Sport touring tyres, what's hot and what's not?

[lostboy]

Hard to say Skub as tyres are really personal things due to how they make you feel. For me I've had PR3, 4 and 5 and they've all been awesome on the road. They have the 'feel' that I first got from Mich Pilot Powers years ago but last a lot longer. I believe the PR4's and 5's have an updated shoulder compound from the PP2CT and you can actually see visually the difference in compound from soft/hard. In this pic you can see the outer 3rds are a different colour to the middle.



In comparison the Dunlop D214 the GSXS has just come with feel like concrete when giving it the thumb test in the garage. Doing the same with the PR4/5's you could feel the rubber squidge. Before they were fitted you could also easily move the carcass of the tyre about as well which you couldn't on a set of BT023's the tyre guy had in the van as well. They were much stiffer.

I've heard allsorts of ways to explain chicken strips in the past but "different compounds of rubber".........

[rodbargee]

So far the Pr5's have been confidence inspiring in the greasy conditions hereabouts at the moment, also, still a raised bed of salt in each lane to consider too

[Taipan]

Thanks for all the replies.

For me, and I appreciate I'm going to be in a class of 1 here, I've never really liked Michelin Pilots in any guise. It's not the grip, it's the way they seem to make the steering heavier and slower? I replaced a PR4 with a Conti attack and it was a noticeable improvement for me? So Contis would be a contender.

I note no one has mentioned Metzler Roadtecs? MCN rated the Roadtec 01 SE number 1 in their 2020 tests.
Best sports touring tyres for motorbikes
Metzeler Roadtec 01 SE
Dunlop Roadsmart III
Pirelli Angel GT II
Continental Roadattack3
Michelin Road 5
Bridgestone T31

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/advice/b ... ing-tyres/

I've always been a fan of Bridgestones and as I said, back in the day I ran the popular 010f and 020r combo. So I think I'll probably return to Bridgestones and the T31s will go on the bike. That said if there are any deals available for Contis, I'll happily go for those as it's not like I push a tyre, but I do like the idea of quick warm up times and good wet weather grip.

[KungFooBob]

I've got Maxxis SuperMaxx touring tyres on my KRS. I would never in a million years have bought them myself, but they were brand now on the bike when I bought it.

They're surprisingly good in the dry and more capable than me in the wet. No idea about longevity.

The GSXR has some Pirelli Somethings on it. I can't remember the exact version, but when I looked it up before they were previous generation touring tyres. Again they were new on the bike when I got it. I don't really like them, can't explain why. I managed to get my knee down on them, but it just didn't feel right. I'll be swapping them come the summer (probably for some S22's).

[Supermofo]

Yes the Roadtec have won all of the sports touring tests for about 4 years now but I've never tried them.

I nearly tried the Conti Roadattack 3 last time but the test/long term reviews seemed to say they were sportier than the Mich but wore faster. So being a cheap skate and like the PR's I stayed with the Mich's.

[Tricky]

Thanks for all the replies.

For me, and I appreciate I'm going to be in a class of 1 here, I've never really liked Michelin Pilots in any guise. It's not the grip, it's the way they seem to make the steering heavier and slower? I replaced a PR4 with a Conti attack and it was a noticeable improvement for me? So Contis would be a contender.

I note no one has mentioned Metzler Roadtecs? MCN rated the Roadtec 01 SE number 1 in their 2020 tests.
Best sports touring tyres for motorbikes
Metzeler Roadtec 01 SE
Dunlop Roadsmart III
Pirelli Angel GT II
Continental Roadattack3
Michelin Road 5
Bridgestone T31

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/advice/b ... ing-tyres/

I've always been a fan of Bridgestones and as I said, back in the day I ran the popular 010f and 020r combo. So I think I'll probably return to Bridgestones and the T31s will go on the bike. That said if there are any deals available for Contis, I'll happily go for those as it's not like I push a tyre, but I do like the idea of quick warm up times and good wet weather grip.

I'm a Bridgestone fan too,- This is my only experience of Roadtecs



( In fairness was all my own doing really but they came straight off after that )

[Dodgy69]

https://www.mandp.co.uk/products/maxxis ... 076-688079

Still cheap and cheerful.

[Skub]

I've always been a fan of Bridgestones and as I said, back in the day I ran the popular 010f and 020r combo.

I loved Bridgestones of that era too,then they shit the bed with the 014 and I've never tried another Bridgestone since.

[Druid]

I've always been a fan of Bridgestones and as I said, back in the day I ran the popular 010f and 020r combo.

I loved Bridgestones of that era too,then they shit the bed with the 014 and I've never tried another Bridgestone since.

Me too, until I bought a Ducati Monster fitted with Bridgestone T30s. They're pretty good, though I only kept it for 2500 miles so I can't comment on how well they wear

[mboy]

I've heard allsorts of ways to explain chicken strips in the past but "different compounds of rubber".........

Hmmm... Obvious troll is obvious! You can see that is a brand new tyre in the pic, right...?

I've always been a fan of Bridgestones and as I said, back in the day I ran the popular 010f and 020r combo.

I loved Bridgestones of that era too,then they shit the bed with the 014 and I've never tried another Bridgestone since.

Older Bridgestones, the OP's preferred BT023's, were in my experience, all horrid! I had BT023's on my old Blackbird, they were dangerous! In the end they started falling apart and chunking up way before wearing out, I got the bike home, parked it up and whipped the wheels out to get something else fitted... Avon Storm 3D-XM's at the time (the less said about these the better!), before seeing sense and ordering some Michelin PR2's that totally transformed the bike.

Newer Bridgestones however, are a different breed. I did a lot of miles on S20's and S21's on my old MT-10 and was really impressed, the S22's are even better from what I can gather. Lots of good reports of the T31's and T32's too.

Fitted some Mitas Touring Force's to my KTM 1290SDGT for 2k miles before I sold it. Was thoroughly impressed to be fair! Didn't scrub in as quickly as most premium brands, so I needed to be a bit more careful for the first 50 miles or so than normal, but once scrubbed in properly they were really good. Maybe not the last 2-3% performance and confidence that you would get from a premium Michelin/Bridgestone/Metzeler etc. but for 40% less cash they performed admirably and were more than up to the task.

[The Spin Doctor]

Dunlop have a new version of their sport touring ROADSMART IV out... with the usual claims for amazing leaps forward over the previous generation.