Tire durability and other tire info from experience.

[DemonDuck]

Ok I figured I would start this thread so we can keep track of what tires you have had on your bike and what you think of them... how long they lasted ect. I will start with what I have had so far....

I have a 2008 Kawasaki ZX-14 and im not a small guy so this could affect the info given.

Had the origional tires which where ok but nothing impressive... Bridgestones BT016's I think. Lasted about 11k miles or so.

Michelin Pilot Power 2 CT's. These felt much better than the Bridgestone. Good traction and felt easier to lean the bike. These lasted about 10k per set for 2 sets. Up to 34k miles total on the bike now.

Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa's. These felt great. Very sticky from day one and the ease of throwing the bike over was great... never got on the track with these so I cant say there but for the road they where exceptional. I got 8k miles out of these but a nail ended the life early. I think they would have went 10k. Up to 42K miles on the bike now.

[NickS]

Since both my bikes came with OEM rubber that is watered down versions of what's on the market, I'll reserve judgment.

Scenaio A- Sport touring

I weigh 170 when geared up, Tara 120. Concours is 635 wet and let's round to 650 for water and snacks. Our normal 2 up ride weighs 940 lbs, prolly 800 or so 1 up, 100 ft/lbs trq and 159 HP.

Michelin Pilot Road 2's: They have about 7000 miles on them and look to be no more than a third worn down still deep tread left. These tires have been inflated to 38/40, and have seen some spirited rides. They transformed the bike from the stock. Recommended for similar scenario, not sure on a lighter bike.



Scenario B-Steet/Sport


My 170 plus 485 for a z1000 equals 655lbs, 74 ft/lbs trq, 125 rwhp.

Pilot Power 2 CTs: They have about 1200 miles and are in the prime of their life, pressure between 36 and 38. I have not explored the limits of what this tire can do, but the z gets ridden pretty hard and has been to max speed many times and sees plenty of time in the triple digits. I basically just double what the yellow warning sign says in turns and that's normal riding. Hitting sweepers in the 130 mph range still does not generate enough lean angle to even really get to the second compound. Tight stuff in the 65-85 range, has not gotten me to the edge of the tire. I don't really push it too far beyond that, so for these duties the tire has been very solid.

That being said, many Michelin reps and riders will say the street compound is designed to heat up fast, at the expense of high temp durability thus even on the track the tire must be fully inflated for best performance, especially as it gets hot out.

I will revise this after track day, if the tires don't melt and knock me offline.

Sorry for long winded.

[fixxervi6]

Rider: 215lbs
Track pace: level 1 (now registered level2)
Street pace: Moderate rides with the club, somtimes stupidfast by myself

Bike: GSXR750
Tire: Dunlop Q2
Life: ~5,500 miles - tires pulled before end of life
Use: commute and weekend runs, trackdays
Turn in: 4/5
Grip: 5/5
Comments: Great tire, capable of greater lean angle than the 2CT's, I've had 2CT's to the edge I've not taken the Q2's all the way to the edge yet. Just a little more sluggish on the tip in but nothing to cry home about. Grip, outstanding, I noticed the compound was starting to harden up a bit with this many miles but the grip is still way beyond any of the other tires I've been on. Replaced the tires before they were done so I could have full tread for the track, so I'm on my second set of Q2's and until something better comes out I'm staying with these. I noticed I can roll on a lot more aggresively with these and the back stays planted, can't wait to get the next set to cresson CCW

Bike: GSXR750
Tire: BT016's
Life: 8,500 miles
Use: commute and weekend runs
Turn in: 3/5
Grip: 4/5
Comments: Seams like a pretty good all around tire, wish I would have taken them to the track, I never did get the tire clear to the edge where the softest compound of the triple compound is. So maybe this is a 5 for grip but I never pushed them to the edge to find out so I'll say 4.

Bike: GSXR750
Tire: Pilot Power 2CT
Life: still going with TONS of tread left @ 5,000 miles in, I think they are made of metal, or teflon coated concrete
Use: commute, weekend runs, track days
Turn in: 5/5
Grip: 2.5/5 and I only give it a 2.5 because it works good at the track
Comments: scary slick on the street at moderate lean angles, grips good on the track when leaned all the way over

Bike: Katana 750
Tire: Dunlop sportmax
Life: Sold at 7,500, tire will easily go triple this
Use: commute, weekend runs
Turn in: 3.5/5
Grip: 3.5/5
Comments: Breaks free under aggresive use but gives a warning first, pretty pleased with the grip when you factor in the compound hardness but I wouldn't put these on my GSXR, clearly a long life tire.

Bike: Ninja 250
Tire: Road Winners
Life: still going at 6,500 proabbly 50% left
Use: commute, weekend runs
Turn in: 4.5/5 (probably due to being a 250 more than the tire)
Grip: 4/5 but I haven't pushed this too hard
Comments: If I pushed them hard my wife would kick my ass so I can't really "test" these tires

[DemonDuck]

Nice format Fixxer. Maybe we can get a mod to sticky this so when people are looking for tire advice they can have a bunch of input from different sorces.

[Rhino]

I can echo Fixxer's analysis of Dunlop Sportmax (on my Versys) and Nick's analysis of Pilot Road 2's (on my Concours 14).

I'll add Pilot Powers on my ZX-6R and Pilot Road 3s on my Versys have never once slipped on me. Granted my pace is old and busted compared to some of you guys, but still. The Pilot Road 3s especially held up exceptionally well in adverse conditions (very cold rain, mountain roads) to the point that I felt comfortable riding my normal pace.

[fixxervi6]

Rider: 215lbs
Track pace: level 1 (now registered level2)
Street pace: Moderate rides with the club, somtimes stupidfast by myself

Bike: GSXR750
Tire: Dunlop Q2
Life: ~5,500 miles - tires pulled before end of life (several sets of these now, life was ~3,500 - 5,500 miles, my FAVORITE by far
Use: commute and weekend runs, trackdays
Turn in: 4/5
Grip: 5/5
Comments: Great tire, capable of greater lean angle than the 2CT's, I've had 2CT's to the edge I've not taken the Q2's all the way to the edge yet. Just a little more sluggish on the tip in but nothing to cry home about. Grip, outstanding, I noticed the compound was starting to harden up a bit with this many miles but the grip is still way beyond any of the other tires I've been on. Replaced the tires before they were done so I could have full tread for the track, so I'm on my second (multiple) set(s) of Q2's and until something better comes out I'm staying with these. I noticed I can roll on a lot more aggresively with these and the back stays planted, can't wait to get the next set to cresson CCW

My last set didn't last long, put over 2,200 miles of highway on them, and one track day, couple weekend rides and that was it, you could see cord under a paper thin layer of rubber when I pulled them off, a trip around my neighborhood probably would have removed the remainging rubber. I DO NOT recommend these things for road trips, but we all kind of knew that already

Bike: GSXR750
Tire: BT016's
Life: 8,500 miles
Use: commute and weekend runs
Turn in: 3/5
Grip: 4/5
Comments: Seams like a pretty good all around tire, wish I would have taken them to the track, I never did get the tire clear to the edge where the softest compound of the triple compound is. So maybe this is a 5 for grip but I never pushed them to the edge to find out so I'll say 4.

Bike: GSXR750
Tire: Pilot Power 2CT
Life: still going with TONS of tread left @ 5,000 miles in, I think they are made of metal, or teflon coated concrete
Use: commute, weekend runs, track days
Turn in: 5/5
Grip: 2.5/5 and I only give it a 2.5 because it works good at the track
Comments: scary slick on the street at moderate lean angles, grips good on the track when leaned all the way over

Bike: Katana 750
Tire: Dunlop sportmax
Life: Sold at 7,500, tire will easily go triple this
Use: commute, weekend runs
Turn in: 3.5/5
Grip: 3.5/5
Comments: Breaks free under aggresive use but gives a warning first, pretty pleased with the grip when you factor in the compound hardness but I wouldn't put these on my GSXR, clearly a long life tire.

Bike: Ninja 250
Tire: Road Winners
Life: still going at 6,500 proabbly 50% left (swapped before end of life)
Use: commute, weekend runs
Turn in: 4.5/5 (probably due to being a 250 more than the tire)
Grip: 4/5 but I haven't pushed this too hard
Comments: If I pushed them hard my wife would kick my ass so I can't really "test" these tires

Bike: Ninja 250
Tire: Sport Demons
Life: still going at ~4,000 probably 50% tread
Use: weekend runs, track day
Turn in: 4.5/5 (probably due to being a 250 more than the tire)
Grip: 5/5 fully impressed with the grip

Bike: GSXR750
Tire: Pilot Road 3
Life: Just getting started
Use: Long trips, no track days
Turn in: TBD
Grip: TBD
Comments: TBD - but these are not going to be my "regular" tires, going to keep these in reserve on my second set of wheels for trips only, like rides to austin etc, Q2's cost to much to burn up on long moderate rides.

[DemonDuck]

The new bike came with Metzler racetech K3's.

So far they are freakin awsome for traction and respond very well. I get a good feel from the road with them as well. Not sure about the mileage yet because I only have 750 miles on the bike but it seems like they might wear a little faster than I am use to. Also keep in mind that some of the great feeling might also be the new bike...lol.

[Firewa11]

Niiiiice, I had heard about the K3's, but no real-world experience yet...

[russian]

I'm partial to pilot power ones. Best grip I've seen without going to a slick, altho don't expect to get many miles out of it. I usually go through a rear tire every 1000 miles or so

[milesmiles]

with all the drag racing you do, why haven't you run the shinko drag tire? I've heard good things

[russian]

I have, it's a great tire if all you do is drag race, I like to do high speed pulls in the Mexico highways and the Michelin is much better suited for that, plus you can turn I them :p

[shilka99]

Rider: 220+ lbs
Track pace: level 2-3
Street pace: NA

Bike: SV650
Tire: Dunlop Q2
Life: ~8 track days
Use: Track only
Turn in: 3/5
Grip: 3/5
Comments: Good intermediate level tire. Sensitive to pressures. Greater pressures leads to less grip and longer life. This tire can be very difficult to get up to optimal temps in cold weather, regardless of pressure adjustments. In hot weather this tire grips well and needs very little warmup. Dont be alarmed if you see a big gash develop on the left side of the 180 size rears. This is a construction flaw that wont affect the performance of the tire

Bike: GSXR750
Tire: Michelin Power One DOT Race
Life: ~4 track days
Use: Track only
Turn in: 4/5
Grip: 4/5
Comments: Revelatory compared to the Q2. Instant increase in confidence. Sharper turn-in, better confidence under brakes, higher corner entry speed and greater confidence in trail-braking. Tire feels very maneuverable.
However, at limits of traction this tire lets go with a bang. The Dunlop slides first then slips, this Michelin lets go with little or no warning. TC really helps here.

Bike: Ducati 996
Tire: Pirelli Diablo supercorsa sp
Life: Unknown
Use: Track only
Turn in: 4/5
Grip: 4/5
Comments: Similar confidence in turn-in to the Michelin. Good grip at lean, very good 'flickability', much like the Michelin. On initial observation it looks like this tire will last longer than the Michelin but I've only done 1 track day.

Bike: GSXR750/RC30
Tire: Dunlop production slick
Life: ~4 track days
Use: Track only
Turn in: 5/5
Grip: 5/5
Comments: Insane grip, makes extreme lean easy, touching fairings and hard parts becomes a serious risk. Immense confidence boost. Braking distances are halved. Strong on corner exit, easy to lift the front while leaned. Feels very squirrely in a straight line. Tip-in is so fast its easy to cut corners too sharply.
Tire life is easily adjusted with pressures. No need for warmers.

[DemonDuck]

Nice Shaun

[fixxervi6]

Interesting how you rank the Q2 vs the DOT tires since I consider Q2's to be velcro.. hmmmm

[shilka99]

The DOT race version of the Michelin costs a lot more than the standard Michelin Power One - I think they were over $500 with the racer discount. Similar to the difference between the Q2 and the NTEC Dunlops.