The single biggest handling change you can make (for better or worse) to your motorcycle are those black round things you stick on the front and back rims. I've run BT010s on my SV, VFR800, and '02 Speed Triple. They have worked great on all of them. I guess I ride fairly hard. I got about 4300 on the front and 2000-2300 on the rear with the sides giving out before the centers. When I tried the 020 on the rear of the VFR and Speed Triple, I didn't notice any real difference in mileage versus the 010s. The 020 worked BETTER as a performance tire on the Triple and the 010 worked better on the VFR. The only reason I can figure the 020 worked better on the Triple is because it has a stiffer sidewall and wouldn't allow the rear to wiggle like the 010 did. The 010s worked great on my SV. I don't think you can go wrong with them. They get my highest recommendation. I also think the 010/020 combination would do a great job for you. I don't know about the Maxxims. I'd want some really good riders to tell me they worked well before spending my money on them. I can't directly speak for the Metzeler Sportecs but I just put a set of Pirelli Diablos on my VFR. Since they are made to virtually the same specs (except tread pattern) by the same manufacturer, they should be quite similar. I am extremely disappointed in the Diablos performance. The press reviews raved about them, even for occassional track days. Can't say I feel that way at all. They steer significantly heavier than the BT010 front. I took my VFR out to a "minitrack" I can play pretty hard on. While the conditions weren't ideal--air temp in the mid 60's, and F/R tire pressure at 36/38, the rear slid significantly sooner than the 010 under the same conditions. Can't speak for the mileage yet, but it would have to be a lot better to make up for the lack of feedback & traction compared to the 010s. The 010s are very untempermental too. They heat up quickly, don't get all squirrelly when they cool down (like the Pilots do) and offer great feedback to the rider. Not too hard to figure what direction I'm leading you to, huh? Good luck. Cheers, Jack