Tires: suggestions?

[Salish900]

Went to bed thinking about it, did a bunch of reading and comparing of all the brands here, read endless reviews on Revzilla, and no surprise, people tend to like what they buy, especially if they spend a lot. Notable exception is the Angel GT, which people seem to love or hate. What did I end up getting? The Michelin Road 5's.

I just decided there is not a single tire out there that does better in the wet, and most do worse, and I ride the wet an enormous amount of the time. The extra money ultimately cost me less than the stress of not believing my tires were going to hold the wet corner the way I'm used to. I've had the Metzeler RoadTec 01 and though they rode fine, they wore out far more quickly than the Michelin. My wallet liked the idea of the Roadsmart 3's, but my desire to not test my aging bones in a battle with asphalt made the difference for me. And oh, by the way, I'm an MSF rider coach, so I've already ticked that "extra training" box! 😜 

[Dodgy Knees]

Thats a fair point from an experienced wet weather rider. 👍     In my part of the world,  the roads are a disgrace.  Potholes, gravel, diesel and farm crap everywhere, wet roundabouts/islands are simply dangerous for bikes.

I know many rider's who only ride when roads are dry and have very little wet road experience. Add in all the hazards and it's high risk. Tyre tread patterns will differ on their effectiveness of shifting water, but these issues tend to be more noticeable to the experienced rider. 

Without any doubt,  on my local roads in wet conditions, riding smoothly and well within the grip limits of your tyres is the only sensible way to go. 

[Stew]

20 minutes ago, Dodgy Knees said:

Without any doubt,  on my local roads in wet conditions, riding smoothly and well within the grip limits of your tyres is the only sensible way to go. 

Which is exactly why I am so impressed with the Michelins. I can feel the grip, with the dunlop's there was zero feel, so I had a constant sense that they could break away and throw my bike down the road any time they felt like it. With the michelins I can feel what is happening underneath me.

I have zero tyre loyalty, I haven't used Michelins on a bike for probably 20 years, but these are superb. If I get more than the 4000 miles out of the rear than I got with the Dunlop tyres, that will make them a bargain anyway

 

[WKE002]

Plunge to Michelin Road 5 , just got back from tire shop, OMG, WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE for a 65kg guy. After 3,500km on Dunlop, WOW. 
 

To b honest a bit sceptical when reading the forum how good these and that tires and how bad the OEM tires were. I can vouch if does make a huge difference, maybe, just maybe, a heavyweight of 100kg above would not really feel the difference, for my weight, it sure feel a big change, mind you, tires yet to run in, back from tire shop, travel about 25km. Can’t wait to ride in the rain! 

[Stew]

5 hours ago, WKE002 said:

Plunge to Michelin Road 5 , just got back from tire shop, OMG, WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE for a 65kg guy. After 3,500km on Dunlop, WOW. 
 

To b honest a bit sceptical when reading the forum how good these and that tires and how bad the OEM tires were. I can vouch if does make a huge difference, maybe, just maybe, a heavyweight of 100kg above would not really feel the difference, for my weight, it sure feel a big change, mind you, tires yet to run in, back from tire shop, travel about 25km. Can’t wait to ride in the rain! 

I was exactly the same , I was so impressed that I couldn't wait to get out in the rain.

Perhaps you are on to something regarding the rider weight, perhaps us featherweights just cant get the best out of some tyres (tires)

I won't be changing to anything else for a while now, I'm hoping for a good old fashioned 2 rears to a front.

[Salish900]

I'll add that I formerly lived on Bainbridge Island, an island just a ferry ride over from Seattle. There are a massive number of folks, men and women, who ride bicycles and motorcycles onto the ferry to commute because it saves you tremendous money and time. It's what prompts many people to start riding here. On that ferry during commute hours there are commonly 30-60 motorcycles. Of all types, but not much of the Harley crowd. Most folks on sport, ADV, and varieties of cruiser style. It's a beautiful sight really. So many bikes! 

By far the most common tires you see on bikes are the Michelin PR3-4-5. It's lived experience for folks who ride on wet steel, wet roads, and mysterious surfaces every day all winter. 

[enx]

Has anyone tried Roadsmart 4 yet?

[daboo]

FWIW, the Dunlop Roadsmart 3 and Roadsmart 4 tires have a rebate through the end of November.

I'm still liking the Continental Roadattack 3 tires.  I have almost 10,000 miles on them and they look good for another couple thousand.  The Dunlop RS3 and RS4 tires would be my next choice.  I'm a bit wary of the manufacturer's press releases.  I bought two sets of the Metzeler Roadtec 01 tires and the claimed longevity didn't work out...they lasted half the miles of the Metzeler Z8 tires.

Chris

[2linby]

11 hours ago, Salish900 said:

It's a beautiful sight really. So many bikes! 

By far the most common tires you see on bikes are the Michelin PR3-4-5. It's lived experience for folks who ride on wet steel, wet roads, and mysterious surfaces every day all winter. 

Michelins all the way!  I've put over 400K on bikes since the early 80's and every single Michelin I've ever had met or exceeded my expectations. I've used Dunlops, Pirelli's, Avons, Shinko's, Continentals, Kendra, IRC, Yokohama's (yes I'm that old) and some odd korean brand I can't even remember its name. Michelins never ever let me down. and I always seemed to come back to them. And yes I commented from Everett to Seattle, then Bonney Lake to Kent everyday, rain or shine (mostly rain!) and the michelins are sure footed and long lasting. 

Edited October 27, 2020 by 2linby

[Salish900]

5 hours ago, daboo said:

FWIW, the Dunlop Roadsmart 3 and Roadsmart 4 tires have a rebate through the end of November.

I'm still liking the Continental Roadattack 3 tires.  I have almost 10,000 miles on them and they look good for another couple thousand.  The Dunlop RS3 and RS4 tires would be my next choice.  I'm a bit wary of the manufacturer's press releases.  I bought two sets of the Metzeler Roadtec 01 tires and the claimed longevity didn't work out...they lasted half the miles of the Metzeler Z8 tires.

Chris

That was my experience with the Metzeler Roadtec 01's. Sounded good, but wore out way faster than the Michelin, while providing no better grip. It's a magic sauce when you can get grip and longevity. Michelin seems to have figured that out with these tires. 

[Clegg78]

I'll give my .02$ on this.   I went from using PR2 through 5's on my past bike and for the Tracer I went for the first time to something that is more of a 90/10 tire that can do some minor trail/gravel riding as well as very very spirited canyon riding.   I went with the Pirelli Scorpion Trail 2's.  Which seem to be very similar in terms of compound as the PR5's but with better tread for gravel/dirt.

• They stick like glue on dry pavement, I had ZERO confidence concerns leaning the bike way over fully loaded and committing to corners. 
• Rode in driving rain and standing water, and the tires didn't flinch, but I've never had a tire act bad in normal rain (except for the stock dunlops which got a little funky in cold rain)
• I've ridden them in snow/heavy freezing rain conditions and had zero TCS or ABS activation.  Truly, they handled weather I never thought I would ride a motorcycle in, like pros. 
• I even coated the rear tire in motor oil for 48 hours when I punched a hole in my oil pan, scrubbed it with degreaser and brake cleaner... and the tire is as good as ever. 
• Rode on a 10 miles of dirt and gravel and never had any weirdness (which I did have with the stock tires), and no big rock throws like the PR5s would.
• I've done 2600 miles on the tires and the front tire just has the Scorpion (similar to the Angel) worn off,  the rear has a very minor flattening from riding mostly on freeways.   
• Honestly most of these top tier tires are splitting hairs, they are almost all very awesome. 

and the tread looks pretty cool  

 

 

(there is a video posted here if you want to see the kind of conditions I just put the tires through: 

) 

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Clegg78

[betoney]

1 hour ago, Salish900 said:

It's a magic sauce when you can get grip and longevity. Michelin seems to have figured that out with these tires. 

Like any tire, mileage is going to vary drastically from rider to rider.  Some riders have Road 5's last 10k miles while others have worn them out by 5k.  I have yet to try any modern sport touring tire that doesn't have amazing grip and road feel along with decent longevity. 

[daboo]

11 hours ago, betoney said:

Like any tire, mileage is going to vary drastically from rider to rider.  Some riders have Road 5's last 10k miles while others have worn them out by 5k.  I have yet to try any modern sport touring tire that doesn't have amazing grip and road feel along with decent longevity. 

That's why I take tire recommendations with a grain of salt.  I get better mileage than riders in Texas do.  I'm guessing it is because of the heat and road surface.  What I do like, is when someone can tell me how different tires are like when ridden on the same roads with the same bike and by the same rider.  The variable then is clear, it is the tire.  Not where we live.

This is a really good review of a couple of the tires we've been discussing here.  I think you'll find it interesting.

Chris

[PhotoAl]

@Clegg78 you have me interested in the Pirelli Scorpion 2 tires.  Happy with my current setup but have gone by many gravel roads out west.  With my previous bike, a BMW F800GT, which has a belt drive I avoided gravel roads whoever possible.  However with the Tracer GT and a set of the Scorpion 2 tires would be much more willing and able to tackle a gravel road.  I added a pic of a gravel road somewhere in Wyoming.

On all the bikes Ive had the front tire wore much more slowly than the rear tire.  I would wear out almost 2 rear tires for each front.  Although my previous bike (BMW F800GT) wore the front faster the others so only got about 1 and a half rears per front.  Here is a photo of 3 rear tires from my BMW.  Left is 6,000 miles, center is 3,800 miles mostly straight highway and right is a new Road 5.  The center tire is currently on my Tracer GT.  I have done several trips of around 5,500 miles.  I didn't have confidence the Road 5 would last 11,000 to 12,000 miles so would up mounting a new rear before every long trip.

[Clegg78]

13 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

@Clegg78 you have me interested in the Pirelli Scorpion 2 tires.  Happy with my current setup but have gone by many gravel roads out west.  With my previous bike, a BMW F800GT, which has a belt drive I avoided gravel roads whoever possible.  However with the Tracer GT and a set of the Scorpion 2 tires would be much more willing and able to tackle a gravel road.  I added a pic of a gravel road somewhere in Wyoming.

On all the bikes Ive had the front tire wore much more slowly than the rear tire.  I would wear out almost 2 rear tires for each front.  Although my previous bike (BMW F800GT) wore the front faster the others so only got about 1 and a half rears per front.  Here is a photo of 3 rear tires from my BMW.  Left is 6,000 miles, center is 3,800 miles mostly straight highway and right is a new Road 5.  The center tire is currently on my Tracer GT.  I have done several trips of around 5,500 miles.  I didn't have confidence the Road 5 would last 11,000 to 12,000 miles so would up mounting a new rear before every long trip.

 

I've used the Road 5's a bunch, and have done a lot of gravel/dirt roads with them.  They are awesome tires in their own right, but I found the big pockets in them would catch/throw rocks on my past bike.  A friend who followed me down a road once had to keep WAY back because of the machine gun style pattern of rocks that were being tossed at him     I had a rock tear up a hugger on my Sprint ST with the Road 5s as well.

I figured I'd try something different on the Tracer (cause you know what they say, the best you've used is the best you know), and I am pretty certain 99% of all the tires mentioned in this thread are awesome and its very much splitting hairs.     I was going off of recommendations from some ADV rider friends who do much more mixed riding than I do (I do 95 - 99% on-road/asphalt riding) and it seemed they liked the Trail 2's a lot for both.     I was very impressed with the water and cold weather handling, no scares at all... similar to all the Pilot Road tires I've used over the years. 

I can say one thing for certain, the Trail 2's are ... night/day better in every single way than the OEM tires. 

Edited October 29, 2020 by Clegg78