Tire replacement choice ??

[yyczed]

I got Bridgestone S22s for less than the comparable sporty/sport touring tires, and I've been trying them out this weekend . Just riding around town and some highway cloverleafs they are night and day better than the OEM S21. The front end vagueness that a lot of journos complained about, and which made me feel like the ZX14R steered better, is totally gone. I can't wait to rail on these tires; it's now the amazing handling fat bike I was hoping for.

[saxtalia]

I just did a trip in the Tail of the Dragon area of the smokie mountains. Lots of tight turns mixed with sweepers and short straights. It was a rough trip for tires for my group. We were getting onto the gas pretty hard coming out of the corners which often meant pretty hard tail braking into the next. We weren't running a track pace out there but were going at a pretty good clip most of the time.

The other guys I was with were on BMW S1000XR on Bridgestone S21 front S22 rear brand new set of tires, S1000XR on Bridgestone T30 tires with about 600 miles on them and a Super Duke 1290R on Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP with 90 miles on them from a track day. I was on my H2 SX SE on Michelin road 5s with around 1,000 miles on them including a dyno run, about 20 1/2 mile airstrip passes and about 20 1/4 mile drag strip passes.

The H2 SX SE was the heaviest and most powerful bike in the group. My friend on the Super Duke was behind me on the Cherohala Skyway and said it was really cool too watch me rocket out of the corners. The rear would spin and slide just enough to help the bike finish the corner with a small puff of smoke and leave a little black line on the pavement. So I wasn't being nice to the tires at all. We were doing about 9hrs of riding a day over 4.5 days.

The Super Duke tires were the first to go he replaced them with Michelin 5s on day 3. They were worn down past the wear bars on the sides. Day 3 and 4 were pretty wet so he didn't want to risk riding on them on wet roads. If it was dry he would have kept them on and tried to make them last the trip.

The T30s were on their side wear bars at the end of day 3. He kept them on until the end of the trip with out many issues but kept the bike in rain mode day 3 and 4.

The S21 and S22 combo got the least amount of riding on them he didn't like riding in the rain or the long distances we did. So one day he did the 120 mile Dragon Cherohala loop with a couple passes up and down the Dragon two up then went and drove around in his truck with his wife. On day 4 he took his DRZ out for a few trips up and down the Dragon. But his tires were shot by the end of the trip even with significantly less miles on them they were worn passed the wear bars.

The Michelin 5s were awesome! With the bike straight up and down I could not get them to spin even in the rain on day 4 and I tried. I had the bike in Full power mode (221whp) and TC3 (the one that kicks in with the least amount of slip) and in 1st gear I'd slam the throttle open from a 20mph roll and it would take off like I was on dry pavement. I never had any issues with the front at all even under hard trail braking. With the bike leaned over the rear would spin a little whether it was wet or dry but only if I was being aggressive with the throttle application. On dry roads I was in TC1 and if it wasn't for the sound of the exhaust and the TC light I wouldn't have known the traction control was activating. On wet roads i set it on TC3 and the TC would only activate if i was intentionally trying to really open the throttle hard. At the end of the trip the road 5s were still a couple mm above the wear bars. They probably have a day or 2 of riding out there left on them but I'll still get a couple of weeks out of them on the roads back home. When I replace them it'll be with a set of road 5s again. The only time they had any "issue" was the rear spinning while leaned over and giving aggressive throttle inputs. But I don't really see that as an issue because it never hampered my riding and I doubt even a full racing slick would be able to prevent the rear from spinning on a flashed H2 while leaned over under hard acceleration.

Hi Cooter. Freat info, TY.

I have one question though... for the Pilot 5 would you recommend the Gt version or the normal ones? Thanks.

[Vex]

You don't need the GT for this bike. It provides no benefit and the bike is not heavy enough to warrant them. Usually those are for a 650lb+ bike like the K1200GT, etc.

[soulreaver993]

Metzler Sportec M9s in the back and M7s up front. Killer tires. Grip and wear are awesome.

[soulreaver993]

Cant remember if I posted about this or not. But Metzler Sportec M7s and M9s are the Smeggin tits!

[yyczed]

My Bridgestone S22s are almost done after 7,000km like the oem S21s. Much better tire than the S21, and I enjoyed it until about 6,000km. It squared off pretty badly from about 6,500km but I believe that's more a reflection of all the highway droning I had to do this summer. Recommend this tire if you get a good discount like I did and you're okay with the shortish lifespan.

Next up: Dunlop Roadsmart IV or Michelin Road 5, whichever I can get cheaper.

[Vex]

Road 5's are fantastic. Power 5's if you don't have inclement weather and don't care about replacing them more often.

[Charliesurf]

I’ve had the Bridgestone s22, and the Dunlop rs III. Both inspire confidence but the Dunlop seems to be much cheaper in the UK

[FastFrank]

For my 1st tire change at 3000 miles and since I have been used Michelin tires for years, I went with the Michelin Power 5, and now have 1000 miles on them and love them, much improved over the stock S21's. The only complaint is the price, $520....ugg

The Power CT2's I have been using are only $320, the jury is out if the Power 5's are worth that much more.

[saxtalia]

I just changed the stock tires for a set of Michelin Road Pilot 5. I love it. The bike handles way better and behaves in a way that feeds you confidence. Love them.