Help me choose my first replacement tires

[BlackAndBlue]

As many miles as I've logged on a bike and I've never actually picked out tires. On my last bike I just went with what was on there because they seemed good (perelli sport demons). Now the Dunlop Q3's on my recently acquired FZ6 are 5 years old and, tread or not, in need of replacement. The vast plethora of options has me overwhelmed. Most of the forum talk I see is mostly concerning the grippiest fun-oriented tires one can find, however my usage is a bit different. I will be riding about 6000 miles per year, give or take 1500 or so, mostly highway, but I like to have a bit of fun too, but nothing crazy. I won't be going to the track or flying up and down the dragon as many times as I can stand either, though I do like to get down in a turn just a bit now and then, and a good gripping tire makes me feel safer. So, I hesitate to get the most touring oriented tire out there like the Michelin Pilot Road series, because a little extra grip wouldn't hurt and I'll want to change the tires every year anyway even if they're not worn out. So what is a good middle of the road tire that will definitely be good for 6000 miles but grip pretty well too?

 

[trepetti]

Choosing the best tire is like arguing about favorite colors. I was a big fan of Michelin Pilot Powers for a while. Really grippy but really short life. I am on my first set of Pilot Road 3s a d I can tell you that I see no difference in grip. Which means I was never pushing the Pilot Powers. The Roads are wearing well and T this point I would certainly buy them again.

 

[aclayonb]

I've got about 2k miles on my Pilot Road 3's and I'm not showing any wear yet. I had battleaxes before and these both grip better and wear better. Haven't put them through the paces in the rain yet. I haven't had these tires noticably lose traction either. Used to lose traction all the time in the battleaxes, even when they were newer.

 

[major tom]

Bridgestone BT-023. Cheap(ish), grips(NO chicken strips), and best of all they don't seem to wear out(kinda) All my bikes have them. My Triumph ST 955 now has 7500 miles and they are due(down to the wear bars finally) and I cruise at 80-85MPH(radar detector) in the wide open spaces of Nevada, Utah, and now Texas(don't mess with Texas!)

 

[major tom]

Why do you replace your tires so often, and not worn out?! Every year!!!!!!!!?????????? Tires do have a build date you know.

 

[Red Wazp]

The best bang for the buck is the Michelin Pilot Road 2 (yes they still make them) Great in the rain, stick just fine (3 track days on 3 different bikes) and will wear better than the 3"s while being less money.
I used them on my FJR1300, FZ6, FZ1 and still use them on my 990 supermoto.

 

[Sl!pstream]

I'm in the same boat needing to get a first set of replacement tires due to age. Bike just rolled over 2k miles but being an 09 model year, the rubber is rather old. I dont feel very confident leaning the bike over compared to many others I have ridden (I feel like Im pushing/pulling on the bars a lot), so new tires are the first step for more confidence.

All my sportbike buddies and local performance shop rave about the Dunlop Q3, but I would like something that has decent life too. I dont ride in the wet so I dont really care about siping or wet performance, just dry grip and longevity. Most of my riding is surface streets or shorter metro area highway stints as opposed to slab, if that makes a difference.

 

[FIZZER6]

Don't be afraid to get a sport touring dual compound tire like the Michelin Pilot Road series. These touring tires are not like they old days. They have sport tire grip when leaned over but wear like a touring tire in the centers. There are plenty of people on this forum who have done multiple track days on Pilot road 2's and 3's with no issues.

I have the Road 2's now and they are just as grippy as my previous Pilot power 2CT sport tires and Bridgestone BT016's.

With the cost and inconvenience of having to replace tires it's silly to buy tires that cost 20% less but will wear out 50% faster!

 

[BlackAndBlue]

Why do you replace your tires so often, and not worn out?! Every year!!!!!!!!?????????? Tires do have a build date you know.

The goal is that they are pretty much worn out at the end of the year. Not that they're completely ruined after a winter, but exposure to winter temperatures for a few months definitely has a negative effect on softer rubbers like that of most motorcycle tires. I autocross a lot and have experienced this first hand plenty of times with my race tires. So I still wouldn't throw a away a tire that had half its life left, it would still be fine for the most part, but ideally I just wear tires out before winter and put new ones on just before next riding/racing season starts. That way I don't have to take the time to do it in the middle of the riding season on a day that I'd rather be riding, and I have good dependable rubber for the whole season.


I appreciate all the suggestions everyone. I'm looking in to all the tires you're mentioning individually.

 

[payneib]

Road Attack 2 EVO. Just to make sure you've got enough research going to keep you entertained.

 

[FIZZER6]

The goal is that they are pretty much worn out at the end of the year. Not that they're completely ruined after a winter, but exposure to winter temperatures for a few months definitely has a negative effect on softer rubbers like that of most motorcycle tires. I autocross a lot and have experienced this first hand plenty of times with my race tires. So I still wouldn't throw a away a tire that had half its life left, it would still be fine for the most part, but ideally I just wear tires out before winter and put new ones on just before next riding/racing season starts. That way I don't have to take the time to do it in the middle of the riding season on a day that I'd rather be riding, and I have good dependable rubber for the whole season.


I appreciate all the suggestions everyone. I'm looking in to all the tires you're mentioning individually.

If you ride 6,000 miles/year and want to wear them out in that time you should not get a sport touring tire in that case. The Pilot Road tires will last 7-10K miles on an FZ6 even with 10% spirited riding in the twisties. Look into the Michelin Pilot Power 2CT. This tire had better handling than any other tire I've used before and I went 6,300 miles on them before hitting the wear bars on the front sides and rear center. I ride 50% on curvy roads and like to push it spirited for 10 or 20 miles each week. Bottom line though, you need a dual compound tire for sure if you want any chance of lasting 6,000 miles on one rear tire. Single compound Sport tires on Virginia highways will not last 6,000 miles of highway and spirited mixed riding.

 

[BlackAndBlue]

Being one of those people myself who scoffs at the idea of someone asking for advice and then completely ignoring it, I very hesitantly admit that I ended up going with Dunlop Roadsmart II's, despite the lack of their suggestion in this thread! I appreciate all the suggestions. I did spend many hours looking in to each individual tire recommended. I largely found consistent reviews between most of the tires! It seems that most modern tires impress around 3/4 of the people that try them, and another 1/4 of people just hate everything haha. But the Roadsmarts just seemed right for me. The single compound up front makes me feel like I won't have sacrificed any notable stopping power by going with a longer lasting tire up there, but the dual compound in the back seems just right, with a narrow strip of pretty long lasting rubber surrounded by pretty sticky rubber. People typically like them fairly well, especially for a bike that gets a lot of highway miles. They may last longer than I had stated I'd like in fact, but I'll just have to deal with that in the middle of next season I suppose. In the end, the $50 rebate that Dunlop is offering right now helped a lot too... I ended up getting the set for $200 shipped. I also tend to just like Dunlop in general because I've had extremely good experiences with Direzzas on my autocross car.

I'll post my impressions once I get some miles on. Though, I'm sure I'll be impressed after coming off of 5 year old Q3's. Those made me nervous a couple of times without even pushing it any. Way too old.

 

[Red Wazp]

Any tire is good as long as it's not Dunlop. Ha, j/k I'm sure they will work just fine. They are new, black and round so that's a good start.

 

[seansi]

As many miles as I've logged on a bike and I've never actually picked out tires. On my last bike I just went with what was on there because they seemed good (perelli sport demons). Now the Dunlop Q3's on my recently acquired FZ6 are 5 years old and, tread or not, in need of replacement. The vast plethora of options has me overwhelmed. Most of the forum talk I see is mostly concerning the grippiest fun-oriented tires one can find, however my usage is a bit different. I will be riding about 6000 miles per year, give or take 1500 or so, mostly highway, but I like to have a bit of fun too, but nothing crazy. I won't be going to the track or flying up and down the dragon as many times as I can stand either, though I do like to get down in a turn just a bit now and then, and a good gripping tire makes me feel safer. So, I hesitate to get the most touring oriented tire out there like the Michelin Pilot Road series, because a little extra grip wouldn't hurt and I'll want to change the tires every year anyway even if they're not worn out. So what is a good middle of the road tire that will definitely be good for 6000 miles but grip pretty well too?

I just replaced mine with Pilot road 3 and I think they're very good. Grip inspires confidence and I managed to get them for 250 from bike bandit.

 

[Dvan5693]

Pilot road 4's! I have a set in my garage waiting to be put on.

The road 4's will have quite a bit more grip when leaned over. One of the main differences from the PR3's to the PR4's is the reduction in sipes(cuts in the tire) in the last 20% of tread or so. They changed it so you could get better grip and corner harder on the PR4 since there is more contact with no sipes in the final bit of tire.

The PR4 also stops faster in wet and dry and last longer than the PR3. For the small difference in price is totally worth it!

However if you much more riding in the rain, the PR3 may be better for you since it has sipes that run to the very edge.....I hope all of that made sense.

I had PR2's on my yzf600r and I loved them. Put around 8k on them and still have TONS of tread left. With easy riding, 15-20k on a PR4 is totally do-able!


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[ShoopCE]

Michelin PR4's. Lots and lots of smileage.

 

[cmantis]

Ive got the pr4s look great in my living room...

Just waiting for my mechanic to get an opening.

 

[Willie]

currently running the Michelin Pilot power 2CT. Got a couple thousand miles on them. I am well pleased with their grip, not sure how long they will last.

 

[motojoe122]

currently running the Michelin Pilot power 2CT. Got a couple thousand miles on them. I am well pleased with their grip, not sure how long they will last.

I like these tires, I have a set also. I really see no reason to try a different kind.


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[trepetti]

I moved from Pilot Powers to PR3s last year thinking I was going to trade some grip for mileage, but I find the grip of the PR3s to be well within my limits. The mileage is DEFINITELY better now. Kinda bummed because I am anxious to move to PR4s but I will have to be patient.