| Author | Message | ||
     Skullym1 |
What are you running and why? I only have 500 miles on the 616's and I'm not real impressed so far. I unfortunately commute on grooved concrete and these tires wander pretty badly. It also looks like they will be short lived. | ||
| Ratbuell |
1,200(ish) on 616s and I love 'em so far. Waiting for the "Dun-Cup" syndrome to start on the front tire, but so far they're great on mud, gravel, wet grass...oh, and pavement too. Wet pavement traction is unreal, even compared to my FLHP on D402s. Again, just waiting for the Dunlop wear issues to set in...but right now I'm tickled pink with the performance. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I've run: D616 Avon Azaro Pirelli Strada Avon Storm Michelin Pilot Road 2CT I have liked the Storms and the PR2CTs the best. If the 2CTs wear well, they will become my new favorite. | ||
| Bigkuri |
I've only had two sets (in 6 months): Pirelli Scorpion Sync - nice enough, cupped on the very edge of the tyre tread, which is weird. They were an all round "okay". Continental Road Attacks - which have been on for 1,500 miles and I must say are brilliant. Lasting well, great grip in the wet, and very quick to lean over compared with the Sync. Incredible lean angles, with none of the side "shimmering" I used to get with the Syncs when right on the edge of the tread. They have 2mm more than normal tread depth so should last well (they are so far). Great tread pattern too - they look great. If you can get them I'd recommend you try them, especially if you lean it in a lot. Just watch out when fitting them as the direction arrow on the tyre tread is wrong, however the one on the sidewall is right. | ||
| Muppet |
D616's - Gripped ok, but didn't feel particularly nice. 5,000 miles on rear, junked them both. Michelin PR2CT - Good grip wet & dry. Seemed to be a bit reluctant to turn with 4,000 miles on. Would have got 5,000+ out of rear. Puncture on rear put paid to them on tour. Would buy again. Bridgestone 021 - Currently on and feel very good. Easier to turn than PR2's, good grip in dry not tried in wet yet. Hope to get good mileage. | ||
| Froggy |
D616 - They don't call them Dunflops for nothing. Worst tire ever. I got Syncs put on my Uly, love them! I am ever happier that they were on my XB12SS when i bought that. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
metzler z6 long wear, great cold and wet grip. Does better than the pirelli on tar snakes. | ||
| Gtmg |
hated the 616's, odd feel on the front end when doing some long street runs. They were great in the rain though. now running the scorpion sync's. they are much much better. better turning and better feel on the road. I have 10,800 on my bike. This the second set of tires. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I ordered a new front tire, finally. The original 616 is so cupped it actually is lumpy and vibrates my entire bike. No kidding at all. I ordered the Pirelli sync. I've got a 616 on the back, second one and can't complain about it. When it goes, I'll try something else. | ||
| Galloper |
My uly: Dunlop 616 Bridgestone BT014 Bridgestone BT014 Michelin Pilot Road CT2 Michelin Pilot Road CT2 I love the BT014's, they gave me so much confidence in corners, but the Pilot Roads have way longer mileage. (Message edited by galloper on May 08, 2008) | ||
| Stevem123 |
I've gone to the Metzler ME-880 Marathons. I have them on my Uly and on my S3T. I really like the mileage I get on them and they stick good. I realize they are only H rated but I have no need to go 140+MPH. I've got 2K on the set now on the Uly and they don't even look to be worn at all. I don't baby the bike either as I'm hitting it hard daily. I was only averaging about 4K on sport Z rated tires and with the kind of riding I do I needed better mileage. The harder compound makes the ride a little rougher but I could probably tune that out with the suspension when I decide to get off my lazy butt and do it. I highly recommend them to those looking for a longer lasting tire. BC Steve | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I've only hit 100 mph once so H rated would be fine for me also. I'm not much for high speeds, tickets and death are not for me. | ||
| Crusty |
Tire choices are very subjective. How you ride, where you ride and what you want from a tire differ from rider to rider. The tire that I love someone else might hate. I had no issue with the Dunlop 616s other than they didn't last long enough for my tastes. They stuck well in wet and dry conditions in temps ranging from well below freezing to over 100°F. I replaced them with Avon Azaro AV45/46, which I really liked on my M2. I didn't care for them on the Uly at all. They caused a headshake when decelerating, and never felt planted. They lasted a long time, though. Then I tried Pirelli Diablo Stradas. I really like them a lot. They stick well in wet and dry conditions and they last a long time. If I wasn't trading my Uly in for an XT, they're what I'd put on again. | ||
| Jlnance |
Continental Road Attacks - which have been on for 1,500 miles and I must say are brilliant. I've run Road Attacks too, and was very impressed. Here they are with 8000 interstate miles: Front:  Rear:  I've still got that front on there. I think it's got 13,000 miles on it now. It's wearing out, but it's not dead yet. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Holy Crap! I wish I could get 8,000 miles. Ain't gonna happen. | ||
| Chadhargis |
No....no you don't. Unless you are doing 1000 mile days, those tires have been heat cycled so many times that the way we ride, they will let go when you least expect it. Each time you heat and cool a tire, it leaches a little of the "moisture" (aka oils) out of the tire. This will cause it to get hard over time. Once it hardens, it won't grip as well, and the sidewall flex will create more heat which could lead to failure. Even if you don't have many miles on a tire, just sitting in your garage heating and cooling with the outside air can cause this to a smaller degree (which is why my bikes and my spare tires live in a temp controlled shop kept at 70 degrees). A tire can be completely worn out and have never been mounted on a rim or rolled across pavement. Tires aren't THAT expensive. Don't trust your safety to old, worn out, tires....even if the tread looks good. (Message edited by chadhargis on May 07, 2008) | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Agreed. | ||
| Backroad_hog |
I have to way in on this one, I can understand how MC tires can wear more because of contact patch and force, but car tires go through similar heating and cooling cycles, and they are measured in the 10 of thousands of miles ( I once got 75,000 miles on a set on my Nissan PU) But are we talking radically different compounds that are more affected by this? I am looking for a longer mileage tire, because I am replacing my rear Scorpion Sync at a little over 3K | ||
| Spacecapsule1 |
so.... how exactly are you folks determining wet performance? I don't know about you, but when I'm riding in the rain, the last thing I'm doing is playing traction crapshoot. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The compound for motorcycle tires is different than car tires. The contact patch is smaller requiring more grip per square inch of contact patch than a standard (or performance) car tire. They do heat cycle, but not to the extent that motorcycle tires do. Because of the composition of the tire, motorcycle tires are more sensitive to "drying out". | ||
| Bigkuri |
Ride like you do in the dry, and try to forget about all those wet greasy lethal corners. In the wet everything slows down a tad, so if you do start to loose it you'll usually feel the backend start to step out, twitch, and then (hopefully) slam back into line. About then you get off, take deep breaths, and remember why not to lean too much in the wet!  Just make sure you find a nice wee safe stretch that you can go faster and faster on till you eventually get that twitch - then you know how fast to go. Strangely - nothing to be worried about, it all feels natural when doing it as you quickly get bored of the same stretch of road, and start to push it anyway. Road Attacks are ace.  You can go a lot further than you think in the wet, especially on good tires. The Road Attacks are brilliant. (Message edited by bigkuri on May 07, 2008) | ||
| Backroad_hog |
I have been riding for about 30 years although most of the time on a sub 1000cc bikes. Most of the bikes could get 7500 to 10k on a set of tires.(Got around 8000 miles out of my Avon Gripsters on my KLR 650) I have been following this thread to find a set of tires that I wont have to change Every oil change.... I don't try 3 digit speeds,(too often ) and I'm too old to try to chase down squids. I just want to be able to make a reasonable tour without having to change tires mid stream. | ||
| Chadhargis |
If you are looking for touring tires, I hear the Metzler ME880 is the tire to have, but I don't know what sizes they come in. If you want lousy mileage....spoon on a set of racing slicks. I typically get 4 or 5 track days out of a set of tires. I got 1 out of a set of slicks. Granted, they were used in a ten lap race prior to my owning them, but WOW, they melted away QUICK! I've had great luck with the Diablo Stradas and even the standard Diablos (now replaced by the Diablo Rosso). For me, it's a confidence thing. I like knowing I have that extra stick if needed. But I know most of the time it's not. I have a friend who rides on nothing buy used "maypops" (you know, they "may pop" at any minute). He's old, and not a small fellow, and rides quite a bit two up on a clapped out old Bandit and he can hand my ass to me any time he wants. It's humiliating, but fun to watch him ride. It was even more amazing after I rode his bike once. Holy crap, I could barely keep the thing on the road it was so loose and out of shape. He once told me that he's never done a track day because he thinks it would be boring doing the same corners over and over again with no cars and hazards to avoid. LOL! | ||
| Gtmg |
ME880's great tires. I have put them on my wife's Suzuki Boulevard...... | ||
| Skullym1 |
I don't think they make a 180/55-17 I think I'll try the Conti's next. | ||
| Backroad_hog |
Gents Thanks for the advice. I will purchase another Scorpion Sync this time until the front wears out, then I will try a set of the Continental Road Attacks since the Metzlers 880 do not come in a 180 55 R 17. | ||
| Stevem123 |
The Metzler ME-880 is available in 170-60-17. The profile fits fine and is within the manufacturers allowance for our rim size. I've been running it for two tire changes now and have not had any problems. BC Steve | ||
| Jlnance |
Unless you are doing 1000 mile days, those tires have been heat cycled so many times ... I was actually, or at least close. 8000 miles in 3 weeks. | ||
| Hughlysses |
There was a thread on advrider about these relatively new tires from Continental a while back called the "Trail Attack": http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20TIRES/Continen tal/continental_trail_attack.htm They look a lot like Conti's answer to the Scorpion Sync, but unfortunately they don't come in Uly sizes and Conti's response to several e-mails was they have no plans to offer them. | ||
| Etennuly |
I have been running the Scorpion Syncs. IMO they are awesome tires for the way and where I ride. I get 6,000 on a rear and 12,000 on the front. |
