Need a Second Option on Rubber

Over the last couple months I've been on a couple forums for my Yamaha FZ1 and after just over 3000 miles on my AWESOME Metzeler M3's the rear is shot. Had to toss an old Dunlop I had laying around till I go to get a new tire. Now it's been the best tire I ever used proformance wise, but I cant afford to buy these things that fast. Now I know this is not a VFR related matter but I'd like a few opinions on what would be good on a 2004 FZ1?

 

standard Pirelli Diablos

 

Are you on the Yamahafz1oa.com forums?

I'm Blind Spot.

You should check out my Pilot Road II thread.

I've got 14k on mine and still haven't touched the wear bars.

 

That would mean they might be just a tad too hard of a compound for some folks.....not bitchin', just sayin'

 

Only in the center, the braking threshold in a straight line is not comparable to other tires (they are a 2CT tires, two different compounds on the same tire). But for non-balls to the wall riding, they work plenty well.

I'm an odd man out for these tires though. I'm pretty much the world record in that nobody's got this kind of mileage out of them (most see 8k or so)... but then again I'm 5'8 and 130.... so I don't put too much Gs into the contact patch under any circumstance. These hook up well though IMO. I still haven't flat spotted them. Also keep in mine these are 190s, pretty wide so the load on the contact patch is over more surface area and my FZ1 is a lot lighter than a VFR.

The front still looks new.

I've never broken them loose less dirt or water or wet paint lines.

Two-up last group ride with stuka, scuba, cebu, etc.


Here were pics from 12k.

 

Have had good luck with Bridgestone BT021 on rear of R1. The rear is dual compound, the front nothing special in any way. 8K on rear, pretty agressive bike with lots of HP. Cheap enough that I'll do it again when this one is gone.

 

pilot 2 ............................................cycleworld other mags rate them great for everybike..I would go with a dual compound for sure to get more mileage but if you are white smoking them and riding wheelies and dragracing it doesn't matter what tire you have they are just gonna wear out faster riding a little less aggressive will always add mileage with regular tire pressure checks., dumlop roadsmart pirrelli 3,also good picks...

 

i personally prefer raw dog'n lol...

ive got metzlers on my bike, great tires.

 

What tire depends on how and where you ride. for mountain areas a dual compound is not the way to go. A friend here in Japan wore the sides of his out first, they were the Pilot Road 2. He's a real carver though...

Now I love to get her leaned over but I tend to wear a tire evenly across edge to edge. For me traction trumps mileage and I'm lucky to get 4,000 miles from any tire.

I have the Dunlop Roadsmarts on my 1990 VFR now, but will hopefully change soon to Metzler Z6s. I never liked Dunlops, don't know why. These Roadsmarts are decent but I wouldn't push them in the wet.

I loved the Z6s on my ST1100, would try them again.

On the other hand, Bridgestones tend to be cheaper here as they're produced just up the coast in Yokomama, I may try a BT20 or something.

 

Thanks for all the input. I'm thinking either the Metzeler Z6 or the BT-021. Pro or cons on these tires? Next question: the stock tire size on the gen1 FZ1 is 180, what benefit would I get on going 190?

 

the benefit of a 190 is usually slower steering and higher pose factor at starbucks.

 

no benefit unless you change your 5.5 inch rim out for a 6 inch rim. 190mm tires are designed for 6 inch rims and your bike would handle horribly with a 190 tire literally stuffed into a 5.5 inch rim. i read a letter written into sport rider where someone traded thier 180 for a 190 and they said that the bike felt like it was going to fall into every turn... not good lol.

 

Michelin Pilot Road 2s front and back. The harder compound in the middle of the PR2 is great for mileage, and the softer compound on the sides is sticky enough to ride aggressively on the curvey mountain roads. I don't think it matters what bike you ride (except for super heavy bikes like the concourse, zx-14, busa, etc.), these tires are going to last and perform well. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be replacing my tires every 3K miles, so I go for the dual compounds. I'm going to try a Power in the front pretty soon, and I don't expect to get anywhere near the 13k miles I've managed to get out of my PR2 front, but I want to see what all the fuss is about. By the way, I don't recommend the Roadsmart for the back. It doesn't last very long. I'm at less than 4k miles on mine and I'm close to the wear bars.

 

I give one more vote on the PR2. It's the tyre of choice for a bunch of peg draggers. Some will go with a PR2 on the rear and a PP on the front, and that's because the PP has a different shape that allows a quicker turn in, the rubber is about the same. But you'll get good peg dragging grip with the PR2. Not saying that I drag the pegs, but I know from those that do. Saw them do it myself, as they pull away from me.