Conti Road Attack mini-review

Conti's

I put on the road attacks before my trip to Colorado 3 weeks ago, with about 2500 miles on them now I'm satisfied with their performance, they feel plush when rolling in a straight line, no moments changing lines mid turn, these tires warm up quickly, and are plenty grippy. It was very hot in Colorado I really didn't notice any movement on tar strips, around Vail we hit some road work that was cut and grooved, 2 riders I was with had to slow to about 50mph from frontend wobble this didn't effect my bike at all. I'd say half the mileage was on I-80 thru Iowa and Nebraska, and the rear profile has'nt changed much considering the high temps on the trip.

 

Man if you had posted this sunday night that's what I would have ordered monday morning when I got home. As it is, I have the new Dunlop Qualifier ordered from bike bandit. But I may order the Conti at a later time. I was debating between the Conti, the Pilot Power, and the Dunlop. I got the Dunlop for about $125 shipped and cuold have got the Conti and Pilot power for just a bit more than that.

 

I have the Conti Road Attacks too(1000+ miles now) and really like them. I don't have anything to compare them to other than the crappy old tires that were on the bike when I got it. I am still pretty new to this sportbike thing, but I am getting better and more comfortable/confident everyday. Getting low in the turns sure is fun and exhilerating. It was pretty scary on my 78 GS400!!! LOL

 

Don't know how they are on the vfr, but I have a set on an '04 Buell XB12R. They have over 6000 hard miles on them. Would recommend them to anyone!! I will definately be putting them on my vfr when the stock tires wear out. Hi and nice to meet everyone!!

 

Well,

The time has come... to replace the stockers on my 1998 VFR w/ 8200 miles. Yeah, you bet the time has come... about 2500 miles ago! (I just bought the bike last week). I have ordered the Conti's and will report back. I chose them mostly because of this thread and others that are similar.

I got the local Kawi shop to internet price match!!! (the Honda place is full of Harley snobs (dual dealership) and they wanted over $100 more). Not only do I like to do business locally (when they want to do business with me) but they are mounting them for $20 a pop... which I thought was fair.

 

I've been waiting on this review, Because the bike I just bought has Dunlap D207F on them and they are hard as a rock!!! They will be getting replaced very soon.

 

150 km rider report on Road Attacks - LOVE them!!

Just went for a 155 km 'shakedown' run this morning on my new Conti Road attacks. I had problems before with bad headshake on bumpy corner exits (especially hard on the gas), poor front end feel, shimmy in the bars (don't even think of letting go) and generally weird turn-in behaviour combined with some very confidence-sapping slides in the tight twisties. The BT012SS's were definitely past their prime, although great for "doing a Nicky" and lighting them up on corner exits.

Although I did change the front wheel bearings (no play but a bit more drag than there should have been) with new AllBalls units it was IMHO totally a tire thing. I went to the Conti Road Attacks and after starting gingerly to scrub them in they are now right to the edge on the right and about 1/8" of a chicken strip on the left (ran Thermal Drive in Ioco for the curious Vancouver area BC'ers)

The confidence factor with these tires is amazing, the steering is light, linear and precise and they feel solidly planted with more grip than the (admittedly old and in poor condition) Bridgestone BT012SS tires that were on the bike before. On one corner with rocky poor pavement at the apex the little slide was more of a gentle push and extremely controllable with great feedback.

This with an OEM size 170/60 on the back instead of the 180/55 that was on it (I'm sure a part of the better turn-in), and running OEM recommended tire pressures of 36/42 psi. I'd highly recommend this tire. It may not have the absolute grip of a hypersport tire (which you might use if you like to be ham fisted with the throttle at full lean) but the tradeoff is light, light steering, great feedback and a nice ride to boot. Did I mention they're cheap too??

 

Since this thread is revived, I'll weigh in. 3,500 miles on my Road Attacks and they still have 5 mm left front and rear! I'm guessing I'll get 7 or maybe 8 grand out of these, which is awesome for the way ride. They handle great as well. I will definately be replacing them with the same.

 

I've got 2500 on my stock tires (stuck tars for the folks in West Virginia)... so let me know how far you ride your attacks before you need reinforcements... sounds nice.

 

Wow, I can't believe I posted on here when I only had 1000+ miles on my Attacks. Well I got 9000+ miles out of that set and they were still grippy up to the very end. I have another set of Attacks now and am liking them just the same. I considered other tires just to try out, but when those Contis are that good, why change right? I have ridden mountain roads at high speeds and feeler scraping lean angles and they hold tight! KiCk AsS!

 

These take all that headshake out which should help prevent that funny cupping on the edges of the front tire.

 

I get on it hard out of corners and engine brake all the time. If I am riding really aggressive I'll even get the engine brake slide going. LOL. I may get less mileage out of this current set since I am gettin better and and using the tire to its(almost) full potential more often. Reg, I don't think you are doing anything wrong.....you just need to try the Contis!

 

I think Reg is on them, seeing as reading his report put me on to them....

I know there are lots of variables - ambient temperature, riding style, road surface etc. but what about tire pressures?? I remember reading somewhere and can't find it now that these run best at higher pressures than recommended by the factory. Anyone chime in on this?? Reg, what are you running for pressures??

Steve