Tyre help please.

Ok so it's time for my bike to have new shoes. I do a lot of miles, up to 1000 miles a month so I need something that's going to last well, and living in Cumbria it needs to be good in the wet and cold!

At the minute the bike has Dunlop 208s on and I've ruined the rear after 4000 miles and the front isn't far behind. My thinking has been whichever is cheapest between the BT021s and Avon Storm ST. Who's used these and what're they like for mileage, how do they cope with wet/cold and also these awesome roads we possess on the hot sunny days?

Cheers all!

Mike

Avon Storm ST's seem to get the nod around here. Check the tyre section in Hardware. I read that people find the BT021 does not inspire confidence.

i have avon storms and they are excellent tyres, they are great in the wet and cold too, but i cannot comepare the two. I had the original mezzelers (however you spell it) on it before

[Biker Biggles]

Read the post about Maxxis in the tyre section.They seem to be getting a good write up and are good for low wear.

Fine, don't ask your brother at all :P

Go with the Storms. Good in the wet and awesome in the dry. Just ask Andy how well they stick.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by Kretha

Ok so it's time for my bike to have new shoes. I do a lot of miles, up to 1000 miles a month so I need something that's going to last well, and living in Cumbria it needs to be good in the wet and cold!

At the minute the bike has Dunlop 208s on and I've ruined the rear after 4000 miles and the front isn't far behind. My thinking has been whichever is cheapest between the BT021s and Avon Storm ST. Who's used these and what're they like for mileage, how do they cope with wet/cold and also these awesome roads we possess on the hot sunny days?

Cheers all!

Mike

I'm on the 208rr's (IIRC) and my next tyre will be the avon storm. If I was you I'd do the same. Let us know how you find the storms after the 208s

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Kretha

At the minute the bike has Dunlop 208s on and I've ruined the rear after 4000 miles and the front isn't far behind. My thinking has been whichever is cheapest between the BT021s and Avon Storm ST. Who's used these and what're they like for mileage, how do they cope with wet/cold and also these awesome roads we possess on the hot sunny days?

Cheers all!

Mike

I have! My VFR came with BT-021s fitted and they were fine in the dry. In the wet they are not very grippy at all in my experience, including a two wheel slide on a bend on the A65 when not pushing all that hard. (luckily they gripped again before I hit a wall). They also wore badly on the shoulders but still had tread in the centre, due to the dual-compound rubber. This gave some weird and horrid handling characteristics and when I had them changed, the tyre fitter said that wear pattern was common around here on BT-020/021. Here is N. Wales with twisty roads similar to the Lakes... They were below average for wear to, I replaced a rear at 4K then the front was goosed at 6k when I junked them for Avon Storms.

I have fitted Avon Storms (wanted Azaros but the Storm replaced that model) ever since and have done over 12K miles with them on the VFR. They hold profile well, wear reasonably (6k for rear / 9K for front) and grip really well in the wet / cold. I find them plenty grippy in the dry to keep up with sportier machinery. They handle potholes and the like well, holding a line in a bend despite surface irregularities. The only thing I would say bad about them is I had one rear wear out after only 4500 miles, but those were hard ridden - I am monitoring wear on my current rear closely to see how it lasts.

I've only changed the rear on my k6 at the moment. I put a MAXXIS touringing tyre on is. It seems to last fairly well, not showing too many signs of wear up to now, and I've done 2000 miles on it. I got 8000 out of the original rear.

The tyre was only £65 from Busters, so very good value too. I plan on changeing both the front and rear next time to the same Maxxis.

Hope this helps.

Monkey

got bt021's on mine. don't inspire confidence and tyres are starting to wear to a prominent point in the centre.

[G]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I have! My VFR came with BT-021s fitted and they were fine in the dry. In the wet they are not very grippy at all in my experience, including a two wheel slide on a bend on the A65 when not pushing all that hard.

Its worth noting that bridgestone changed the compounds on the BT021 in december 08 to try and combat the dodgy wear characteristic. The new ones come with the code RBZ on the rear and FBZ on the front, cant remember the old codes but if you google it, it should come up.

They dont inspire confidence really, BUT I'm finding they do have very good grip levels if you can put your trust in them.

They are not lasting long at all though, I have done maybe 1.3k of fairly hard riding that there is very clear wear on them.