups real quick if your not vigilant on your tire pressures but overall I give them an ok.

When it comes to balancing, you don't really need the dot on the tires -- in my experience it's not always right anyway.

If you're seriously anal about it, you strip the old tire off down to the bare rim (with valve stem) and balance the wheel to find the heavy spot. Next, use weights to correct this imbalance, and then install the new tire. You can now determine the heavy spot on the tire. Remove the tire and the weights, and install the heavy spot on the tire opposite the heavy spot on the rim and then rebalance.

I, myself, do not do this, having neither the skill nor the equipment, but I worked with my tire guy for my car doing this, and I needed less than 2 oz per wheel when I was done.

Oh, and finding someplace that will spin-balance to higher than 60mph is nice, too, but also harder than you'd think.

I've got to agree with you about being sticky and predictable. Like I posted earlier in this thread my front finally cupped(mild) on my second set. My first set didn't. Was running the same pressures on both sets. After speaking with some of the guys at the local Honda shop and local track riders I found that I was running way too much pressure for my riding style 38f 40r summer, 34f, 36r winter. I dropped them to 28f 30r this weekend as recommended and what a difference. Definitely more stable at hard lean and instead of spinning up the rear on exit it would bite hard and the front end would rise. Now, if I can only convince the Warden of the need for an Ohlins and Racetech or Traxxion worked forks. Sorry if I've missed this in another post but has anyone done this combo and if so how big a difference to expect?

how abt pirelli diablo? :?:

Those are going on the bird in the Spring. I'll post a report on 'em after a track day and some Deal's Gap runs.