| Author | Message | ||
     Vortec57 |
So what's the got tire for a younger days? I plan to do mostly commuting but would like the dirt gravel type option as well. Probably 90% road 10% not. Looking at the scorpion trails, are there other preferred tires that won't break the bank? Mainly leaning to Pirelli as my firebolt loved them | ||
| Tootal |
Scorpion Trails are great tires and would work perfectly for you. Since you mentioned commuting I might suggest Michelin Pilot Road 4's or 5's. As long as you're not in mud they work fine in gravel and dry dirt and will last a lot longer than the Pirelli's on your commute. Great in the rain and long lasting, I love them! | ||
| Cyclone8u |
I'll cast my vote for Avon Trailriders. Been good on everything from highway, twisties and trails. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I've been considering the Avons for my 06. Had good luck with them? Love PR's on my street rides, loved the D616 on the Uly for dirt excursions, the Avons seem the perfect blend. Dual compound, good tread blocks, thick carcass...curious to hear a full review on a Uly!! | ||
| Portero72 |
Shinko 705 FTW. Cheap, durable 80/20 tire. I like them for both road AND dirt. | ||
| Vortec57 |
Portero, what rear do you run? the 705 doesn't come in 180/55-17 | ||
| Zane |
I'm a big fan or the Michelin Pilot Road series of tires. I got close to 20k miles on the rear by riding gently. Currently have Shinkos for commuting purposes. I like them better than I expected to. | ||
| Vortec57 |
Went ahead and pulled the trigger on a set of avons. Local brick and mortar was able to beat online prices. | ||
| Hangetsu |
Ditto on the Pilot Roads. I ran a pair of PR III's two sets of PR IV's and next I will give the PR V's a try. Prior to these I have used the Scorp. Syncs and Metzler Roadtech Z6 Interacts, but neither of these performed so well, wet or dry, or lasted so long as the PRs. It would be a hard sell to convince me that there's a better sport touring tire out there. | ||
| Cyclone8u |
Ratbuell, as someone that likes to far exceed the "90/10" on/off ratio these bikes were alledgedly designed for but also likes to wear the tire to the edges in the twisties, I have to say the Avons are a win for me. I've got about 2k miles on them with just a hint of wear in the center of the rear. Yet they grip well enough to erase the chicken strips quite handily. The do feel a little "different" than the Pirellis they replaced but after the first ride I felt at home. As far as off road, they're not a knobby obviously, but they do instill a fair amount of confidence off road, especially if things aren't too wet and greasy... again not a knobby. The carcass appears fairly heavy which inspires confidence when things turn rocky. I took a ride a few weeks ago where I mixed it up between curvy country roads, long boring (read fast) straight country roads, laughed driving through road construction and this:  Then back to the twisties. Honestly, there's a few manufacturers making dual compound dual sport tires aimed at the bigger ADV bike croud, I haven't really kept up with the other brands (nor have I needed to) so I can't really make any comparison, only state my opinion based on my experience with these tires. | ||
| Portero72 |
Vortec- I run the 170. Feels great. | ||
| Vortec57 |
Got my avons on and did a little riding this weekend. Not broke in, and not dirt riding yet, but they feel nice so far | ||
| Tempest766 |
I run PR2 on my XT and had been running Pirelli STs on my FJR...go figure...I've come to the conclusion that ANY Pirelli is just too soft and too short life. Went back to BT023s on the FJR and will continue to run PRs on the XT. Not so easy to get PR2s any more so will probably have to go with the newer PRs going forward. | ||
| Fj1200 |
Second, or is it third... the Avon Trailriders. Haven't seen dirt/gravel yet but after rain and twisties they have not done me wrong. | ||
| Cyclone8u |
Did some twisties on dirt the other day. Trailriders didn't miss a beat.  | ||
| Tempest766 |
I will never again buy any Pirelli tires for the kind of riding I do. They may be sticky, but their lifetime is way too short. I have started using Michellin PRs on the Buell, and after the Pirelli fiasco on the FJR went back to the Bridgstone BTs. and to those guys who advertise 10 or 20k miles on their tires, come on down to western PA and ride our roads for a bit, then see what kind of wear you get. | ||
| Steveford |
Try keeping the front tire pressure up like 37-38 with PR4 and PR5s or else you might end up with scalloping like my Useless has. They went to a hard center section and I think you need high pressure to get it to wear properly. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
I've gotten good mileage out of my Scorpion Trail tires, and am wondering if folks are getting different versions based on mixed results. I have noticed and OE version of the tires being sold on Ebay, and wonder if they are a different compound. I noticed 73w and 58w ratings. I was thinking that was just speed rating, but am wondering if there was a dual compound version and a non. But I don't know if that applies. Only a few are listed as Dual compound, and there is a price difference. Both my front and rear are 73w versions. And my mileage has been good. Anyone understand these terms and ratings? Thanks in advance. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
73w and 58w are Load Ratings. They have to do with the tire carcass' construction. Somewhere, there's a chart... | ||
| Ratbuell |
and to those guys who advertise 10 or 20k miles on their tires, come on down to western PA and ride our roads for a bit, then see what kind of wear you get. I'm one of those guys, and I ride western Maryland roads. It can be done (and I'm not gentle on the throttle or on engine braking). 36/38 F/R on my 1125 and S1W; 38/40 F/R on the Uly and the S2 with bags. No scalloping or cupping, at least 10k out of a rear, generally 12-14k. 2 rears to a front. And we love our tar-n-chip crap here, too... | ||
| Tempest766 |
Not a recommendation, but I'm shoeing my XT with BT-023s tomorrow. I've been running PR2s on it for several years, but at $150 for pair, I cannot pass up the BT tires. That's also what I run on my feejer. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
I ended up ordering another set of Scorpion Trails this week. Those Ebay coupons are gold!! I did get the original Scorpion Trail rear, but the fronts were sold out. So I bought the Scorpion Trail 2. My rear was the same 73w load rating, but could only find the 53w front. They seem to both be just fine for my purposes. New rubber is in need as it won't be long and I will be seeing cords. I ran some dirt this past weekend, and it was fun for sure after the rain took all the dust down! | ||
| Ratbuell |
I've got about 4 days' riding on my new Avon Trailriders and am extremely happy. |
