Favorite sticky street/commute tires?

[MX500]

I bought my bike with the original Pilot Roads on it, I hated them. The rear would spin every time I touched the throttle and the bike would slide through corners and couldnt even pick up the rear when braking, it would just skid. They were a nightmare... I could do roll on burnouts down the street with those tires. They had nearly the same traction in rain which was nice, but really sad in the dry...

I'm now using Metzeler M3 tires, a huge improvement. I am putting atleast 30% more power to the ground, the bike is much safer, faster, and more confidence inspiring. I love the way they feel, the stiffer tires and softer compound made a world of difference. But at ~2500 miles in the rear is already atleast half worn. Its definately worth the cost, I do tons of lanesplitting and really need the braking traction offered by the single soft compound tires.

What tires do you guys run for aggressive street riding? I would like 4,000+ miles worth of tread life, but I have no interest in touring tires because I am not cheap enough to risk my life over a few extra miles of fread wear... The pilot roads were awful and I do not want to go down just because a jackass in a car tries to hit me and I can't stop in time. I am considering the M5 because they have reports of longer treat life while still being a track capable tire.

Has anyone tried the M5? I prefer a tire with a stiff construction because of my riding style. Are there any other performance oriented tires that have decent tread life? Again, I want a capable tire with a soft/sticky compound, NO hard compound centers. Its cheaper to buy tires often than to be hospitalized...

I may try the PR4 for next winter, but I'll bave plenty of time to kill another set of soft tires before the rainy season.

 

[bpw]

Your pilot roads where probably lousy because they where really old. A new set of sport touring tires will provide plenty of grip and long life.

 

[mototireguy]

Kind of over thinking/analyzing it. Your old tires were sketchy because they were old.

Any new tire from any of the major manufacturers will serve you well. You really only need to decide if you want sport or sport-touring tires.

Pick by your favorite tread pattern or price. All these choices are just different flavors of good choices.

* Sport-Touring Tire Choices (For Extra Mileage & Cold/Wet Performance)
AVON Storm ST2, BRIDGESTONE BT023 & T30, CONTINENTAL Road Attack2 & Conti Motion, DUNLOP Roadsmart 2, METZELER Roadtec Z6 & Z8, MICHELIN Pilot Road3 & Road4, PIRELLI Diablo Angel GT

* Sport Tire Choices (For Extra Dry/Warm Performance)
AVON Viper Sport, BRIDGESTONE BT016 Pro & S20, CONTINENTAL Sport Attack2, DUNLOP Qualifier Q3, METZELER Sportec M3 & M5 Interact, MICHELIN Pilot Power 3, PIRELLI Diablo Rosso II & Rosso Corsa

 

[MX500]

I'm aware the pilot roads were old, but even on my mostly street driven cars I run DOT race tires. I would rather use 30% of the max grip and 70% in an emergency than 60% and end up using 100% in an emergency. This concept has saved my 240Z from more than one attempt from other drivers trying to hit me. I ride at embarrassing speeds on a regular basis, I really would have a B King or Hayabusa, but can't afford one quite yet.

What do you guys use? If you cant loft the rear wheel during braking, it wont work for my dry season riding style.

 

[Junkie]

I'm running a PP3 front/PR4 rear. It'll lift either end with ease.

 

[KevinB]

I like Dunlop feel and compound offerings for the most part. For your needs I'd run the Q3.

On the Gladius though I replaced a worn q2 for a B-stone T30 and am pleasantly surprised. The Q2 was sliding out on me on occasion, as a worn tire will do with too much throttle. The T30 hasn't put a foot wrong for me. Ran it on Woodside and all that area at a moderate clip and it never felt out of it's element.

Granted the SVF650 isn't a power house.

I've tracked the predecessor to the Q3 - the Q2 on an R6 and a 2009 R1. It was quite good up to a faster intermediate pace.

The CBR600 has a Q3 rear, haven't really had a chance to ride it much but no complaints so far.

 

[Yakoo752]

If you cant loft the rear wheel during braking, it wont work for my dry season riding style.

I can't think of a tire where you couldn't loft the rear - stoppies come from front brake control & modulation

 

[Junkie]

Geometry differences between bikes makes it much easier on some than others. The higher and farther forward the center of gravity is, and the shorter the wheelbase, the easier.

 

[Burning1]

I bought my bike with the original Pilot Roads on it, I hated them. The rear would spin every time I touched the throttle and the bike would slide through corners and couldnt even pick up the rear when braking, it would just skid. They were a nightmare...

The original Pilot Roads are from 2008 or so. The issues you had were entirely related to riding on tires 3 years past their expiration date.

What tires do you guys run for aggressive street riding? I would like 4,000+ miles worth of tread life, but I have no interest in touring tires because I am not cheap enough to risk my life over a few extra miles of fread wear..

Sport touring tires, such as the PRs you hated.

I've ridden every sport touring tire released since 2008. I've taken the Pirelli Angels and BT23s to the track, and gone knee dragging on both. Both are entirely capable of a solid B track pace, so long as you aren't a fuck-wit.

Suspension is absolutely critical to traction. I'd rather be at the track on sport touring tires with a sorted suspension than race tires and garbage oil / factory springs / bad tuning.

I may try the PR4 for next winter, but I'll bave plenty of time to kill another set of soft tires before the rainy season.

Ride on what makes you feel comfortable. Tires are a personal opinion; you might as well be asking what the best sexual position is.

As a general rule, carcass stiffness and profile are among the bigger differentiating features between brands. Tuning the suspension and geometry for your tires will make a big difference in feel and performance; you aren't going to get a really good comparison between tires if you're bike isn't setup for them.

In sport touring tires, I really like the Pirelli Angels. They have a sporty profile, combined with a good rubber compound that works well in the rain. Most other sport-touring tires have been a bit rounder than I like, and they often end up flattening out a little more with age. With that said, the PR4s I'm on are working just fine, and most people I talk to love em.

 

[Burning1]

What do you guys use? If you cant loft the rear wheel during braking, it wont work for my dry season riding style.

Please re-evaluate your riding style.

Every sport touring tire I've run will stoppie just fine. It's a non-issue.

 

[gaius49]

I'm really enjoying my Road Attack 2s.

 

[Kameron808]

Super Corsa Pro SP1. Own it.

 

[MX500]

I've been riding for 16 years... I can do stoppies on pavement with knobbies on dirtbikes. The pilot roads were that shitty by the time I got the bike, but they were in nearly new condition with zero cracking so I rode them for a while.

I have the bikes suspension set up as good as possible considering the front is not adjustable aside from preload. Its much better than stock, I have a showa adjustable rear shock, I spent some time dialing it in. After 14 years of riding offroad, I learned a wee bit about suspension setup.

I am aware that tires age poorly. I have a lot of experience with racing tires for cars.

I was asking specific questions for specific answers... I am doing this from my phone and its a pain to explain every detail of my riding style, capabilities, and needs.


Thanks for the productive replies.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

I've never loved any Michelin motorcycle tire I've ridden. They have a feel that I just don't dig. My ST tire cuhoices have ranged from Continentals, Metzlers, Shinkos, Dunlops, and Pirellis. I won't say that any of them is a game changer, but the Prelli Angel GT is my favorite for grip level and feel. They're worth trying, and you can.usually get them on sale as a pair if you shop around.

 

[Brown81]

I have loved every Mich tire I have tried, too.

Except the Original Pilot Roads, which I hated. Terrible profile and not very good traction, imo. The Pilot Road 2 was soooo much better it made the originals seem even worse. Just my opinion.

 

[FreeRyde]

PR3/PR4 or RoadSmart II if you want a super long lasting commuter tire with grip.

 

[RightCoastBias]

I really liked my Pirelli Angel GTs, I'll be getting another set when the Birdgestone S20s that came with my S3 are done, or before "winter".

 

[corpsedub]

angel GT's on my blackbird. really like them.

 

[SummerLove]

Our household swears by Pilot Road 3s and 4s.. I have a set of 3s that need replacing, 12k miles and soon to be 2 years ( bike sat for 6 months while I rode the Buell.) They've finally started to square off from my commute. No wear bars yet but tread is looking a little thin..

 

[Burning1]

I've been riding for 16 years... I can do stoppies on pavement with knobbies on dirtbikes. The pilot roads were that shitty by the time I got the bike, but they were in nearly new condition with zero cracking so I rode them for a while.

A cracking tire is done for sure, but a tire can look new and still have turned hard. With as much experience as you have with racing tires, you should know not to form an opinion based on a 6 year old tire.

I have the bikes suspension set up as good as possible considering the front is not adjustable aside from preload. Its much better than stock, I have a showa adjustable rear shock, I spent some time dialing it in. After 14 years of riding offroad, I learned a wee bit about suspension setup.

Proper setup means the suspension has been disassembled, sprung correctly, re-valved, oil level set correctly, oil weight adjusted, worn parts replaced, seals lubricated, and exterior adjustments setup correctly. External adjustments are for fine-tuning; internals have the largest impact on suspension performance.

My race bike had no external adjustments on the front end; all adjustments were made internally. Massive improvements can be had via fairly simple modifications.

I was asking specific questions for specific answers... I am doing this from my phone and its a pain to explain every detail of my riding style, capabilities, and needs.

You may not get the answers you expect, but if you check your ego at the door you might find the information you get to be extremely valuable.

In my experience, you can expect 3000-4000 miles out of pretty much any sport tire on the market, and 5000-7000 miles out of pretty much any sport touring tire. I have yet to see an outlier. You aren't going to find a tire that performs like a sport tire, and lasts like a sport touring tire. However, you may find that sport touring tires meet absolutely all your requirements.

I find that sport tires tend to get hard and start slipping towards the end of their usable life. Sport touring tires tend to provide more consistent performance through their entire life time. Multi-compound tires are a toss-up; if you tend to wear out the centers, they will maintain their profile better than single compound tires. If you tend to wear out the sides, you can end up with extremely V shaped profiles, along with reduced longevity and odd handling problems.

Proper suspension setup, riding style, and attention to tire pressures can have a huge impact on tire longevity.

Again, I've run pretty much every sport touring tire under the sun, and a lot of the sport tires. Modern tires are all very good. The best tire is the one you feel most confident on. There is no tire I'd advise you to avoid, and no magic bullet tire that will reduce your laptime by 5 seconds and make rainbows shine out of your ass.

I personally like Pirelli Angel GTs best, and I'm fairly happy on PR4s. I've run the GTs and BT023s at the track at a B+ pace. I prefer some tires to others, but nothing I've ridden on has been 'bad.'

Again, based on my track experience, suspension setup and riding style is more important than tire selection for overall safety.

Thanks for the productive replies.

You're asking for free advise on a public forum; try to be humble about the responses you get. You're not paying for this, and even if you don't agree with the advise, it's good to be appreciative of the time invested in it.

I have 100,000 miles of riding experience, and a handful of race trophies. MotoTireGuy is an expert on tires; I don't even know how much experience he has, but I trust his tire advise implicitly.