[jimfitz]

I also ride in Seattle and have been happy with the Metzler Sport-Tecs that came standard on my V-11 sport. I ride with a guy who runs Metzlers on his K-1200 R and we've had both sporting and rainy day rides. We've both been happy with the Metzler. There is a tire review (27 street tires tested) in the December 2005 issue of Sport Rider Magazine. The Metzlers ranked well, as did the Pilot Power and Pirelli Diablo. Of the tires reviewed, I've only ridden the Metzlers, but I found the article validated my experience with the tire and have been satisfied in wet conditions. I have 5,000 miles on the tires and they show moderate wear.

 

[21726]

I ride in the rain a fair bit (in the UK you have to!) and although my R1100R doesn't have the 955's bhp, the tyres have to carry a lot of weight and transmit the boxer's relatively high torque. I get 10,000 miles a pair out of Bridgestone BT 020's, and never a squirm or a slide.

 

[Buzglyd]

I run a Metzler Road Tec on the back and a Sport Tec on the front. Not a whole lot of rain in these parts but I least that way the tires wear out at the same time and you have the benefit of the softer front.

 

[39777]

I have BT 010's on my ZX-9, and usually get around 8,000 miles out of them, and that included a couple of track days with the current set.

 

[tsloan]

I completely wore out a ME-1 Sport tec in 1800 miles on a 1200S Bandit. I was touring with my wife and had bags on the bike. We ride an FZ1 on backroads in West Virginia and North Carolina and wear the sides off Road Tecs in 3500 miles. The bike is at maximum gross vehicle weight. The best mileage I've ever gotten out of a Sport Tec was 5600 and that was lightly loaded. We ride in the rain all the time and the Road Tecs are great. I love the tires but my trips last longer than 3500 miles so I am looking for something harder.

 

[pushrod]

I've been running the Battlax BT-020 on the rear and the BT-010 on the front of my Sprint STs. They last about the same mileage (around 12K), and I've slipped the rear only occasionally on the sugar sand we have EVERYWHERE around here.

 

[35377]

I used to run Pilot Sports on my Honda VTR1000 SuperHawk. Loved the tires, but only got about 3000-4000 miles. Switched to Pilot Roads. They’ve got about 5000 aggressive road miles and two track days on them (but no burnouts) and it looks like they’ll be good for a thousand or so more on the road before we get down to the wear bars. Wet weather performance is excellent, and they warm up quicker than the Pilot Sports, especially when air temperatures drop below 40 F. Comfortable ride, too. Some of the professional racers/editors that reviewed the Pilot Roads reported decreased lap times compared to the Pilot Sports, but at my skill level, there’s been no difference in lap times or street performance.



For touring, the Pilot Sports would start to square off after about 500-600 miles on the slab. I haven’t noticed this on the Pilot Roads, but it may be because I haven’t done a long stretch of slab with them yet.



On the topic of "sport touring," I recently read a very favorable article in the BMW Owner's News about Tomahawk retreads. The author reported good price, good performance, and good wear. Got me interested....

 

[nitrofly]

When you say 'done' do you mean like this?

http://tinyurl.com/bzx68

 

[1747]

i just wrap my rims in duct tape now. stickier and cheap as hell. BMWs are great, you can put em on the centerstand and just wrap more tape on either wheel no problem.

where is everybody? i need some content dammit. Anybody know anything about Husqvarna TE250? street legal dirt bike looks like fun to me.

 

[50307]

I've had micheline pilot road and pirelli diablo strada's they're both great in the rain and I get 6000-8000 miles but they are not true sport bike tires. a zx 11 is not flickable for me

 

[36943]

I lived in Japan for quite a while and road year round in the rain and shine. I had very good results with Bridgestone bt-50 and bt-56 tires. they were good rain or shine on a ZX 6E kawasaki that weighs about 525 lbs full of fuel and oil. the handling was good on both and they were good for mileage also. I use the BT 56 tires now in a ZX 6E here in NC. I would expect newer versions to be even better. It really rains a lot in Japan and I found the Bridgestones to be excellent in city commuting and high speed travel on cross country toll ways.



I like the shape of the tire and the way they allow an even roll onto the side and back. I preferred this to the more triangular shape of the Dunlop tires the 'Kwak' had when I bought it...

 

[curvelover]

I am in Atlanta and ride a 750 Monster at track days. I find the Pilot Power to be slower to warm up, but provides better traction when hot. I also get more days out of the Michelin on the rear (8 vs 6)



I had a blast at Road Atlanta in September in the rain on the Michelins. A friend on a 996 on race wets never saw me.



I do not have a clue how life will compare to a Pilot Street.



What it boils down to is that all you can really do is spend your money and make your own decisions. If you want to try something else, then do. You can always change back.

 

[curvelover]

I failed to state in comparison to a Metzler Sportec M-1.

 

[Buzglyd]

Hey JB

Is there something in the Motorcyclist style guide that demands the use of the word "tasty" to describe the offerings of a manufacturer?

I have never seen so many references to taste and tasty in my entire life. I didn't realize that was such a cool term!

 

[jibosch]

I strongly suggest you look into the Pirelli Diablo line of tyres. I got 3000 miles on Dunlop D208's, and I get about 5000 miles on the Diablos, with a lot more stability and grip. I will be trying the Michelin Power's next, and I expect excellent grip also, but I am just not sure I will get the mileage I have gotten from the Diablo's, been through two sets now of Diablos, on a Buell 1200cc Cyclone. Good Luck!

 

[42906]

I love the Pirelli Diablos. I'll get 6000 miles out of a set. The Diablo Stradas should last longer. I had great wet weather traction from a set of Avons. The Avons were on a Sprint ST. I used an AV49 (sport) in the front and an AV46 (sport touring) in the back.



I did not like the Michelin Pilots.

 

[36284]

I have a VFR, (same weight, less power) and the Sport tecs seem to be good for about 4 to 5000 miles of hard riding. You will have to think hard about how hard you ride. If you ride hard, you won't want anything longer wearing than a sport tec. I don't know how much grip you give up with the road tecs, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were a bit better in the rain. (Not a big concern here in semi-sunny Northern California.

 

[duran]

I have a Pirelli Diablo on the front wheel, and a Diablo Strata on my rear tire. it's a 1996 VFR750, and I've rode in the rain both slow and fast.

The bike sticks to the road like glue and I've never had any problems... (except that one time I hit an oil patch, but I recovered... not much you can do there).

I HIGHLY recomend them.

http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SWMT&Category_Code=Strada

 

[44612]

I'm quite happy with the Michelin Pilot Roads on my Honda 919. After 3,000 miles of commuting on twisty roads and sport touring, the rear is showing little, if any, wear. The original Hi Sports were done after 3,000 miles - rear worn flat, front cupped.

 

[28945]

Dunlop "Q"