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Which tires are the best choice for the Thruxton or Bonneville?

296K views 316 replies 159 participants last post by  menzies 
#1 ·
The quality of the Metzeler Lasertec's tires on our Thruxtons and Bonnies is not very much appriciated by some of us... I know that Rob (Nobrakes) is riding on Avon Azarro and some others riding on Pirelli Sport Demons.
I was wondering what the expiriences are sofar, with other brands of tires on our speedtwins. Would you guys, who has been there, share some of that knowledge with us....??
 
#3 · (Edited)
I'm running Pirelli Scorpion Syncs, 19" front, 17" rear.
These are "motard" tires and really hold the road, but may not be as long lasting as some other "touring" tires.

Not everybody likes the 180 wide rear tire, (I love it!).
The choices are limited IF you want a matching 19" front tire:
- Pirelli Scorpion Sync 110/80VR-19 and 180/55ZR-17 (also 160/60 is available)
- Michelin Pilot Road 110/80VR-19 and 180/55ZR-17
- Metzler Z6 RoadTec 110/80VR-19 and 180/55ZR-17
- Bridgestone Battlax BT020 110/80-19 and 180/55-17

P.S. Thanks for taking the time to chronicle the engine modifications that you and Mr. Aart Nolen accomplished.
Here's the link to the thread if anyone missed it...
http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-technical-talk/76374-more-powerful-thruxton.html
 
#117 ·
Conti vs Avon



+1 on the Conti Road Attack 2 Stiles. Superb handling with super-smooth transition between upright and leaned over. Bridge decks and rain groove worries are a thing of the past. Personally, I've got much more confidence in lower lean angles with these.

(The Contis are especially good if you have a wide rear kit and need to match tires; many other tire companies simply don't have matching 17" rears and 19" fronts.)

Only downside I've seen as compared with the Avon Roadrider+Storm setup I'd been running is that the Conti seems slightly more prone to slipping in first-rain or damp-morning conditions. This may just be coincident with what I was slipping on but I always felt the Avons (Roadrider front+Storm rear) to behave remarkably well on oily, wet roads. The Contis are just fine in actual, proper rain.

Next I will try the Michelin Pilot 3 which also comes in 170/60ZR17 rear and 110/80R19 front. But I'll be amazed if they handle better than these Conti Road Attack 2 tires.
-Ruger
--------------------------------
We're all bussos on this booze.
 
#7 ·
I recently fitted a Michelin Pilot Activ rear. I'm finding it pretty satisfactory at the moment, but it's early days, so I wouldn't want to get over-enthusiastic just yet.
 
#47 · (Edited)
2004 Thruxton.

Just fitted Avon Roadriders...with one track day under my belt, I must say these are every bit as good as their supervenoms were. Not sure about mileage since they only have about 1 K on them so far.
Okay, so I go out to the bike and inspect/air the tires as part of my first spring, pre-ride check. The damn rear tire has terrible sidewall cracking/checking...these are the roadriders I installed the end of last May & rode through about mid-November. About 4K miles on them.

No checking on the front. Hmmm. I guess I'm gonna get to try those pirellis sooner than later. Or maybe I need to bitch to Avon.

Ridiculous.

--Rich
 
#11 ·
Going to put on a Dunlop GT501 rear to match the front tire my dealer put on last year...
 
#12 ·
My Venoms are (were) nice and sticky, but after 5K I'm showing threads:


need new ones, not sure what I'm going with next but I want something higher mileage.
 
#13 ·
uhhh

Maybe you guys can give some insight as to what makes a good tire?

I LOVE getting low in the corners and really pushing the bike and scraping the foot pegs. I've never had a problem with my stock tires. Would bad tires slip? With all the aggressive cornering I've done I've never had the rear tire slip or anything.

When it's wet I don't even bother because I have NO idea what the limitations are and down want to end up sliding into a ditch.

smart people.... speak up.

ps.
same query applies to suspension.
Maybe someone that really knows can start a thread?
 
#14 ·
I won't start a thread on tires and suspension but, good motorcycle tires usually have 3 areas of grip in the front due to compound (a harder area in the center for longer wear and softer areas on each side for better handling) selection, and from 3 to 5 areas in the rear for the same reason. MY stock front hasn't skipped a beat but my rear doesn't stick very well in 1st or second gear under accel. don't really have any handling problems with them. As for the stock suspension, depending on your weight the front could be fine, mine is a bit too squirrely and i only weigh about 155-160. The rear isn't bad around town and is decent for my weight in the twisties, unless there are bumps in the curves then it just feels completely unsafe and wants to wallow out pretty severely.
 
#15 ·
My 05 T100 is on the 3rd set of Metzeler Lazertecs. I ride fairly hard and the tires work good for me. They are excellent in the rain, I spend to much time riding in the rain.

The only complaint I have is mileage. They don't last real long. about 6500 miles, for the rear tires and 8k for the front. Baby has over 15k miles on her.
 
#16 ·
I've got an Avon Venom in the front with about 8k on it and an Avon HKM in the rear with close to 6k. The front looks like its good for another 8k but the rear is starting to square off. I've been happy with them in terms of grip and they do fairly well in the rain which I try to avoid. The front tire too some time to scrub in and get tacky. I may try the RoadRiders that everyone is mentioning.

VR6
 
#17 ·
I am going to resurrect this thread... my Thrux came with Metzler Lasertec 100/90-18 on the front and Metzler MeZ2 130-80 R17 on the back... based on these sizes I am finding options limited. I have about 6K miles on my bike, and don't need to replace the tires yet but it won't be too much longer.

Moto Xoutlet has Dunlop D404 or Bridgestone S11 sets if I switch the rear to 130-90 R17...

I do a lot of commuting on my Thruxton... 300-500 miles per week... so I need some decent life from my tires. I used to use the Avon Azaros AV45/AV46 or Avon Storms AV55/AV56 on my Sprint (they were a nice balance between performance and longevity)...

I also saw someone talk about 180s... is that on the stock wheels? or does that require mods?

What are my size and tire options, and what are the pros/cons of each option.
 
#18 ·
Your options are anything you can find in the size. . .180 on the rear needs mods. You can safely go up to a 150 in the rear but it will slow your turn in a little bit (barely noticeable) if I'm not mistaken you can go up another 10mm in the front. a 140 in the rear seems to be the route many go and I've not seen any complaints from it, any bigger than 150 in the rear though and you will most likely have rubbing and that equals well . . BAD. As for the brand and type it's up to personal preference, I HATE HATE HATE the MEZ2 stock rear for the thruxton, mine doesn't stay put under accel and in any water just a blip of the throttle causes it to spin. I've talked to a few fellows around here about the "new" continental tires and they love them for a mix of commuting and tearing up the twisties, also the conti-attacks are highly recommended but are difficult to find in those sizes if they exist at all.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the reply... I've done a bit more research since my last post... and I'm really going to show my ignorance, but I have always appreciated the amount of practical knowledge shared by the folks on these boards...

So my understanding is that when you break down the tire size, the first number is the width, the second number is the sidewall, and the third number is the wheel size...

So the width has a bit of flexibility, as texas94fs stated, I should be able to comfortably go up to a 150 on the rear, but 140 seems to be the more common choice...

What about the front, do most stick with the 100... or can I go up to 110 or 120 in the front, and what would be the benefit of that?

I read somewhere that the sidewall should not be messed with... stick with 90 in the front and 80 in the back... something about wheel wooble as the tire ages... didn't make sense to me, but thought I would ask what the thought is on that...

Finally the last number. If that is the wheel size, I am assuming that is the size I must stick with unless I change the wheels out. Right?!

Sorry for boring ya'll with the basics... it was so much easier on the Sprint with so many tires available at the recommended size...

Thanks in advance for any insight.
 
#20 ·
You're close: The first (big) number is the width of the tire in mm. The second number is the PERCENTAGE of the width that the height is. So a 100/90 is 100mm wide and 90mm high, and a 110/80 is 110mm wide and 88mm high.

You can put a 110/80 on the front, no problem, although you'll probably want to get some button-head bolts to hold on the fender bracket to give yourself a bit more clearance.

You can put a 140 on the rear, no problem, too.

Any wider on the rear and you're running into the problem that the stock rim isn't quite wide enough.

I'm running 110/80 and 140/80, Michelin Anakees - I've put 1500 miles on them and they're WAY better than the stockers for me.
 
#21 ·
Like I mentioned in another thread, I have Metzeler ME880s and they have 18,000kms (12,000miles) and I still have a season's worth of tread left on them. I lean pretty low and I do a lot of driving on tar & gravel roads.
 
#24 ·
My husband and I have 2007 Bonnies and the stock Metzler created a BIG front end wobble on each bike around 7,500 - 8,000 miles. My husband switched out the Metzlers with Avon Roadriders, the wobble disappeared and the cornering improved 100%. Too soon to tell about mileage but I can get through corners faster and more consistantly so who cares about mileage!
 
#27 ·
Mixing tires?



I still have the OEM Metzelers too on my Thruxton, and I am now noticing a distinct front-end wobble at 4500 miles. You can look down and see the tire itself is not true as it spins, yet the rim appears to be OK.

Thing is, the front looks like it's ready to be replaced, but the stupid back tire still has tons of tread on it. Has anybody mixed the stock Thruxton Metz rear with a new different brand front tire?

I have run mixed F/R (good) tires on sportbikes a few times with do drama, and I gotta think... just get the Avon, Pirelli, Conti or Bridgestone front you want now and wait til that rear finally wears out. Or...is this a dumb idea since the rear seems to be a very hard tire (i.e., less grip) than the stickier new front???

Isn't that inviting a 'high-side'?? If the hard old rear comes unglued while cornering briskly and the new grippy front rubber stays planted, it seems like the bike could snap loose, grip again, and toss you over the top!!

I really hate it when that happens... any thoughts???

Cheers,
BLIGHT:motorbike:
 
#26 ·
I'm bumping an old thread here because I figure a year in, the advice might be different - new products, riding experience etc,

I really want to change the tyres on my Thruxton. It's on the original Metzlers, and I hate them. I cannot trust them at all. The front squirms at low speeds and follows every crack or drop of paint on the road surface. The rear has absolutely zero grip in the wet, and what I consider to be moderate acceleration will see major wheelspin in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears. Not good.

I'd rather keep stock sizes. I have heard of insurance being invalidated if you run the wrong sizes. Bigger tyres can also spoil the handling.

So what do you recommend? I want sticky tyres, lots of grip in the wet or dry, but they need to last a reasonable distance.
 
#28 ·
Thruxton radials



The best tires that I have fitted to mY Thruxton have been the ones that are on the bike now, Dunlop RoadSmart radials.
These are super sticky and the wear is fairly reasonable. I ride fairly hard and the most i have got out a rear has been 7000 kms-Dunlop D205 140/80 and the worst 2500 kms Pirrelli SD 140/80.
I have close too 80,000km on my thruxton and have tried most tires available except for Avon radials.
I prefer radials for my bike, have tried Michelin Pilot Road and Pilot Road 2, excellant grip and stability but requires a little more effort to change direction/tip in, had to drop fork tubes 20mm to quicken the steering.
Bridgestone BT20 are great tires and quick steering as are the Dunlop Roadsmarts therefore had to fork tubes to standard to slow down the steering.
Radial fronts only come in the 110/80 and rears are 150/70 which are a perfect fit for the 3.5 inch rear rim, have fitted a 160/70 Bridgy BT20 radial to the rear rim, looked good on the rim,was abel to use all of the tread, no chicken strips, tallness of the tire sharpened up the steering.
The next set of tires will be Bridgy BT21's dual compound radials, probably a 160/70 or the 150/70 rear an 110/80 front.
IMHO Pirrelli Sport Demons, Bridgy BT45 are crap!!
Lasertecs and Pilot Activs are ok, but the Dunlop GT 501 is the best bias plied tires for our bikes.

Check my other post on tires for more evaluations..........Cheers......Agro
 
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