Bernard Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 58 minutes ago, Eventhorizon said: 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. While I don't 'hate' these tires I've just never been fond of of BattleAx's.. It wasn't until I got PR3's that I felt a certain sense of confidence regardless of the road conditions. Earlier tonight I had a 'speed wobble' from traction loss after going over some rough patch in the rain. This was on the stock T32's and TCS kicked in for a few milliseconds but it sure made my butthole pucker. Gopro naturally doesn't do it the full justice: Settings were Drive Mode 1, SCS and TCS at 2, LIF 1, A-1 suspension. Again, not the end of the world but I don't think I would have experienced this rapid oscillation on my FZ6 with PR5's attached and no safety aids. I have a spare set of PR5's from my FZ6 I will likely mount up after a trip to the Dragon+Florida coastal ride soon. Curious to see if they end up inspiring more confidence or end up even worse, will keep you all posted. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventhorizon Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 10:03 PM, Bernard said: That was a bit more than just a rough patch.. that was a gouge in the road I think. I puckered up for that because I have done that before with another bike. Quick diversion of conversation, how do you like that 180 deg mirror? I was thinking of getting one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted May 26, 2022 Supporting Member Share Posted May 26, 2022 7 minutes ago, Eventhorizon said: That was a bit more than just a rough patch.. that was a gouge in the road I think. I puckered up for that because I have done that before with another bike. Agreed, that wasn't just a "rough patch", the tires cant be blamed for hitting that broken pavement. 3 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventhorizon Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 On 2/27/2022 at 12:53 AM, Larz said: Cuz I need some new rubber, and that sounds far more appealing then talking WWIII, eh. So don't bother mentioning Battleax, meh... yeah they were bargain bin units from cycle gear, but no, me no like, nor the OEM Dunflops; ran Conti Road Attack 3, decent but rear wore out real fast. What ya all like for good grip and decent mileage? @Larz so as you see this is a big topic and you are going to get a lot of opinions and thoughts on what is great and what is not great (even from my self a couple of posts before). The good thing is that in his modern day and age that any tire from any major manufacture will offer a good tire at a decent mid level price. Stay away from the cheap ones and you really dont need the most expensive ones (unless you really want them I'm not going to tell you how to spend your money 😁). What is unique and custom to you is the "personality" of the tire and how your ride and what you expect.. Personality is how fast the tire wants to make the bike fall into the corner, is it neutral or do you need to keep pressure on the bars to maintain the intended path, does the bike want to stand up or slide down when on the throttle in a corner, straight line braking and is it neutral or does it make the bike want to wander during hard braking, lines in the road and how much the tire wants to lock in and follow lines (like road milling lines) What is your riding style. For instance mine is spirited back roads for the weekend, but there is lots of daily highway riding to the office that is rain or shine (dont matter) so what works for me may not work for you. Sadly your going to need to read lot of boring reviews, and wonder if you got the best tire for you and your bike. You wont know unless you try them all. The good is that any tire with Silica (lots of brands have it) will offer very good grip in dry and the rain. For longevity well, while it has improved in the years there still is a decision to be made about the slider between longevity and grip. Slide one way or the other or somewhere in the middle. It has gotten better but a decision needs to be made. I'm not sure if it helps but lots of manufactures have put out a GT version of the tire for heaver bikes for longer wear. I dont know how this affects grip on say if you put this on a lighter bike. With so many good choices out there you really cant go wrong, but you will wonder if you got the "best" for you. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintersdark Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 I asked Michelin's customer service directly about their GT tires, and was told they're just stronger (reinforced) carcasses but the rubber is identical. They're just designed to support the weight of a larger, heavier bike, but they offer the same grip and longevity. Haven't bothered with anyone else though (was inquiring re: Road 5 vs Road 5 GT) [quote]The good is that any tire with Silica (lots of brands have it) will offer very good grip in dry and the rain.[/quote] Absolutely this. Silica makes a huge difference. It's not just rain, though; you'll get noticably better traction on ice and snow as well - I've got really extensive experience here. Now, you may never choose to ride on ice, but it can happen. Just another factor to consider if you ride more around "edge" seasons, or over wide altitude ranges. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted May 26, 2022 Supporting Member Share Posted May 26, 2022 43 minutes ago, Wintersdark said: I asked Michelin's customer service directly about their GT tires, and was told they're just stronger (reinforced) carcasses but the rubber is identical. They're just designed to support the weight of a larger, heavier bike, but they offer the same grip and longevity. Correct, the GT (some brands call them A-spec) tires are just a stiffer carcass compared to their standard tire. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 3 hours ago, Eventhorizon said: That was a bit more than just a rough patch.. that was a gouge in the road I think. I puckered up for that because I have done that before with another bike. Quick diversion of conversation, how do you like that 180 deg mirror? I was thinking of getting one The Riderscan mirror works pretty well for what it is and really helps keep me aware of surroundings a tad more since things seem to pop up out of nowhere. I like to think it has 'saved' me from vehicles abruptly coming into my lane a few occasions but it has been a few years since I was last actively using it. Decided to finish up an old project to mount it on a ram mount and onto the Tracer it went. Takes a bit of getting accustomed to the angles but you could 'almost' feel comfortable not doing a head check with every lane change. I guarantee many will not be happy with it but sticking with it and learning how to use it can really make a commute a bit easier and somewhat safer feeling. I think I bought mine some ~10 years ago because of watching the dozens of Roadcraft Nottingham videos. And agree on it being a bit more than a rough patch but these abnormalities seem to be the norm near Philly, PA. Between the potholes and random debris (e.g. midsize couch) in the road, there just always seems to be something to be on the lookout for... I still like to blame the tires because I don't like to admit my vision is getting worse, 🤪. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldBikers Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 I just finished a ride of almost 500 miles in heavy rain and to be honest the OEM T32s felt as sure footed as the Michelin Road 5s I had on my FZ01. I wouldn't hesitate getting a new set of T32 when these wear out (I have 6K miles on them now and they look like they have much more life left in them). 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteinpa Posted May 27, 2022 Share Posted May 27, 2022 Jeez! that's an earthquake crevice or sinkhole! I'm going to Philly (begrudgingly) tomorrow, I better take a tank. Cant blame the tires for that one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 5:57 PM, Eventhorizon said: ........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...... yeah i've noticed that with the Michelins, more noise than vibration, can't say that it has negative affect on actual stickiness when heeled over 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiseliok Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 Stock tires on the dragon handled very well. Feelers were scraped a few times. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwjb Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 I just finished off a set of Roadsmart 3s. I was super happy with the performance and got record mileage,for me. (over 8 k). I was going to get another set but they seem to be getting hard to find. I'm guessing that they're phasing them out in favor of the Roadsmart 4s. I'm sure it's a much better tire but it's also about a hundred bucks more. Everyone seems to like the T32s so I'm giving them a try. We'll have to see about milage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwjb Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 I just checked and they seem to be available again. Maybe it was just a supply chain issue. You really can't beat these tires for $250 a set 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintersdark Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 3 hours ago, cwjb said: I just checked and they seem to be available again. Maybe it was just a supply chain issue. You really can't beat these tires for $250 a set Man, if I could get them for $250 a set, that would ABSOLUTELY change my opinion of them. Stupid tire prices in Canada 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member piotrek Posted June 19, 2022 Supporting Member Share Posted June 19, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, Wintersdark said: Man, if I could get them for $250 a set, that would ABSOLUTELY change my opinion of them. Stupid tire prices in Canada FortNine has these now at CAD $199 (R) and CAD $152 (F). That's CAD $351 (USD $270) delivered. Your taxes are also somewhat low, no? Edited June 19, 2022 by piotrek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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