tyre on 17 inch front wheel

[claude ries]

I will recieve ( within 3 weeks ) new pair of wheel front 17 inch from RS and back wheel from RT .. I now ride on tourance ( front and back ) as 19 inch wheel do not have much choice , I know some of you already made this change years ago , any advise on tyre ?????
I am riding on very twisty montain road 80% of my time and we have rain only 3 months a year ( tropical storm from june to august )
any advise will be great as I am not sure how to combine
GS 1200
new 17 inch wheel
and tyre
all the best
claude

 

[Yonkyo]

I would recommend either the Bridgestone BT014 (sports) or BT020 (sports/touring= longer tyre life) for road use on 17in wheels. Size: 120/70/17 on the front.

They both give excellent dry and wet grip and stability.

Here is my 12 with BT014’s on 17in wheels…

 

[TheWarlock]

I currently have an RT with Bridgestone BT014 front and BT020 rear. I find the grip combination excellent. The front is a grippier sport compound and the rear is a grippy touring compound. Excellent in both wet and dry. Loads of feedback from the tyres to let you know what is happening.

Remember, however, the tyres are a very subjective thing. What one guy loves another may hate.

 

[Rod]

I have had 17" wheels on my 1200GS for a year now & have used Pirelli Scorpion Sync tyres on mine, as fitted as std to the Multistrada, KTM Super Moto & Buell, they were very good on twisty mountain roads. Last week I put on the new duel compound 'Michelin Pilot Road 2' harder compound in the centre & softer on the sides, so far they feel very good. They also have the 2CT which is sportier still, but I was concerned that the profile was too extreme on a bike where we have already put on a smaller front wheel. It could become twitchy ??
Bridgestone have superceded the 020 with the 021, which is apparently much better.
Let us know what you do.

 

[Coolcarbon]

Metzeler Roadtec Z6 .... http://www.metzelermoto.com/web/cat...xml&menu_item=/products/catalog/sport_touring

 

[claude ries]

thank for your advice ..
tyre is very subjective ,(( with the exeption of trial wing on the wet , I almost crask wtice last month )) so many facts can change the driving experience , riding style , roade wet or dry , road quality ,ect ect ..
sincerely is't a dificult choice for a guy like me who does not understand much about tech ,, I think try and error is the only way
I will go for pilot road 2 , will let you know within a month my feed back , if any negative point I can go to BT14 , 20 as many of you already use and feel happy about it ,, pilot road 2 is a new tyre
thank for all of your feed back
claude

 

[Rod]

When using 17" tyres 120/70, 180/55, what tyre pressures are you using for solo riding ?

 

[Yonkyo]

When using 17" tyres 120/70, 180/55, what tyre pressures are you using for solo riding ?

Your tyre pressures can be between 32 to 42 psi front and rear 17in BT014’s. But it all depends on what type of riding you are doing.

E.G. If I’m out for fast blast or track day, I’ll run with 32 psi front and 34 psi rear.

If however, I’m solo commuting / touring, I’ll run with 36 front 38 rear.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Has anybody tried these on a GS Tomahawk

They won't last long (guessing 2000 miles rear on a GS) but they are dirt cheap and I've used them as both road and race tyres on other bikes and REALLY rate them

Andres

PS AND you can get them in colours to match your GS ;o)

 

[big simp]

Metzeler Roadtec Z6 .... http://www.metzelermoto.com/web/cat...xml&menu_item=/products/catalog/sport_touring

Wot CC Said mint.
steve

 

[st247]

E.G. If I’m out for fast blast or track day, I’ll run with 32 psi front and 34 psi rear.

I usually run them the other way, 34 front and 32 rear, because of the extra heat generated in the rear tyre on trackdays.

 

[Rod]

Well, a few hundred miles further on with the new 'Michelin Pilot Road 2's'
and I have changed back to Pirelli Scorpion Syncs. Just to remind you these are 120/70 & 180/55 sizes & a 17" front rim.
I found the Michelins very unstable at speed, over 85 the bars would wrigle, & over 100 it felt very flighty & unstable. Even at slower speeds the bike felt too light & twitchy & always had a floaty feeling. I must say that grip when lent over felt very good . I tried differant tyre presures, 32/36, 36/36, 36/42,, more rear pre-load, but it didn't change much. I had the feeling that the sidewalls were very soft & the tyre was moving around.

Back to the Scorpion Syncs, which have a very differant profile, and the bike is now rock solid again.

 

[Yonkyo]

Well, a few hundred miles further on with the new 'Michelin Pilot Road 2's'
and I have changed back to Pirelli Scorpion Syncs. Just to remind you these are 120/70 & 180/55 sizes & a 17" front rim.
I found the Michelins very unstable at speed, over 85 the bars would wrigle, & over 100 it felt very flighty & unstable. Even at slower speeds the bike felt too light & twitchy & always had a floaty feeling. I must say that grip when lent over felt very good . I tried differant tyre presures, 32/36, 36/36, 36/42,, more rear pre-load, but it didn't change much. I had the feeling that the sidewalls were very soft & the tyre was moving around.

Back to the Scorpion Syncs, which have a very differant profile, and the bike is now rock solid again.

Yes, my mates run Scorpion Syncs on there KTM950SM's and they swear by them. So maybe I'll try these next.

I'm currently using a BT014 (Sports) front with a BT021 (sports/Touring) rear and so far the combination seems good. I've gone for the BT021 rear because the BT014 rear only lasted 2400 miles.