Z6/Strada you can't go wrong. Anakees were my choice on the Tiger.
Need tires soon.
Hello all. Been reading the posts re: tires on this section and in the tires sticky also. Will reduce my tire pressure from 35/41 to about 34/38 per your recommendations. Hopefully that should cure some of the handling ills. Have little tread left on the Michelin Pilot Roads that were on the bike when I bought it, will need tires soon. Not crazy about the Pilot Roads, this gives me a chance to change. I have heard (here and elsewhere) great things about the Z 6s and BT 014s. Here I can ride year round, and we are now in rainy season. I also ride on back roads, which often have poor surfaces. Now through March or April, there is a lot of sludge, muck, gunk, slop, ****, leaves, twigs, branches, trees, sand, gravel, mud, mudslides and general debris on the roads. So, due to 1.) poor roads, 2.) rainy season debris, in addition to the usual assortment of sport / sport touring tires, I was thinking about tires such as the fairly new Dunlop D 616 or the Pirelli Scorpion Sync, which are both marketed as dual-sport tires, with an emphasis on road performance, both of which seem like they could handle less than optimum road surfaces. Anyone have any experience with these two tires or similar or recommendations ? Or should I just be the guinea pig for the D 616 or Scorpion Syncs as my contribution to this forum?
I was really young when I was born.
[ This message was edited by: jeffster on 2006-12-20 01:06 ]
I was really young when I was born.
[ This message was edited by: jeffster on 2006-12-20 01:06 ]
21 - 36 of 36 Posts
Jeffster,
just for the record.
I have never done a burn out in my life and I do not like sliding (I'm not clever enough to d it safely).
That's just from good old riding on twistie mountain roads which is all I do.
Keep us posted with what you find works best in your conditions.
I know Don really loves the Z6 Metzeler.
Davem
just for the record.
I have never done a burn out in my life and I do not like sliding (I'm not clever enough to d it safely).
That's just from good old riding on twistie mountain roads which is all I do.
Keep us posted with what you find works best in your conditions.
I know Don really loves the Z6 Metzeler.
Davem
Well done Dave..
I'm on my 2nd rear BT 014 (10,000 K's) and the front now needs replacing (11,000 K's). Great tyre. Positive handling, good wear and feel, they heal/toed towards the end.
The front has stepped from the trailing edge to the leading edge of the tread from hard cornering.
Much, much, much better tyre than the excuse of a tyre that the 020's were.
I'd recommend them to Dave but I am afraid that "The Shredder" would not like them... :-D :-D :-D
I'm on my 2nd rear BT 014 (10,000 K's) and the front now needs replacing (11,000 K's). Great tyre. Positive handling, good wear and feel, they heal/toed towards the end.
The front has stepped from the trailing edge to the leading edge of the tread from hard cornering.
Much, much, much better tyre than the excuse of a tyre that the 020's were.
I'd recommend them to Dave but I am afraid that "The Shredder" would not like them... :-D :-D :-D
Thanks everyone for your continued input. I'm still waiting to hear back from Metzeler & Avon. Reply or not, I'll have to make a decision shortly, otherwise I'll be riding "unsafe at any speed." Now I'm leaning towards Z-6, BT-014 or Pirelli Scorpion Syncs. D-616s have too many iffy comments + Buell now goes with Scorpion Syncs instead. Since I have a Scorpion helmet, if I got Scorpion tires, I'd have matching set !!
Dave M, I don't attempt slides willingly, either, not enough experience. I only have 3 or 5 k miles on bikes, 800++ k on cars. I don't look for slides, but they always seem to find me, especially at this time of year. I just attempt to ride through them as best I can. Fell down on gravel once at 1/2 mph as I gassed it to start up an incline on a friend's property, maybe too much gas and it just slid out and low-sided. No damage to me but had to replace the front brake lever, scratched the fairing a bit, scratched the helmet, also. Couldn't even pick the bike up by myself, had to get my friend to help. Heh, heh, embarrassing, but it comes with the territory. That's why I'm looking for a tire that might have some lateral bite under slide conditions, but its just a theory, I don't know if there is any factual basis. But then if it hooked up too much during a slide, couldn't it throw the rider high side ?
Dave M, I don't attempt slides willingly, either, not enough experience. I only have 3 or 5 k miles on bikes, 800++ k on cars. I don't look for slides, but they always seem to find me, especially at this time of year. I just attempt to ride through them as best I can. Fell down on gravel once at 1/2 mph as I gassed it to start up an incline on a friend's property, maybe too much gas and it just slid out and low-sided. No damage to me but had to replace the front brake lever, scratched the fairing a bit, scratched the helmet, also. Couldn't even pick the bike up by myself, had to get my friend to help. Heh, heh, embarrassing, but it comes with the territory. That's why I'm looking for a tire that might have some lateral bite under slide conditions, but its just a theory, I don't know if there is any factual basis. But then if it hooked up too much during a slide, couldn't it throw the rider high side ?
Syns are good. I did my last trip to Deal's Gap on them.
Recently replaced both tyres (bt020) on the 05ST The rear was getting down but the front was as new. The main reason for changing was eliminating the possible cause of a vibration. The tyre guy talked me in to a BT020 on the rear and a BT014 on the front. The vibration is still the same but the transformation to the handling was nothing short of amazing. Total overall balance was improved and totally predictable confidence inspiring ride is the result.For those of us that always replace tyres in pairs the 014 should wear out around the same as the 020 on the rear, will let you know.
On 2006-12-17 21:09, jeffster wrote:
Hello all. Been reading the posts re: tires on this section and in the tires sticky also. Will reduce my tire pressure from 35/41 to about 34/38 per your recommendations. Hopefully that should cure some of the handling ills. Have little tread left on the Michelin Pilot Roads that were on the bike when I bought it, will need tires soon. Not crazy about the Pilot Roads, this gives me a chance to change. I have heard (here and elsewhere) great things about the Z 6s and BT 014s. Here I can ride year round, and we are now in rainy season. I also ride on back roads, which often have poor surfaces. Now through March or April, there is a lot of sludge, muck, gunk, slop, ****, leaves, twigs, branches, trees, sand, gravel, mud, mudslides and general debris on the roads. So, due to 1.) poor roads, 2.) rainy season debris, in addition to the usual assortment of sport / sport touring tires, I was thinking about tires such as the fairly new Dunlop D 616 or the Pirelli Scorpion Sync, which are both marketed as dual-sport tires, with an emphasis on road performance, both of which seem like they could handle less than optimum road surfaces. Anyone have any experience with these two tires or similar or recommendations ? Or should I just be the guinea pig for the D 616 or Scorpion Syncs as my contribution to this forum?
I was really young when I was born.
Hey ya'll... I'm jumping in on this kinda late...
I'm surprised to see such little mention of the Pilot Powers being tried on this bike, they seem to be quite popular with the Veefers. I have Pilot Roads on the ST13 and like them a lot on that bike... the slower turn in isn't really slow it just makes the handling feel far more linear than the OEM 020's, and the wet conditions traction is the bulls balls... over all a great tire for that application with the only complaint I see a lot of folks having (not me) is the noise/humming. The Z6 is a great all around tire, yet I found it to be less than confidence inspiring in wet conditions, the lack of center tread sends it planing in early turn as the rear leaves the track of the front tire until you get over far enough to get some sipping... ie, don't swerve!
Dave, any more specific feedback that you can recall on the Powers would be much appreciated man.
I'm surprised to see such little mention of the Pilot Powers being tried on this bike, they seem to be quite popular with the Veefers. I have Pilot Roads on the ST13 and like them a lot on that bike... the slower turn in isn't really slow it just makes the handling feel far more linear than the OEM 020's, and the wet conditions traction is the bulls balls... over all a great tire for that application with the only complaint I see a lot of folks having (not me) is the noise/humming. The Z6 is a great all around tire, yet I found it to be less than confidence inspiring in wet conditions, the lack of center tread sends it planing in early turn as the rear leaves the track of the front tire until you get over far enough to get some sipping... ie, don't swerve!
Dave, any more specific feedback that you can recall on the Powers would be much appreciated man.
jeffster, your killing me! Buy some tires and ride your flippin bike! At this rate you'll have carpal tunnel from typing all your posts here making a synopsis of all the other sites you read and write about/to and never get to enjoy a ride. You have a ton of excellent references from manufacturer sites as well as input from a wide range of enthusiasts on this and the other sites you referenced. I now ride a Bonnie America, but have ridden/ raced a little of everything over 40 years. Todays tires are great, find a quality brand and scrub them in. Spinning any tire at 1/2 mph uphill in gravel with 100+ hp will result in a loss of control. The rider has to learn to work with a two wheeled vehicle much more than your 800+++++ miles in a car ever required. Take it slow, get SMOOTH and speed and enjoyment of new skills will follow. BTW, I ride in the mountains on tight two lanes all the time. It rains, there are dirt roads, wet leaves and "shitzle". Don't ride fast around blind curves in poor conditions and assume what you can't see will be gravel, an animal, four wheeler etc. Prepare for worse and and hope for the best and you will react as you practice! Ride safe and enjoy!
BobW
BobW
:lollol:On 2006-12-28 07:44, bobw3592 wrote:
jeffster, your killing me! Buy some tires and ride your flippin bike! At this rate you'll have carpal tunnel from typing all your posts here making a synopsis of all the other sites you read and write about/to and never get to enjoy a ride. You have a ton of excellent references from manufacturer sites as well as input from a wide range of enthusiasts on this and the other sites you referenced. I now ride a Bonnie America, but have ridden/ raced a little of everything over 40 years. Todays tires are great, find a quality brand and scrub them in. Spinning any tire at 1/2 mph uphill in gravel with 100+ hp will result in a loss of control. The rider has to learn to work with a two wheeled vehicle much more than your 800+++++ miles in a car ever required. Take it slow, get SMOOTH and speed and enjoyment of new skills will follow. BTW, I ride in the mountains on tight two lanes all the time. It rains, there are dirt roads, wet leaves and "shitzle". Don't ride fast around blind curves in poor conditions and assume what you can't see will be gravel, an animal, four wheeler etc. Prepare for worse and and hope for the best and you will react as you practice! Ride safe and enjoy!
BobW
I almost said the same thing, but I was feeling polite :hammer:
Bobw
You live in the worst riding area in the east. its flat and striaght. Stop your fibbing. :-D
2nd, almost as bad as the poor folks in VA have it lol. I am waiting for the 07s to make a another bike addition so I read all the groups posts for interesting tid bits. It appears at times there is more "number of posts" as a goal than true discussion. I believe there are no dumb questions etc., but this one was/is headed to a point of challenging that concept. Enjoy all this warm weather while you can, rain is back for the weekend. I'm going for a 300-400 mile outing on Friday, staying out of the higher elevation due to the snow we had yesterday.
Cheers!
BobW
Cheers!
BobW
I did a nice 300 mile loop last Sunday.
It really sucks living in the Shenandoah Valley. Mountains on both sides and winding roads in between.
It really sucks living in the Shenandoah Valley. Mountains on both sides and winding roads in between.
2nd, your just North of me. We almost relocated in your beautiful area, it is great to have these difficult choices on which road to take on a ride. Safe travels and Happy New Year!
BobW :chug:
BobW :chug:
I just ordered a set of Pirelli Scorpion Syncs. It wasn't until the last series of posts + a little more research that I had enough info to make a decision. It was always my intention that my posts and questions would help not just me but anyone reading them. + this is a forum, i.e. "a medium of open discussion", according to Webster's dictionary. If someone doesn't like the posts or feels that there are too many, best NOT to reply to the post. Replying keeps the post going, if you don't reply the post will die as it slides farther back on the site.
Anyway, based on my style of riding and the roads I ride on, I finally concluded that the Syncs should work best for me, although the proof will be in the riding. They should last 6k mi., have decent rain siping and have some lateral bite because of the tread design, and the ability to handle various road surfaces. The downside will likely be noise, possibly slight instability at (very) high speeds, and possible puncture problems, per 2ndSpace. If I were riding on better roads and wanted a more pure sport tire, I'd be tempted to get the BT-014 or the Pilot Powers. If I were doing long distance treks and wanted a tire that could get 10k miles, I'd get the Z6s or Diablo Stradas. GRN's last post on the Z6s (the very center section of the rear has no tread) convinced me that the Z6 wouldn't work for me. So Scorpion Syncs. If anyone wants a review of them on a Sprint ST, let me know. Otherwise, since this tire is fairly well-known (though not necessarily on Sprints) I won't. I better stop here so triumphrat doesn't run out of space on the server ! Or I upset someone with my wordiness.
[ This message was edited by: jeffster on 2006-12-28 19:25 ]
Anyway, based on my style of riding and the roads I ride on, I finally concluded that the Syncs should work best for me, although the proof will be in the riding. They should last 6k mi., have decent rain siping and have some lateral bite because of the tread design, and the ability to handle various road surfaces. The downside will likely be noise, possibly slight instability at (very) high speeds, and possible puncture problems, per 2ndSpace. If I were riding on better roads and wanted a more pure sport tire, I'd be tempted to get the BT-014 or the Pilot Powers. If I were doing long distance treks and wanted a tire that could get 10k miles, I'd get the Z6s or Diablo Stradas. GRN's last post on the Z6s (the very center section of the rear has no tread) convinced me that the Z6 wouldn't work for me. So Scorpion Syncs. If anyone wants a review of them on a Sprint ST, let me know. Otherwise, since this tire is fairly well-known (though not necessarily on Sprints) I won't. I better stop here so triumphrat doesn't run out of space on the server ! Or I upset someone with my wordiness.
[ This message was edited by: jeffster on 2006-12-28 19:25 ]
You'll be happy. Like I said earlier I ran the Dragon with them as well as many other twisty, beat up roads. I also ride gravel roads a lot. No complaint other than punctures. They semm to take a little long than my Conti's to heat up so easy on the throttle first out. I use to have fun leaving my driveway with cold tires on my tarred country road.
Well, I posted late as usual. I just had and a very good friend (one of the old Motorcyclist test riders) do a test on Pirelli Scorpion Syncs against the new Dunlop D616 on a BMW GS 1200. And his opinion was the Dunlop tires were much better in all tests and excelled in dry pavement over the Pirelli. Sorry, I chimed in late. But the good news is you can keep an eye all them for the next set. Hence the fact they don’t last forever. I myself am coming to the same dilemma choosing a better performing replacement tire. I myself am leaning toward Dunlop Qualifier high-performance street tire. I like the fact you are going your own direction to suit you, your riding style and environment in which you ride. My hats off to you for that. I know the tires threads can be almost as bad as oil threads.
Enjoy the New Year,
Jeff
Enjoy the New Year,
Jeff
Hi Jeff (motomyth),
Thanks for that info on D-616s. I can always get them later. Who did your friend test them for ? Or was he doing an independent test ? I think a lot of the testing is purely subjective, that is, how does that particular tire feel to a particular rider ? The Buell test riders feel the opposite and that is why they stopped using the D-616 and started using the Scorpion on the Ulysses. That may also be just their opinion. Of course, there may be other reasons that we aren't told about, such as cost, availability, contractual tie-ups for racing etc. The Syncs come standard on 2 Buell models and on the Multistrada, which holds some cred, at least for me. I think that even the same rider, riding the same bike, with the same tires, on successive days will have differing opinions of the same tire, but over time will draw some firm conclusion. We pay our money and take our chances.
Happy New Year to all the TriumphRat Riders.
Ride well so you'll be able to ride another day.
[ This message was edited by: jeffster on 2006-12-29 12:41 ]
Thanks for that info on D-616s. I can always get them later. Who did your friend test them for ? Or was he doing an independent test ? I think a lot of the testing is purely subjective, that is, how does that particular tire feel to a particular rider ? The Buell test riders feel the opposite and that is why they stopped using the D-616 and started using the Scorpion on the Ulysses. That may also be just their opinion. Of course, there may be other reasons that we aren't told about, such as cost, availability, contractual tie-ups for racing etc. The Syncs come standard on 2 Buell models and on the Multistrada, which holds some cred, at least for me. I think that even the same rider, riding the same bike, with the same tires, on successive days will have differing opinions of the same tire, but over time will draw some firm conclusion. We pay our money and take our chances.
Happy New Year to all the TriumphRat Riders.
Ride well so you'll be able to ride another day.
[ This message was edited by: jeffster on 2006-12-29 12:41 ]
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