I officially have my bike out of storage, and its time for new tires. Here are what I have narrowed it down to but am not sure what to go with.

Pilot Powers .. NOT 2cts

Pilot Road 2s .. Sport touring feels iffy

Metzeler M3s .. cheap cost, good reviews

Pirelli Diablo .. just regular diablos


The riding I do is mostly highway, with sharp turns being rare. I am looking for something that gets about 6000 miles, at a decent price, and can handle aggressive riding when I throw it at it.

Right now reviews on Metzeler M3s are looking good, sticky with ~6500 mile life, and cheap

Also open to other options. Looking for inputs from people who have first hand experienced tread life and performance.

Thanks a ton!

 

I would vote for pilot powers. I was getting right around 7,000 miles out of set before switching to the 2ct's, and they are looking like they will be right around the same for wear as the pilot powers. Both are extremely sticky tires, warm up really quick and have great wet weather traction.

However, I do not commute with the bike. A big majority of my riding is searching out roads that are curvy. So I have no idea how they would hold up to straightline communiting. that is going to be the biggest issue with any tire though. That type of riding will wear a tire out pretty fast.

I think it all depends on how aggressive your riding gets. If you get aggressive, get the best tire you can for aggressive riding, even if you only do it a small percentage of the time. I would rather have a good tire for aggressive riding and change it more often, then have a sub-par tire for aggressive riding that lasted longer. the longer life tire won't do you any good if your in the ditch.

Plus, that longer life tire will probably only get you a 1000 miles or so more. Not worth the trade off in my opinion.

But, if your aggressive riding is not really aggressive, get a harder compound tire that will last longer.

Having said all of this. I would still run the pilot power. Its incredible how long they last for how sticky they are. I've gone through tires that are less sticky in 3,000 miles. They truly are a "do it all tire. And they do it all very well. Plus, they are fairly cheap for what they do.

I can only compare to pirelli diablo corsas, dunlop qualifiers, dunlop 218's, dunlop 208's, pilot power, pilot power 2ct. the pilot power is the best choice for the price. But I do like my 2ct's. They do feel better in the corners.

This is where I've gotten my last 2 sets from. Free shipping and they ship fast.
http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=8413

 

My pilot powers 2ct has gotten 13,600 miles on the rear. I just mounted my new 2cts at a buddy's house yesterday.. can't wait to scrub them in!

...o doode.. 2ct's all the way

 

Well I just had Metzler M3's installed. I can't say much about them yet because I only rode the bike once. But from what I did ride in 15min they seem like good tires. Great on a lean. I think I will like them, but only time will tell.

 

I was able to get around over 8,000 miles out of my diablos and if I am not mistaken, they are the cheapest good tire out there. At least last time I checked they were. Then again everyone rides different, and I probably get more life out of my tires as I only weigh 135-140lbs lol

 

Given the tire options your present...& given the type of riding you describe that you do... the PR2s are probably your best option. The dual-compound technology of the PR2 will allow you to get longer center tread life, which you need riding mostly highway.

If you were to go w/ the PP, you should really consider selecting the 2CT. Again, the dual-compound technology will allow longevity & higher mileage. While I'm not currently running the 2CT, I have had several sets of them. I routinely got 8k out of them (others here have reported similar results).

I'm currently using Dunlop Q2s. They have the dual-compound technology as well. I'm very pleased w/ their performance. Time will tell on wear & mileage.

 

id go with the sport touring, i know a lot of guys knock them, but my bike came with a new set of bt-021 sport touring tires and ive put 3500 miles on them including 2 trackdays and they are wearing great. They should last through this yr as well.

Ill prob get s set of Q2s as my next tire but that is because my bike will be track only, i would have no problem with a dual compound sport touring tire for the street

heres a pic of my tires after my first track day just to show they can handle aggressive riding

 

Ive read tons of Pilot Power vs Metzeler m3 reviews and have read that m3s are better for in colder climates like minnesota/wisconsin. Also that they have rather decent tread life. I think im gonna go out on a limb and try something new (to a lot of people) with the m3s, instead of jumping on the Pilot Powers bandwagon.

If they suck, Pilot powers will come soon after

 

just wrapped my wheels in a set of bridgestone bt-016