Bike Tyres

[Rick1970]

Who knows their bike tyres. Will be needing a new front tyre for my bike soon (Hyosung GT650R). As I got it, has currently got a newish Shinko Raven on the rear (160/60-17) and a Michelin Power Pilot (120/70-17.......factory spec is a 120/16) on the front. Been a loooong time since I had to buy a bike tyre.


I'm no knee slider on the corners (either is the bike :p), but something with reasonable grip, expecially in the wet, would be nice. Middle of the road price range, and something that mite last more than 3000km.


Or would I be better fitting a matching Shinko to the front, and swapping both for a matching set when both worn?


Cheers
Rick

[TeamFA]

I'm on the current iteration of the Michelin Pilot Road (4, I think?).

Found them to be excellent tyres, particularly in the wet. I commute in all sorts of weather, and have tried many tyres over the years - the current ones are brilliant, and I get at least 10K kms out of a set.

Price is probably on the more expensive side, but only one fall from a tyre slipping in the wet will cost more that a set of tyres - so cheap insurance, as far as I'm concerned.

[V8Ian]

Front and Rear Matching
Remember, the correct matching of front and rear tyres is important to obtain optimum performance and handling. Follow the Tyre Selection guidelines.

Mount only tyres marked "front wheel" on the front position and only tyres marked "rear wheel" on the rear position.

A new front tyre with a worn rear tyre can cause instability. Mixing radials, or mixing radials with bias or belted-bias tyres, may adversely affect handling and stability, and should only be done when specifically fitted and/or recommended by an OE vehicle manufacturer. It should be noted that many factors other than tyre incompatibility can affect the handling of a motorcycle, including the weight and height of the rider, mixing worn with unworn tyres and the fitment of luggage or fairings.

Motorcycle Tyres, Dunlop, Australia (http://www.dunloptyres.com.au/tips-and-advice/motorcycle-tyres/)

[Homestar]

Haven't found a better tyre than the Mitchy Pilot Powers myself. Grip all the way to the edge, and great in the wet. Latest gen - 3?, I haven't used, but I have heard good things and the Mitchy is all I will use now. :)

I don't ride on the edge, but I've been caught short a couple of times and when I push my bike further than I usually do (or think it should be capable of) due to this, it has stuck fast, which is the way I like it.

That probably shows I'm a conservative rider, but the road isn't a race track, and having some 'fudge factor' built in is nice.

[p38arover]

The last set of tyres I bought, I got from Rocky Mountain ATV in Utah. Price including shipping was more than $100 cheaper than locally.

They appear to still ship here. Click on International for freight which is quite reasonable.

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/

However, with the Oz dollar how it is a the moment, do a check on the exchange rate before ordering.

[TeamFA]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Front and Rear Matching
Remember, the correct matching of front and rear tyres is important to obtain optimum performance and handling. Follow the Tyre Selection guidelines.

I've heard this, and used to practice it early on, but have certainly gone down the road of having mismatched tyres front/rear (as in brand/compound). Many times would try and whatever was new and recommended on one end while the other had enough life in it not to need replacing.

Also used to go the BT20 rear and BT16 (or equivalent in the day) front as a staple diet on the older Buells.

I don't think there's as much of an issue mismatching tyres front/rear as people make out. Certainly only front on front and rear on rear, though.

As a coincidence, I also had the rear Pilot Road step out on me this morning. I can only attribute that to my own error, though - riding on cold tyres now the same as I did 6 months ago. Too fast into an off-camber corner trying to sneak through the lights before they changed. Mental note to remember that the tyres are colder these mornings...