Need help with tyre choice

[Motoracer]

Once upon a time, I used to give a lot of advices to people about whats best for fast riding etc. Times have changed and I am out of the loop/scene/out of date and now I need advice. The issue at hand is which tire to choose.

Back in NZ, I only used to ride on 3 sorts. Metzler Racetech (Rennsport back in the days), Pirelli Super Corsas or Michline Pilot power for road riding.

I have a set of Pilot powers on and they are great tires. Enough grip to even scrape the foot pegs and what not. However I finally am getting used to the Nürburgring Nordschleife a lilttle bit and in all honesty the Pilot powers have no real place on the track when it comes to getting hard on the gas early out of hairpins and also 150kmph+ sweeprs.

I still use the bike as a road bike most of the time and I do like to pull wheelies often. I was thinking of buying a set of Super Corsa Pros again as I know they will be good enough for the Nordschleife but the centre could wear out a bit too quickly from wheelies/commuting.

So what are your suggestions from the current line up of tires? Whats good, whats not... Is the Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa any good on the track or is Super corsa SP better? Any other makes / models?

Cheers

[R6_kid:Me]

I've been liking Conti RaceAttacks lately - they seem to hold up fairly well with commuting in that they don't square off, but then I'm only dealing with 85-90hp max.

Send Chrislost a PM, he'll be able to give you some good info.

[vtec]

Hey Sudeep. I've noticed that some of the race tyres get a lot harder after a few heat cycles. So I would be loathe to use supercorsas on a bike that's going to be used on the road aswell as on the track. I would look at getting some of the harder compound road compound Michelin Power Ones. They may wear out too fast though. If it's going to be used on the road at all I definitely recommend getting a road compound tyre. They can be nearly as good as the race tyres, just handle heat cycles better, and warm up faster.

Maybe try Dunlop D208's? Maybe Michelin Power Ones, Maybe there's a road compound pirelli awesome tyre. Or you could wait for more people to come on here with opinions. My vote is to try the Michelin Power One road compound, done plenty of laps on Hampton Downs on one, did wear quite fast though.

[Bad Gixxer]

Have you thought about the Bridgestone BT016? I've done a few track days on them on my GSXR (Levels - Timaru) and quite a few k's on the road as well. They're a pretty honest tyre and hold their shape well until near the end of thier useful life, particularly the front. If you want a tyre that's sticky enough for the track but durable enough for the road, lasts a decent number of kl'ms, holds it's shape, and will let you get your knee down comfortably, then i can recommend them. They're not flash in the wet mind you - or maybe it's me that's not too flash in the wet?

I used to use Pilot Power's but the BT016 beats them hands down in my book. I see that they're now standard issue on the K10 GSXR's.

[LBD]

Have you thought about the Bridgestone BT016? I've done a few track days on them on my GSXR (Levels - Timaru) and quite a few k's on the road as well. They're a pretty honest tyre and hold their shape well until near the end of thier useful life, particularly the front. If you want a tyre that's sticky enough for the track but durable enough for the road, lasts a decent number of kl'ms, holds it's shape, and will let you get your knee down comfortably, then i can recommend them. They're not flash in the wet mind you - or maybe it's me that's not too flash in the wet?

I used to use Pilot Power's but the BT016 beats them hands down in my book. I see that they're now standard issue on the K10 GSXR's.

I am with you on the BT016....Stuck like glue and I felt very confident cornering. The side compound is very soft with the front tire shoulders being shredded after one track day and 3500km...the rear was not far from the end of its life at 3500km....(S4Rs)

[Bad Gixxer]

I am with you on the BT016....Stuck like glue and I felt very confident cornering. The side compound is very soft with the front tire shoulders being shredded after one track day and 3500km...the rear was not far from the end of its life at 3500km....(S4Rs)

Yeah i had the same issue on the front with the shoulders shredding after a couple of track days and about 4000 k's. But it's worth the reduced mileage just to know they're gonna stick and retain their shape. I'd rather have the front and rear wear out more evenly anyway - nothing worse than a new front, and a half worn "out of shape" rear. I'm going to try a few different pressures and see how it responds to wear. I think I'm running a bit light at 32/38 on the 016 for the road. That pressure seems to work OK on the 015's though.

[LBD]

Yeah i had the same issue on the front with the shoulders shredding after a couple of track days and about 4000 k's. But it's worth the reduced mileage just to know they're gonna stick and retain their shape. I'd rather have the front and rear wear out more evenly anyway - nothing worse than a new front, and a half worn "out of shape" rear. I'm going to try a few different pressures and see how it responds to wear. I think I'm running a bit light at 32/38 on the 016 for the road. That pressure seems to work OK on the 015's though.

I have a 3k ride with a track day in September...after my experience with the S4Rs, I will try a set on the 1098 and like you say, play with the pressures a little. I fitted Pilot Power 2CT's on the monster after the 016's...I did not feel as confident but got double the milage out of them

[Movistar]

The confidence the front end gives you with the BT016 is considerable.
In fact I'm not looking at any other brand for a while.
I too am amazed at how well the rear keeps its shape (I'm also amazed at how rooted the shoulders on the front tyre get, initially I thought it was pressures, suspension settings or my riding style had changed. Now I believe it's purely because you can rely on them hanging on so well and push that bit harder into corners).

This set have been around Hampton Downs and done some good mileage on the road also.

As for wet riding, up until recently on this set, it's been relatively dry.
Went for a ride out to Whangamomona yesterday and the road was quite damp in plaecs, certainly not wet, on the way out at least.
No dramas. A few little squiggles here and there, but no more than any other tyre I would imagine.

I'd be intersted to hear what you have to say about them on the 1098...

[Devil]

Bridgestone BT-003 Racing Street version
http://mc.bridgestone.co.jp/en/produ...x/bt003rs.html

Fantastic profile, wicked grip. Not so good in cold and wet however.

[R1 Nutter]

Yeah i had the same issue on the front with the shoulders shredding after a couple of track days and about 4000 k's. But it's worth the reduced mileage just to know they're gonna stick and retain their shape. I'd rather have the front and rear wear out more evenly anyway - nothing worse than a new front, and a half worn "out of shape" rear. I'm going to try a few different pressures and see how it responds to wear. I think I'm running a bit light at 32/38 on the 016 for the road. That pressure seems to work OK on the 015's though.

Can you tell me more about the front shredding?? Am looking to replace my Dunlop 209 Qualifier RR's on my R1. Was looking at the Q2, 016 or Corsa Rosso. Has anyone had any of these to compare?? Would you believe there is a shortage of each of these in the country right now??

[LBD]

Can you tell me more about the front shredding?? Am looking to replace my Dunlop 209 Qualifier RR's on my R1. Was looking at the Q2, 016 or Corsa Rosso. Has anyone had any of these to compare?? Would you believe there is a shortage of each of these in the country right now??

BT016/S4Rs....After a track day and 3500km of some pretty aggressive cornering....Takaka hill, Kaiakoura inland road, Grove track, Karamea, Kaiteriteri, Oyster bay, etc, the shoulders of the front tire in particular were very well worn, there was still okay tread in the main part of the tires. I went about 4500km and replaced them both ...I could probably have stretced to 55/6000km before they were totally knackered.

I loved the feel of the 016's so much I have now fitted them to the 1098s....unfortunately it will be the end of September before I get to report.

[Bad Gixxer]

Can you tell me more about the front shredding?? Am looking to replace my Dunlop 209 Qualifier RR's on my R1. Was looking at the Q2, 016 or Corsa Rosso. Has anyone had any of these to compare?? Would you believe there is a shortage of each of these in the country right now??

I think I've got an old front case in my attic. I'll have a look and if I have I'll post a pic or two. The three compounds across the tyre are quite different and the two on the outside are particularly soft/grippy. The centre seems overly hard but wears and rides well. I'd say it's the track days that have caused my shredding mainly, and possibly mainly due to cold tyres at the start of the laps, not using tyre warmers. They're great on the track though. When the shredding begins it's quite early in the life of the tyre and is just part of it's general wear. But when it looks like it's about due to be changed, then change it, despite the fact that there is still some centre tread left. It seems to get to a point where it gest very loose even on the road - a decidedly dodgy experience. (EDIT: I should clarify that it sticks like shit to a blanket and then suddenly doesn't stick like shit. It doesn't seem to gradually lose it's grip over a period of time, at least that's my experience anyway, and that's a bonus as far as I'm concerned. A tyre that gradually loses grip as it ages is untrustworthy and you have to adapt to it. Not with the 016!)

I'll try and get the pics today if I still have the case.

[Bad Gixxer]

Can you tell me more about the front shredding?? Am looking to replace my Dunlop 209 Qualifier RR's on my R1. Was looking at the Q2, 016 or Corsa Rosso. Has anyone had any of these to compare?? Would you believe there is a shortage of each of these in the country right now??

Here's those pics. You'll see on the right shoulder there's extreme wear on the middle of the three compounds as a result mainly of moderate lean angle on the road and more distance travelled at that angle. The outer layer has retained its rubber and was still sticking well when on a heavy lean, but you had to travel through the moderate lean/wear to get over there - just a bit dodgy.

The left side has retained it's rubber and was still performing OK on extreme lean angle. Although this tyre was well past it's used-buy date before I replaced it, probably by a good 1000 k's but it was the weekend and the sun was shining!!! It was pretty much out of shape as well so I was taking it easy. The previous weekend the tyre had no issues, hence my previous comment that it goes quite quickly from being OK to knackered.

Hope this helps anybody understand how the 016 wears, it is a bit unique in my experience.

[Boosted]

So you guys reckon the 016 even over the pilot pures? iv got ma 1000 and had 015s on it, they only lasted 3000kms how long do they 016s last?