State of the Rubber - 2014 VFR Tires

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by thestumper, Jun 9, 2021.

  1. thestumper

    thestumper New Member

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    So I woke up this morning and thought to myself:

    "You know, what the world needs right now is... another TIRE THREAD!!!!"

    I've poked and prodded around the internet - read a lot of reviews. Tried to find stuff that was 2014 VFR specific, even 2014 VFR specific. I found some info, but a lot of it is a bit dated. Tires change quickly, so I wanted to do a quick survey.

    I will confess to still having the OEM tires on my bike. They work. They suck. They are potentially dangerous at this point due to their age (and yes... I was warned here!). They only had 1100 miles on them, but at this point I don't have much , if any, confidence in them.

    I have always run sport tires. I jumped out of the game 7-8 years ago and up to that point I was putting PIlot Power 2CT's on everything. I ran Powers on my R1 and my last Sprint ST - they didn't last long but I got comfortable with the huge grip. They were usually cheaper than the sport-touring tires of the day, and with the confidence they inspired, I was able to justify it. They are still available at discounted prices - apparently the molds are still good and they sell well...

    .. but tires have evolved. Can I find a set of good sport-touring tires that offered the same grip (and profile) or the Powers? No sane media outlet is going to do a comparison between and old Pilot Power and a new Pilot Road 5 :) So I'm considering the usual suspects (PR4/5, Dunlop S-R3/4, Metzler 01's, and the like, but I'll put it to the forum:

    If I'm willing to sacrifice some wear for some grip, whats a good choice to stay "sticky" on the street this summer ? :)

    All opinions are welcome! Thanks!!!
     
  2. Viffer J

    Viffer J New Member

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    The PR5 is a great tire for the Gen8 VFR IMO.
     
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  3. thestumper

    thestumper New Member

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    Tempted by the deals on the Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart III - never been much of a Dunlop guy but there are deals and rebates on these right now. Same with the IV's.

    The PR5 is almost universally respected and it' on the short list. Still thinking about whether or not I want a Sport tire or a Sport Touring tire....
     
  4. rhoderage

    rhoderage New Member

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    I don't have an 8g but I find the Pirelli Angel GT's to be excellent on my 6g
     
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  5. philois1984

    philois1984 New Member

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    I replaced the stock Dunlop’s with stock Dunlop’s and was quite happy with them. The third set I bought PR5’s mainly because the reviews said how good they are in the wet. Again I am very happy with them. Most tyres are OK for all but the most skilled riders. New tyres always feel better than old tyres for obvious reasons, my memory isn’t good enough to remember what the old tyres felt like when they were new. Be great to have several same gen vfr’s all with new but different tyres on and ride them back to back, probably never going to happen though.
     
  6. fink

    fink Member

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    T31 evo or the newer T32, road 5 , Gt or new gt2. Avon xd storm to name but a few. All more than capable of doing the job.
     
  7. RllwJoe

    RllwJoe Insider

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    I've gone through a set of T31 evo and only felt "loose" when the tires and the road were cold - around 45*F or colder. I'm sticking (see what I did there) with Bridgestone and a set of T32 that have not been mounted yet. I seldom ride in the wet but the T31 and T32 are soposed to do fine in the wet. Have no chicken strip on the rear, a small strip on both sides of the front. The front has some tread left in the middle but no tread left between the mid and shoulder chicken strip, almost like a pyramid. There is no way that I spend that much more time at a lean angle than not, it must be a duel compound issue. Anyway, they have over 8k miles on them and I like to carve deep, and accelerate hard out of corners and at times from a stop, so they have been worked over.
     
  8. thestumper

    thestumper New Member

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    UPDATE: I had my local guy spoon on a pair of Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart 3's (here after refered as DSR3's or just 3's...). I couldn't beat the price and the VFR specific reviews I read were all very good. My initial impressions are good so far. They are certain;y stickier than the crusty, 7-year old OEM tires that were on the bike. The most noticeable change is the profile - it turns in a lot faster/smoother now. Much more linear and predictable. The first couple of times out with them I kept blowing lines because of it but once I adjusted, I was able to build confidence quickly. I ran them hard over this last weekend and came away happy - I never spun them up and was able to get into and out of corners faster without any drama. I have no frame of reference as to how them compare to some of the other options listed here - I need to put some more miles on them in the tight stuff to really render a final verdict, but I hope they continue to perform. Overall the bike feels a little less heavy and ponderous to me, which was really my only complaint going it. So far, two thumbs up for the 3's!
     
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  9. JIMLARCH

    JIMLARCH New Member

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    You have selected a great tire. Plenty of grip, and great wear characteristics. I’ve got 11000 miles on my front tire and it needs changing. Worked very well upto over 9000 miles, but now it’s squared off since that time and is a bit vague at slow speed turns. For high speed touring, still fine. I’ll be replacing it with another Roadsmart 3.
     
  10. PetePower

    PetePower New Member

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    Also very happy with the Dunlop RS3's, just wish I would stop picking up screws in them :Cry:
     
  11. thtanner

    thtanner New Member

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    I run RS3s as well and they mesh very well with the 8th gen. Firm enough they'll dip in turns well but not hard where I'm feeling every rock on the road.
     
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