Non-Rain Tire

[kilo3]

Thus far on my non cruiser motorcycle experience, I've changed 3 sets of tires on my bike. Road 5's and I get about 6k out of them. I really have no complaints.

I would like try a "better" tire? Maybe more sport than touring.

I have zero interest in a tire for rain or wet conditions, frankly I don't find pleasure in it.  However every sport touring blend always brags about the wet weather handling conditions.

So is there a non rain version of a sport touring tire that I can get 5k out out of and inexchange for poor wet performance I get better fair weather grip?

Maybe that's not a thing?

[OZVFR]

You won’t get dry only performance tyre that gets 5k mile life. 

I use Rosso III’s on mine, excellent dry weather grip, ok in the rain and get around 6500km’s  (4000m) out of the rear. 

They have a more rounded profile that makes tip in faster than a touring type tyre. 

[Xstoff]

You should look for sport tire in that case...

I was conflicted between a sport tire (BT23) and touring(T32), went for the touring one.

You can even go for hypersport like the Rosso 3 suggested by OZVFR.

[betoney]

16 hours ago, kilo3 said:

Thus far on my non cruiser motorcycle experience, I've changed 3 sets of tires on my bike. Road 5's and I get about 6k out of them. I really have no complaints.

I would like try a "better" tire? Maybe more sport than touring.

I have zero interest in a tire for rain or wet conditions, frankly I don't find pleasure in it.  However every sport touring blend always brags about the wet weather handling conditions.

So is there a non rain version of a sport touring tire that I can get 5k out out of and inexchange for poor wet performance I get better fair weather grip?

Maybe that's not a thing?

 

13 minutes ago, Xstoff said:

You should look for sport tire in that case...

I was conflicted between a sport tire (BT23) and touring(T32), went for the touring one.

You can even go for hypersport like the Rosso 3 suggested by OZVFR.

I have two rear wheels, one with a sport tire and the other with a sport touring tire so I always have a fresh tire available for road trips, easy enough to swap back and forth in a few minutes.  I currently prefer Bridgestone and have used the Sport S20, S21 and S22 as well as Sport Touring T31 and T32. 

Honestly I don't find a big difference between them, (I'm not a good enough rider to push them to their absolute limits) I don't change my riding style or riding conditions for either tire type.  I have used the ST tires for sport riding in the mountains and canyons and used the sport tires for week long road trips and vice-versa. 

Sport touring tires are so good these days, if I had to use only one, I would have no problem using them as a do it all tire, I know a few guys who have used them on a track day - not racing of course but smooth, high speed riding. 

I don't purposely ride in the rain but have been caught in a downpour and have not had any sketchy incidents using a sport tire, however if I was a commuter and needed a tire for year-round riding, modern sport touring tires are more than capable.

[duhg]

I got over 4k miles out of a Shinko 003 Stealth rear tire ...ON MY BMW R1200GS.  It was the only tire in the area around Sparta, NC that would fit after I tore up the rear on an eye bolt during Memorial Day weekend.  I rode that tire to South Dakota and did a couple of hundred miles of gravel roads with it, rode it home and rode it until it was nearly bald.  I think I could have squeezed a couple of additional rides out of it.  It felt like a normal tire back there - no issues.

 

[maximo]

If you look on youtube at videos of people going around the track in sport touring tires, you'd see that the vast majority of us don't come close to using the amount of traction these tires have. They're nothing short of magical. 

[OZVFR]

^ I totally agree.

Even skinny adventure tyres are amazing these days.

My mate with a 1200 Explorer that weighs a shit load and only has a 150 section rear tyre often carves up groups of sport bike riders with the latest and bestest.

Even fully loaded with 6 days worth of camping gear and food we round up these groups once the road tightens up.

The trick is being smooth, setting your suspension to the best it can achieve, adapting to how your own bike responds and buying a quality tyre.

[PhotoAl]

On the street never a good idea to push tires to the limit.  From what I know about sport touring tires, specifically the Michelin Road 5, they do well enough to do track days on with no issues unless you are in the advanced group.  The problem they have is heat buildup causing the tires to become "greasy".  I ran the predecessors on my 2012 CBR600RR with no issues but was banned from the track by the Mrs but for the street they were just fine.  On my 2014 ZX6R 636 I ran the Bridgestone S20 and 21s.  It got better than 4,000 miles out of the rear but not a lot more.  I never run my tires low since I ride in all weather conditions.  The S21 did well in a horrendous downpour so no complaints about traction.  Currently running Michelin Power 5 front which sticks well.  It is a hyper sport tire and matches well with the Road 5 rear.  Last trip out west had a few days of nice mountain roads and they did very nicely.  Actually got quite a bit of wear on the sides. Currently at near 7,000 miles with a good amount of tread left.  Front is scalloping but seems like they all do that.

Sport touring tires tend to warm up quickly while some of the more performance oriented sport tires can take longer to warm up and are not as good in low temperatures.  

I'm somewhat surprised the OP is only getting 5,000 miles out of a Road 5.  Are you wearing the sides out?

[Sunde]

My 5 cents
Sport touring but with an emphasis on sport - Pirilli Angle GT 2 (loved it on my GSX-S1000) - Personally i'd choose the T32s however.
Pure street sport, cant go wrong with S22's, some people swear by Diable Rosso tires aswell, Metzler M9RR also comes to mind.
 
 

[maximo]

2 hours ago, Sunde said:

My 5 cents
Sport touring but with an emphasis on sport - Pirilli Angle GT 2 (loved it on my GSX-S1000) - Personally i'd choose the T32s however.
Pure street sport, cant go wrong with S22's, some people swear by Diable Rosso tires aswell, Metzler M9RR also comes to mind.
 
 

If the OP is only getting 6K out of PR5, that means he's pushing it quite a bit. Under those conditions, any of the fantastic tires you mention will probably not get more than 2K.  He was looking to get up to 5K.  

[johnmark101]

Sport tires offer incredible levels of grip and improved handling over sport touring tires.  However to access the level of performance they offer on the street means taking some serious risks.  To tell the truth, modern sport touring tires offer all the performance you need for corner carving on public roads.

I have 20 years of street riding plus a few years of track experience.  If you really want to see how you like a good sport tire, the Pirelli Rosso Corsa 2 is as good as it gets.  More than just loads of grip, they also provide a better level of feel and feedback.  The front tire inspires a ton of confidence on corner entry and the rear allows you to get back on the throttle earlier and get great drive off the corner.  My second choice would be the Dunlop Q3 Plus which is less expensive and probably the best bang for the buck in a sport tire.  If ridden hard, neither will last beyond 2000 miles.  You might get more from the front but the rear will be toast.

Personally, I would stick with a sport touring tire for the mileage, and versatility.  Any of the major brands will work just fine.

Edited February 7, 2022 by johnmark101

[kilo3]

Alright, guess what I want doesn't exist.  🤔Ordered a set of road 6's.

Thanks for the info.

[Wintersdark]

On 1/28/2022 at 1:52 PM, maximo said:

If you look on youtube at videos of people going around the track in sport touring tires, you'd see that the vast majority of us don't come close to using the amount of traction these tires have. They're nothing short of magical. 

On 1/28/2022 at 5:13 PM, PhotoAl said:

On the street never a good idea to push tires to the limit.  From what I know about sport touring tires, specifically the Michelin Road 5, they do well enough to do track days on with no issues unless you are in the advanced group.  The problem they have is heat buildup causing the tires to become "greasy".  I ran the predecessors on my 2012 CBR600RR with no issues but was banned from the track by the Mrs but for the street they were just fine.  On my 2014 ZX6R 636 I ran the Bridgestone S20 and 21s.  It got better than 4,000 miles out of the rear but not a lot more.  I never run my tires low since I ride in all weather conditions.  The S21 did well in a horrendous downpour so no complaints about traction.  Currently running Michelin Power 5 front which sticks well.  It is a hyper sport tire and matches well with the Road 5 rear.  Last trip out west had a few days of nice mountain roads and they did very nicely.  Actually got quite a bit of wear on the sides. Currently at near 7,000 miles with a good amount of tread left.  Front is scalloping but seems like they all do that.

Sport touring tires tend to warm up quickly while some of the more performance oriented sport tires can take longer to warm up and are not as good in low temperatures.  

I'm somewhat surprised the OP is only getting 5,000 miles out of a Road 5.  Are you wearing the sides out?

Yeah, really, even as someone who rides way too fast on the street, modern Sport Touring tires are pretty extreme.  Not only have I not hit the limits of Road 5's (within the limit of my climate; it may be different in the south) but even railing through winding mountain roads with hard braking and acceleration through every corner and routinely above 200kph between them, they're sticking just fine.  For me, I'm getting around 10-12k km per set, and at that point I'm taking them off with half the tread remaining but pretty severe cupping front and rear.  Still a lot of tire left there, though, and someone riding within reasonable limits would get a few thousand more kms out of them. Riding more responsibly and not getting picky about them, I can easily get 15k from a set. 

To each their own, of course, and I make no claim to being the greatest rider (learning dirt riding, in fact, has been a pretty big ego check!) but yeah.  Again within the context of my environment regarding temperatures and road surfaces - I've literally never met anyone who rides on the street anywhere near the limits of a Road 5. 

But all that said, reports here have shown that in the warmer states, and with the weirdly abrasive roads some places have, people don't get anywhere near the mileage I do out of them. 

I do wonder if more sport biased tires won't cup as much under constant heavy acceleration and braking, however.  I could lose some "official" mileage if I could use more of the Sport tires.