New Tyres for the Sprint ST

Hello Rats,

For the past 5 years I have been riding on Bridgestone tyres (BT .014 front & .020 rear). I am moderately happy and while I give the bike a fair bit of work, I generally get around 11,000 - 13,000 Klms (6835 - 8077 miles) out of a set.

But I am losing confidence in their wet road handling capabilities.
So, the choices in Oz are:
Metzler MEZ6
Dunlop D205 or D220ST
or, Pirelli Diablo Spadas....

What I want is a Sports touring tyre that sticks like Rossi to a race track that lasts for a long time....(8,000 miles+)
I would dearly love any feedback from anyone that has tried any of the abovementioned brands....

Biggles
EMAIL]jamesbdawson@yahoo.com[/email]

[stevecro]

hey Biggles,
I've just done a Snowy Mts run on my new tyres and my confidence has grown in the bike's abilities.

As some of the boys recommended, I changed my 15,500kms
BT020's to a Michelin Pilot Power at front and a Pilot Road at rear. The proprietor thinks I'll get 3000kms less wear but what price grip?
Cost $514 including removing my wheels and fitting. I could have saved $40 if I just took him the wheels.

Skidz at Leichhardt will match best advertised prices which happened to be Eastern Creek tyres.

I notice quicker turn in to match the extra grip. I caught myself out once or twice turning too soon and cutting the corner but it doesn't take long to adjust. In the wet mountains I soon found that they behaved as if in the dry, probably in part due to a lack of oil on the Snowy Mts roads!

[ This message was edited by: stevecro on 2006-01-23 21:32 ]

Hi Stevecro,

Thanks for the info and tips.
It all got too confusing with all of the choices, so today I went to Procycles at Hornsby and physically checked them all out.

They didn't have the michelins there, but did have everything else. So, finally, I bought the Pirelli Diablos.

Not sure where you live, but it is pretty greasy on the roads here today and I had a rotten ride to the shop. I was intending to ride home and swap the bike for the car before heading back to work, but the tyres felt great and inspired a lot of regained confidence, so I rode back to the office.
Like you mentioned with the Michelins, these tyres have a sharper profile, so when cornering the bike tends to "tip" in quicker and I was also cutting corners.
New tyres in the wet is always a bit of a worry, but I felt fine on these.... I was told that if I got 11,000 - 13,000 Klms out of Bridgestones, I should expect 10,000 - 11,000 on these.
Like you said, "what price for grip"?

Anyway, time will tell. All I can say for sure now is that the bike feels fantastic and I am in love again...

[NinjaRAT]

My local pack leader swears by Avons. I'm very happy with the Powers I recently fit on my 9R, but want a bit more mileage out of my ST, especially around the center, as I'll do a fair bit more highway droning with it.

I haven't check out pricing yet on the Avons, but I recall good things being said the last time I read a tire comparo (albeit Sport Rider Mag).

[haggis95]

I love my metzler z6 - far more grip than the stock 020, 2000km and little sign of wear.

[JasonS]

I've run through two sets of Michelin Pilot Roads in about 5500 for each rear... there was ample tread left on the front, but not enough to last out the newer rear so I changed them both.

I will be putting Avon 45/46 on the ST in the spring when the snow and sand go away.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies - excellent!!
It was Australia Day here yesterday (a public holiday) so I took the new tyres for a "fang".

The bike handles completely different to when it was shod with Bridgstones. And by that I mean better.

Not only do they feel better, they heat up a LOT quicker too. Thanks again for the info/feedback and comments.

I'll play around with the pressures a bit, as they are set on factory recommendations (42 rear, 37 front), but at 5'7" I am a bit lighter than the average bear (rider). One or two pounds (of air) makes a massive difference to handling and wear.

I will certainly check out the Avons and Michelins next time as well. Would like to hear more feedback on the Avons, too.

Keep the sunny side up!!

[stevecro]

Gee, they are high pressures.
I have 35psi in mine.
I so want to take advantage of these tyres that my son carried the RS to the Snowies on the back of his Rodeo Ute...didn't want to waste them on flat roads.
I live in the inner west, Biggles, not too far away.

Jason S , you get 5,500 from the Pilots,,,, that sounded bad till I realised we'd
call that nearly 9,000 kms which isn't so bad.
We all get more mpg than you guys too.... due to our bigger gallons
Hey man, we gotta all start talking the same language hahaha
:-D

The great thing about new tyres is that it really feels like a new bike at a fraction of the cost

[ This message was edited by: stevecro on 2006-01-27 05:22 ]