Best Tyre

NA1959 · Post by **NA1959** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 1:39 pm

Want some advise on the best tyres to fit to 1100S with 5" rear wheel!

Just general riding, no boy racer but push on a bit.

Have had various suggestions but open for advice.

Also cheepest place to buy?

winger · Post by **winger** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 3:43 pm

The best tyre for your S,is the one thats makes you happy!!,cuz you'll ride better with it,if you think it's great then it will be and vice versa.

I could tell you what i use,but someone will be a long to say something completely different!!,i'd be more inclined to buy a tyre with a tread pattern you like!!! as scientific as that,cuz the chances are,it'll be just as good as you are at rideing the bike.

Dog Tyred · Post by **Dog Tyred** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 4:21 pm

Here, here, couldn't have put it better my self

.....but in my opinion you can't go far wrong with Metzeler M1's

Opps, now I've started something

Jason M · Post by **Jason M** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:19 pm

Perhaps for the first time in my life I agree 100% with Chris

Any modern tyre you fit will be able to cope with everything you can throw at it on the road I reckon - tyres don't make you a faster rider, and it's the rider that makes the difference IMHO

Jason

decisivedave · Post by **decisivedave** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 9:15 pm

I'm usually a sit on the fence type, but here I think I don't entirely agree. My last bike (Yam TRX 850) was wearing Macadams (Yamaha OE) when I got it, and I stuck with Macs for 3 years, till my mechanic convinced me to go with 020's. What a difference - It was like getting a confidence injection - Bakelite to rubber in one easy move. The Metzlers that come on the S seem as least as good as the 020's I've been used to, but I'm sure others have their favourite.

Choice is led by what you use it for - Sunday blasts need extra sticky pirellis, every day commute, get clever rubber that sticks but lasts.

Cheers, Dave

Boxadog 2000 · Post by **Boxadog 2000** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 9:15 pm

I always buy tyres that I like the look of the tread pattern, perhaps I am just fickle.

Gromit · Post by **Gromit** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 9:42 pm

As Chris said, any tyre made in the last few years will be fine.

If you like one in particular, then it's the right tyre for you.

Let's face it, the touring tyres of today were the full-on sports tyre of 10 years (or less) ago.

I remember an article written by Niall Mackenzie when testing a Honda Blackbird stating that the BT020's it was wearing gave more grip than he could use, on the road, on that bike.

I had Z6's on my R1100R where they gave enough grip to allow the dragging of hard parts on corners. Also worked a treat on my Sprint RS, which kicks out a few more horses than the S.

Al · Post by Al » Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:44 am

I have 020`s fitted and they seem fine in all conditions(I ride like a pussy in the wet anyway ) a mate swears by them on his fazer thou, on his second or third set I think

Al

Desmo904 · Post by **Desmo904** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:27 am

A few years ago I bought an Aprilia Mille, which was fitted with Michelin Pilot Sports (can't remember which one exactly, but there were a lot of R's on the end).
Turned out they were pretty much the stickiest track day tyres you could fit at that time.
It was Easter when I bought the bike, weather was cold and damp, and it felt like I was riding on ice. This was because it was not feasable to ride quickly enough, on the road, in that weather, to get enough heat in the tyres to make them work properly. If I could string about 6 corners together at decent pace, then I could start to feel the tyres getting grippier - but if I had to slow down, the tyres cooled down and I was back to square one.
The point is this; The ultimate grip from these tyres was phenominal - but on real roads in cold or damp weather they were just plain scary.
After scaring myself sh*tless for a couple of weeks I binned the Michelins and put on some more road friendly tyres and completely tranformed the bike and my confidence.

There's a lesson in there somewhere

Phil

Chamelespoon · Post by **Chamelespoon** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 12:29 pm

Yup, I found the Pilot Sports to be good if it was dry or I was riding like a hooligan, but if wet I had to "tip-toe" around corners all the time.

OTOH, Pilot ROADS are the single best tyre I've ever stuck on a motorcycle (bearing in mind I need my tyres to LAST as well as stick). Unfortunately, they're a tad expensive, but after trying most of the rest of the competition (020s, Z6s, Continentals (albeit not Road Attacks)) I'll be putting another set of Roads on next time. They just feel solid and stable from the moment you put them on to the moment you have to chuck them out because there's no tread left. Which is around the 6.5K mark for me (5.5K for the 020s and Z6s, 3K for the Continentals).

And no, I don't work for Michelin.

Boxerlass · Post by **Boxerlass** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:30 pm

I wear 020's and like them.
There is an article in this month's RIDE about how to choose tyres. It shows Bridgestone 020's as a good touring tyre with an element of sports riding as well.

Pauline

nab 301 · Post by **nab 301** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:24 pm

NA1959 wrote: Want some advise on the best tyres to fit to 1100S with 5" rear wheel!

Just general riding, no boy racer but push on a bit.

Have had various suggestions but open for advice.

Also cheepest place to buy?

In the last year the cheapest (mail order) that I could find was BFM (Dunlop d220st ) £125 stg pr. (180/120)
Nearer to home crossan in newry are usually there or there abouts, although my last purchase was Road attacks (in Dublin) €210 euro , about £140stg, better than d220 and similar to z6 but probably won't last as long.
Nigel B

Ade B · Post by **Ade B** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:48 pm

I have Pilot Roads and can't fault their longevity however the rear squared after 3k+ (which is to be expected) and it did really wierd things to the handling (see earlier posts by me...) although there was loads of tread, recently replaced the rear due to second puncture.

Having said that I find them very confidence inspiring for negotiating Elephant & Castle on a cold March morning and they seem to work quite well on a hot sunny day... I've read that the profile is not as sharp as some of the competition which (apparently) affects turn in on the S - but as its a bit of barge anyway this has never bothered me.... Massively better than the last generation Pilot Sports I had previously for road riding.

Alternatively you could get a set of Metzeler Racetechs (on the R6) superb grip, phenomenal feedback, rapid turn in etc. etc. just make sure you do at least 2 warm up laps and don't expect them to last....

I think a set of colour matched Tomahawks would be an interesting purchase, failing that I quite like the tread pattern on the Michelin sticky stuff....

Ade

NA1959 · Post by **NA1959** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:33 pm

Chaps thanks for all your helpful comments. Lots of food for thought!

Rods · Post by **Rods** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:34 pm

i have had a couple of sets of 020s on my two s's, and a set on my blackbird. yes they give good grip (as gromit has said, more than we should need on a road), but they don't half square off quickly. i've done 2.5k on michelin pilot roads, thus far very impressed, and they haven't squared off much (considering they've only had crappy months with no possibility of much lean). however, they are much more expensive than 020s.

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