WHAT TIRES TO GO WITH?

[deadeye211]

i've got a stock 02 with 11500 ? miles i think the tires are factory Dunlops on it. looking for mt next set of tires, last 2 sets of tires have been Bridge BT021's for the Katana and the Bandit. they seem to be a good tire but looking for a better set for the 9'er.

what are you running on yours?

[brickonwheels]

I'm running Pilot Powers 2CTs front and rear. I do a decent amount of what I consider to be hard riding (which is probably pretty slow to a lot of guys on here) so I wanted tires that could offer quite a bit of grip. The @cts work well for this, yet still a decent amount of tread life. If I go down, I want it to be due to user error, not tire slippage from buying cheaper tires.

[cmurphy84]

Not another tire thread....oh well.

Tire choice depends upon what you want. Do you want it to last really long? Do you want a tire you can do a trackday on? Do you want something in between?

I ran Michelin Pilot Power tires the first 5,000 miles. That's all they lasted me and I was new to riding then.

I currently am running Pilot Road 2s. I have about 6,500 miles on the rear and 8,000 miles on the front. I replaced them at the same time but at 1,500 miles I had to replace the rear due to a large puncture. The rear will be worn out before the front but probably has a couple thousand miles left.

I'll probably replace them with the same again. The dual compound works well for my riding style. My style being daily commuting to work/errands with weekends of twisties.

I don't ride on the edge, but have never had either the powers or the road 2s do anything I didn't expect.

[deadeye211]

the BT021's on the Katana have about 7-7500 miles on them and are starting to handle funny but seem like they have a couple k left on them. they are a dual compound tire and the center of the front tire is raised from the sides like then center will last alot longer.

[deftone]

Pilot Power 2CT's are awesome, but I'd probably reserve those for a track bike myself.

[919Rev]

I am running the Shinko Advance on my 02 ZX9R. I thought I would give them a try since they were so inexpensive just to see how they would hold up. People talk a lot of junk about Shinko simply because they are cheap, but I have to say you should try those tires before you badmouth them. For everyday street riding they have plenty of stick and are holding up well so far. I have been pleased.

[Pvster]

pilot roads 2 are awesome tires for if you have commutes in your riding. pilot powers 2ct are perfect if you want the occasional track day (so i've read). i have pilot road 2's and it made a world of difference compared to the tires they replaced (pilot powers).

[deadeye211]

i went with the Bridgestone BT021's, 195 shipped from jakewilson.com. use the JW009 code for an aditional 20 off.

[oy05]

Take the successor to Bridgestone BT021 the new BT023, "it is made for the Hornet"
I am running even BT021 now, but when they are finished, it will be a set of BT023 instead.
Have thought of trying something more sporty as the BT016 or even the BT003RS, but I will not always have in mind, that they must be well heat to function optimally, which both the BT021 and the BT023 don't not need that much
Bridgestone Europe
Hans - DK

[AllanB]

Pilot Road 2's.

Great stick and nice neutral turn-in. You are in control of the corners, not the tyre!

Plus they are lasting extremely well so far.

[nd4spdbh]

Originally Posted by AllanB

Pilot Road 2's.

Great stick and nice neutral turn-in. You are in control of the corners, not the tyre!

Plus they are lasting extremely well so far.

Love my road 2's have yet to have the front push or the rear spin... something that was a common occurrence with my shinko's. They are amazing confidence inspiring tires!

[oy05]

Here you are - the tires to go with

Greet's
Hans - DK

[Two Brothers]

PR2's are the best thing going. They are a little harder in the center. They run 40/20/40 on the compounds the 40 being like a Pilot Power and the 20 being a harder compound for the mileage. The front runs a 25/50/25 somewhere in that percent.

This tire will cover almost 80% of the sport riders that come in the shop.

The PP2CT are a track day tire. Riders that run these that we see never even get into the softer compound on this tire. They run a 10/80/10 setup rear and 11/78/11 on the front.

The BT023 are not available in the states yet. They are telling me mid year for these. Not even showing part numbers yet.

[oy05]

How come Bridgestone ain't bringing the BT023 to the states before mid season ??
Normally the most tyre changing taking place, is in the start of the season.
Strange

[Two Brothers]

Originally Posted by oy05

How come Bridgestone ain't bringing the BT023 to the states before mid season ??
Normally the most tyre changing taking place, is in the start of the season.
Strange

More than likely has to do with high speed testing. Some tire companies will do mid year. Michelin has done it a couple of times.

[oy05]

To make no secret of it - I'am in "someway" in contact with Bridgestone Denmark, two week's ago the guys from there + journo's from different media was in Scotland to test drive the BT023 (not to make a adv. of this, but they were pleased with the tire)
I wonder if it's common politic, to "please" europe first - and then USA ? it seem that way in more than one regard, thinking Honda don't bring on the "new" big Hornet to the states, and Bridgestone don't bring the BT023 asweel - strange, USA is a big market place...
But - the BT023 hat it's debut on the market here Denmark mid this month, hope you guy's will have it soon...

[semi_gray]

We Yanks always want what we cannot have. Then when when it's available, we don't want it anymore.................

[smittyrock]

I agree with semi_gray! For years everyone wanted the all around ultimate naked bike then when they started to sell them or try to sell them they didn't do well. I bought a Shinko for the rear and it does well after it's warmed up a bit. Cold it's slippery.

[Two Brothers]

One word...LAWYERS!

[r3dsix]

pirelli rosso ftw

[reemaada]

I ran Michelin Pilot Power tires the first 5,000 miles. That's all they lasted me and I was new to riding then.

[drewvir]

i've run the shinko 006 podiums' for 8000+/- miles, they've done well.the only time i've had any slip at all was on the dragon in a turn at 6k hard roll-on in 1st gear with a knee down. i've got a new set of dunlop q2's(2 compound)waiting to go on.
sport rider raved about them,so in april when cycle gear had a sale on them($214.99 shipped) i got a set

[oy05]

I'am now running the BRidgestone BT23 - if by any chance you've got them in USA by now - go for it !
Simply the best tyre I've ever tried on a motorcycle.

[Lemonhead]

I just calculated an average use of 4800 miles per set on my niner.

Since ownership:

Stock Mich Hi sports : Okay, I din't know any better yet
Went to Mich Pilot powers. Noticed little difference against the Hi sports
Tried "on sale" Dunlop qualifiers. Lovely when warm. But they hate the cold.
Not real inspiring on even a dry road.

Ready for set #4 The new Pirelli angels are like $400 so they're out
Conti road attacks are barely in at around $300
Shinkos are out for the same reason as the dunlops.
Probably going to do Michelin Pilot Road 2

[razorbike]

Originally Posted by Lemonhead

Stock Mich Hi sports : Okay, I din't know any better yet
Went to Mich Pilot powers. Noticed little difference against the Hi sports

Dang LH - were you not pushing it hard or what? I had the same stock tires and when replaced with PPs I noticed a HUGE difference. The PPs were WAY more sticky. However, the life wasn't all that great.