Help with tire buying decision

[MZ5]

I like the feel of my Pirelli Angel GTs best of all I've tried. The Pilot Road 4 rear was close, and it certainly lasted a long time, but I like the AngelGT better. The ContiMotions are great general-purpose tires. They feel kinda 'slow' to me on turn-in, as a handling comparison. Never had a front Pilot Road 4, but had fronts of all the other types.

 

[Olythom]

RoadSmart II . I have about 10k on mine so far and the rate of wear seems very good. Time will ultimately tell. I am a year-round commuter in western Washington (it rains here) and I have no concerns regarding wet or dry pavement. Fwiw... I seldom venture off asphalt. Yet to figure out why you don't hear more about these tires.
>T

 

[670cc]

As with most tire recommendation threads, in a short time you're now up to about six suggestions. We'll eventually suggest every tire made if the thread keeps going.

 

[670cc]

Pilot road 4's on sale now at revzilla. $178.43 for 160/60 rear, and $146.53 for 120/70 front.

Don't bother with Revzilla's sale. They're cheaper than that all the time at American Motorcycle Tire ($142/$171). Free shipping, too.

 

[yticolev]

I'm running a new Shinko Raven 009 down here in Arkansas this week and it's performing well. Same low price as the Conti Motions, and I'm hearing the Raven tire life is longer. The Raven is not quite as stiff sidewalled as the Motion. I found it a little easier to mount. I popped both beads on and the pressure was at 15 PSI.

I think I could have squeezed out another 500 miles from the OEM tires for over 15,000 miles. However my OEM chain started stretching at a rapid rate and rearward adjustment was maxed out. Having to replace both sprockets as well. Took it into my home based certified Honda mechanic with parts and he thought that despite wear bars still showing that if pulled over I would get a ticket. So I ordered tires - the Shinko Ravens 670cc recommended at American Motorcycle Tire for $152 delivered per strat's outlet recommendation. My mechanic also liked the Shinko's on his Gold Wing.

Thanks to all for suggestions!

Brake pads front and rear were down to 20% so those are being replaced too. I was a little surprised at that, I don't think of myself as a heavy brake user. I've gone 200,000 miles in a car without replacing them.

So last question, best brake pad? Mechanic said OEM was better than after market. However the stock pads wore more quickly than expected. I'll try a search here too.

 

[SleepyC]

Anybody else get Pirelli Scorpion Trail Motorcycle Tires as the stock tire?
I just noticed that's what I have... they seem decent.

 

[ld_rider]

Anybody else get Pirelli Scorpion Trail Motorcycle Tires as the stock tire?

Yes. Came from the factory on my 2014 DCT, a very good tire.

 

[yticolev]

OK, just read a long thread on brake pads here and looked at some buying choices. Based on the expense of the OEM version, I'm going to try to use current pads a few thousand miles longer. I'm not sure my mechanic can truly tell how much wear is left until the wheels are removed. From the side, they looked like they were in good shape to me. But if in fact they are 80% gone over 15,000 miles, then I still have close to 4,000 miles left.

Edit:

Did some more reading and ordered organic Volar pads from D2Moto. $13 for front and rear versus around $80 for OEM! Read extensive reviews on motorcycle forums of actual users. Consensus of actual users were that they were just as effective as OEM (stopping distance, lack of noise, fit), but only last 20,000 miles versus 30,000 miles. I'll replace the OEM pads later I think, just easier to order right after I've done some research (wish I had done that with tires).

These pads are available on Amazon and eBay, but I ran across a discount code good for 15% off on D2Moto's site that worked: D2M2008

 

[yticolev]

Picked up bike from mechanic with new tires and drive chain yesterday and rode 40 miles home. Good and bad news on the Shinko Raven 009 tires. Turn in is better and much easier to hold in a curve than the OEM Bridgestones however requires a relaxed hold on the bars as it takes little effort for a big change in line. The OEM required a strong grip on the bars to hold a line, wanting to return upright (worn tires, but I remember the same when the bike was new). The downside of the easy turn it is that straight-line cruising at highway speeds is twitchy. Not liking that.

The biggest thing I don't like is the road noise coming from the front tire. At speeds over 30, it is louder than the mechanical noises, and obnoxious at any speed over 15mph. It is so obnoxious, I will probably replace it.

I also question the design. Before I even rode it, I noticed that the front tire has a center groove (the pictures online did not show it, and unfortunately, I did not see the tire before it was mounted). What the heck is the center groove for? It certainly cannot help with water displacement, catches rain grooves, and increases rolling resistance versus a smooth groove free center. I purchased the NC primarily for its economy.

One last thing for comment: the OEM front sprocket is reversible. Despite my severely stretched chain, wear was visible but minimal in the expected direction, but visually, the tooth profile looked new the other way. Any harm done by reversing it rather than replacing? Mechanic said sprockets are so cheap there is no point, but front and rear together were $65. Seems like you could double replacement time by flipping the front sprocket (rear is not reversible, but typically only needs replacing every other time the front needs changed).

 

[670cc]

I noticed the same thing with a new front Raven. The front was super sensitive to turns. After the tire broke in at about 500 miles, that feeling was gone. Now the front feels "normal". I did twisters turn and burn at the Hillbilly Hangout, and also a lot of gravel. I'm happy so far with a couple thousand miles on it.

I noticed no extra noise from the Raven. Is yours installed rotating the right direction?

Make sure your new chain is not too tight, causing noise. Mechanics often install them too tight.

 

[yticolev]

I noticed no extra noise from the Raven. Is yours installed rotating the right direction?

Make sure your new chain is not too tight, causing noise. Mechanics often install them too tight.

I thought of that too and checked when I got home. I rode a couple miles today without earplugs and the rear tire is making noise too. I'll check the direction tomorrow, but it looks right going by the tread pattern. Both OEM tires had no tread or grooves on the primary contact patch and were much quieter. I'm a bit sensitive I suppose to noise and I prefer bald tires on road bicycles for the same reason, plus they have lower rolling resistance.

Chain is not too tight. He did tell me I would have to adjust it after 250 miles. Apparently new chains stretch a bit when new.

 

[yticolev]

So I'm OK with the handling of the Shinko Ravens now and like that aspect of them over the OEM Bridgestones. The road noise still sucks but I'm going to live with it. Both the front and rear tires have deep grooves in the contact patch that are at almost right angles to rotation. Perhaps the casing has something to do with the noise, but the tread pattern is a prime suspect in my mind. I can promise that I will look very closely at tread pattern before the next set of tires!

I check reviews of car tires before buying with how quiet they are being first on the list. Interesting how almost every car tire review mentions road noise (as do most new car reviews), but I've yet to see a motorcycle tire review comment on tire noise.

 

[yticolev]

Just to add, I'm expecting a 2 to 4 mpg hit and possibly more from these tires. I'll let you know if that is true or not. The cost to hybrids of using less efficient tires can be as much as 7 mpg. As the width of my tires haven't changed (one of several variables in rolling resistance), I don't think it will be that bad. I will report back after a couple of tanks.

I'd be very interested to know if anyone with new tires has noticed a mpg difference over previous tires, good or bad. Should be easy to discern on such a high mileage machine. My own NC700X has an overall average of 68 mpg, but I routinely get around 73 in the summertime keeping it under 70 mph.