Little girly is Confused over tyres

[Jayneflakes]

Right, I have trawled through the Org's wisdom and am now even more confused! :confused:

I am in need of new tyres and have been looking about on line for a couple of hours, I have pretty much discounted Maxxis tyres because if it is that cheap, can it really be that good?! I have also been looking at Bridgstone BT021 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120-60-17-160-60-17-pair-bridgestone-bt021-sv650-ect-/220724576110?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item336435bf6e#ht_1555wt_698) having tried them on the horrible Honda and liked them. Then I found a link to the Angels (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIRELLI-ANGEL-ST-TYRE-PAIR-SUZUKI-SV650S-/260927527452?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item3cc07e1a1c#ht_1292wt_698) after the wife recommended that I look at Pirellis. I currently run a pair of Continental Road Attack II (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-SV650-S-Continental-Road-Attack-Tyres-Pair-/180366190606?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item29fea9a80e#ht_1738wt_715) and have had about a year of use out of them which has been fun. However, I am now thinking of swapping brands, not to save money but because I find that the Conti's are not so sure footed when compared to the Bridgstones on the horrible Honda.

My concern is that the Honda was just a shed on wheels and it was never going to get exciting, where as the SV is always exciting, even when just sat in the garage looking sexy!

Views please, £200 is a huge wad out of my wages and I am worried that I may regret the change if I make it! Girly indecision has never been so confusing! :smt107

[Nobbylad]

Dunlop Roadsmarts - better than Avon Storm Ultras

EDIT: Although I do mostly commute, so go for the sports/tourer type of tyres with the harder centre.

[leebex]

dont discount maxiss simply because theyre cheap, had my rear 2 and half years, and will be getting another fitted in the near future. dual compound and done over 10k miles.

[garynortheast]

Maxxis are fine Jayne, used them myself for quite a while. Now using the earlier version of Michelin Pilot Roads (pre Pilot Road 2) and they're a damn good tyre, just that bit more confidence inspiring than the Maxxis. I got mine for £150 delivered from (I think) M&Ps.

[maviczap]

I've been more than happy with my Metzeler Z6's

[ChrisCurvyS]

I've been more than happy with my Metzeler Z6's
I'll second that - got a pair of Z6s for about 150 quid from M&P direct (not big on telephone manners but cheap and delivered as promised!) and they've transformed the bike.

So much more feedback and grip - I was on Contis before and never really trusted them.

[bathwiggle]

I had maxxi's found they were great in the dry, awful in the wet, i had no confidence in them at all, my sv had pilot road2's and no complaints with them, the cbr has dunlop road smarts i think and i haven't had any problems with them either

[andrewsmith]

Dunlop Roadsmarts - better than Avon Storm Ultras

EDIT: Although I do mostly commute, so go for the sports/tourer type of tyres with the harder centre.

This

and most of miles are commuter tyre spinning fun

[Dean-J]

Another vote for Pilot Road 2's from me. Massively confidence inspiring in the wet

[Geordie Mick]

Trouble is with tyres, as you're discovering Jayne, different people like different things. I've had Maxxis on a few different bikes (VFR, ZX6, RSV Mille) and personally I think they're great. The Mille (not actually mine, but..) got ridden pretty hard, and in the wet, and I never had anything by way of bother I didn't have from far more expensive brands. I was sceptical at first, but went for them as it was all I could justify spending at the time, and quickly changed my view!

If I was using my SV mostly on the road, I'd fit them - the only other road tyres I've had on it were shot so chnaged them after a few miles (Dunlops). As it is, the SV is mostly for trackdays so it's on BT016s (also very good - but probably not the sort of thing you're after).

But that's just my preference/opinion.

[Richie]

+1 for the Metz Z6

Great tyres, but the rear only lasted me 6K :0)

Good fun :0)

[gixer1]

id rather spend a bit more on tyres than have 2 put plastics on the bike !!!!

[MJC-DEV]

I had BT021 on the SV when I got and was very impressed by the grip (never really tried in the wet mind). First time I've worn a front out before the back by fun cornering!
Not in current production so you may find some sell off stock cheap.
Now have the Avon Storm Ultras but not been out on them yet

[jambo]

Just about any modern tyre will be just fine Jayne.

As many people prefer one brand as another, and very few with a strong preference have ridden on new examples of each back to back. You could replace a shot pair of PR3s with a new pair of Maxxis and 90% of people (me included) would promptly write up how much better the bike felt with these better tyres on it. I swapped my 11,000 mile Dunlop Roadsmarts (including, I think 2 or 3 intermediate paced track days, a couple of ARs and tons of commuting and touring) with brand new Dunlop Roadsmarts, and the difference was very noticeable. The Roadsmarts were definitely much better than the old Roadsmarts ;)

Which is a very long winded way of saying, don't stress it too much. You're not looking for "The good tyre in the bunch" you're only looking at different options from different manufacturers, all of which are trying to produce a nearly identical product. And succeeding.

Love
Jambo

[Steve_God]

With the majority of tyres, you're either making a compromise on either mileage you'll get out of the tyre, or grip.

With all the comments above, it will strongly depend on which you see as a priority. Decide what you're after, and go for a tyre accordingly.

For my personal opinion, if you're going for mileage, Avom Storms. If you're going for grip, Pirelli Diablo. If you're happy to compromise for somewhere in-between, any others :-P

[Messie]

+1 for the Metz Z6

Great tyres, but the rear only lasted me 6K :0)

Good fun :0)


Another +1 from me too, front and back. They've always seemed to me a reasonable compromise between grip and life, and they seem to suit most types of riding. A fair compromise on price too I think, as they seem to be about the mid range.

[Roberrrrt]

Avons get my vote, but each to their own.

[The Idle Biker]

I'm not sure how many really bad tyres there are any more. It's just about matching budget and riding requirements.

On my SV I used Dunlop Roadsmart Sportmax and they were great.

I bought my kwak ZX7R with Maxxis and they've never let me down on dry, greasy or wet roads. I've used it on the track once and got to some angles that I wouldn't do on the road, with no problems at all.

So all I'd add is don't discount Maxxis, there may be some better for you but don't rule these out on cost.

[embee]

I quite like the Metz Z6, very neutral, just do their job. Last very well.

M&P (http://www.mandp.co.uk/productinfo.aspx?catref=902800&tier1url=Tyres&tier2url=Tyre-Offers&tier3url=Metzeler) have a great offer on SV pairs at the mo', £156 a pair.