Who rides motorcycles?

[sd455dan]

Sorry about your loss.

Doing a Final Rollout, on 2 wheels.... every biker would be smiling-down on that !

(P.S. - how do you like the 5's ?)

Rgds, D.

Thanks. Yes, It has been a bad decade as far as losses - Family , Good friends, and pets.
I Really hope we are done with that for a long time...

As for the Road 5's I like them a lot,
they stick like glue, Good in the rain and excellent as far as tracking. Just not a tire for anything but pavement.
PO switched them out, out of the gate on the z900RS. Lots of reports of people being Less than thrilled with the Dunlop's that Kawasaki chose to send them out with.

 

[CalG]

Did some maintenance, took it for a ride, then sat down and had a beer and looked at it. BSA really got this one right

drool!

Goldiea rule.

 

[Grumpycat]

As for the Road 5's I like them a lot,
they stick like glue, Good in the rain and excellent as far as tracking. Just not a tire for anything but pavement.
PO switched them out, out of the gate on the z900RS. Lots of reports of people being Less than thrilled with the Dunlop's that Kawasaki chose to send them out with.

On the relatively heavy Yamaha FJR1300 the Michelin Road 5 wears fast and handles poorly the last half of it's tread life. The PR4 and PR4GT are less bad on the front, but wears wonderfully and long on the rear.

In 85,000 miles I have found nothing as good as a Bridgestone T31GT on the front but those are gone now so I have a T32GT front and PR4GT rear. The PR4GT is nearing it's end. The T32GT is doing good. I don't try to keep matched pairs, or even change front and rear at the same time.

Bridgestone T30 Evo not-GT and T31 not-GT wear twice as fast as the GT versions. Haven't noticed any difference between PR4 and PR4GT.

 

[sd455dan]

On the relatively heavy Yamaha FJR1300 the Michelin Road 5 wears fast and handles poorly the last half of it's tread life. The PR4 and PR4GT are less bad on the front, but wears wonderfully and long on the rear.

In 85,000 miles I have found nothing as good as a Bridgestone T31GT on the front but those are gone now so I have a T32GT front and PR4GT rear. The PR4GT is nearing it's end. The T32GT is doing good. I don't try to keep matched pairs, or even change front and rear at the same time.

Bridgestone T30 Evo not-GT and T31 not-GT wear twice as fast as the GT versions. Haven't noticed any difference between PR4 and PR4GT.

Yeah, when bike tires hit a certain point they remind me of food that has been left out and turned...

I don't do a lot of hard core corner carving on my bike and am just beginning to see the rear tire start to squaring off. I will keep those model Bridgestone's in mind.


Think I read a few positive reviews on the S 22' Battlax's and also some Metzler roadtec models as well, but pretty universal dislike of the stock
Dunlop's (Sumitomo) on the z bikes except for the wear resistance. Not a lot of things I over buy but tires and coffee are in that category.

Actually trying to get ahead of sourcing winter tires and therefore wheels for the Model Y and just finally settled on Enkei Victory wheels and studded Nokian Nordman 7's in 18" wheel size.

Sorry for the derail
Back to bikes

 

[mikester]

There's no such thing as counter steering.

If you ride a HD there is no counter steering because you only go in straight lines. HD riders don't wave to other bikers because they are too busy hanging onto the handlebars trying to maintain a straight line.

 

[3930dave]

Thanks. Yes, It has been a bad decade as far as losses - Family , Good friends, and pets.
I Really hope we are done with that for a long time...

As for the Road 5's I like them a lot,
they stick like glue, Good in the rain and excellent as far as tracking. Just not a tire for anything but pavement.
PO switched them out, out of the gate on the z900RS. Lots of reports of people being Less than thrilled with the Dunlop's that Kawasaki chose to send them out with.

Factory tires hit a price point. I knew the Bridgestones that came on my EX were just a long-life/basic tire..... really happy with the Street Pilots I replaced them with.

I stay away from gravel with that bike..... picked up a KLX this year for those roads..... having a blast with that.

Rgds, D.

 

[Grumpycat]

Yeah, when bike tires hit a certain point they remind me of food that has been left out and turned...

I don't find wear on the rear tire seriously affecting my FJR. The front governs handling. Only the T31GT rode like new to the very end and set a personal mileage record too. Plus it was darn near cheap at Rocky Mountain. I'm now a fan. But having said the rear is less important I didn't like Bridgestone T3x tires on the rear.

I don't do a lot of hard core corner carving on my bike and am just beginning to see the rear tire start to squaring off. I will keep those model Bridgestone's in mind.

I didn't like them on the rear. I do like the PR4GT. It wears well and long. Michelin must know they did something right because this model is still available no matter supposedly being replaced by the Road 5 and Road 6.

Think I read a few positive reviews on the S 22' Battlax's and also some Metzler roadtec models as well, but pretty universal dislike of the stock Dunlop's (Sumitomo) on the z bikes except for the wear resistance. Not a lot of things I over buy but tires and coffee are in that category.

The Metzler Z6 is thin as a bicycle tire, and made in China. I don't think it is in the Roadtec class.

Actually trying to get ahead of sourcing winter tires and therefore wheels for the Model Y and just finally settled on Enkei Victory wheels and studded Nokian Nordman 7's in 18" wheel size.

Sorry for the derail
Back to bikes

We talk about bikes, we talk about bike tires, we talk about Tesla tires, I think it is a natural healthy progression that helps understand the thinking on bike tires.

 

[MotorSeven]

Nice Wee, and great picture..... that looks like a road I could ride to the other side of the nearest Galaxy.....

You were probably joking, but it's funny how Can/USA folks consider anything less than a Litre to be "small"...... I was forever cured of that view, after reading a verryyy long thread on ADV about a Korean guy who toured the USA on a Honda Fiddy...... truly, an Epic Tale.....

Rgds, D.

The DL has been ridden moto camping coast to coast, NOLA to Manitoba and many places in between. On the trip where that pic was taken, we did 5 Mtn passes in one day....it was epic and almost as good as the White Rim Trail in Moab. It has been an outstanding bike on and off pavement, even if it is a fat pig.

 

[Cycledude]

Couple pictures of a set of Dunlop TrailMax Mission tires with 10,400 miles on them after a recent ride to Prudehoe Bay Alaska and back. I have never had any motorcycle tires last this well before, looks like they might be good for another 10,000 miles.

 

[deserteagle71]

50 year old Ektachrome slide of my 1973 BMW R75/5 in the bleak Nevada desert - looks like a moonscape. All the colors have faded/shifted through the years leaving the blue color.