Pick me some Tyres

[Jinx3d]

Yeah G'day,

Sorry, I know tyre rants can get tedious cant they...

Help me pick a pair of tyres, here's me :

Bike : TL1000S

Use it for commuting and the odd coromandel mile-wide-smile

Have never had my knee down, although I have tried at slow speeds and the back starts skipping out (empty work car park at 6 am - (yeah sorry, I know I'm being a try hard w**ker ;-)

Current tyres
Front Diablo Corsa, never had a problem with it
Rear MEZ4

Last front tyre was Pirelli GTS which gave me "a moment", but it could have been an oil patch or something

Still aiming to get my knee down and I'd like to ride a track day but I'm never gonna be the l33t slide king or anything.

I did think about going for some of those Shinko stealths, thinking they were sticky and cheap enough to be able to replace regularly...but then I read the thread from Jan and arent so keen now.

Anyways, any advice appreciated.

Mike

[2much]

I'll save you the trouble....

90% of the people here are going to tell you to go with Michelin Pilot Powers, and they're right.

[Zed]

...go with Michelin Pilot Powers...

You took the words right out of my mouth!

Other tyres i'd fit are Pirelli Diablos or Metzler Rennsports.

[The Stranger:Me]

What sort of money you looking at for those?

[N4CR]

I just chucked some GPR-100's on my bike as I can't run super duper soft stuff for commuting etc... they handle great and don't step out at edges etc. Texmo said the bike handled nice, dunno if he meant the tyres though!? I got these tyres after running generic rubbish and they made a world of difference to sustained lean angles (and not sliding around) etc.

Give em a go, they are the new tyre range replacing the older GPR80's (both are sports with a bit of touring in them.. prob harder middles than pure sport compounds).

edit: $340 fitted I think. Say you are a KBR if going to cycletreads - they have monopoly on the dunlop or whoever makes GPR's so are cheaper than most people buy at stock prices in shops.

[kiwifruit]

id go with pilot powers
they seem to last well too

[Lou Girardin]

Metz Z6's, unless you ride harder than most, then try the new Metz M3's.

[Grahameeboy]

What sort of money you looking at for those?

$500 at Cycle Treads was how much I paid.

[Paulus]

Pirelli Diablo on the front (not a Corsa) and Diablo Strada on the rear sounds like what you want. This is a good combination for grip and wear. I know a lot of people running these tyres.

[enigma51]

Try the avon vipers pretty good in the dry not as good in the wet as the mitchellins (i have heard) but the cost a lot less

[MSTRS:Me]

What Lou said.....Z6

[R6_kid:Me]

I have a metzeller M1 (sportec) on the front and a Z6 (roadtec) on the back.

What this means is that i have more tyre on the front (the rear will slide well before the front does) and that the wear on the two is comparitive.

When i got the bike it had M1's front and back. The front lasted me 13k, the rear i think was 4-5k. With the Z6 on the back i am nearing the 10k mark and its still got heaps in it.

Im no topgun but i do quite hard on the track and the country roads i know, and so far i havent had any trouble with that pairing, except for when the rear let go due to some oil (so you cant blame the tyres)

Can't quote prices as i got a mega deal, but if you talk to the guys at cycletreads they will help you out with making a choice and give you a discount (say you're KB), and the other benefit is that you can just roll up and they will normally be able to do it there and then, whereas most bike shops will have to 'fit you in' around services etc.

[DMNTD:Me]

Pirelli Diablo on the front (not a Corsa) and Diablo Strada on the rear sounds like what you want. This is a good combination for grip and wear. I know a lot of people running these tyres.

100% agreed and will be sweet with your riding style.
OK Pilot Powers are a "better" tyre IMO but wouldn't last as long and cost a bit more too. We run the exact combo on Duc-Gurl's TLS and so far have had no prob's and excellent mileage.

[bugjuice]

imho I think Vipers and Diablos would be quickly wasted by commuting.
There's no tyre that'll last the commute abuse, then get your knee down every weekend (going from one exaggeration to the next), so you're gonna have to choose between mileage or smileage (one way to put it!).

Smileage, I've got Vipers, and they've been real nice to me. Never had a 'scare' and isn't for trying, but once let slip when I gassed it hard from a hairpin. Was stupid of me, and the tyres let me get away with it! Anything else, I reckon I'd be on my arse.

Mileage, no idea. Not my forté..

[pritch]

Pirelli Diablo on the front (not a Corsa) and Diablo Strada on the rear sounds like what you want. This is a good combination for grip and wear. I know a lot of people running these tyres.

I'm a fan of properly matched tyres but then I don't always practice what I preach....

The above combination is sensible enough and would be close to my first choice. Because of availability issues though, I currently have a Z6 on the back and an M1 on the front. This is a popular combination hereabout.