Highway Tires (Looking for Advice)

[mwtillotson]

Hi Guys,

Newish rider here looking for advice on replacement tires. I'm coming up on 6k miles and I'm well overdue for a change.

No complaints on the Rosso IIs, but I need something with a little more life. I'm beating my 390 up doing almost 2k miles a month. The vast majority of this is highway commuting to and from work. I take it up in the mountains on weekends.

The Internet tells me Pirelli Rosso Corsas or Michelin Pilot Street Radials might be better suited for my riding habits. I was hoping someone could push me in the right direction.

Thanks so much.

 

[Ryanthegreat1]

I have had a great experience with the Pilot Road 3's on my other bikes. They even offer a 150 rear. But I think it is a 150/70 not a 150/60.

 

[ArkansasDave]

I've got a set of gently used Rosso II's I'll sell you. I agree with Ryan though, the pilot roads are pretty dang good street tires.

 

[mwtillotson]

I have had a great experience with the Pilot Road 3's on my other bikes. They even offer a 150 rear. But I think it is a 150/70 not a 150/60.

Thank you for the advice. It looks like the Pilot Road 3s would be a great choice based on reviews alone. However, would I be better off with a 150/70 rear or a 160/60? Would this be a grip vs. turning angle trade-off? I'm leaning toward a 160/60 if I can get my hands on one (I see it available on RevZilla).

I've got a set of gently used Rosso II's I'll sell you. I agree with Ryan though, the pilot roads are pretty dang good street tires.

I appreciate the offer! However, I'm pretty interested in trying out some new tires and I need them pronto!

Thanks guys.

 

[Ryanthegreat1]

I have a 160 Pilot Road 3 on one of my other bikes, it is WIDE. I don't think I would recommend that for the little RC. I would try the taller 150/70.

 

[Ynike99]

Michelin pilot street radial. 'nuff said.

 

[HermannNW]

I had 12,000km with my metzelers m5 and I replaced my rear tire with a metzeler m7 rr, big difference, it is special designed for more miles and softer in cornering, simple incredible.

 

[mwtillotson]

I have a 160 Pilot Road 3 on one of my other bikes, it is WIDE. I don't think I would recommend that for the little RC. I would try the taller 150/70.

I may have taken this advice had I seen it before ordering my tires. I ended up going with the 160/60s.

Rode damn near 8 hours yesterday and it felt just fine. Gets this scrub's seal of approval!

 

[MotoKam]

I ride my RC about 3000 mainly highway miles a month. After the stock Pirelli rear suddenly blew out at 5254 miles, I switched to the Bridgestone Battlax S20 EVO in the stock sizes.

Ari Henning did a review and I went with his top pick:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHnmukUJ7aQ



I'm glad I did! These EVOs stick like mad! To me, the all-the-time performance of a great sport tire trumps the few extra miles I have to live with a tire I don't fully trust.

I've just gotten used to changing and balancing tires routinely. It's pretty easy with the Harbor Freight tire apparatus bolted to the floor.

I replace the rear at around 3000 miles and the front at roughly 5000 (a fresh set is en route right now). There's probably 50% life left in the rear and maybe a third in the front, but I feel better having that new tire performance most of the time. Plus I sell them on in the hopes they will become shagged by an enthusiastic track rider.

Plus, they're about the least expensive premium tire I've found.