hey guys, quick question.

I'm looking at tires for my 954RR. I'm thinking a good 190/50/17 onthe rear. what tires would you recommend for max street grip? occasionally track use? I hear alot of opinions but it would be good to hear from people who actually ride the bike

 

well it really depends on what kind of rider you are and how you use your bike... since i use my bike to get places like work, school, home etc, then i would say dunlop sportmaxx have some good hybrid tires and they last LOONNNGGG and provide good grip even if you do happen to get stuck in the rain... i know i have

if you are just a weekend warrior, then michilin pilot powers are the best for grip but but ive seen people slip on random spots with them

 

go with pilot powers.... their grip wears with the tire, so near the end they're not as good as in the beginning. but for the price, you can't beat the performance. great grip, good in the wet, quick to get up to temp - just an all around great tire. i've got about 4k on my rear, and its pretty much done. when im coming up to a corner and i bang down a few gears the rear will step out, but thats after 4k miles and i'm not the most passive of riders

where do you live if you're in the hills and spend a lot of time on the edge of the tire, look at the pp2ct. but if you're don't live in the hills/mountains/canyons, dont waste your money (even if you think you have enough money, you'll just waste the tire). spend it on other mods or something.

 

i live in banner elk, nc basically on the blue ridge parkway. my house is at 4,500asl roughly. i make about 120 sharp turns every day. i ride hard sometimes.

i do have a small stretch of gravel to drive up every day (my driveway ) so i need to know if these tires will hold up to that

 

oh you lucky SOB! im jealous man, that place rocks! i'm in SWFL, nothing but straight boring roads down here.

def look at the pp2ct then. you'll actually use the outside of the tire. they'll hold up. they're not as durable as car tires, you wont get 10's of 1000s of miles on them, but they're not fragile either. if you have a lil bit of gravel at the end of your driveway, thats fine man. gravel is everywhere, just be careful going over it so you dont have an off.

if your entire driveway is gravel, id start lookin' for a radiator guard. last thing you want is to fling a rock through your radiator (they're fragile!)

 

yea I'll need a radiator guard for sure..

what do you drive that gets 1000's of miles of tread life, haha.

my evo gets about 2-3,000 miles before new tires are required. haha

thatnks for the help though, i'll get some new tires ordered soon

 

o there's tires out there that will get that good of mileage.... (usually cruiser tires) but forget it if you want to enjoy your ride. no grip ever, will scare the hell out of anyone in the rain.

it's always a trade-off, and im sure you know that if you have an evo. well, with sportbikes, its just multiplied. you could get roadsmarts, but they sucked and it was florida! after 100 miles on them, they'd still slide all over the place on the few curves we have down here, they get about 2x the miles as pilot powers. not worth it imo. get a tire that's going to give you the feeling and grip you need (especially on the blue ridge pkwy), otherwise you won't appreciate riding as much. it may only last 3-4k miles, but its worth it. the 2cts have a softer compound on the outside of the tire. they're a little more dough, but if i were where you're at, id def. go for it. you'll still wear the middle out before the outter edge just because you're on the street as opposed to the track. and the 2cts will come in handy if you do a track day.

 

great info. if anyone ever feels like coming to Grandfather mnt in Linville, NC I know all sorts of fun roads. 221 being one of the best. It goes from Parkway exit to Parkway exit so you can do a large loop with 200+ turns, and well maintained roads.

 

use the continental attacks, price is way better than the pp's. and imo they feel the same as far as stickiness. dont take long to warm up what so ever and they last longer then the pp's.

 

Used the PP2CT on my 954 and rode it on track many, many times. Scraped the pegs and fairings, never a loss of traction. 33 psi front/32 psi rear. Good mileage on the street.