What is the best SPORT-tour tire for the VFR

[reg71]

I am only allowed 10 so I'm going to try to list the most common ones in no particular order. If you reply, please include a concise message estimating your mileage, price, handling, looks, or anything you think is pertinent about the tires. This is intended to help people shopping for tires. I'm still working on this... I was making a poll but I ran into too many tires. I want to make it where you select what is in your opinion the best but first I have to narrow it down to 10. So, give me 10 Sport touring tires, then 10 sport TOURing tires . we'll have to leave off the sport tires on this one. once we have a pretty fair idea of the most popular, we'll list the poll and let everyone vote on both polls...

I like the conti road attack

[emon07]

My choice for best Sport Tour tire is the Dunlop RoadSmart tire. I have tried other tires that were good, but the Dunlop RoadSmart is my favorite. The Dunlop tires has a somewhat flat profile which gives the bike a stable feel and a kinda soft ride without feeling loose. Front tire feedback is excellent, no problems on groved roads the bike stays steady and stable. I ride year round in NYC and the Dunlop tires warm up quickly by comparison to other tires. Also, tire grip is excellent and stable when riding/stopping in wet weather and also on cold roads in temps below 30 degrees. The Dunlop tires are not the most flickable so you do have to push a little into a turn to lean the bike (can drag a knee if you want to), and the tires grips and tracks through a turn with ease. I have run the tires up to a little over 140mph and the bike was stable as hell. I have run the tires through 1 1/2 winter seasons in NYC and I am very happy with the tire. Don't want to BS about the mileage, but I have put approx 4k miles on the tires and I should be good for the upcoming season and some. You can get the Dunlop RoadSmart tires online for a decent price at MOTORCYCLE PRO SHOP- Compare Motorcycle Exhaust, Motorcycle Tire, and Motorcycle Accessories with free shipping (current set price for VFR - $262.00) - hope this helps.

[vfr2k2]

emon07...spot on!

While I don't have much to add other than I ride mostly rural roads with some "freeway" rides and very little city driving I agree with your comments 100%.

Great tire!!

[RWB25]

Thanks for starting this thread Reg. I still have the original OEM/crap tires on my 07 and will be looking to replace them very soon. So since I have no real value to contribute, I'll stop typing, step aside and wait for others to chime in to help me decide on which tires to consider when compiling my short list.



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[Joey_Dude]

I've had sets of Continental Road Attacks for almost a year and half. Here are some pros/cons:

Pros:

• Excellent grip, I've dragged the footpegs with no slipping.
• Relatively long lasting, 5K-7K on rear
• Modestly priced compared to other sport-touring tires. Through ridedirect.com they fetch approx $200 per set
• The tread pattern looks pretty cool, I actually get comments about them because it looks like some exotic wild brand of tires.

Cons:

• Slight headshake at low speeds because of the way the treads are grooved. Unless you're in the habit of riding hands-free I don't think it's a big issue.
• Grip in the cold (30s and below) isn't fantastic but it's a moot point because I don't haul when it's that cold out
• The handling is a little sluggish compared to sport tires. This is due to the rounded profile.

Overall, I like those tires and I would not hesitate to recommend those tires to anyone wanting to do sport-touring. The only thing that's keeping those tires from getting into sport category is its handling.

You can have fun in the twisties but it's going to wear you out because you gotta push with more effort. Plus you gotta almost plan out your turns ahead due to the delayed response of the tires.

However, if I was going on a cross-country trip and want to have some fun riding at the various destinations I would slap those Road Attacks on.

[R.W.]

For a pure Sport-touring tires I would recommend the Continental Road Attacks, On the three or four sets I had I averaged 4,500 miles on the rear and 9,000 on the front and definitely used every bit of the tread, not bad mileage since I'm 6' and 225lbs and always carried a heavy tail pack loaded down with camera eq. and misc. stuff, The thing I hate to see is when people waste their money and buy a sticky set of $350.00 dollar tires when a good set of $220.00 sport-touring tires will do for their riding characteristics...

[Action]

I really like the Pilot Road 2’s. Dual compound front and rear with a slightly sharper profile that gives a little quicker turn in. Great grip in the cold and they stick well in the twisties. They do well in the rain but since I live in the desert I’ve only ridden with them in the rain a few times. I’m 250 lbs with gear and I always have crap in my tail bag. Every other rear tire I’ve tried was shot right about 5k miles. So far I’ve put 5K on the PR2’s and still have decent tread left. I’m guessing I should get about 7K out of the rear and 9K out of the front.

Action

[emon07]

Thanks VFR2K2 - happy to add to the group. Good info from RW and others - I gotta agree with RW about people who pay through the nose for sticky tires for a Sport Touring bike. The common trait with Sport Touring tires is that they have a flatter profile and require a little more work to lay into a turn, and should be good for high mileage. Of course a good suspension and setup always helps too. Maybe the next thread we should do is suspension setup - weight specific, type of riding and VFR track day suspension setup.

[RVFR]

OMG a tire thread, How cool..

Front


Rear


#1 for Sport touring, Pirelli Diablo Corsa 3s. Hands down the winner, you need to have tried em before you say anything, if you have, then your input has merit.

#2 for sport Touring No surprise here, Pirelli Diablos, again one needs to have tried em to really understand what I am talking about.

Close second is the Bridgestone Battle axe series, great tire that gets no respect. It is what I ran on for years prior, had no complaints until the Pirellis showed up, that and BS discontinued the BS56r so what was I to do.

I have tried on in the past years a many a tire, but in the last 3+ years I have found no reason to change since I have found these Corsas to be so user friendly. They give great feed back and confidence. almost, maybe to much if your riding ability isn't able to take advantage.

Both the 3s and standards I'm seeing 10-11k on the fronts and 7-9k on the rear, and I too like RW use the whole tire. Both stick like glue both in dry and wet, they also balance out really well, besides IMO they have a cool tread pattern.

One other note here, due in part to the front tire having a Z pattern this tire does not give the VFR the dreaded head shake, even when worn.

[jaimev34]

So far my vote goes to the Michelin Pilot Road 2. Perfect mix of sport and touring. The dual compound ensures a long tire life and the necessary grip up in the mountains. As I have stated in another thread, my front tire has over 12K miles on it (I changed the front when I bought it with 21.5K and the bike now has 33.5K) and I'll probably ride it up to SLO3 and back. I ride the mountains pretty agressively on the weekends, so I can vouche for its grip. I love this tire. Right now I have a Dunlop Roadsmart as my rear tire. It has about 2.5 K miles on it and it's showing some wear on the center. I don't know if it will last me another 2.5K. I think the Pilot Road 2 rear may last a bit longer than the Roadsmart. I will try that one again once this one goes.

Pros:
-Long life
-Grip
-Widely available

Cons:
-Price!!!! (That's it)

[olddudesrule]

Great grip, dual compound, wear seems much better than my former OEM's, and the price (through Cycle Gear) was great ($230 front and rear).

[deepdish]

chen shing

[Y2Kviffer]

+1 Michelin Pilot Road... have 7k on the rear and still has lots of life left.

[havcar]

I would make the argument that the metzler M3 belongs in this catergory. While this tire is in the sportie sport/touring group, it does a lot in terms of mileage, handling, wet weather, and stickiness. Thier multi-compound recipe just seems to suit most of our VFR needs. Plus they look phenominal.

I've got 3500 miles on the rear, and will probablly need to replace at 6 or 7000 miles. It handles perfectly, so I guess I'm cool with a 7000 mile lifespan.

[nvoges]

Michelin Pilot Road 2CT's are by far the best tire I've ever used. The only problem with them is price.

[jay956]

i got a set of Pirelli Diablo Stradas on mine. seem good to me, im still kinda a beginner so i dont hit the twisties hard or anything. got about 2000 miles on em and almost no signs of wear.

[mello dude]

I would like to see someway that we could set up a chart and just fill in the blanks. Entries would be front/rear mileage, compliance, stickyness in turns, braking, wet handling and throw in riding style as easy/medium/hard riding etc.
Just some method to take a ton of data and be able to look at it in a glance. The poll tool on this site is too general. Any ideas?

MD

[RVFR]

^ Add in a price point too, as I'm thinking a lot of folks try and get the best bang for the buck. LOL was why I switched and took the chance, good thing I did other wise I'd probably be riding on 2Cs

[havcar]

^ Add in a price point too, as I'm thinking a lot of folks try and get the best bang for the buck. LOL was why I switched and took the chance, good thing I did other wise I'd probably be riding on 2Cs

For a pair of Metzler M3's 180/55/17, we're looking at $400, expensive I know, but worth it.

[bitterpil]

I would like to see someway that we could set up a chart and just fill in the blanks. Entries would be front/rear mileage, compliance, stickyness in turns, braking, wet handling and throw in riding style as easy/medium/hard riding etc.
Just some method to take a ton of data and be able to look at it in a glance. The poll tool on this site is too general. Any ideas?

MD

+1
There is a chart something like this on VFRD

[John451]

Michelin Pilot Road 2CT's are by far the best tire I've ever used.

I'd have to agree the Michelin Road 2's while a little slower on Turn in than my previous Powers wet or dry are just brilliant.

Anyone know how much milage you get from them, have 4400 miles on Front and 3200 on rear and they still look new with the Powers I'd be looking to replace before my next big ride.

[Joey_Dude]

For a pair of Metzler M3's 180/55/17, we're looking at $400, expensive I know, but worth it.

Uh, is that in canadian dollars? I don't know about you but I bought a set of Metzeler M3's for $230ish including shipping.

[someguy]

Pirelli Diablo Stradas

incredibly stable at speed, knee down with confidence... i loose my nerve long before they lose theirs...
Outstanding wear (7K on first set), 5 days hard twisty riding on this set, no sign of wear. limited rain experience but what i have has been very confidence inspiring (more twistys)... prices 130 front, 150 rear installed. (guy went out of business... too bad)
Would buy them again in a heartbeat.
I mostly commute, but when the planets align, i ride hard on the Dragon/Skyway and similar... very forgiving tire, for me anywhere.

and of course, all this is 'in my humble opinion'. I've ridden Pilots, Metzlers M3's ...
i'm pretty impressed with the Strada.


And I'd put the Corsa a hard second...

[SwitchBladeVfr]

HEY, I have a set of Shinko advance 005 with about 1000 miles on them, so far so good. You have to let them warm up before hard riding but I paid $152 for them from bikebandit. Right now they have the Mich. Pilot Powers on sale(35% off) and the Shinko's front and rear for $175 and change today.

[herbieflower]

I just have to say, that I'm not getting what I need from Bridgestone BT20's. Now I'd like to try Pirelli Angel's... if not then - Conti Street Attack or Metzeler Z6 Interact...

I ride - 40% snakes, 30% long tour, 30% city and around (well I could go with 33,333 for all three :))

[Fizz]

I'm running Pilot Road IIs on my bike, i've done a few thousand on them and I haven't even noticed any wear down the road patch area, I've got chunks of rubber missing from tread on the sides though .

[RVFR]

Pirelli Diablo Stradas

incredibly stable at speed, knee down with confidence... i loose my nerve long before they lose theirs...
Outstanding wear (7K on first set), 5 days hard twisty riding on this set, no sign of wear. limited rain experience but what i have has been very confidence inspiring (more twistys)... prices 130 front, 150 rear installed. (guy went out of business... too bad)
Would buy them again in a heartbeat.
I mostly commute, but when the planets align, i ride hard on the Dragon/Skyway and similar... very forgiving tire, for me anywhere.

and of course, all this is 'in my humble opinion'. I've ridden Pilots, Metzlers M3's ...
i'm pretty impressed with the Strada.




And I'd put the Corsa a hard second...

Aha, I knew some one else had to think Pirellis where the shit's. if you think Stradas stick well, which of course they do. The Corsa's is another notch up on stickie ladder

So I'm wondering why the majority is with 2c's, could it be price? or could it be they don't know whats what?

[someguy]

Sounds like you get some strong miles out of the Corsa's...
wonder why i'm only getting 7k....
riding style probably, and, i'm not sleight. :) 210lbs

[reg71]

I would like to see someway that we could set up a chart and just fill in the blanks. Entries would be front/rear mileage, compliance, stickyness in turns, braking, wet handling and throw in riding style as easy/medium/hard riding etc.
Just some method to take a ton of data and be able to look at it in a glance. The poll tool on this site is too general. Any ideas?

MD

well, we did some talking about this once before but it never went anywhere. we were trying to decide what things to put in it and how best to implement it to make it leave out opinion as much as possible. I'd like it as objective as possible but undoubtedly some subjectiveness will slip in. For me, I judge a tire on price, grip, longevity. If I have a pretty grippy tire that I can get for $100 less than maybe a slightly grippier tire and get more wear, I am all over that. My mileage by no means is ever what other people say they get, though. I need to try the same tires they are saying and see. I must be like Tom Cruiise in Days of Thunder. Who's gonna be Robert Duvall and tell me how to run em 50 laps?

[RWB25]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I do have a question regarding tires....all tires.

Do manufacturers change the properties of their tire models depending on where they are selling the tire in the world? In other words.....if I buy a set of tires....Michelin, Bridgestones, Metzlers, any brand.....here in Canada and I buy the SAME set in Brazil. Are both sets of tires IDENTICAL regardless of the location?

Obviously, road conditions play a huge factor in tire wear, especially road temperatures. I'm just wondering if people get various experiences (good or bad) with a certain tire because of their location. Environment & road conditions are very different from Texas to Michigan.

Just wondering out loud.


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