oldster52
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Tires?
Dec 12, 2019 3:54:48 GMT -7
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Post by oldster52 on Dec 12, 2019 3:54:48 GMT -7
Ok....Last November I bought my ‘17 brand new and now have 18k miles on the odometer. I have stayed with the Bridgestone Battlax S21’s, which I mostly love. I love the grip in the dry, wherever I am pushing it. I think it’s fine in wet weather, also. I had a set of S21’s with about 2500 miles that I took to the track (Nola Motorsports Park) and they were perfect for my skill level, It even started raining later in the day and they were still confidence-inspiring. I’m tired of buying new tires every 4K miles, so I’m going to try some sport touring tires next. I keep getting steered towards Michelin Road 5’s, but just the rubber is right at $400. I can deal with that if they don’t slide too much on the edges AND last 10k miles or more, which I have been told. I ride everyday in dry/wet/hot/cold; set in “B” mode/ TC-1 and not shy on the throttle. I have read and been told these are awesome wet riding tires, which I accept as true. It’s the mileage boasts I question..... Anyone with some experience with these tires? How about any other S/T tires (Bridgestone T31’s??). Thanks!
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smokinfz10
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Tires?
Dec 12, 2019 5:45:47 GMT -7
Post by smokinfz10 on Dec 12, 2019 5:45:47 GMT -7
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superspirit
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Post by superspirit on Dec 12, 2019 6:38:58 GMT -7
I went to the T31 on the rear at 4k, bike now has 8k and the rear tire still looks new. Will be putting the T31 on the front next month. I'm sold great grip and great wear rate.
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fjrchuck
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Loving both my FZ10 and my FJR!
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Tires?
Dec 12, 2019 13:57:55 GMT -7
Post by fjrchuck on Dec 12, 2019 13:57:55 GMT -7
"I went to the T31 on the rear at 4k, bike now has 8k and the rear tire still looks new. Will be putting the T31 on the front next month. I'm sold great grip and great wear rate." Hard to beat the Bridgestone T31 tires for value......especially when there is a rebate going on and you can buy a set for $200.00 with rebate applied??? Got about 7K out of both front and rears on my last set and a LOT of those miles were running down in North Carolina, Tennessee and North Georgia!
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oldster52
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Tires?
Dec 12, 2019 18:21:39 GMT -7
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Post by oldster52 on Dec 12, 2019 18:21:39 GMT -7
Thanks for the feedback! How about grip at the edges of the tires on the T31’s? Also wondering about the rebate mentioned...is that still going on?
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smokinfz10
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Tires?
Jan 1, 2020 7:42:12 GMT -7
Post by smokinfz10 on Jan 1, 2020 7:42:12 GMT -7
Grip is awesome on the rear! The rear tire is a dual compound and who can argue with Ron Haslam ex Motogp Star and he uses the T31 at his Race Track School.
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smokinfz10
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Post by smokinfz10 on Jan 1, 2020 7:46:26 GMT -7
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oldster52
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Post by oldster52 on Jan 1, 2020 17:53:08 GMT -7
Thanks for the link to the tire site!
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vstate60
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Post by vstate60 on Jan 2, 2020 20:02:12 GMT -7
Thanks for the suggestion SmokinFZ—that sounds almost too good to be true!
I am about to replace the front stock Bridgestone S21 now at 3.5k miles (sides are torched) and the stock rear I got 2.2k out of. Replaced it with a Pirelli Angel GT and it seems to be doing well but I guess I’ll find out in the next thousand miles. Y’all nearly have me convinced to go with the T31 front now and make em match by adding the rest in a month or so when I need a new rear tire.
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oldster52
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Post by oldster52 on Jan 5, 2020 5:08:29 GMT -7
Hello V-State- I just wanted to mention that I read that the main reason for using matched tires is for riding in wet conditions. The article said that the front tires grooves are designed to essentially clear a path for the rear tire’s grooves/sipes. Front/rear tires that are not designed to work together may lead to more hydroplaning. I cannot personally verify this, as I often ride in the rain and am too nervous to ride mismatched tires. Anyway, if you’re interested I found what I think to be one of the most comprehensive and unbiased real-world tire reviews. The author compares the Bridgestone T30 EVO with Michelin Road 4’s..: sort of. The main point of the article is to see if new age sport touring tires are suitable for sport bikes/ super-nakeds. Check it out! www.motorcycle.com/products/long-term-review-bridgestone-battlax-t30-evo
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smokinfz10
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Tires?
Jan 5, 2020 7:33:40 GMT -7
Post by smokinfz10 on Jan 5, 2020 7:33:40 GMT -7
Very good article from Motorcyle.com.
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vstate60
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Tires?
Jan 5, 2020 13:52:51 GMT -7
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Post by vstate60 on Jan 5, 2020 13:52:51 GMT -7
Hello V-State- I just wanted to mention that I read that the main reason for using matched tires is for riding in wet conditions. The article said that the front tires grooves are designed to essentially clear a path for the rear tire’s grooves/sipes. Front/rear tires that are not designed to work together may lead to more hydroplaning. I cannot personally verify this, as I often ride in the rain and am too nervous to ride mismatched tires. Anyway, if you’re interested I found what I think to be one of the most comprehensive and unbiased real-world tire reviews. The author compares the Bridgestone T30 EVO with Michelin Road 4’s..: sort of. The main point of the article is to see if new age sport touring tires are suitable for sport bikes/ super-nakeds. Check it out! www.motorcycle.com/products/long-term-review-bridgestone-battlax-t30-evoMuch appreciate the info—after racing for a couple years and being around a ton of fast guys most stuck to the same brand but we were always mismatching tires. Sliding is part of the fun...and if the front tire is designed to move water out of the way—it’ll move it out of the way for any rear tire would be my thought. I do think that theory is a good way to sell tires, though! Ordering the front from that site SmokinFZ shared—I’ll report back. ~3.3k on the stock Stone S31 and the sides are trashed—middle is pretty much perfect.
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Deleted
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Registered: Nov 24, 2024 22:19:32 GMT -7
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Tires?
Jan 5, 2020 15:21:47 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2020 15:21:47 GMT -7
Interesting motorcycle.com article, although it was clearly a plug for Bridgestone tires, which are at the bottom of the list for me . But the message was clear: you don't really need anything more than sport-touring rubber for street riding, and even some track days... unless you're Marc Marquez . Now have the Road5s, and couldn't be happier with them.
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Post by RedAndBlack on Jan 5, 2020 17:23:37 GMT -7
But the message was clear: you don't really need anything more than sport-touring rubber for street riding, and even some track days... unless you're Marc Marquez .
Sport touring for track days? Lol.
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vstate60
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Tires?
Jan 5, 2020 18:47:16 GMT -7
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Post by vstate60 on Jan 5, 2020 18:47:16 GMT -7
But the message was clear: you don't really need anything more than sport-touring rubber for street riding, and even some track days... unless you're Marc Marquez .
Sport touring for track days? Lol.
Yeah I’m out on that one. But agreed for touring tires on the street as you’re not using warmers and as long as the sliding is predictable I’d rather get more than 2k out of my rubber.
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dnozzle
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Tires?
Jan 5, 2020 19:58:15 GMT -7
Post by dnozzle on Jan 5, 2020 19:58:15 GMT -7
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vstate60
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Post by vstate60 on Jan 7, 2020 10:05:19 GMT -7
So at 3.3k miles the stock front S21 sides were trashed so I ran up to my local shop today and they made me a deal on the marching Pirelli Angel GT II....it’s such a difference that I’m pretty sure I’m not just doing the ‘I have new tires so they must be better than the last brand’....damn this thing falls into corners now and just sits there. Touring tire, my ass. Definitely a huge improvement on the stock Battleax and the rear has just under 1k miles and still looks brand new.
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wodger63
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Tires?
Feb 3, 2020 13:52:01 GMT -7
Post by wodger63 on Feb 3, 2020 13:52:01 GMT -7
So at 3.3k miles the stock front S21 sides were trashed so I ran up to my local shop today and they made me a deal on the marching Pirelli Angel GT II....it’s such a difference that I’m pretty sure I’m not just doing the ‘I have new tires so they must be better than the last brand’....damn this thing falls into corners now and just sits there. Touring tire, my ass. Definitely a huge improvement on the stock Battleax and the rear has just under 1k miles and still looks brand new. So is it safe to say you found the S21's slow on the turn in? Although I find my bike stable enough, it does seem to turn slow needing some effort on the change of direction. More than I would have thought after coming off a KTM 1090R with a 21" front wheel. On the same bike I also ran a road wheel set of 19/17 with Pirelli Scorpions which I would say with the 19" front turned in quicker than MT-10. I was tempted to drop the forks through the yokes but our roads here are pretty average and I don't want to mess with my already very good straight line stability under hard acceleration. You went with the GT Angels which I understood were for heavy sport tourers like ZX14's, you didn't consider the ST Angels which I thought would have been more suited to our bikes?
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pc1978
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Post by pc1978 on Feb 3, 2020 15:34:27 GMT -7
So at 3.3k miles the stock front S21 sides were trashed so I ran up to my local shop today and they made me a deal on the marching Pirelli Angel GT II....it’s such a difference that I’m pretty sure I’m not just doing the ‘I have new tires so they must be better than the last brand’....damn this thing falls into corners now and just sits there. Touring tire, my ass. Definitely a huge improvement on the stock Battleax and the rear has just under 1k miles and still looks brand new. So is it safe to say you found the S21's slow on the turn in? Although I find my bike stable enough, it does seem to turn slow needing some effort on the change of direction. More than I would have thought after coming off a KTM 1090R with a 21" front wheel. On the same bike I also ran a road wheel set of 19/17 with Pirelli Scorpions which I would say with the 19" front turned in quicker than MT-10. I was tempted to drop the forks through the yokes but our roads here are pretty average and I don't want to mess with my already very good straight line stability under hard acceleration. You went with the GT Angels which I understood were for heavy sport tourers like ZX14's, you didn't consider the ST Angels which I thought would have been more suited to our bikes? The Angel ST is the original tire in that line (single compound), but still available. Replaced by the GT and then the GT2. The GT comes stock on the KTM SDGT (right at 500 lbs wet). Pirelli also makes an A-spec version of the GT which has the same dual compound tread but a stiffer sidewall for the really heavy sport touring bikes. I had the GT II on my last bike and liked them. Had the original GT on originally. I think they turned in better/faster than the original. At first I thought it could be new tire vs coming off the old tires, but the more I rode them I think they were a bit quicker to turn in. I did put on a ST on the rear one time because it was a great deal ($99) and I only wanted it on until I wore out the front so I could transition them both at the same time to the GT II, and not waste a bunch of money. The GT is a nice improvement over the ST, much more confidence inspiring when leaning hard. I would be interested to hear your feedback on if the front end shimmy’s a bit under hard acceleration with the GT II. I noticed this and have heard others say the same thing, and say it is because of the rain grooves down the center of the tire (which the original GT didn’t have). It only happened for me during very hard acceleration, normal acceleration and constant speeds didn’t occur. It wasn’t enough to make me want to change them out, but was noticeable. Was debating going with the Road 5’s when I got the GT II’s, which is a great tire. But from my research it seemed that the Michelin was probably a bit better in the rain and maybe lasted a bit longer (although the GT and GTII are no slouch in either category) but the Pirelli’s are probably a bit better handling for aggressive riding/cornering. When I bought my MT10 the previous owner had put on a new set of Conti Sport Attack (original version) for the sale/listing. While it is an older version (I think they are up to the 3rd version now). I have been extremely happy with handling/stability when cornering hard. Not sure how long they will last though.
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