okey dokey let's talk tires...

[2and3cylinders]

1 hour ago, Suzukiguy said:

I just ordered a set of Shinko Verge X2 for my bike to try. I know they will not be comparable to the major brands as far as mileage, but I do my own tire changes, and for $262 for the set I figured why not???

I run Shinkos' on my vintage bike just because I like new, fresh rubber, as I only ride it about 4K miles per year, and the Shinkos' last that long, giving me new tires every season.

I will be doing some aggressive "following" in about 3 weeks in southern Indiana, and we shall see how they perform on a Tracer.

My last set of T32 were $267 shipped less $50 rebate.  😁

[mikerbiker]

I just got the Road 5's.  First time trying them, havent even turned a wheel yet other than on the stands.  Got 7500 miles on my OEM Dunlops and 7800 w Metzeler Sportec M7.  Road 5s are significantly more expensive than both.  6's would've been even more $$ so I passed.  Hope I like them!

 

[Suzukiguy]

33 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

My last set of T32 were $267 shipped less $50 rebate.  😁

 

Just now, Suzukiguy said:

Cheapest I found them was $310 per set.

 

[Wintersdark]

11 hours ago, Suzukiguy said:

I just ordered a set of Shinko Verge X2 for my bike to try. I know they will not be comparable to the major brands as far as mileage, but I do my own tire changes, and for $262 for the set I figured why not???

I run Shinkos' on my vintage bike just because I like new, fresh rubber, as I only ride it about 4K miles per year, and the Shinkos' last that long, giving me new tires every season.

I will be doing some aggressive "following" in about 3 weeks in southern Indiana, and we shall see how they perform on a Tracer.

People dis shinkos all the time, but they're a really solid dual sport and adv tire.  I've never run them on a 100% street bike, but I admit I'm curious. 

Id expect shorter mileage but decent enough performance.

Abd that's something I feel bears highlighting: we all have tires we like and those we don't, but modern motorcycle tires are a bloody marvel and I'd argue few people ever push *any* tire anywhere near it's capabilities.  Basically any major manufacturer's tires should be reasonably decent, with allowances for different ideal temperatures, road surfaces, etc.  

I mean, I absolutely *hate* the stock Dunlop's that come on the Tracer.  I hate them because below freezing they feel like PVC tubes with hilariously little grip.  Also, I really dislike how Dunlop's feel while cornering - not that they're bad, I just don't like how they feel.  But they're a perfectly good tire if you don't ride when it's below freezing, and either don't mind how they feel or even (*shudder*) like it.

 

[betoney]

3 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

People dis shinkos all the time, but they're a really solid dual sport and adv tire.  I've never run them on a 100% street bike, but I admit I'm curious. 

Id expect shorter mileage but decent enough performance.

Abd that's something I feel bears highlighting: we all have tires we like and those we don't, but modern motorcycle tires are a bloody marvel and I'd argue few people ever push *any* tire anywhere near it's capabilities.  Basically any major manufacturer's tires should be reasonably decent, with allowances for different ideal temperatures, road surfaces, etc.

I agree with this, most modern tires are pretty amazing and will outperform 'most' riders capabilities.  I have used most brands except Metzler and Avon but am willing to give them a try. 

I tried Shinko once and the performance was fine but I got less than half the tread life compared to other brands. 

[OZVFR]

I had Dunlop Roadsmart, and hated them, too hard and after 50% wear felt terrible, then went for a couple of sets of Metzeler Z8's, a great tyre which felt very neutral and did everything right.

I then discovered Rosso III's and loved them, 6 sets later on 3 different bikes and still love the way they tip in and feed back they give, always wore out the sides before the centre. But after destroying 3 of them on rough dirt roads (very soft carcass) I decided to try something else.

I now have Metzeler 01's, So far so good, a very neutral tyre that feels great even when pushed with full luggage.

I use 32/38 pressure as I find the recommended pressure for the FJ too high for a relatively light bike that doesn't place enough weight on the front tyre.

[Wintersdark]

9 hours ago, betoney said:

I agree with this, most modern tires are pretty amazing and will outperform 'most' riders capabilities.  I have used most brands except Metzler and Avon but am willing to give them a try. 

I used to run Avon's exclusively back quite a few years (when they were more commonly available here) and never had a problem with them, where always good tires.  Mind you, that was with older 80's bikes, and Avon's had more weird sizes than other brands, which was a factor.  These days, it's SUPER rare to see Avons on store shelves, and though you can order them online I've never seen them used on anything other than cruisers.  I'm kind of curious, but I REALLY like my Road's now, so while I'm up for trying new tires I kind of want some strong recommendations before shelling out $$ to try them.

I've never run or even seen a Metzler in the flesh - they're even less common here. 

Quote

I tried Shinko once and the performance was fine but I got less than half the tread life compared to other brands. 

Yeah, that's a pretty common response.  It's what stops me from trying them personally as even though I'm changing all my own tires now, I'd rather not have to do it more than once or twice a year per bike.  It's a lot of work and hassle.  If you're NOT changing your own tires, then it bears considering tire change cost in the miles per dollar consideration, and that often wrecks low-mileage tires if value is a concern.

[Larz]

Could there be a more subjective aspect to motorcycling than tires ? Perhaps oil, or color of bike, maybe seats or exhaust....

At the moment I'm quite pleased with the Road 6, feels good pushing the bike in the twistys and the smoothest tire I've run on the Tracer at triple+ digit speeds.  Pricey but will be worth it if I can get a full season out the rear- with three bikes to ride that's around 6k for the Tracer ( I have no clue how folks milk 10k+ out of a rear tire on any kind of motorcycle🙃) 

[peteinpa]

Agreed. Im lucky to get 5k miles out of ANY rear tire on ANY bike.

I don't even get 10k miles on fronts.

[texscottyd]

1 hour ago, peteinpa said:

I don't even get 10k miles on fronts.

What????  You don’t always replace your tires in matched pairs??    

How do you sleep at night???  😉

[Ride365]

I am still loving the Michelin Pilot road 4's, hands down the finest riding and handling tire I have ever had on a motorcycle I have owned. I will continue to buy them if available, just don't see how the 5 or 6 can be any better than the 4.

[Wintersdark]

2 hours ago, Ride365 said:

I am still loving the Michelin Pilot road 4's, hands down the finest riding and handling tire I have ever had on a motorcycle I have owned. I will continue to buy them if available, just don't see how the 5 or 6 can be any better than the 4.

I loved my 4's as well - two sets of those used.  The 5's where largely the same (though they looked cooler), but the 6's have a much better front tire.  It's a noticeable difference in the twisties; the front feels much tighter and more responsive. Supposedly much improved wet grip, but to be honest the 4's had such good wet grip that more is a welcome safety thing I suppose but doesn't really make that much difference to me as I ride much more sedately in the rain as a rule of thumb.

[Larz]

2 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

I loved my 4's as well - two sets of those used.  The 5's where largely the same (though they looked cooler), but the 6's have a much better front tire.  It's a noticeable difference in the twisties; the front feels much tighter and more responsive. Supposedly much improved wet grip, but to be honest the 4's had such good wet grip that more is a welcome safety thing I suppose but doesn't really make that much difference to me as I ride much more sedately in the rain as a rule of thumb.

Better stiffer carcass on the front 6 , eh? That would explain the excellent manners the tire exhibits at 100+ mph speeds; you really need a stout sidewall to smooth things out up in that range. doesn't take much flexing to make the bike feel "flighty" . Attribute the poor high speed performance of the Bridgestones  I had on to a minor carcass defect.....

[trevinator]

i once tried a set of pilot road 4 tires on my versys. neither of them were round. the bike was literally hopping down the road. i loved the grip they had right from the get go, but i returned them because the ride was so terrible. when i had the bike off the ground and spun the tires, you could visibly see the tire was out of round. maybe i just had a bad set, but it put a bad taste in my mouth for michelin tires. i then bought a set of dunlop roadsmart 2 for that bike and rode them till they wore out. they didnt have anywhere near the grip of the pr4's, but they were round! just today i put the matching front metzler roadtec 1 tire on my fj. i dont have any complaints about them.

[Eventhorizon]

So I have ridden my bikes (DL650 and SV650) with Road 5s, S21, ContiTrailAttack 3, various bridgestone battlax tires and honestly I'm trying to hate these T32's that came with my Tracer 9 gt but I just cant. I had a thing against Bridgestone for motorcycle tires for a while.

These T32's are surprisingly good overall tires. Unless your one of those nuts flying down the road at 100 MPH in the rain there is no reason not to give them a serious look. Take this from a nut that rides 85 in the rain on the highway.

Compared to the road 5s I feel that they are right there with grip in the rain and dry, maybe road 5 a little better. I feel that tracking in corners is a little better with the T32s than the road 5's especially after some highway use where a little squaring off on the road 5's cause a little bit of wandering in the corners. I get a little bit of a "rumble" from the road 5s large water channels when cornering that I dont get with the T32's. Wear is about the same for both, but it seems that the road 5 is squaring off a little more with highway riding.

I dont know how the improvements with the road 6 are now.

When these die out I might just plop another set of T32s on the bike, or go with maybe Dunlop SportMax RoadSmart 4s.

I am honestly pleasantly surprised that I can throw the bike around with these T32 tires, the tires that I'm still trying to hate but I cant.