best tire for...

Whats the best tire for the money and long lasting? p.p? quailifier? diablo?

Most of it is personal opinion. I've found the PP to last longer than the qualifier. Never have ran the basic diablo. You're going to get various responses because lot's of people have had issues with one of the ones you listed

skeeter - what are you running?

The new Diablo Rosso seem to get a pretty good review http://www.r1-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224932

anymore opinions?

Conti sport attack.. 238 for a set shiped. That's run the road now. http://www.compacc.com/prod.cfm/cid/1701001/pid/16096 Stan anymore opinions?

Conti sport attack.. 238 for a set shiped. That's run the road now. http://www.compacc.com/prod.cfm/cid/1701001/pid/16096 Stan youve used these tires? how do they compare to anything else you might have used?

I have dunlop sportmax qualifiers (aka 208's) alot of people here rant and rave about how much they dislike them, but as a street tire they work fine for me. I dont treat the street as a race track though. In the summer / fall when i start doing trackdays I think im going to try the pilot powers also I get pretty good mileage out of them

I'm a bit of a Pirelli whore so I'd probably give the Rosso a try if I were looking for more milage. Should last longer than Corsa III's and should still stick nicely. I've run D208's before (on a different bike) they are junk. Not a real big fan of PP's either.

I'm an all Dunlop guy. And I have two sets of wheels. So I change up as I need. When all out grip is my concern, I use Dunlop D208 GPas (track). When I want treadlife and grip and feedback are not primary concerns, I use D220's (long hauls, and I've used that at Deals Gap with a passenger, no problems). This year for the Convention I will probably use a set of Qualifiers I've been holding onto. Although I would like the great grip and feedback I get from the GPa, I don't think I can make a set last a week.

I've use all most all the tires out there... They feel like the p.p. Love the turn in on the Conti Sport Attack, and great grip from the tire with no slips at all. They also come in 190/55 which I love. I order three sets for this season.. I've been running them for a year now, and love them. Also you can't go wrong with the price...IMO Stan youve used these tires? how do they compare to anything else you might have used?

I'm a bit of a Pirelli whore so I'd probably give the Rosso a try if I were looking for more milage. Should last longer than Corsa III's and should still stick nicely. I've run D208's before (on a different bike) they are junk. Not a real big fan of PP's either. just out of curiousity, what is it in particular that you didnt like about the 208s? grip? stability? feedback? other?

Opinions are everywhere on this topic. Depends on the type of riding you do, what you want the tire to do, the money you want to spend...the list is long. If you haven't noticed, in the above 11 replies you've already gotten more than a handful of different tire types.

This question has been asked a 100 times.. and answered 1000's of times. And I can tell you now its going to all be heavily opininated (I'm a Pirelli man myself.. but with Pirelli's current pricing I'm to give Bridgestone a try). The best advice for you is buy whatever you afford and what you feel is best. Chances are for you to even be asking the question of which brand to buy.. means that you probably are less concerned with performance and more with best bang 4 buck deal. You cant lose with any of the choices you listed. They all give great performance, life, and value. Heres a list of great priced and performing street tires to choose from: Pirelli Diablo Michelin Pilot Power Bridgestone 016 Dunlop Qualifier Metlzer M3

This question has been asked a 100 times.. and answered 1000's of times......................The best advice for you is buy whatever you afford and what you feel is best. Chances are for you to even be asking the question of which brand to buy.. means that you probably are less concerned with performance and more with best bang 4 buck deal. Exactly. Check ebay too, you can get some killer deals there.

I see how we got a little off the path , i should ve said this in the beginning (sorry) Im looking for a long lasting, soft tire that comes in the size 190/55/17

190/55 for the street or track? Basically be more specific.. what are you looking to accomplish by switching tires. And I hate to tell you this.. but in the tire world.. the words "soft" and "long lasting" dont mix. The softer and stickier the rubber.. the more quickly it gets eaten up.

You might look at the new Pilot Road 2.

skeeter - what are you running? For the last year and a half I've been on the Bridgestone BT-002RS, but I ride pretty aggressive at times and want a good Hyper-sport tire that will stick good for hard street riding when I'm in the mood. I ran the stock Qualifiers which came stock on my R6 and had no complaints.

I got better mileage out of the Powers over the Diablos, by about 500. I like the powers too much to even try the qualifiers.

just out of curiousity, what is it in particular that you didnt like about the 208s? grip? stability? feedback? other? "stability"? not sure how much real difference you'll see in similar sized tires. On all the other points I think Sportmax D208 blows. I'm used to running something a lot "sticker" so take that for what ever it's worth. I liked Corsa III's enought to sell my OE PP's with 800 miles on them. Like others have said sticky and long lasting don't tend to mix. And the 190/55 is awesome - but if you are looking for "stability" it may not be your cup of tea - the bike will feel like it wants to turn more than with a 50.

I have a friend that is super cheap...the last set of tires he got was on ebay. that was 3 years ago and they only had a few miles on them. I'm always giving him crap about it. He just bought a new set 2 days ago because the threads were finally showing, thats how cheap he is. He bought a set of 208's and they were super slippery. I think they were old and starting to deteriorate or harden, is that even possible. Maybe it was the tires....or it could have been his suspension set up but his bike felt like a loose noodle. Moral of the story. I would never skimp on something as important as your tires. Thats my .02 :)

I was getting ready to order a set of Pilot Powers untill i read this thread. I just got my first bike, an 04 R1, and its ready for tires. What would you recomend to me?

I was getting ready to order a set of Pilot Powers untill i read this thread. I just got my first bike, an 04 R1, and its ready for tires. What would you recomend to me? Hold up guys- I got this one. Whats your riding style? aggressive? lazy? figure that out first , then choose any popular tire that you feel best describes how you ride. Tires are a tough to decide. Im learning! :)

Well... my riding style is very cautious. Im just learning to ride so im gona be taking it slow for quite a while. I dont need a race tire, but it seems the "stickier" tires may be a little more forgiving?

Well... my riding style is very cautious. Im just learning to ride so im gona be taking it slow for quite a while. I dont need a race tire, but it seems the "stickier" tires may be a little more forgiving? id have to say so and thats what keeps me from getting a road tire but maybe someone else could comment on your question as Im not exactly sure

Stock came with Diablo's So far have a tick over 6,000 miles, ride pretty aggressively, no track days but quite a few canyon trips. Because of commuting the center is wearing out first of course. But i should have about another 500 - 1000 left on them. Oh and about 1,500 miles is riding 2 up. After i am switching to the corsa III. Heard nothing but great things about them. Used 208's in the past but only got about 3,500 miles out of them with the same riding style. Good tire, sticky, heated well, but i have all that goodness out of the diablo with more use.

Oh and one other thing. Does it make sense to anyone else that the center patch of a 55 will wear out faster than a 50 because there is actually less rubber touching the road? More friction on a smaller patch = flat spot?

I'd have to say Pilot Powers are the best all around tire. It has the grip you need while not compromising the wear. Right now I'm running SuperCorsas and they grip like crazy but don't last long.

For the last year and a half I've been on the Bridgestone BT-002RS, but I ride pretty aggressive at times and want a good Hyper-sport tire that will stick good for hard street riding when I'm in the mood. I ran the stock Qualifiers which came stock on my R6 and had no complaints. What are you getting for mileage out of a rear BT-002RS? I'm hitting the wear bars at about 1100-1300, depending on conditions, and getting 1600-1800 miles max.

What are you getting for mileage out of a rear BT-002RS? I'm hitting the wear bars at about 1100-1300, depending on conditions, and getting 1600-1800 miles max. Pretty much the same out of the rear as you are getting. I've switched to Michilen Power Race for the track since they are full D.O.T. race rubber and I can get a great price on them. At this time I've got the BT-002RS on the R6 and the rear is almost toast. The front is still looking good. I plan to keep the front as is and get a new rear for the Deal's Gap Convention in June. I don't ride the street much, so I think I can make it until June with the rear.

Pretty much the same out of the rear as you are getting. I've switched to Michilen Power Race for the track since they are full D.O.T. race rubber and I can get a great price on them. At this time I've got the BT-002RS on the R6 and the rear is almost toast. The front is still looking good. I plan to keep the front as is and get a new rear for the Deal's Gap Convention in June. I don't ride the street much, so I think I can make it until June with the rear. If you like the Power Race, you might find this post from Mike Wheeler, a member of my local club, interesting: I was a Metzeler/Pirelli guy for about 6 years until I switched to Michelin a couple seasons ago. Tire preference is mostly subjective & the vast majority of riders aren't skilled enough to extract all the performance of any type of tire anyway. trackday riders especially just like to blame the tires when they dump the bike to pad their own ego and/or confidence. Nothing wrong with that as you should ride whatever tire gives you confidence as that is the name of the game, but pretty much any DOT Race tires, providing they are reasonably fresh, will give the rider an advantage capable of putting ANY current sportbike on an AMA grid if the rider has the skill level and balls. Yes the various brands all have some pros & cons, but they are all good tires by any real world standard that they would be judged by. The Michelin PRC front IMO is second only to the Michelin 1246A Superbike slick. Tons of grip & lasts forever as it is basically not effected by heat cycling at all. I set my fastest official lap at Barber on one that had 11 days on it... Now I don't like the PR1 & PR2 fronts & refuse to run them for personal preference. I don't like the profile due to the way they turn in & feedback seems totally lacking, but I know a lot of guys that do use them & can kick my ass all over the track so I can't say they are not good tires. The Power Race series rears are great, but with so many choices available to the common Joe it is no longer a one size fits all & gets the job done type scenario if you want to get the most grip & life out of them. There are 6 different rear tires offered in the 180/55 size. 3 being basically street tires & 3 being full on race tires with different compounds & belting plies in the carcass that alter the way the tire responds. These are also the tires that we run at 19-23psi depending on conditions. Many riders refuse to believe those pressures are accurate & run them higher which causes them to lose grip & drastically accelerates wear. Obviously this is not a problem of the tire if the owner fails to follow the directions... They are also offered in the 190/55 size, but only in 3 compounds which are all basically the full-on race version. This season I am actually going back to a 180/55 tire for the entire season as they are about $30 cheaper than the 190/55's I have been using. I did some back to back testing at the end of last season & there is really nothing I can do with a 190/55 that I cannot do with a 180/55 (once the appropriate geometry changes are made) and no matter what advantages there are to having a larger contact patch on the 190/55 the 180/55 DOES offer quicker initial turn-in increasing the agility of my liter bike which is very important to me. Additionally I also have plans to start using Pilot Powers instead if Power Races again for the price difference plus you will not find a better wet weather tire for street or track which precludes me from having to swap tires or wheels everytime it rains when I am out instructing.

Opinions are everywhere on this topic. Depends on the type of riding you do, what you want the tire to do, the money you want to spend...the list is long. If you haven't noticed, in the above 11 replies you've already gotten more than a handful of different tire types. +1 This topic is right there with the "best" oil, "best" break in method etc. With any tire, it boils down to personal preference and riding style. I got over 5000 miles and 4 track days out of a set of PP 2CT's. 1. I pay very close attention to my air pressure and adjust it for the type of riding i plan on doing. 2. The wear was very even. I don't commute, my bikes are toys. The miles were either on the track or in the mountains so the wear was spready evenly across the entire surface of the tire...sidewall to sidewall.

I got about 6,500 out of the stock Pirelli Diablo Corsa. Just put on the Corsa III, I do a lot of commuting and figured why not.

I have ran all three (not on a R1 though but a FZ6). I found that with the primative suspension, I could tell the differance more between the tires. The pp had the best handling but the diablo seemed more confidant in corners. As for how long they last PP=4500 Diablo=4800 Qualifier=4000

+1 This topic is right there with the "best" oil, "best" break in method etc. With any tire, it boils down to personal preference and riding style. I got over 5000 miles and 4 track days out of a set of PP 2CT's. 1. I pay very close attention to my air pressure and adjust it for the type of riding i plan on doing. 2. The wear was very even. I don't commute, my bikes are toys. The miles were either on the track or in the mountains so the wear was spready evenly across the entire surface of the tire...sidewall to sidewall. From your avatar and your sig, you seem to be a pretty good rider-- WITH respect, I don't see how you got that many miles on a rear. I could understand getting that out of a front. Several of us in our local club run 2CTs, and we're getting ~2000-2200 mi. rear. And we can usually go through 2 rears for every front. BTW, I've got a buddy who lives in Johnson City--he's actually on this board, but I don't know what handle he goes by. His name is Jaret--rides an '07 GSX-R1000 on the street, and an '02 R1 on the track. Just rode Shady Valley, NC 80, 88, Little Switzerland, etc. with him 2 weekends ago.

From your avatar and your sig, you seem to be a pretty good rider-- WITH respect, I don't see how you got that many miles on a rear. I could understand getting that out of a front. Several of us in our local club run 2CTs, and we're getting ~2000-2200 mi. rear. And we can usually go through 2 rears for every front. BTW, I've got a buddy who lives in Johnson City--he's actually on this board, but I don't know what handle he goes by. His name is Jaret--rides an '07 GSX-R1000 on the street, and an '02 R1 on the track. Just rode Shady Valley, NC 80, 88, Little Switzerland, etc. with him 2 weekends ago. +1... Also do not know how yo make a rear tire last that long :crash

If you like the Power Race, you might find this post from Mike Wheeler, a member of my local club, interesting: Very good article. I agree with his thoughts about people judging the tire right off the bat when they go down. I've gone down with Michelin, Bridgestone and Pirelli and don't blame any of the tires for this. I used the Power Races for the first time in Feb at a track weekend and really liked them. I can't beat the price I can get them for. Yes, I about flipped out when I heard the pressures I needed to run in them. I thought it was way to low, but went with it anyway and they felt very responsive and predictable.

Just like most have said here, this topic is very subjective. I don't understand how you guys are getting so many miles out of these tires. I use the Diablo Corsas and Corsas IIIs and I less than 2000 miles. If you want a good tire that is sticky like the Corsa IIIs then go with the Metzler M3s. I have a friend that got 5000 miles out of a set of M3s (without TDs). There is not a lot of hype surrounding Metzlers but they are an awesome tire especially for the price. My .2 cents...........

hey guys.. the Bridgestone BT-020 lasted me 10, 000 miles mainly commuting freeways.. now i'm running Bridgestone BT-021... both tires held pretty well in the canyons too.. not too expensive either.. just my .02

2,000 miles a tire. Jesus, That is practically 3 tires ($200 each), and two oil changes ($50) for a grand total of $700. Every two months. I am riding the bike to save money. LOL Does hot wheeles make bike tires? Or some solid rubber ones for the Model T?

From your avatar and your sig, you seem to be a pretty good rider-- WITH respect, I don't see how you got that many miles on a rear. I could understand getting that out of a front. Several of us in our local club run 2CTs, and we're getting ~2000-2200 mi. rear. And we can usually go through 2 rears for every front. BTW, I've got a buddy who lives in Johnson City--he's actually on this board, but I don't know what handle he goes by. His name is Jaret--rides an '07 GSX-R1000 on the street, and an '02 R1 on the track. Just rode Shady Valley, NC 80, 88, Little Switzerland, etc. with him 2 weekends ago. Maybe i should have mentioned that the track days came at the end of those miles. :crash I put most of those miles on those tires on the street because i had my 600 track bike. I sold my 600 track bike and started tracking the R1 while my 750 is being built. I can count on my hands the times i have drug knee on the streets. I am not slow on the streets, but I don't feel comfortable riding real hard on public roads for many reasons. So essentially, the area of the tires you use at the track was still in good shape. Needless to say, after a couple of track days they were toast.