I have a 2002 VFR. Last set of tires were Michelin Pilot Power. While the performance was gerat, they did not last very long. Any recommendations for a good set of tires that have good sprot riding performance on the street/twisties and hopefully give 4K miles? The focus is more on the sprot riding than touring. Thanks.
Conti's Continental Road Attacks. Great mileage, great handling characteristics. I had a set last over 6000 miles.
I have 5.5k on my pilot powers and they are still holding up strong against wear. Seeing that you are from California, I do know that the enviromental conditions due play a role in tire wear. I suspect hot days and maybe rough road surface can signicantly wear down your tires quicker than normal. You say you like to corner hard, then I suggest be cautious of your next tires when shopping for a more of a "high mileage tire". The trade off for a higher mileage could be traction. Where do ride the most? Skyline Rt 35, PCH, or Rt 9? I sure miss Cali. Though, some of the roads in Missouri Ozarks has some promise.
you are correct. I did a couple of hot track days (100+ degree) on those tires and that did a lot of the damage. I specifically picked Pilot powers for my track days and they were great. I do not plan to push that hard while riding on the streets.... which is why I was wondering if there are better choices. Now the facts that you have over 5k miles out of your tires gives me hope for trying them again:first:
DQ's are the hot ticket I'm seeing, good stick decent milage, but then,I've not tried them, I'm having to much fun with the Pirellis
I have the contis also. so far so good. over 2000 miles(I think) and wear not too bad yet. Just started to notice minor slipping coming on power out oof turns. much better performance than my michelin pilot road as far as sticking but wear a little faster.
That is good to know.....'cause I was originally thinking about the Pilot road, but if you are getting better handling from the Contis, then Pilot road won't make the list. Thanks.
Hi Fari, welcome to the group. I have the new Dunlop Qualifiers on mine. The rear has about 3,500 - 4,000 on it and still has plenty of tread and grip. This past Friday, while at Deal Gap, I went and put on a matching Dunlop Qualifier front. This tire now has around 600 miles on it and all I can say is that both front and rear stick. Oh, I am runing about 35 PSI front and rear.
That is awesome. Several folks on the board have suggested the Qulifiers. Appreciate your feedback and welcome message. Cheers.
I have also the Pilot Powers, and on the trip after more than 30miles are gettin' warm! In Greece we have really high temp 4-5 months every year. Every VFR owner here is talking about the Metzeler M3 and Pirelli Diablo, check them out... And believe me, we have one of the worst blacktops in the city streets...
I am running a 'Q' on the rear. I can say its a fantastic tire - great stick. I probably have 1000 miles on it. I'll report wear out miles when I get there. If I get 4000 I'll be a happy camper. - Keep in mind tire wear is kinda like gas mileage. Ride hard, more wear, ride ez, less wear. MD
Bridgestone 020's were on my 2002 VFR and i got over 12k on those. Have Dunlops on at the moment as the bike came with them so i'll see how long they last.
Pirellin Diablo Strada - hands down! Fari, I ride in the Advanced group with NESBA, I can tell you from first hand experience that you can push a pair of Strada's VERY hard and they won't fail provided you have the experience level/skill to know what the tires are doing. No disrespect, I simply don't know what your track experience is. You will start to feel the tires sliding as you push it as you will with any tire. Since the Strada's are a harder, sport touring tire, you'll feel it. Many people feel the Strada is not good enough for sport use but I completely disagree. If you're a smooth rider, which your track experience should lead you to, they'll serve you well. I run my Strada's at 41 PSI, push them really hard on weekends and still get at least 8,000 miles out of a set. I'm still working on my first pair on the VFR after several on my Blackbird. Actually I think I just turned 5,000 miles on mine, I can take a picture of the wear if you'd like to see. Keep the tires pumped up and they'll last forever.
I've just had Pilot Road 2s fitted front & rear. A pity that the only riding I've been doing is to & from work... :frown:
Dunlop Qualifiers 1 more vote for the Qualifiers. They are an improvement of the D208RRs, are sticky from cold and don't squirm at all under heavy breaking. Can't vouch for the mileage though, I've only just started using them <1000kms so far.
I'm on my second set of the Conti Road Attacks. I thought about trying something else, but why change when you like them, they are cheaper than many other tires and perform excellently! I also got 9000+ miles out of the first set. That may be because it was my honeymoon year with the VFR, but this second set (3000+ miles now) seems to be wearing just as well even though I have become increasingly more aggressive in the twisties. I wore out the center patch first on the last set because of commuting - the edges still had a lot of tread depth!
