i'm running a 99 900. i'm eating tires bad on long rides! any suggestions? dunlop 205, or pirelli strada? gimme some feedback pls.

 

Are your tires up to the right pressure? I never noticed any hard wear on my tires on my 900. I put in a 1700 mile weekend on my Qualifiers and could tell very little if any difference in wear from start to finish. Personally I would stick to a sportier tire than what you have listed up there. They should last quite a few miles. I can usually get 2 track days and a full summer out of one rear Dunlop. What are you running now and how do you ride? Touring? Commuting?

 

mostly for touring, i'm running pretty hard on the hi-way. about 190-210 kms/hr. running a d-208, i'm burning them off in 5000 kms. about 3100 miles. and yes pressure is good.

 

try to find a touring tire with a harder compound. Are you taking it to the track or twisties often at all?

 

no, no track time

 

The bitch of that is going to be finding a front tire that matches. Damn 16" front rim is hard to have a great selection of tires. You could go back to the BT-56's and see how thay last. I hated the way mine felt. Seemed to lack feedback, and grip from the front. But some people swear by them. Might be worth a shot.

 

Actually, try a BT20 on the rear and a BT10 on the front. I only say 10 on front because I dont think you can buy a 20 in the 16" anymore. The 20 will last longer.

 

I have a bt14 on the front, bt20 on the back. I did a 1600 mile trip on them when they brand new and noticed almost no wear on them. I was riding very hard too through tons of twisties (no chicken strips left) and my ***** gave way before my tires ever did.

 

the front tire isn't reallyan issue as far as wear.just the back. my friend who was riding from edmonton to lethbridge and back once a week(900 ninja) was having the same problem, chicken strips and replacing the rear every 5 or six weeks. he changed his rear to a d-205, with a d-208 on the front and says he is getting about 9000km out of the rear. the only thing is that he can't really vouche for it's stickyness as he is riding with his wife and is pretty conservative. so this is my dilemma, or maybe i just have to learn to pay to play?

 

Thats the beauty of owning a liter bike and requiring traction. They wont last like a car so dont even bother trying. It's like this. I do about 2-3 track days a year, and ride every weekend I can and take a few road trips with some friends during any given summer. My back tire will sometimes make it through all of that, the front is always fine. Every spring, I replace BOTH even though the front "looks" fine. To me, it's worth $300 to ensure that while Im on my bike, I wont hit the pavement. (Because of tire related issues) If not for track days, I probably wouldnt be this **** about the tire situation, but because of that, I like the piece of mind it gives me to have fresh rubber when we hit the track. I would say if you're getting 4-5k out of a rear tire, I would probably be ok with that. But that is just me. Just make sure to match brands on the front and rear. If at all possible match models, but at least match manufacturer.