blackmax Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Its time to replace tires on my 97 I have Diablo Stradas front and rear now with about 7500 miles on them. The rear is worn to the wear bars and the front looks to have a thousand miles left in it. 50/50 highway commuting and winding two lanes and I ride no matter the weather or temp. I've used the search to check opinions, now just looking for some more current info. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanix Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I currently have Dunlop 208's on my Bird. Just did a run with a guest driving her, ran up the mountain with great grip. Came down with newly found confidence. After a little Red Bull and waiting for the worst of the rain to pass we saddled up and Chris took my Bird behind me as we ran ~80 into town in a heavy downpour as we tried to outrun the storm. I decided it was a little crazy, even for me, to continue and we stopped to quench our thirst and wait out the worst of the storm for an hour (the time to process a beer) before heading out again and running into the front of the storm again as we got back to base. Chris has ~6 months of experience and 1 time riding in the rain, so I took it easy on him. Absolutely no issues with grip, control or anything. Price is about average, and the Dunlops handle great on the Bird with no complaints from me or Chris. (I've been riding over 10 years). Chris now goes home with confidence in the design of the machine and trust in the tires. He thinks he has gained about a level and a half in experience. I know Dunlops cup( ), but these 208's are pretty good. Mileage is bleah, but the grip on twisties is where I want my money spent. I am thinking Michelins next, but I don't know if I am willing to move away from the confidence the 208's give me. Duc is on Bridgestone Battlax's and she handled equally well. Also, she did splendidly on them at the track. I would probably put either one on or try the Michelins with no worries either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I prefer the BT's over the Dunlpos. They seem to have better grip for me. I have yeet to hav the BT's in heavy rain where the Dunlpo's were not quite as confidence inspiring as some previous tires (Avons). I had heard good things about the BT's and am giving them a try.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beondwacko Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I've been on pilot roads for 12K miles and they are a great all round tire. Some more agressive riders may find fault with them in the serious twisties though. I have found them to be great in the rain with no traction issues ( with out doing something stupid of course ) and even with my rear tire abusive actions to be pretty long lasting. I mean like getting almost 7K miles out of it with a goog amount of drag racing thrown in. I've even cut a 1.67 60 foot time with the Pilot road at 38 psi of air and no burnout. They don't cup due to the tread design either. I'm a couple weeks away from going to the pilot road II's and I'm pretty excited about it. I look forward to a bit sharper and quicker steering with the II's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Avoid the BT016 like the plague... takes forever to warm up and it slips like baby snot until it does. Metzeler Z6 is what gave me most confidence on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuXXtin Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 A pair of BT-021 can be had for the best price at chaparral-racing.com right now, $126 + $97... I got free shipping as I ordered other items also so you may or may not depending if they have a tire "clause" on their free shipping offer. A stickier front combo is good with BT-021 rear and BT-014 up front... similar to the Z6/M1 combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPXX Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 PR2's hands down! Best tire I've had. YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmax Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 Thanks to all. I might go with the PR2's to quicken it up a little more. I've added a rear shock spacer but due to the round/flat spotted (rear) profile of the Stradas I didn't notice as much of a difference as I had expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff James Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Here's an Avon Storm evaluation for you! Cheers, Geoff Avon_Storm_End_of_Life_Evaluation.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R1000 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Its time to replace tires on my 97 I have Diablo Stradas front and rear now with about 7500 miles on them. The rear is worn to the wear bars and the front looks to have a thousand miles left in it. 50/50 highway commuting and winding two lanes and I ride no matter the weather or temp. I've used the search to check opinions, now just looking for some more current info. Thanks in advance. I'm running the Pilot Road II rear and a BT015 front. The Busa has BT015's but I had to replace the rear due to a puncture and the PR2 was the only acceptable available tyre at the local shop at the time. The PR2 rear works very well, I visited a track day yesterday and felt fully confident with the tyre combo that was well scrubbed in during the day. The PR2 is a light tyre that turns in very well. I think I will stay with the PR2 rear, it has dry grip enough on the Busa 08, and the best wet grip and longlivety of all sport touring tyres. The BT015 is a pure sport tyre, which is stock on e.g. GSX R1000 -07 and the Busa 08, but they wear too fast. The rear tyre was half worn after only 1000 miles and the front tyre is now down on 50% at 1500 miles. Such tyres would cause a far too high cost in the long run and is not needed even for inspired driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I am running the PPf & PR2r combo and like it a lot, have previously had a PPf & PRr combo and this is better grip when leaned over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R1000 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I am running the PPf & PR2r combo and like it a lot, have previously had a PPf & PRr combo and this is better grip when leaned over I will probably use the same combo as you later, since I've now discovered how real good the PR2 is on rear. I have a lot of confidence in the PP2CT as a front tyre, which I've been using for several years on a sport bike. How does it handle the heavy BB front, any signs of early cupping? How many miles do you get from the PPf? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I am running the PPf & PR2r combo and like it a lot, have previously had a PPf & PRr combo and this is better grip when leaned over I will probably use the same combo as you later, since I've now discovered how real good the PR2 is on rear. I have a lot of confidence in the PP2CT as a front tyre, which I've been using for several years on a sport bike. How does it handle the heavy BB front, any signs of early cupping? How many miles do you get from the PPf? I haven't used a PP2ct only the std PP as I figured from reading on several forums and looking at the Michelin site the sides may be too soft on the PP2ct for the rough roads combined with the XX's and my weight I have gotten ~13 000km out of a PP front before it was down to the wear bars, no early problems although I may have had some slight cupping from around 11 000km which got worse but didn't really cause any handling problems other than making it turn slower I got ~10 000km out of 2 old PR's before they flat spotted in the middle, the current PR2 has ~7000km and seems to be wearing on the sides more than the centre but should go to 10 000km at least :icon_think: There are a few guys on OzBB who like the PR2's on the front as well These are guys who hated the old PR's on the front and have run PP's on the front with PR rears :icon_think: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wockman Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 PR2's hands down! Best tire I've had. YMMV +1 !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R1000 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 ... There are a few guys on OzBB who like the PR2's on the front as well These are guys who hated the old PR's on the front and have run PP's on the front with PR rears :icon_think: Maybe the PR2 front is fine to then. I doubt that Michelin will sell a tyre combo where people are ditched by the front tyre. The question is more how i handles. I've seen reports where these tyres are claimed to be a bit nervous and guess this is due to the front tyre. The mileage you give for PP is good though and they should provide a better brake grip anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxtonpony Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 I've run Shinko Raven 009 rears and Raven 005 fronts for a few years. Good mileage tires, no complaints. They're cheap and everyone can eat crap and die in advance because I know the flames are about to start. I order both tires online for 130 shipped. Can't beat that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff James Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 To add to my evaluation of the Avon Storm posted in July, I've been testing the Avon Viper Sport on the front of the bike in combination with a Storm rear. This arose from a request by the NZ importer to test it on a heavier "hyperbike" which tends to push the front under hard cornering. The Viper Sport has an (almost) identical profile to the Storm and the same carcass construction. Tread pattern is a little different and it has a significantly softer compound. I was keen to try it out as some of my riding partners have sport bikes and when I'm really pushing in the twisties in an attempt to keep up, I've always been slightly nervous about washing out the front end, despite the Storms being a fantastic tyre. Winter in NZ has been unbelievably wet this year and I haven't done as much riding as normal so the attachment is an intermediate report to the importer and I'll do a final one at the end of the Viper life. I'll leave you guys to read the contents and draw your own conclusions. I've tried to be objective in my observations. It's fair to say however, that it's the grippiest tyre I've ever had in wet or dry and my confidence levels when pushing on grew enormously. The other side of the grip equation is a higher rate of wear and I'll be very interested to see whether my end of life estimate is a fair one. Given the cold conditions I've ridden in over winter, it may be that cold tearing might have skewed the results and now it's warm, that might have a different effect. Also, my "local" road is a bikers paradise with endless twisties and coarse chip. I'd imagine this would shorten tyre life too. Finally, I'm about to fit the Cogent Dynamics-supplied uprated suspension and am hopeful that this will have a positive impact too as the OEM suspension is stuffed. If I did trackdays, the Viper is definitely the tyre I'd have on the front. I'd be tempted to put one on the back too but hate to think how short the life would be. The more I think about it, the more complicated the whole thing becomes! anyway, hope you think it's a worthwhile post. Geoff Avon_Viper_Sport_tyre.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rider99XX Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I'm a huge fan of the Pilot Powers front and rear. Great for track days and pretty good life expectancy for everyday riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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