Tyres

[pancho]

Hello everone, I would like to know which road tyres you have fitted, and which would be best suited for road use I commute motorway mileage and ride all year round

Thanks in advance

Pancho

 

[Howard Millichap]

I'm well impressed with Avon Storm rear, Avon Azzaro front I'm currently on. Smooth, stable, immense grip in all conditions, relatively cheap, dual compound, etc.. This is my first set so I don't know what mileage to expect but at 2000 miles they're showing little sign of wear.

 

[Gazzabart]

Battlewings

hi
did 12k on the first set
done 10k on this set
very good in wet dry snow ice all weathers really
i think we all have the same problem
we are all used to the sets fitted when we buy our bikes
we cant compare cos we dont clock up the milage to keep changing to different types for a comparison
i to am thinking what to try next cos i got about 2k left and theyve gone a bit flat
but WHAT ones
even though i cant fault the above i will try some new ones this time

 

[davidgibson999]

I love my continental trailattacks. They show little wear after 3500 miles through europe and another 1000 or so since. Will put another thousand on this weekend so we'll see what they're like then.
Grip is fantastic - I ride quickly and they inspire confidence.

 

[Stu_C]

I've got the Metzeler Tourance on front and back, they came fitted with the bike when I bought it. They are ok but neither here nor there for me. I would never dream of going "off Road" with them as they just don't have the grip and as a road tyre, well, I've had smoother rides. I would have prefered the Roadtec Z6 from Metzeler for which I have read some good reviews. Apparently they are pretty good for mileage.
Dunlop Roadsmarts seem to be the bees knees for grip or so I have been told, but there you pay in rubber as it wears comparitivly quick.
Another one to think about is the Michelin Pilot Road 2, a bit pricier than the other two but seems to last the longest. This, apparently, is due to them using two different rubber compounds, harder for the middle of the tyre and softer for the outside where grip is required.

just my 2 cents worth...

 

[Bem]

I have just this week had fitted BT020 front/ 021 rear as a replacement for my 020 pairing, which lasted for almost 10k. As always a new set feels more planted than a worn set, but at this stage I feel that the 021 is an small improvement- seems to be very sticky when cornering.

 

[Powerful Pierre]

I commute all year round mainly M25/M23 and do about 30,000 miles a year and swear by Metzeler Tourances . The last set did 24,000 miles on the rear and 30,000 on the front cruising at 75/80 mph . The previous 2 sets each did 18,000 r./24,000 f. respectively . The rears get fairly flatted at these mileages causing the rear end to squirm over metal cats-eyes and overbanding but not badly enough for this to be a problem for me . I tend to be cautious in the wet but in the dry they still allow enough lean to drag the crashbars on the ground ! My last two 1200GSA's have been supplied with Bridgestone Battlewings which inspired absolutely no confidence in me , tending to slide and twitch wet or dry at only moderate angles of lean . For the sake of economy I only changed them when they were totally sh*gged at about 12,000 miles each set . I havn't heard many favorable reports on the Tourance 2's but there doesn't seem to be a problem getting the originals .

 

[muppix]

The last set did 24,000 miles on the rear and 30,000 on the front cruising at 75/80 mph.

I must say I thought I was happy with 6,000 miles for a rear and 12,000 for a front (also Metz Tourances, as per standard) but 24,000 for a rear takes the biscuit Pierre.

I have to ask ... are you sure??

Mup.

 

[Stu_C]

maybe he meant Km not miles...

 

[muppix]

maybe he meant Km not miles...

Unlikely, given his location and daily commute, but that's still 15,000 miles out of a tyre that I've only ever gotten just under 7,000 miles from.

Mup.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

I'm well impressed with Avon Storm rear, Avon Azzaro front I'm currently on. Smooth, stable, immense grip in all conditions, relatively cheap, dual compound, etc.. This is my first set so I don't know what mileage to expect but at 2000 miles they're showing little sign of wear.

Ditto here

Pancho, do a search on 'tyres' in the 1200 section, make yourself a cup of tea and prepare for a good read - you'll come up with as many threads on the topic as there are 1200 owners.

Andres

 

[Powerful Pierre]

Oh ye non-believers !

The figures I quoted are miles , not kilometers , nor are they exaggerations . My daily commute is 100 miles a day of which 90 miles is motorway and the mileages show whats possible at fairly constant speeds as its acceleration and braking that tends to put the wear on tyres . The previous 2 sets of tyres did about 6000 miles less as my commute then was only 50 miles a day with 40 being motorway so the amount of constant speed is somewhat less leading to higher wear rates . I'm fairly conservative in my non-commuting riding and certainly don't hang about but wanting reliability from my bikes , bearing in mind the mileages I do , I don't see the point in screaming the nads off the thing . The current '08 1200GSA is 6 months old with 14,500 miles on it , the previous '06 1200GSA I sold with 41,000 miles at 20 months old and before that the '04 1200GS did 42,000 miles in 26 months . With all that mileage I have had no breakdowns , final drive problems , ring antenna problems , etc,etc. I'll be replacing the current bike in March 2010 , with another 1200GSA , when it will have about 50/52,000 miles on it . It'll being going cheap like the last 2 bikes so get your order in now !

 

[rodsharp]

Had 3 pairs of original Tourance , each lasted about 10,000miles good enough for me although 1 or 2 rear end slides but nothing dramatic.

Then Battlewings. About 8000miles OK till near the end then felt bloody awful.

Then Tourance EXP. These were fine ,but had to take off at 2500 miles as didnt think they would do another 2000 mile trip planned for next week.

Now on Azaro/Storm due to good comments on various sites. Guess what, they feel the same as all the others.

Just goes to show what a crap and insensitive rider I must be, or how good all you Tossers are when you road test and provide such diffinitive comments on all the different tyres available.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

The figures I quoted are miles , not kilometers , nor are they exaggerations . My daily commute is 100 miles a day of which 90 miles is motorway and the mileages show whats possible at fairly constant speeds as its acceleration and braking that tends to put the wear on tyres . The previous 2 sets of tyres did about 6000 miles less as my commute then was only 50 miles a day with 40 being motorway so the amount of constant speed is somewhat less leading to higher wear rates . I'm fairly conservative in my non-commuting riding and certainly don't hang about but wanting reliability from my bikes , bearing in mind the mileages I do , I don't see the point in screaming the nads off the thing . The current '08 1200GSA is 6 months old with 14,500 miles on it , the previous '06 1200GSA I sold with 41,000 miles at 20 months old and before that the '04 1200GS did 42,000 miles in 26 months . With all that mileage I have had no breakdowns , final drive problems , ring antenna problems , etc,etc. I'll be replacing the current bike in March 2010 , with another 1200GSA , when it will have about 50/52,000 miles on it . It'll being going cheap like the last 2 bikes so get your order in now !

I must say that the mileage obtained is exceptional but once again it goes to show that tyre wear (and reliability, petrol consumption, etc.) is very much related to the style of rider/riding and none of us is the same. There is a feeling that if you obtain very high mileage from your tyres or extraordinary mileage from a litre of prtrol you must ride like an old fuddy duddy - I think that this can be true OR it could be that a very 'polished' style on good surfaces with little traffic interferance can produce similar results. (However I am afraid that althugh I AM an old fuddy duddy and of course my stle is very smooth I cannot get anything like those sort of high mileages from my tyres !!!)

 

[Wingit]

BattleWings are awesome. Fantastic grip in wet or dry and loads of rubber to give you plenty of miles between replacements. I've done 8000 hard miles on mine and I think there's another 1000 miles left in them.

 

[muppix]

The figures I quoted are miles , not kilometers , nor are they exaggerations . My daily commute is 100 miles a day of which 90 miles is motorway and the mileages show whats possible at fairly constant speeds as its acceleration and braking that tends to put the wear on tyres .

Fair enough Pierre, respect! That's one hell of a commute, I forget how lucky I am to only have an 18 mile blast to work every day. Odd choice of bike then, given the percentage of motorway that you travel? I would have thought something with more fairing and generally road-orientated would be the way to go... ?

I also think that I must ride like a loon to only get 7k from the same tyres as you, and I've calmed down a lot!

Mup.

 

[Powerful Pierre]

Please don't think I set myself up as some sort of mileage guru , I simply report what I have found in the course of my riding . The Tourances seem to suit my riding style and usage and reward me me with high mileages . The Battlewings my last 2 bikes were supplied with were changed at 12,000 miles as the performance was knackered , in my opinion , though the carcases would probably have lasted as long again . Other people ,like 'Wing it' for example , will find other tyre choices suit them better and its pretty sure that there is no best tyre to suit everyone .

I favour the GS's for their handling , adequate power , more upright riding posn. (so no weight on my wrists) and being on the larger size with dodgy knees , the most comfortable bike I have ridden . The reliability has been spot-on (to date !) and any minor warranty items have always been sorted straight away .

So , if your out in the North Surrey & Surrey hills area and you'r passed at speed by a red 08GSA ridden by a double fat lardy bastard with a manic grin on his face - that'll be me !

 

[AlanB]

Actually, Pierre, it sounds like me (but without the fat lardy bit). I also commute 120 miles a day, on a red 1200GS ('05) of which around 90 miles is motorway (M25, M40) - that's north Watford to Abingdon. I've only had the GS a few months (actually it's my second - the first was written off by an off-duty WPC before I'd really broken it in) and was riding an 1150RT prior to that. Granted it was better equipped to crunch out the long miles but I was instantly converted when I tried the GS. The RT in retrospect seemed more like a sofa on wheels, and I never felt truly at ease filtering through slow moving traffic with that fat behind (the bike's not mine) waving behind me.

Anyway, to the tires: I had BT020's on that 1150RT and they lasted around 20,000 miles. Again, like you Pierre, constant speed most of the way, no hard braking or accelerating (the product of some work-related driver awareness training which has really paid dividends). They were fairly well squared off, making cornering a bit of an "I'm either straight up or I'm leaned over, there's no halfway house".

For the rest of you who doubted the mileages he has achieved, it CAN be done. Just learn (truly learn) how to avoid needing the brake or throttle as often as you do.

 

[AdamA]

For the rest of you who doubted the mileages he has achieved, it CAN be done. Just learn (truly learn) how to avoid needing the brake or throttle as often as you do.

Where's the fun in that?

If I'd wanted economy I would have bought a C90.

 

[Tricky]

99% of the time I ride on the road so...

Bridgestone 020's are the ones for me. They offer great grip in all conditions and last fairly well.

The other 1% of the time, about twice a year, I do some green laning so have a set of TKC 80's for that purpose.

They are great for anything off-road, apart from deep mud.

And on a GS look the dogs.