Free tyres!

[Katman]

I nominate Katman

What the fuck are radials?

[steve_t]

+1 for local boy, Slofox

[St_Gabriel]

And another vote for Slofox.

[AllanB]

No one has asked the most important question. Do they have a really cool tread pattern?

[Conquiztador]

No one has asked the most important question. Do they have a really cool tread pattern?

And white walls!!!

[cowboyz]

Ill vote for banditrider. He rides in anything ALL the time. Real world performance and he is litterate. If they only last 5k then you will have your report in 3 weeks

[yod]

Ill vote for banditrider. He rides in anything ALL the time. Real world performance and he is litterate. If they only last 5k then you will have your report in 3 weeks

i'll second that, he's an ideal candidate

[ducatilover]

Ill vote for banditrider. He rides in anything ALL the time. Real world performance and he is litterate. If they only last 5k then you will have your report in 3 weeks

If I change my vote to you, can I ride your 9?

[jrandom]

I nominate Drew for north island testing.
Onearmedbandit for south.

Hopefully their motorcycle riding is the common factor that qualifies them.

93% of people who ride motorcycles on the road will derive no material benefit from using "sports" tyres. A quality sports touring tyre will perform the arse off a sports tyre in all but the most demanding conditions, and it will last more than twice as long.

The only reason sports tyres sell is Small Penis Syndrome from riders who believe that their already small willy will shrink away to absolute nothingness if their mates spot anything other than a sports tyre on their motorcycle.

Oh dear.

Hitcher, you are wrong. The fallacy of your post lies in those words 'all but the most demanding conditions'.

Also 'more than twice as long'. (But not in reference to small penises.)

To address.

'Demanding conditions': Rather than generalise, or start the argument about how what works on the racetrack in the wet and the dry does also work on the road, I'll just tell you about the time that I exited a corner on SH16, throttled on, and my rear Pilot Road 2 went gently sideways. In fourth gear. On a GSX1400, not on some hyperbike. It wasn't anything wrong with the road surface. The tyre was simply overwhelmed.

It is possible and, in fact, usual, to ride within the performance envelope of 'sport touring' tyres. However, it is undeniable that they offer less traction, wet and dry. The tradeoff of less traction for more life is their raison d'être. My argument in favour of 'sport' tyres (and by this I mean tyres that work well in the rain, not cut slicks like Super Corsas, etc) is that on a motorcycle, at any time, one could find oneself needing to step outside the performance envelope of 'sport touring' tyres to stay alive.

Ride on them gently, by all means, but you have no metal cage around you and no airbags, and every day you go out on them, you'll be rolling the dice and hoping that you don't encounter a situation that your reflexes and your machine can handle safely, but that your tyres cannot.

For this reason, I'll always put the stickiest tyres I can find (once again, taking wet as well as dry performance into consideration) on all of my bikes.

It's a simple question of safety. Penises don't enter into it. And I shall continue advising any n00b who asks to follow the same path. I believe your condemnation of it to be irresponsible.

'More than twice as long': Simply incorrect. Once again, with the Pilot Power vs Pilot Road comparison, on the same bike, being ridden similarly (ie, gently), I've found that PPs will give you 8,000km where PRs will give you 10-12,000km. The difference is not that great. I'd welcome comments from anyone who's performed the same experiment on their bike.

(I hope you're not trying to compare wear rates on tyres being used at completely different paces, ie, fast and loose versus gentle touring. That would be unworthy of you. I expect a more precise approach to discussion. Sport tyres allow you to ride faster safely and consequently wear them out more quickly if you wish, but that's hardly a drawback.)

[pritch]

the performance envelope of 'sport touring' tyres. However, it is undeniable that they offer less traction, wet and dry.

I don't always agree with Hitcher, and in this instance while his tone was perhaps deliberately provocative, his remarks re grip and tyre life are generally not too wide of the mark. Most riders peobably don't need all of the grip sports tyres offer and the ST tyres definitely last longer.

Your statement above, however, is demonstrably incorrect. The major manufacturers put their best wet weather technology into sport touring tyres. Feel free to visit their websites and check that out.

Perhaps their market research indicates that sport bike riders stay home if it looks like it might rain?

[jrandom]

Most riders peobably don't need all of the grip sports tyres offer

This 'probably don't need...' attitude is precisely what I was trying to address with my post above.

I am strongly opposed to it. It's not about penis size and going fast; sometimes, it's just about being able to safely stop and turn in a way you didn't expect you'd need to.

The major manufacturers put their best wet weather technology into sport touring tyres...

Perhaps their market research indicates that sport bike riders stay home if it looks like it might rain?

We might be running into an issue of definition here. (It's been pointed out to me that the tyres this thread is about are the flavour I specifically excluded from my post, namely cut racing slicks that aren't designed for use in the wet.)

My position is that the stickiest tyres across all road conditions are always the best choice. I won't try to label any particular model of tyre that I haven't tried myself 'sport' or 'touring', but if a manufacturer offers two flavours of tyre, both designed for all-conditions road use, I believe that a rider is foolish to choose the longer-life lower-stickiness option.

[Kornholio]

I nominate DMNTD, with the amount of bikes this guy has owned and how he rides I would say he has given you a bit of business thus far

Unfortunately the bike spends more time on the road than the tires do... If it was testing crash bungs, he would be ideal Neil

[jrandom]

These are born out of MotoGP development for "peak handling performance" in all road or track conditions.

Do you expect them to perform well in the rain?

- the product is a hypersport high-end road and track tyre (think new BT016 PRO), so those with GN250s will unfortunately not qualify

What sizes is it available in? Only for 17" rims, I suppose?

(No, I'm not thinking of putting them on the Harley.)

[Kornholio]

Drew it is then.

Yep, 1 more for Drew and onearmedbandit for the south island .... I would like to know they are being 'tested' properly

[mossy1200]

I dont believe top end sport tyres grip any better than top end sport tour tyres unless your prepaired to run 30 pounds (hot) in them and get them above 70 degrees in temp.So you need to speed and get 2000km life expectancy to make them worth while unless you like the look of almost no grooves in your rubber for factor.

Your just as likely to fail on a sport tyre running at under 70degrees as a touring tyre at normal operating temp.