Which tires do you prefer?

[Promethean]

I'm about to place my order tonight for new tires to replace the Macadams on the RR. Which ones would you recommend?

Any comments/suggestions are appreciated.

[TonyT607]

Hands down. After CycleRob installed them on my RR (replacing the original Z4's) I've never looked back.

BTW the new ST came with Z6's.

[Bones]

When I had the RR and changed over to Z6's, it felt like the bike and tire were designed for each other. Great in wet and dry. I would say to expect about 5K miles out of them (rear). Those were my favorite tire for that bike (and a few others) both in the dry and wet.

Jeff

[GPM]

My favorite tires on both the RR and on the KRS were the Avons. Good mileage and very predictable in dry conditions. I hear they are also good in the rain, but we don't get much of that here.

[AZBMWRIDER]

Metzeler Z6....ROCK!!!:023:

[Acacia]

I have used several sets of Z6 on my previous R1100R and then the R1150R - I liked them - a lot better than the Bridgestones the 1100 came with and the MEZ 4 on the R1150R.

I now have 3500 miles on Road Pilots - and I like them more than the Z6. The rear is more predicatable than with the Z6. The Z6 would step out on entry into a fast corner before settling down and I did not like that. The Pilots are planted all the time. They also look as though they will last longer than the 6000 and seem to be holding their shape better. The Z 6 flatten out quickly on the rear.

I have not had much rain the test the pilots in yet so cant comment there.

[arkline]

Pilot Roads. Best tire in the wet I've ever ridden on. Probably not much of a problem for the majority here, but a constant consideration for me. They seem to warm up pretty quickly too. I'd buy 'em again.

[geechie]

I have no experience with the Michelins, so I really can't say much.... but I am now on my second set of Z6's. I like 'em. Pretty good mileage, nothing funny about the wear pattern and VERY good grip in the wet.

Spooned on a new front yesterday and boy does the bike feel different this morning! New rubber on both ends is a fine thing. Just be sure you scuff 'em in gently.

George

[Promethean]

Thanks guys. My Z6s left Phoenix yesterday and should be arriving shortly.....can't wait to use the Mojo Bar and change my first tyres.

:020:

[geechie]

There's a tire changing thread somewhere just full of good advice... to which I will add: You will probably become much more fluent in cursing. And it also will help to put everything out in the sun 'till they (new and old) get good and warm.

George

[Promethean]

In the Milwaukee area...the inside of my garage is warmer than outside. :)

But thanks for the tip. I'm not too bad at cursing.... :)


There's a tire changing thread somewhere just full of good advice... to which I will add: You will probably become much more fluent in cursing. And it also will help to put everything out in the sun 'till they (new and old) get good and warm.

George

[Promethean]

I've just mounted the front tire on the wheel...have to set the bead yet. Can't turn the compressor on with the neighbours snoozing. I'm liable to have the apartment complex manager come over to have a friendly little chat about the noise in the afternoon.

I'm not one for cursing but this little exercise made me swear up and down like a sailor. Getting the second bead on the wheel is a royal pain in the ass. I had a hell of a time doing that till I got C-Clamps to hold in the part already in the wheel well. :076:

The rim is scratched in a couple of places....despite precautions...due to my ham-fisted approach to tire changing. :eusa_wall:

Another thing that I've learned so far is that the HF tire changing stand is great....for taller people. I'm 5'7" and believe that the effort would have been less...had the motorcycle attachment been mounted to a bench at the appropriate height.

The Mojo-bar works great for demounting the tire but I still have to figure out some things on how to use it correctly to mount the tire.

That's the way I learn....by making mistakes. Nothing wrong with that....just wanted to rant a little.


There's a tire changing thread somewhere just full of good advice... to which I will add: You will probably become much more fluent in cursing. And it also will help to put everything out in the sun 'till they (new and old) get good and warm.

George

[Acacia]

:eusa_drool:

Try cursing in Afrikaans - seems to work better than English!

Front tire is the hardest - smaller profile and stiffer. Just when you think you have mastered the technique - the next tire will not co-operate. You do, however, have the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself. Now to balance it - more fun!

Bench mounting - I work with the rim on the floor -either laying flat taking it off and upright for putting it on. C clamps? Carefull not to damge the side walls. 3 tire irons, one knee/foot and two hands - an extra hand is handly if available.

Best about doing it yourself - it was done properly and not by some min -wage toothless wonder in the back of a dont care shop!

[Promethean]

I already used up Kakhuis and Pouphol. But when I do that my colleague refers to me as Brompot. Do you have new Afrikaans swear words to add to my already growing repertoire? :D



Try cursing in Afrikaans - seems to work better than English!


I inflated the tire...beads are set. I balanced it. I guess when the bike came in from the factory, they had 40 grams of weights attached to the front and rear wheels. Jeez....talk about an unbalanced wheel.

I used the Marc Parnes balancer to balance the wheel. I had the 7 gram weights. I used 2 of them (total of 14 grams) to do the job. With just the 7 gram weight attached, the heavy spot did not change. With both, the point where the weights were attached became the heavy spot. I think I'm a couple of grams off and hope that it shouldn't affect the handling. Comments?



Front tire is the hardest - smaller profile and stiffer. Just when you think you have mastered the technique - the next tire will not co-operate. You do, however, have the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself. Now to balance it - more fun!


After going through this exercise with the stand and such, I've come to suspect that the tire mounting process that one uses is a purely personal thing. I think the job would have been much more easier, had I used tire irons and the method you describe. However, the one reason I decided not to go that route was the fear of scratching the rotors on the front wheel when you place it flat on the floor. How do you circumvent that?

I checked the sidewalls...they're not damaged...atleast visually and I did not use the C-clamps to their maximum extent...just enough to hold the bead in the rim.



Bench mounting - I work with the rim on the floor -either laying flat taking it off and upright for putting it on. C clamps? Carefull not to damge the side walls. 3 tire irons, one knee/foot and two hands - an extra hand is handly if available.


My thoughts exactly. And besides, one shouldn't be afraid to work on one's own bike....

Other than saving money and the satisfaction of knowing that the job was done correctly, I think this prepares you for knowing that you can do some jobs again in a pinch if it happened out on the road with a few tools from your toolkit.



Best about doing it yourself - it was done properly and not by some min -wage toothless wonder in the back of a dont care shop!

[Acacia]

I think any language other than the tires country of origin should well - if said with enough determination and passion!

Not sure if you did, but with the tire and weights off, did you put it on the balancer to find the lightest spot of the rim? I mark the rim with a dab of paint so that I then mount the heavy part of the tire, if marked (Michelin do not) to this point. If I feel the tire has too much weight I rotate the tire 180 degrees on the rim to see if I can find the heavy/light spot.

Added weight spot now the heavy point? - you could have done better. Instead of putting the two together, you could have split them equally away from the light point 'till you got the wheel to settle at any point in the rotation. I believe I read somewhere that 1/4oz at 90mph = 5lbs.

Check you tires for the next few days to make sure they have settled in and there are no leaks. You have probavbaly better balanced tires now thatn before - I have asked many tire companies when last they had their units calibrated - and the reply has alsways been -What?

[Promethean]

Hmmm...I found the heavy spot on the wheel (without the tire) and aligned it with the light point of the Z6 (marked with 2 dots) to try and cancel out the difference in weight.

I then balanced the wheel with the front tire on and it took 2x 1/4 oz weights.


I think any language other than the tires country of origin should well - if said with enough determination and passion!

Not sure if you did, but with the tire and weights off, did you put it on the balancer to find the lightest spot of the rim? I mark the rim with a dab of paint so that I then mount the heavy part of the tire, if marked (Michelin do not) to this point. If I feel the tire has too much weight I rotate the tire 180 degrees on the rim to see if I can find the heavy/light spot.

Added weight spot now the heavy point? - you could have done better. Instead of putting the two together, you could have split them equally away from the light point 'till you got the wheel to settle at any point in the rotation. I believe I read somewhere that 1/4oz at 90mph = 5lbs.

Check you tires for the next few days to make sure they have settled in and there are no leaks. You have probavbaly better balanced tires now thatn before - I have asked many tire companies when last they had their units calibrated - and the reply has alsways been -What?

[Acacia]

I cant recall now - are the marked areas on the rie the heavy or the light?

1/2 oz is not bad at all.

[socalrob]

Back to the poll, I'm really liking my Mich. Pilot Roads. I replaced my Z6's when they evaporated & left me with steel showing all around in a week from looking not too bad. At least with the PR's I have usable tread bars.

I've been scraping a peg feeler lately, so I think I'm getting great lean angles & corner traction. I've got 6,000 miles on them & lots of tread left, the Z6's lasted 5,500 miles. I loved the Z6's when I had them, love these now, will replace them with PR's.

[DarthRider]

Rob -
You raise a very good point.
Most of us have a tire we *really* like. And, at least subconsciously, pronounce it "the best". Then we read on the Internet "all the big boys are using these". Then we start telling everyone "Road-Hoops are THE BEST, don't even bother with anything else"!
Sometimes we compare a new Brand B to a worn out Brand A and pronounce B a superior tire. And a great tire on a 50R might suck big-time on a Speed Triple.
It rains all the time where Ron is, never where Dean-O lives.
Lots of other variables.
In the meantime Brands C, D & E are continuing to refine old designs and create new ones. New technology comes along.
And our good old Road Hoops are still...the best?
Maybe. Maybe not. The motorcycle tire biz, particularly the performance tire segment is highly competitive and the makers do not stand still. They are all getting better, all the time.
Abhijeet just switched from something else to Z6's and they are great, he loves them.
Rob just moved from Z6's Pilot Roads with great success.
I just switched Pilot Powers to Conti Road Attacks on the Speedy and find them near dead-nut even with a very slight nod towards the Contis. Comparative mileage will tell the tale for me.
If we are content with a very good tire that does what we want, fine. Pronounce it "the best" and don't look back. That's a good, conservative approach and "that ain't bad".
If however, we want to improve our riding and safety margins, and maybe even mileage, we always have to keep looking. Then we discover that NO tire is "the best" and we *have* to keep looking!

[bbneuser]

darth/others-
any further updates to offer on road attacks? just about to need rear tire, and have a spare pilot power rear at the house-and do like 'em, but mileage and riding area probably warrant longer wearing tread. looking at pilot roads and pirelli strada ems, but have watched conti's over on fz1oa board, with some fairly decent feedback. just wondering if you had any further to offer with some additional mileage on your set. thx for feedback.

[DarthRider]

Hey Bob -
I only have ~1500 miles on the Conti Road Attacks and, unfortunately, most of that has been on relatively straight roads, except for a little "test section" I know that has double s-turns of the 45-55 MPH variety.
They are just now starting to show a bit of flat spot around the tread center, less than I would have expected. This is on the Speed Triple and it's been known to wheelie a bit and run at full throttle pretty often!
The dry handling is impeccable but the only wet riding I've done on them was that morning following you in the fog on the Hill Country ride and they were fine.
Like most tires, they will slip a tad in a turn-in transition from asphalt to concrete, like pulling into a gas station. They warm quickly and offer no surprises out on the tire's edge, even with abrupt throttle input to make them slide or drift a bit.
A co-worker also got an evaluation set of both the Road Attacks and the Sport Attacks. His bike is a Honda CBR1000RR and he is a young maniac. Lots of drag race starts, stand-up 5 mile wheelies, fast aggressive corners, etc. He just took the Sports off with 3300 miles after he "finished them off" on a track day. That's pretty damn good mileage for a soft tire and he is very impressed (he also knows what he's doing...he's 23 years old and has been riding 21 years!)
He installed the Road Attacks but I haven't heard from him on those yet.
All things considered *except* mileage, I still have the Street Attacks and Pilot Powers dead-nut even on handling. If I get the mileage from the Street Attacks I am expecting it will be my new favorite tire by a long shot...even if I had to buy 'em!
I'm not knocking the Michelin Pilot Powers at all, *great* tires. I just like the Contis a bit better. Maybe. It's that close, to be determined on mileage.