Best tire for street riding and high mileaage

[Deleted member 1183]

(I moved the thread into the Tire forum).
Is price no object?
Is long life more important than grip?

Good point !

I suppose the suggestion that "I am not an aggressive rider" is fine until the day comes that You have to brake hard and "aggressively" to get out of trouble. TBH I cannot understand the fixation with high mileage over personal safety and long life of "the person". I am a pensioner, I have never compromised on quality of tyres over 45 years of continuous motorcycling. My advice (as also suggested by others on here).....concentrate on good grip with regard to the two small patches of contact that you have with the road on a motorcycle. If good mileage comes with Your choice then that is good, but imho it certainly should not be Your primary consideration.

 

[Amwolf]

It depends on where you live too. If all the roads you ride on are flat and straight, a high mileage tire will work fine for you. If you live in an area with poorly maintained, highly crowned, or curvy roads like in New England, you will have to contend with many situations that challenge your traction. The last set of tires I replaced were a pair of BT45s on my Bonneville. Because they are a multi compound tire (harder rubber in the center of the tread, softer on the edges for more traction), and I spend a lot of time leaned over in curves, the front tire was worn essentially bald on the shoulder while the center of the tread was almost new. That said, I never felt confident with the BT45's grip, even when they were new, so I was glad to get rid of them.

My point is that depending on where you ride, you may not get the full life out of a high mileage tire even if you pay the extra money for it. I decided a couple of years ago that for where I live, high mileage tires (for any vehicle) are not worth the extra $$ From now on I am only going to buy high grip tires for all my vehicles ... but within reason, I wont buy racing tires that I will be lucky to get 4000 miles out of When I replace the stock tires on my NC, I am thinking I may go with Continentals.

your mileage may vary ...

 

[rippin209]

I think the best balance is the Michelin PR4. Long lasting and great grip the only down side is the price. I'm with griff doesn't matter your skill or how good your brakes are, if you have abs or whatever if you have crap tires and you have to stop or lean harder then you plan or know you should you'll probably crash. I live in Cali with some of the worst roads in the country. And some of the worst drivers. I've had some close calls, as I'm sure most on here have and I've had to stop faster then i thought I could, and going 75 in a straight line on a four lane the freeway and had to lean almost to the floor to swerve around a multi vehicle accident that took up two and a half lanes. After that I see tires as a safety device

 

[MZ5]

My rear PR4 is treating me well. The previous ContiMotion did, too. The Pirelli Angel up front is treating me well, too. ...as did the ContiMotion before it.

I'm glad to know that the Commander is not a good choice for this bike.

At this point, I'd run most any sport touring tire on this bike. I've not run Shinko Ravens on this bike, though I have run them before. I would not choose them again, I don't think, but that's because the price vs performance vs durability balance isn't there for me.

I may try an Angel on the rear next time. We'll see how long this PR4 lasts. I've been concerned that the summer heat here will cause the PR4 trouble. Last summer the bike and I were elsewhere, so I don't have that experience with it. It'll probably stay together, I guess.

 

[gregsfc]

Got Michelins (don't know which tires) front and rear, OEM on my CTX700. Got bike at 2nd consignment location, been up for sale for well over a year. Now down to $3500. Not even one serious inquiry. Thinking about replacing rear tire bald down center @ 8700 miles. I feel that's pretty poor mileage for someone who is meticulous with maintaining PSI and using strictly for transportation/commuting. Thinking about buying a new shed-in-a-box, bringing bike home and riding it since I own it and am insuring it and won't give it away. Saw clearance helmet (Bell Custom 500) for $50; only helmet that doesn't hurt my neck wearing xsmall size helmet, because it's the only helmet I've found with a true, small shell relative to head size. For instance, I've got a Shoei that has 4 shell size; get xsmall, but shell is still huge and only slightly smaller than large. Back to tire, online store doesn't have P4s but has Dunlop Roadsmart II. Would save me on shipping if I get tire there.

Anyone ever ride with Roadsmarts have a review?

A little confused about how some on here stating P4s too expensive. Seems like $20-$35 difference maximum comparing all quality tires with decent tread life, so I'm not sure why anyone would preclude P4s based on price, unless I'm not seeing something.

Anyway. Great thread! Helps those who are not veteran riders trying to make decisions. Points brought up that I would not have even thought of. I sort of lean towards Michelin but want to be open minded and this RS II could save me about $40 if it's a decent tire for tread life and wet/dry traction; not worried a bit about how it sticks leaning on curves, as that's not how I ride. I want it to stop quickly wet or dry and last. That's it

 

[2wheels4fun]

Well my rear ContiMotion started showing cords at 5,500 on my way down the Blueridge Parkway, 150 miles outside of Asheville. I get about 8-9k out of pr4 in the past. Had to use my DR650 from Asheville to Cherokee to finish the entire Parkway yesterday. ContiMotion ($81) is 1/2 the price of PR4 ($167) from American Motorcycle Tire - American Motorcycle Tire. For best bang for the buck, 2xContiMotion = 11K miles, 1xPR4 = 8-9K miles. Both tires seems to ride the same for me. So I ended up ordering another ContiMotion. Since I install tires myself, I don't count the cost of installation. If I had to pay $50 to install a tire, I might rethink my decision.