Shiver on Conti Motions -- first impressions
There's something exciting about buying new tyres, particularly when you've decided to try something different. It's like having a new toy to play with.
Even when replacing tyres with ones the same as the previous set, your bike always goes better, handles sharper, that je ne sais quoi that only a new set of tyres has.
Today, after an estimated riding distance of 23,500km, my Shiver got its third set of tyres.
It was delivered with Dunlop Qualifiers (120/70 17 front and 180/55 17 rear). Despite the feedback from Shiver owners on www.apriliaforum.com, I quite liked these. They had good wet/dry characteristics, warmed up well, were neutral handling and nicely grippy. I got about 8,500km out of them, and would have got maybe another 1,500km if not for a catastrophic rear puncture and the subsequent 60km dead flat ride for a replacement.
Gisborne is a typical provincial town. Its bike shops sell lots of quads and off road bikes. Fortunately the local Kawasaki dealer had a set of Avon Storms in the right size, which was just as well as I don't think the Shiver's on-road handling would have appreciated a set of knobblies. Having run several sets of Storms on my FJR1300T and Mrs H having run several sets on her Bandit 650, they were a tyre we were well familiar with.
The Shiver loved them. 15,000km travelled and the rear probably had another 1,500km left on it. The front hardly looked worn. But with some big riding coming up over the next few weekends, I thought it prudent to get some new shoes on. My only criticism of the Storms was a tendency to slightly understeer when pushed hard. Nothing dangerous, but definitely worth an extra push on the bar. The Storm is, in my opinion, the gold-standard sports touring tyre. I say that having on past bikes run them, Conti Road Attacks, Michelin Pilot Road 2s, Dunlop Roadsmarts, Metzeler Z6s, and the god-awful Bridgestone 020.
A long introduction. “What have you bought this time, Hitcher?” I hear you ask.
Today I acquired a set of Conti Motions.
Not my immediate first choice, I hasten to add. I was very interested in either the new Avon VP2s or Pirelli Angels (in that order) but the current Continental promotional price was the kicker: At $380 a set for the Contis versus $660 for the VP2s and $580 for the Angels, it was a bit of a no brainer.
So tonight after uplifting my bike I took the 75km way home – from Lower Hutt to the Paekakariki Hill Road summit and back home to Ngaio via the south side of the Pauatahanui Inlet.
The roads were cold and drying. Air temperature ranged from 8-10oC and the road surface would be about the same. Heavy rain showers earlier in the afternoon had cleared and the surface was mostly dry, apart from some sheltered corners on the hill road.
First impressions? The Motion is a very neutral tyre. Not super sharp but adequately nimble. There was no hint of understeer that the Storms sometimes demonstrated. Given that they were new tyres I didn't push them too hard but found my speed through corners picking up as I gained confidence with grippiness and road feel. They feel a bit harder than the Storms but they don't clunk over catseyes or through potholes. The Motions aren't a hot running tyre like some others I've owned, but they still feel pretty sticky. Interesting.
I am enthusiastic about how the Conti Motions will go. I've got some big rides coming up over the next short while – including the 1,609km-in-24-hours Grand Challenge. I am sure that that time will find a wide range of challenges for the new tyres. I will do a more comprehensive evaluation in a couple of months time.
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Originally Posted by Hitcher
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