Tyre brand guide, which tyres?

I've had a search of the forum but couldn't find any general advice.

I need new tyres for my XJR1300. I can buy Maxxis or Continental pairs of tyres for less than £160, but is it worth it? What brands are reliable? Can a brand's range include very good and very bad tyres, or, for example, are all Bridgestone tyres amazing? I'm looking for something super sticky but not ridiculously expensive.

How much of a mark-up can I expect buying the tyres through a mechanic? Is it worth buying them myself and getting the girlfriend to drive them to the mechanic in her car?

[Sir Trev]

Have a chat with Spannerman. He supplied and fitted me a new tyre for a very sensible price and he's almost on your doorstep. Ride in/out is a lot easier than faffing about with stands and getting lifts.

Whether a tyre is good or bad is a big can of worms...

[jambo]

You will get a different answer from just about everyone. Almost no one who answers will have realistically ridden on most of the current tyres back to back without one set being completely shot. Tyres are also massively subjective (I've discovered I'm not fussy, but spoken to people who find one or more brands really don't suit them).

If you've heard of the company they'll be fine. For everyone that raves about one tyre there's someone with a different preference. And you have to try seriously hard to find an outright bad tyre nowadays so don't sweat that too much. Mark-up will vary by place but phone the place you're thinking of using and ask what they charge to fit tyres you supply to loose rims, some people prefer to supply their own tyres so charge more for this than others.

Clear as mud?

Give an idea how many miles you want and what you're doing (touring, commuting, track days) and people may be able to throw some ideas at you.

Jambo

Are there any to avoid? I'm a student and worked very hard to afford my new XJR! I've heard of both these brands (as you suggested) don't want to spend £160 on a pair of Continental or Maxxis tyres to save £100 but them be considerably less grippy than more expensive brands, and slip my bike/bum down a road!

Or, is it really just a case of any brand I've heard of will do the trick, and very well?

[jambo]

Personally I've ridden on track and road with modest touring tyres from Bridgestone, Metzler, Pirelli, Continental, Dunlop, and Avon. All were safe on the road and capable up to a point on the track. Most were better than me.

Some people have written negative reviews about every one of the tyres that I've used above, so I can't promise you'd like any of them.

I notice deals online for several tyres that are less than cutting edge such as the Metzler Z6, that newer tyres have come out doesn't make the old ones bad.

People on a budget have fitted Maxxis and been happy, continental contimotions have also had positive reviews. Though I've not used either I'd happily fit them and do a track day with them. I'd be confident they were safe.

Jambo
Sent from my thingie

P.S, perhaps don't try too hard to hunt down any dunlop D220s as fitted to the sv as standard

Thanks a lot Jambo! Good info to know!

I swear by my bridgestones and everyone behind me swears at them. Given the a out of clippings they fling about they must (by my reckoning) be great at ripping through it to the Tarmac underneath.

Shame about the collateral damage but then I rarely ride behind myself anyway.

[Fallout]

+1. I get hit in the face all the time by the stones from Ad's bike.

My two cents on the subject ...

GET A SPORTS TOURING TYRE. On both the SV and the gixxer the sports tyres are gone in about 9 months. It's ridiculous tbh. Unfortunately on the road most power is delivered when you're upright, so really the extra grip they offer is wasted because you can never get through the sides before the softer middle is gone.

I have Pilot Power RC2s on now and they are excellent, but they are almost gone from the middle in 6 months! I don't get it because we really don't ride that hard. On the SV though, once I got some Bridgestone Sports Tourers on there they hadn't noticeably worn in 3 or 4 months before I sold the bike. Yeah, they didn't feel quite so grippy on the corners, but it really isn't an issue unless you're knee down on every bend.