Help Me Pick My New Tires...

I like this topic a lot, as tire technology can only benefit us. As tire categories become more specialized, it is human nature to almost over "anal"ize whether or not a particular tire is up to the task of one's particular riding style/skill. Brand loyalty is no longer a factor (nor should it be).

I am a little surprised, however, to hear real riders speaking so fondly of the newest Conti tire. I have always thought of Conti as a minor player in the Sport or ST arena. Specifically, I have heard of them used as the tire of choice for the Oregon Highway Patrol BMWs, but mostly as a fiscal/value selection. In that environment and application though, a harsher real world testing ground would be hard to come by.

In my real world, I have most recently used Metzeler M-1's, Avon AV45/46's, and Metzeler Z6 Roadtecs. I ride 100% recreationally (no commuting), avoid freeways when at all possible, and turn things up when I think no one is looking. I have ridden since 6th grade, am 46 now, and have 6 track days under my belt. I have used the above tires on my '01 VFR, as well as BT-010, 020, ME-Z4, and Pilot Powers on my SV-650.

I have come to the conclusion that the line between Sport vs. ST tires is blurred when you are a STREET rider. In other words, if you are pushing the limits of a sport tire on the street, you are probably skilled, but dangerous. If you are not pushing the limit of a sport tire on the street (be honest), then you should be on the ST tire of your choice. Today's ST compounds are plenty sticky for aggressive street use, have better tread patterns for non-ideal surface conditions (are you only a fair weather rider?), and as a bonus last a little longer.

For me, the M-1's were a great ride (especially the front), but useless at the rear after 2500 miles. The Avons were my favorite for three-season use, with excellent cornering confidence and resistance to flat-centering. They were good for about 4,000 miles. Despite that, my current tires, the Metz. Z6's, are even more inspiring. The front's profile is similar to the Avon, providing easy turn-in. The rear has a soft feeling compound, and lacks a center tread sipe, which will probably extend mileage. So far, they give the grip feel of the M-1's, and the smooth handling and all-season capability of the Avons.

By the way, the Pilot Powers are a tremendous package, providing tenacious grip and 4000 miles (rear) on my SV (100 lb. and 30 hp. less than the VFR), but lack adequate siping for anything wet or dirty. Your mileages will vary, of course, as I tend to run slightly lower pressures.

As you can read, I am tending to favor ST tires for genuine street riding. As Reg Pridmore told me, "Ride on the street as if you were riding on the street." Save the rest for the track. Have fun choosing your next tires.

 

The Road Attacks are on. Unfortunately, the weather has been crap for the last few and I'm leaving on a trip on Friday morning. Hopefully, I'll get a break in the rain tomorrow.

Question...

Has anyone else heard this BS before? I went to the local Honda/Yamaha joint to have the tires mounted & balanced. When I picked them up an hour later, I noticed there was no weight on the back wheel. I inquired and the service monkey told me the adapter to put single side wheels on their machine is about $600. I asked why they didn't have one and the service monkey said the owner of the dealer didn't think it was necessary since they only balance like maybe 12 VFR/single side wheels a year. I called two more dealers and both said the same. I finally found a place that has said adapter but that place is an hour drive away. WTF, Over? AAANNNDDD they, the dealers, wonder why guys like me buy stuff from the internet and do maintenance myself. Sad, so sad, I expected more from a Honda dealer.

KC-10 FE out...

 

I paid $205. The cheapest I found them at a dealer was $270. I still had to pay for mounting and balancing so it was a no brainer if you ask me. $285 if I bought them online or $350 at the dealer??? You're never, ever going to get a dealer to match online prices. Like I said a few posts back, if the dealer part department would take internet purchases seriously, they might sell more parts/accessories. I'm not paying extra and paying sales tax on top of that. Since my bike is not my only means of transportation, I have the advantage of being able to take my time to find the best deal.

KC-10 FE out...

 

I lived in Germany for 5 years. I had an autocross car for 3 of those years. I used off the shelf Continental street tires on it, the original Contact. Continentals are far and away the best car tires I've ever used. I'm not too fond of their truck/suv tires but their car tires are awesome. I've never used anything else on any car I've owned since then. On my wife's 2000 Chevy Cavalier, I took off 4 Goodyear RSA's just to replace them with Continental Touring Contact. I did this with no other reason other than hating Goodyear tires. My sister replaced the OEM Dunlop SP Sport 8080 on her BMW Z3 with the Continental Sport Contact II based on my recommendation. My sister drives like a maniac & is a danger to all around her when she's in that car. She absolutely could not believe how much better the Continental's were. She's was convinced then and there and has sworn to use them exclusively as long as she owns a sports car.

As I type this, there are 4 Continental Extreme Contact in the bed of my truck waiting for my wife to get home from work so I can have them mounted on her BRAND NEW GTI. With only 450 miles on them, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bridgestones on the car now but we don't need a max performance summer only tire. So off the Potenza RE-050 go & on go the Extreme Contact. The Extreme Contact is a brand new tire that rated excellent or superior in all catagories rated by TIRERACK. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ed_rating=WR&speed_rating=YR&minSpeedRating=H

With all this info in mind, I really didn't need much convincing to put Continental's on my bike. Like many others, I never considered them before. I do know my father's 74 CB550F has had Continental's on it since 1974. I'm fairly certain I'll like these tires.

Before anyone bags on me for only using one brand of tire, I've owned 39 vehicles thusfar. I've used pretty much every brand of tire know to the free world. I've used tires that I've never heard of before if they came on the car. When they wore out, I would put on Continentals. No tires, absolutely none, have given me the faithful service that Continental has so I'm sticking with them.


Since I can't find a dealer that has a balancing machine that can balance single side wheels, I thought I'd give this stuff a try.

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/

I decided to be the guinea pig for WWW.VFRWORLD.COM. A few guys on VFR Discussion were thinking about this so I decided to give them a try. Can't really argue, less than $30 for enough to do two bikes. I had good luck with the stuff called slime but it makes a super mess and the tires guys don't like it.

KC-10 FE out...

 

Have tried a lot of tires over the miles and have tried a few different combinations. ST on the rear and sport on the front, both sport tires, and more recently use ST on both front and rear. Specifically using Pilot Roads and really like them. Minimal cupping and they stick well. They're both worn just about (<1/8") to the edges. I'm up and down HWY 1 (coastal California) occasionally and other very tight twisties often with no problems with the Pilot Roads. I just finally decided if I wasn't at the track then why purchase the "pure" sport tires when they were toast in like 2300 miles. My PR's go at least twice as long. I don't push the tires at all in wet conditions or on roads with gravel so I cannot add any input in those areas as far as tire performance. Just doesn't seem right to pay more for more tire than you actually need. Of course confidence in your tires is priceless and if having sport tires provides you with additional confidence when entering a turn a bit too hot then by all means make the purchase for stickier tires.

VFRMike.

 

KC-10 FE: Unfortunately, I HAVE heard this BS before - even at a Honduh dealer... I worked with the guy at Fugi's Factory for an hour before we found a configuration for his snap-on balancer to balance my rear tire. The difference is he's a ONE MAN SHOW and I was helping him b/c I am an anal MF'er about my stuff.

Another option is the VFR rear wheel balancing kit that is sold online... That's probably the best option besides finding a place that has the right equipment.

You need to find an alternative to the ceramic beads... I am VERY skeptical about putting anything other than air, or inert gas in ANY tires. I have this sneaky feeling that the beads will 'sand blast' the internal carcass of the tire and the wheel and possibly cause damage.


VitaminG: I think you are reading this ST vs. Sport tire in a thread where more mature seasoned riders have been posting... I've been riding on two motorized wheels for more than 18 years and have 20K miles on my 2000 VFR... So I've burned thru enough expensive tires... I really am a Michelin nut-swinger b/c of my work with them in the OEM Automotive world, but I finally realized that I was wearing out the Pilot Sports in 6000 miles and had never really taken advantage of them at all on the street... So I was in search of an ST tire that provided grip AND mileage... I talked tot he Conti-NA guys and they were even impressed with this German designed/developed tire.

I'm sure if I was 19 years old with a Gixxer750 YO!!!111!! I would be singing the praises of the DOT legal race tires I put on my ride.... Because, you know, I can really ride THAT well and take advantage of THAT tire on the street. Most of the college squids around here can't even take a corner without putting a foot down ! hehehaha... But on the straights they are WOT baby !!

BUT, I'm 34, a vehicle dynamics engineer and I understand physics. Oh, and I'm married, so I don't have to win over any gurlz with bitchin' burnouts on expensive tires.

-Stephan

 

Oh, and the weather is fukken beautiful today (Thursday), so no excuses...

 

I paid $231 for the tires thru this small m/c shop near me (Fugi's Factory) and he charged $40 for mounting and balancing BOTH assemblies.

You need to stay away from the big m/c shops - they have huge overhead and staff to pay. Find a reputable local place with enthusiast owner's people. Then you'll be set.

Oh yeah, and since I don't live in the Communist states of NJ, PA, MD or CA, I didn't pay sales tax either.

-S

 

Well I'm gonna try the Conti RA's, they go on saturday then I'm off to Colorado for who knows how long.The reason I'm trying them are, one buddy has Avons on his FJR another has Pilot Roads on his R1100 rt. Since we live in Iowa we can't hop on the bikes and be in the twisties in 10 minutes.When we ride to Arkansas or Wisconsin or Missouri we take advantage of the beautiful roads these states offer, I've had dunlop 220's, nice grip but the rear dissappeared with no warning, a reason I'm staying away from the Metz z6, I've had good luck with bridgestone 10-20 combo but can't get the 10 anymore, I just had new suspension installed front and back so I figured why not give Conti a shot? I need news skins anyway, maybe these tires will be super! or they may suck! I'll let ya know 3k or so miles from now.

 

I'm withh ya even thou I have just about 6K on them looking like *k is doable, Great tire! I'm getting another set..

Also> two things that should not be discused on a forum, Tires and Oil.. see whats ya started.

 

HEY!!! Only people from NJ are allowed to make fun of this idiotic, retarded cess pool of a state. If you don't like it, some guy named Vinnie with a Louisville Slugger would like to speak with you... NJ started something new I wasn't aware of until we bought the GTI last week. A $10 "Tire Tax" on all new vehicle purchases. Think about it... How many millions are they going to make? Then they charge you a $3 each disposal fee. I freaking hate NJ... Yes, I'm from here...

I took a quick ride around the block today. I forgot how slippery new tires can be. I almost dumped it twice doing less than 10mph. An out of nowhere change to my schedule has forced me to put off the 150 mile loop I was planning to run this afternoon. A full road test will follow Sunday if the weather is good. Hell, as long as it's not raining, I'll probably run on Sunday anyway.

We had the Continental Extreme Contacts mounted on the GTI this evening. It's 21 miles from the dealer to my house. So far, they make less road noise than the Potenza RE-050's and their UTQG rating is more than double, 400 vs 140. So far, so good.

KC-10 FE out...

 

I've used http://www.tireexpress.com/ in the past with good results. They list the ROAD Attacks for 89.99/115.99... about $206 w/o tax...not bad. If you can get them mounted/balanced for $30 each, then you'll be laying out ~$270 plus tax.

You need to ask them how much mount/balance is if you carry in the tires/wheels to them. I didn't quite understand the pricing scheme in your post....

Tire express is affiliated with DennisKirk, FYI....

-S

 

Talking about slick new tires, I read in Cycle World that new tires should be cleaned before you get too agressive with them because they come from the factory with a Mold release on them (from the tire form) and this should be removed. I just washed mine with soap and water before I installed them, I hope that was good enough. Ya know I wished I would have looked at this site before I bought my Dunlop OEM's 205's!!!! Oh well I'll just have to put up with them till they are gone. I thought I could't go wrong with OEM's. Just call me stupid I guess!!

 

Ya really can't go wrong with what you got things is don't know why there's this better tire fad thing going on, I've tried a lot of different ones they all for the most part work out just fine so enjoy your ride I say. unless you're riding at a 90% factor, all tires will work, just depends on what you're expecting. smoe will last longer, some won't, all a trial and error thing to see what works for you for the money Now that said there is a bang for the buck thing, so if one was to find a great deal on DQs then there ya go.

 

Oh! BTW I run Pirellis