Best Street Oriented Tires?

[Mzee]

An instructive thread.

 

[EricV]

If I had it to do over again, I believe I would have run the whole 10k on the PR3 pair.


Rusty B
Kennewick Fire Dept
2013 IBR Rider

I'm not so sure you would say that if you had seen the PR3 I took off at 8500 miles.


The PR3. is a great wet tire and does well for the goal of this thread, but I would not trust it to last much over 8k for most riders.

AC - the riders did not know where they would be going, except that we would have to get from Pittsburgh to Sacramento, then back to Pittsburgh. Checkpoints were on weekends and later than shops were typically open. I changed my rear tire in CA, just to be sure I would have enough tire to make it back to the finish.

 

[Rustykfd]

AC, Eric nailed it in the head.

Eric, you are the main reason I switched at CP1. After seeing some of the PR3 tires that ran the whole rally, and adding into the equation the wear I experienced in leg 1, I believe I would have been fine. I would be curious to know the differences between our bikes(with rider) in overall weight and weight bias front to back. I think that in itself could explain the difference in wear between different bike/ rider combos. Then you would have to take into account riding habits for the rest.

Bottom line, I didn't do my homework with the PR3 prior to the ride, so I had to play my cards so I felt good about things. I sure liked the PR3 over the Tourance (rear) for highway travel.


Rusty B
Kennewick Fire Dept
2013 IBR Rider

 

[avc8130]

AC, Eric nailed it in the head.

Eric, you are the main reason I switched at CP1. After seeing some of the PR3 tires that ran the whole rally, and adding into the equation the wear I experienced in leg 1, I believe I would have been fine. I would be curious to know the differences between our bikes(with rider) in overall weight and weight bias front to back. I think that in itself could explain the difference in wear between different bike/ rider combos. Then you would have to take into account riding habits for the rest.

Bottom line, I didn't do my homework with the PR3 prior to the ride, so I had to play my cards so I felt good about things. I sure liked the PR3 over the Tourance (rear) for highway travel.


Rusty B
Kennewick Fire Dept
2013 IBR Rider

Oh, you swapped it out because the opportunity presented itself in the midst of the rally.

 

[Rustykfd]

Correct, I swapped because it was convenient, and I knew a new Tourance could go the distance.


Rusty B
Kennewick Fire Dept
2013 IBR Rider

 

[avc8130]

Correct, I swapped because it was convenient, and I knew a new Tourance could go the distance.


Rusty B
Kennewick Fire Dept
2013 IBR Rider

I wish the Tourance went the distance for me. I put a fresh Tourance (NOT the EXP) on my Tenere before I left NJ for TX. I did that trip (~5k miles) and another ~1k miles around at home and the Tourance was DONE. 6k miles was all she wrote.

So far, FOR ME, the Anakee 2 has given me the longest life on MY Tenere at 8k miles. The stock Battlewing made it 5k. I have another BW on my bike now, but it was a take-off from another Tenere with unknown miles.

I have no idea what I will go with next.

ac

 

[scott123007]

A K-60 rear, with virtually any front, would be a no brainer for long distances. Seems to hold up better than the street only tires, with no short comings that I could find on my 7300 mile trip recently.

 

[avc8130]

A K-60 rear, with virtually any front, would be a no brainer for long distances. Seems to hold up better than the street only tires, with no short comings that I could find on my 7300 mile trip recently.

I wouldn't consider a K-60 "street oriented"...

ac

 

[EricV]

I wouldn't consider a K-60 "street oriented"...

ac

That's probably a fair statement. It is, after all, more of a 50/50 tire. That said, it holds up very well. I ran K60s for the IBR because it is the only tire I've used that would go over 10k consistently on the street. I did swap rear tires out in CA. I did not know going in how many miles I'd be riding and traditionally, it can easily exceed that 10k figure for the whole rally. Because of that, I set up a tire swap ahead of time to ensure that I'd be riding the last leg of the rally on a fresh tire.

Now, the K60 is not the best wet tire. ??? But while it's a little sketchy on wet paint lines when fresh, once broken in, it's not really that bad in the wet. I did see some wet, at night, on bad roads. But that said, with the S10's ABS and TCS, it really wasn't that big a pucker factor. Did I notice it the first day after the tire change, in the rain? Sure did. Did I notice it the next day in the rain? Nope.

You do have to accept some more noise and low speed vibes, as well as additional vibes over ~75 mph, but in between, it's pretty much just like any other tire, except that you can leave the pavement at 60 mph and just tear up a dirt or gravel road.

At one bonus, I got my picture, did my paperwork, punched in the next bonus location on the GPS and it said, go strait 50 feet and turn right. That right turn was on to a freshly graveled road. I mean fresh as in 4" opf soft, loose gravel and the grading crew was still on the road. Flagger grrrl takes one look at me on the S10 and waves me on by. 6 miles of that later.... in about 5 minutes, I hit pavement again. I saw other riders heading back out the paved roads, while I hit the next location 40 minutes before them. With a big stupid smile on my face. ;D

 

[jrb_nw]

I searched Dunlop's site and couldn't find a 19" offering.

Any first hand experience with the PR3s?

::017::

Best sport touring tire I know of. Ran 'em on the ST1300 and the R1200RT. Stick like glue, even in the wet, and last a long time.

 

[scott123007]

I wouldn't consider a K-60 "street oriented"...

ac

Well, when it lasts longer than most street tires on the street, has a solid center strip for smoothness, doesn't feel unstable at higher speeds or when cornering hard, it is street oriented to me, regardless that it is half decent off road too.

 

[avc8130]

Well, when it lasts longer than most street tires on the street, has a solid center strip for smoothness, doesn't feel unstable at higher speeds or when cornering hard, it is street oriented to me, regardless that it is half decent off road too.

I've never had one, or ridden on one, but when someone says "street oriented" I have to assume they mean a tire specifically designed to perform on the STREET.

The threads, posts and comments are starting to creep out about how the K-60 isn't "ideal" for wet STREET, might not be as "amazing" as some claim in the corners on the STREET. Even the long life claims are starting to get controversy as posts have been made with guys getting ~6k OR LESS out of them...wait for it...on the STREET.

I'm not arguing that the K-60 isn't an excellent tire, possibly "perfect" for the S10. Heck, I will probably put a set on if I ever get out on an epic ride like the Ouray rally or Alaska or Trans Lab, BUT I don't think it has any business being referred to as "street oriented".

ac

 

[autoteach]

They (k60) are definitely not a street tire. As evidence by the black strips leaving my driveway (heavy hand) because they dont grip pavement. I had one of the Pikes Peak racers on the back for a sighting run the night before the race as I was not even close to my normal limits and the tire was squirming so much he was pounding me on the shoulder to back off. I have used street(not sport) tires that when pushing it two up they get so sticky they pick up whatever they role across. I do not like the K60 for "street". The next time I mount a set will be before a trip to the arctic circle

 

[scott123007]

I said my part...we'll leave it at that.
Regardless, this thread is now 7 pages long and it was OVER at the FIRST response to the original poster. LOL

 

[avc8130]

I said my part...we'll leave it at that.
Regardless, this thread is now 7 pages long and it was OVER at the FIRST response to the original poster. LOL

Pretty typical around these parts. There just isn't THAT MUCH to discuss about one bike that has very few issues.

ac

 

[KPK]

Is the 19" Road Smart available in the states? I have looked in our catalogs and cannot find it. The PR3 is, though, so may be my next tire.

Dunlop has a Trailmax TR91 in the states 19 and 17.

 

[capitanmanuales]

I renew rear Metzeler tourance exp, I did 10,000 miles with the original one, 90 percent on road. It would be better to change at 7000 or 8000 miles. It started to feel rough in turns to left. The motorcycle is 11,000 miles now and the front has about 3,000 miles to go.

Good tire.


Enviado desde mi GT-N7100 usando Tapatalk 2

 

[autoteach]

Dunlop has a Trailmax TR91 in the states 19 and 17.

Yeah, I know that. But I really like the RoadSmart II. Oh well.

 

[MotoPumps]

Having started this thread a while a go, and finished off a set of Anakee 3s, which started out great, then at the end, steering is heavier and the front is spent before the rear, I won't be doing that again. Not awful, but not worth repeating.

Just placed a pre-order with CompAcc for the new Pilot Road Trail 4. Actually, I got the PRT 4 front, and a PR4 rear, because that is what they had on the site, and I read the differences, and didn't think I wanted the softer compound rear that is the Trail. CompAcc called a few minutes ago to ask my about my choice (and they fixed the site to make the PRT4 rear show), but I stuck with my first choice, the harder rear.

Since this is a pre-order, and they won't be here until February, I won't be able to report on them for about 3-4 months, so stand by for more info.

Now, everybody start pulling for an early spring here in the North East!

Happy New Year folks-

 

[krussell]

Just placed a pre-order with CompAcc for the new Pilot Road Trail 4. Actually, I got the PRT 4 front, and a PR4 rear

Do you have them on yet? Any thoughts?