recommended street tires?

[magic]

There are lots of good tires out there to pick from. The stock Bridgestone Battle wings are working out just fine for me. I recently replaced the rear at 9,000 miles. There was probably another 1,000 or 2,000 miles left in it, but it was squared off and was affecting cornering. They are not that great offroad, but seem to be a decent road tire even in the rain. I usually buy 3 tires at a time, 2 rears and 1 front and change the front after going through 2 rears. The Battle wings were only about $110 for the rear and $90 for the front last time I bought them.

 

[Velvet]

I,ve got Mitas e07 with 6000 on them.Should get another 6000 out of them and think they do very well on the street.Just got back from a trip Skyline dr. blue ridge parkway ,even tail of the dragon and never thought twice about grip in the corners. Would buy them again.

::008::


I recently installed a set of E07's and they now have about 800 miles on them. I am absolutely amazed with how well they do in the twisties. I have yet to have them slip or squirm when taking tight turns. So far I would definitely buy them again.

 

[Brazos609]

Surprised to hear that 50/50 tire give better tread life than pure road tires.

Probably because they are hard as shit.

 

[Andylaser]

What kind of mileage are Tourance Next riders getting? It looks like a good street tire, but I don't recall how many miles they tend to average.

My rear is getting close to 7K miles and still has plenty of tread left. My front was getting close to the wear marks at 6.5K. Most of my riding is city commuting and front brake use is high which probably explains the front wearing out first.

 

[MCGMB]

Another vote for Metzeler Tourance Next. 10k on the front and plenty of rubber left, maybe 4k more.

That is on a VStrom though.

 

[eddie98]

Another vote for Metzeler Tourance Next. 10k on the front and plenty of rubber left, maybe 4k more.

That is on a VStrom though.

that's the same setup I ran on my Vstrom. Now with the S10 I'm not sure which setup up would be good. I may try the Anakee 3.

 

[trails4me]

I managed 6,000 miles out of the rear stock Battle Wing and I'm still going strong with 8,500 miles on the front stock Battle Wing. One of the best stock tire set ups I've experienced. Great grip wet/dry pavement. Great mileage, at least I thought. My only complaint was on the rear, I ran over a thumb tack at 3,000 miles and ended up with a small hole in the center contact patch. I plugged it and rode another 3,000 miles. I ended up going with a Pirelli Angel GT on the rear this go around and I've run roughly 2,500 miles. I had good report with the Pirelli Angel GT on a Concours I rode prior to this Super Ten. I'm hoping to get 7,000+ miles out of this rear. I may stick with the stock Battle Wing on the front for the next replacement. Who knows, I may even go back to the stock Battle wing rear too if the price is right. I came to this bike for practicality and ease and cheap of maintenance. I like that I can change tires and fluids in my garage without the cost of a shop. Rocky Mountain ATV/MC is a great place to buy tires cheap, especially if you live on the eastern seaboard. 2 day shipping is what I get in Pittsburgh. Most of their stuff ships from Kentucky. My two cents.

 

[RonH]

Anakee 3 last a long time on the rear, but as Eric said, the front wears quicker. Still not bad, but I don't understand the difficulty in making a front tire that basically just idles along last good as a rear tire. When my front was worn out, I replaced both tires even though the rear was about 2/3 worn. The front was even worse than I thought. After removal it was like wafer thin in the areas worn. Add to that the noise, plus the tire is butt ugly, but I suppose who goes for tire appeal? The tire is just not a tire that sets the visual or performance standards. Bring back the Anakee 2.

 

[Checkswrecks]

In addition to the noise, front wear, and poor dirt/mud performance when worn, push hard enough in the corners and you will run out of sidewall on the Anakee 3. Seriously sprinter-tightening till you learn the tire is your cornering limit and respect it.

 

[LJM]

What tires are on the bike now?

Good question ?? IMO the Bridgestones stock tires are the best tire for pavement riding on big ADV bikes the ST is my 3rd large ADV bike and I've been through a lot of tires. When replacing make sure you get the E type as Bridgestone makes about 4 battlewing types. What I found out is you can get tires with better grip but you won't get near the mileage you get with the stones or you can get a higher mileage tire but not get the grip you get with stones.

 

[TomZ]

As EricV said, "Tires are a very personal topic. A lot depends on your needs and how you like to ride."

After going through 4 Pilot Road 4 rear tires and and one OEM Battlewing (all wore out at 7000 to 7500 mi), i switched to Anakee III's for greater mileage. Why? I do long trips and strongly do not want to change a tire en route. My first A-3 rear lasted 12,700 mi (to the wear bars). I changed the 2nd one at 11,000 mi with at least 1000 mi of wear left in it. The 1st Anakee front lasted about 2000 mi longer although, as EricV also noted, with an ugly tri-band wear pattern. I'm now on my 3rd Anakee III rear tire, but may consider something else the next time around.
For my purpuses, the Anakee III's performed nearly as well as the PR4's and had the added advantage of not holding small rocks in the treads. However, I've also come t6o realize that they tend to slip easily when cornered hard on the edges (as Checkswrecks noted). Yes, they do make a singing noise on some pavement especially when they're new, but it's hardly noticeable over the ST's engine noises. As one rider said "If ya don't like it jes turn up yer toonz".

 

[Kabish]

I never realized how big of a pain in the ass it is to find a tire until I started to look lol

I too am looking to get more street originated tires, I don't know if I want full out 100% street but 90/20 I think would be ideal. I came across this PDF when I was looking, I "think" it was from ADVRider site but I'm not really sure http://www.motorcyclerider.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/adventurebike_tyres_test.pdf Pretty interesting read. I thought for sure I was going to go with the P4 Trails but I did not like their wear, so I thought I would go with the K60's but I think those are too off roadish for me, so I decided to go with the Scorpion Trail II but now I'm not sure on those.... ugh I hate tires...

 

[EricV]

Kabish - Tires are consumables. What ever you pick, you're just going to wear it out, then you can try something else!

Try some Conti Trail Attacks, or a Trail Attack front and a Anakee 3 rear. Good longevity and both are proven performers, though not w/o their oddities. Do NOT buy an Anakee 3 front tire.

Or, find a pair of Metzler Tourance, (not the EXP), and you'll likely be happy. Ditto for Bridgestone A40s.

Or just plug that tire and ride on for a bit longer, order the tires you decide on for the next set and they will be ready when you need them.

 

[TomZ]

Ah, the search for the ideal tire, motorcycle, etc. continues.
I was thinking of trying the Mitas E07's next. A little off roadish for my use, and maybe some squirmishness and noise to get used to, But good reports all around.

 

[WJBertrand]

Do NOT buy an Anakee 3 front tire.

I'm interested the specifics behind your comment. I've got an Anakee III up front and truth be told, I'm not thrilled with it compared to the OEM Battle Wing. I am surprised how much traction the rear provides on a gravel road though. Where I could blip the throttle and activate the TCS light with both the OEM Bridgestone BW and an A40, the Anakee III just bites and thrusts forward. Doesn't look like it would grab as well as it does. The front I'm more on the fence about but would like to compare specifics.

 

[pnelson]

I put 8000 miles on my first set of Anakee 3s and really liked them. I had enough tread left that I saved them looking to get another couple thousand miles some day. The rear wears well but the front seemed to wear faster and scallops. I agree that the rear tire hooks up well on gravel and dirt (as long as it's not mud) but the front washes out easily off road. Even with the scalloping the front was well-mannered on the road. Living in Oregon, I see a lot of rain and am totally satisfied with the Anakee 3 performance on wet roads.

So maybe we have a great rear tire in the Anakee 3 but need a better front radial 90/10 tire. I just put on a new set of Anakee 3s for the winter but when the front starts to wear down, I'm going to experiment with a Full Bore M40. For $85, it might just do the trick. Amazon link >> http://amzn.to/2daf9t1

 

[EricV]

I'm interested the specifics behind your comment. I've got an Anakee III up front and truth be told, I'm not thrilled with it compared to the OEM Battle Wing. I am surprised how much traction the rear provides on a gravel road though. Where I could blip the throttle and activate the TCS light with both the OEM Bridgestone BW and an A40, the Anakee III just bites and thrusts forward. Doesn't look like it would grab as well as it does. The front I'm more on the fence about but would like to compare specifics.

The Anakee 3 wears in a tri-banded funky pattern and handling goes to shit before the tire is half way thru it's life span. Then you suffer with crappy handling while you finish wearing out the rear, (which was great and lasted me over 13k miles with a lot of resistance to squaring off), or toss it early. I've had some front tires wear equally to the rear, (ME880 Radials), and other Michelin fronts wear in tri-banded patterns, (PR, PR2), but never something that handled this evil so early on. I check tire pressure every ride and ride often. And I'm not alone with this experience on the A3 for use on the Super Tenere. I know some other bike riders that say they have no issues with the A3 front. My wife's GSA came with them, and with only 6k on the tires, you can already see the tri-banded pattern starting, but it was much more pronounced at 6k on my Super Ten.

 

[Dogdaze]

Would you then get the Anakee 2 over the Anakee 3, if you could get them? (we can on this side of the pond)

 

[WJBertrand]

The Anakee 3 wears in a tri-banded funky pattern and handling goes to shit before the tire is half way thru it's life span. Then you suffer with crappy handling while you finish wearing out the rear, (which was great and lasted me over 13k miles with a lot of resistance to squaring off), or toss it early. I've had some front tires wear equally to the rear, (ME880 Radials), and other Michelin fronts wear in tri-banded patterns, (PR, PR2), but never something that handled this evil so early on. I check tire pressure every ride and ride often. And I'm not alone with this experience on the A3 for use on the Super Tenere. I know some other bike riders that say they have no issues with the A3 front. My wife's GSA came with them, and with only 6k on the tires, you can already see the tri-banded pattern starting, but it was much more pronounced at 6k on my Super Ten.

Thanks. I'm at about 5K miles I think (have to check) but the front A III never felt as planted as the OEM BW. Handling seems OK in the twisties and not too much scalloping yet. Mostly I don't think I like the manner in which the A III communicates to me. I'll call it darty or nervous but not unstable. I've had the bike up over 100 MPH with no instability issues at all. On the highway, at normal speeds, the bike seems to want to wander about rather than hold a line. In tighter corners the tires hold lines well but the longer, higher speed sweepers seem to require me to pay a little extra attention to make the bike follow the desired arc.

With the rear I am getting some squaring off, due to my commuting and a 3500+ mile trip to Grand Junction CO from So Cal. Getting across the deserts and Nevada don't provide many twisties... I've never had the feeling the rear would slip or let go on the street that others have reported. I've had the bike over on the peg / peg feelers a few times and I use a 30% stiffer rear spring than OEM, so the grounding wasn't happening early due to soft suspension set up. No chicken strip though.

Might try the Shinko 705 radials next time....

 

[dietDrThunder]

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned these, but IMO the Shinko 705 is the best tire option by far for these bikes, unless needs go more towards dirt. They work great on pavement, with enough dry traction to bust off peg feelers (which I've done twice), enough wet traction to ride supra-legal speeds in hard rain (don't ask), wear as well as anything out there (apart from rock-hard Mitas and Heidenau jobbers), and even have a great ride. Oh, and they're about $150/set.

When I bought my bike this spring, the PO had a brand new 705 front unmounted that he gave me with the bike, as the tires that were on it were completely shot. I admit that I was prejudiced against the bargain-basement Shinko brand, and was thoroughly prepared to hate the tires. But, I had a new front, and since at that time I could get a matching rear for $85, I figured what the hell...if they suck I'll just pitch 'em and get something else, with little money lost. Well, imagine my surprise when not only do they not suck, they are excellent tires...and I'm super picky about tires. the only thing I cant' comment on is off-road performance compared to other 80/20 tires, as I'm not an accomplished off-road guy, and all non-full-knobbies are terrible off road to me. That said, I've ridden on a little two-track, and a little more gravel road type stuff, and I've had no issue, but limits there are mine, and not the tires.

The last time I checked (2 weeks ago) they're about $150/set shipped. You can't go wrong...I like them enough that if they were $275/set next time I needed tired, I'd still buy them - they aren't "good for the money" they're just good. And they happen to be dirt cheap.