What do you think of the OEM tires?

[Wintersdark]

3 hours ago, Michiel900GT said:

The previous 900 GT I owned came on the D222. The one I own now has Michelin Pilot 5 (part of the deal when I bought it).

The dealer said the difference would mainly be psychological. But I can tell you it is definitely more the psychological. The Michelin's offer more grip, especially when they're cold or when I'm riding in wet conditions.

Yup.  I won't argue about hot tires on dry pavement, but once you have lower temps (even around 10c) and / or rain?  Theres no comparison.  It's *immediately* obvious.

[Willie17FJ-09]

They actually do pretty good on gravel roads. 

[KillEmAll4u]

The stock front tire on my Tracer is already having an issue @ 2000 miles. I'm getting an MPH vibration that I know is from the tire. Same thing happened on my Ninja 650 at around the same number of miles. Steering stem torque sequence complete. Throttle body sync complete. Made sure everything on the front end is torqued correctly. That leaves only the tire. Actually tried Ride On in the front tire to see if it could correct any type of issue. It did not correct it. I have been running at 36 PSI per my body size in the front. 42 PSI in the rear. Some have suggested that 36 PSI is too low for the front. Tried front at 42 PSI and the issue is still there. When I get tired of this mild vibration I will upgrade to the PR5's. 

[GTO MIKE]

On 6/11/2019 at 1:14 PM, koth442 said:

I disagree. Touring = hard center compound and sport = softer edges. 

And exactly why they usually wear weird. My ST 1300 wore the crap out of sport touring tires.  Hoping the GT 900 Is better!

[GTO MIKE]

On 7/10/2020 at 8:40 PM, northsouth said:

I just bought a 2020 GT and love it so far. Sold a 2016 FJR 1300 ES because I got tired of the weight but still needed to tour. I have a road racing background and found the stock tires feedback very vague. Ditched them at 379 miles for a set of road 5's. Have used PR 2's, 3's and 4's over the years and really liked them all so figured it was a safe bet. Bike is still in pieces waiting on mods to arrive so can't comment on how they perform yet. 

I came from an 07 Honda ST1300 for the same reason Got tired of lugging around 700 + lbs. Love my new 900 GT.

[Motocheck]

OEM tires actually did pretty job for me. Lasted 14,000KM (8700 miles). They only last that long as I was on Pacific Coastal Highway trip started from Vancouver to Los Angeles and back to Toronto. Trick was 2900miles on left edge, 2900miles on right edge and rest riding in between 😂. I thought changing tires in States was cheaper so I start looking near Carolina state but ended up riding to Toronto and replaced with Michelin PR5 from local shop near home.

[Clegg78]

They are better than I expected.  Every tire I've had on my past bikes have been Pilot Road 2,3,4,5s,  so I was tentative on these... but I've thrown the bike around pretty hard on even cool ~50F morning roads and haven't had any issues.     For me its more getting used to the bike brakes/throttle with the tires.   My past bikes had no electronics so I learned to ride pretty carefully and keep away from the "edge" of grip on the tires, and so far I am impressed (for OEM tires).  I have seen TCS kick in, and ABS kick in before I was expecting a few times, but not anything I was shocked at. 

I will be going back to Road 5's when these wear out or get damaged or by the fall in the rainy cold weather riding.   I've been known to ride a lot in the mountains here in the 30 -40F raining weather often in the fall... and I know the Road series has kept me safe so I am going to go back to them. 

[betoney]

3 hours ago, Clegg78 said:

They are better than I expected.

I have seen TCS kick in, and ABS kick in before I was expecting a few times, but not anything I was shocked at. 

I will be going back to Road 5's when these wear out or get damaged or by the fall in the rainy cold weather riding.   I've been known to ride a lot in the mountains here in the 30 -40F raining weather often in the fall... and I know the Road series has kept me safe so I am going to go back to them. 

You will probably find that the TCS and ABS engage a lot less, if at all with quality tires. 

[andz]

This morning I was in World of Yamaha in Johannesburg and they have 2 new MT-07 Tracers on the floor with Michelin Pilot Road 4 from the factory.

It only caught my eye because I recognised the tread pattern from the PR4s I had on my Fazer.

I didn't look closely at the tyres to see if they are "genuine" PR4s or made under licence in a dubious factory (as I saw on a recent video).

[dpippin]

I bought my 2019 Tracer GT with a1,000 miles on it from a Yamaha rep in Asheville NC

Don't know how he rode it but I ride fairly aggressive in the mountains

The D222 tires were toast at 3,900 miles

I'm used to good performance tires so they were replaced with Michelin PR5's that feel a lot more confidence inspiring

All in all the OEM tires were not too bad!

[Paddy01]

I replaced the D222 tyres with Metzeler Roadtec 01. They’ve made a massive difference with grip, comfort and feel. As usual, I follow the recommendations from the UK’s RIDE magazine. They test all major manufacturers’ products - often to destruction - to find the best. I can’t recommend them enough. 

[nhchris]

On 5/29/2019 at 8:37 PM, johnmark101 said:

I have only put 500 miles on the GT so far and the OEM tires seem to be adequate for the intended purpose but not inspiring by any means.

Share you thought on the D222 if you don't mind.  

Don't wait for them to wear out.  Replace the D222s now.  You have lots of great options  in sporty sires.

If you ride aggressively you don't want a low-side due to weak tires.  Consequences of that will be more $$ than a new set of good tires.

What is your peace of mind at high lean angles worth?

Edited September 18, 2020 by nhchris

[andz]

The stock tyres on my Tracer were fine for the way I ride, based on the amount of tread on the back I reckon it was around three-quarters done when it was slashed by some road debris and stranded me miles from home, and this was at around 9,200km.

Full disclosure, I don't think I've done more than 50km in the rain so I can't comment on wet performance but then we have less than 100 days' rainfall a year.

This was around a month ago, I put on Michelin Road 5s front and rear and they are inspiring me to ride in an ever more spirited manner which is good fun! Rainy season is about to start so maybe I can get some wet time in.

 

[johnmark101]

1 hour ago, nhchris said:

Don't wait for them to wear out.  Replace the D222s now.  You have lots of great options  in sporty sires.

If you ride aggressively you don't want a low-side due to weak tires.  Consequences of that will be more $$ than a new set of good tires.

What is your peace of mind at high lean angles worth?

They were replaced long ago.  I ran them down to the wear bars on the rear before getting rid of them.  Since then I have run two other types of tires, both of which were obviously better. (Roadsmart 3, M7RR)

However......after finishing off the OEM D222's I can say that they are better than most OEM tires I have had on the five other bikes I have bought new.  As I became more acquainted with the bike and sorted the stock suspension a bit I was able to push them pretty hard on a few of my favorite local twisty roads and they provided pretty good grip.  I went from edge to edge on the rear tire repeatedly with no issues.  True, they are not premium tires by any stretch of the imagination, as it is with most OEM tires. But by my estimation they are not as horrible as some have said.  I was glad to move on to better tires though.

[PhotoAl]

Have 2,300 miles on them but just now getting some cornering time in.  Bought the bike in South Dakota.  I really want to say my bike had a puncture in the rear tire so I traded it for a new Tracer GT but it was actually a rear bearing failure.  In eastern SD and Nebraska there arn't many curves - does the ramp from I90 to I29 count?   Having read a lot about the bike and peoples comments about the tires I'm very cautious about throwing it into corners but so far has done well although the front doesn't give me confidence.  Think I hit a small rock in a sweeper as it seemed to step a bit.  Chicken strips on the back (1/2" to 5/8") tire are less than I would have thought so obviously I've had it over a bit.  Today on the interstate notice some vibration from front tire noticed before.  Had a Pilot Road 4 GT that do that on a previous bike.  Not sure the cause but a new Road 5 cured it.  Tires look very good and are wearing really well particularly the rear which is just barely starting to get a hint of flat in the center.  

Will probably change tires soon but I'm torn on what to put on it.  Pilot front Road 5 rear or Road 5 front and rear.  Already have a Road 5 with only 3,800 miles on it (just gave away one with 6,000 miles).  I do a couple of long road trips a year and in 2021 hope to finally make it to the bay area to see my son.  Pilot front intrigues me but wonder how it would do in the rain.  Every long trip has had at least one full day in rain so need a good rain tire.  Any trips this fall will probably be 4 or 5 days and could easily avoid rain by waiting it out.  Really don't want to get caught out in the wet on these tires.  Probably better than the OEM Dunlap Qualifers (not Q or QII or QIII) on my 2012 CBR600RR.  Rear stepped out turning left at a traffic light on a 45F morning and part throttle in 1st.  Another time it spun up at 70 in the wet just from rolling on in 3rd gear - not really in the meat of the power band.  Needless to say they were replaced soon afterwards.

 

Update:  Went by Cycle Gear, looks to see if they had a Road 5 front.  They didn't  but did have a Pilot Power 5.  Looked it over and thought about it for a moment then bought it.  Haven't mounted them yet.  Went on a ride today and was nervous across damp patches.  Seems like the front follows stuff and over rougher pavement doest give me a good feeling.  The OEM tires seem good on dry warm and smooth surfaces. Buuuuuut I need a tire that works well in the wet and cold.  So I'm sitting around procrastinating and working on wearing out the OEM tires.  Plus I'm very busy being retired and would have to find the time to take the wheels off and take them to get tires mounted. :-)

Edited September 27, 2020 by PhotoAl