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Tire Advice..

14K views 21 replies 17 participants last post by  conspiracy 
#1 ·
Hey guys and gals, So my tread on my current Bridgestone battleax rs10 is getting kinda low... Im debating on a few different tires to go with next.. obviously everyone loves the super corsas, im just wondering if there are any tire options out there more or less for being able to last a decent amount of miles but also get good and sticky. Ive ran q3s and michelin pilot power 3s. i really wasnt a huge fan of the pilot power 3s.. felt like they wanted to slip out on me when riding harder in the curves. i was surprised with the battleax rs10s tho. i may go back with the bridgestones just wanted to get some other opinions on tires first.. thanks
 
#2 ·
:welcome:

There's no such thing as a sticky, high mileage tire. If they're sticky, they won't last too long. If they're high-mileage, then they won't stick hard when really pushed. Everything is a trade-off.

Why switch tires if you're happy with what you are setup for and familiar with? The last 10 sets of my tires were Q3s. Great tire! If you like the RS10s, go with those. If there's something you don't like about them, then consider changing them up, but then you'll be playing with suspension and geometry to get the bike dialed in with those.
 
#6 ·
See the S21 section, they might not be quite as sticky as the RS10's although I understand they run same compound on the edges but they have 3 compound zones with Mid, Side and Edge. They crap on about 5 compounds but really it is 3 in the construction. The profile is a little rounder but they work well. Some are using a RS10 Front and S21 rear combo as well.

I agree with you on the Power 3's, not a fan and the Pirelli's blow through the center to quickly for my liking Rosso 3 and Rosso Corsa's and I find the S21 has same grip as the Rosso Corsa with better life but not as quick to tip in.
 
#7 ·
If you like the rs10 but want more mileage from the rear, the S21 is the next best thing. You can get a rebate on q3's right now. Probably th best thing for you is to just buy a s21 rear and use you rs10 front.
 
#9 ·
Bridge stone s21 or Michelin power RS both have insane amounts of tread to start out with and seem to be lasting a long time
 
#11 ·
Bridgestone S21 or Mezteler Sportec M7 RR imo. Plenty of grip, plenty of life.

Avoid the Michelin Power RS, they're good for the first thousand km's but degrade quickly. I got more out of the RS10 than I did the Power RS. Michelin moved to using a thinner carcass a few years ago so you end up with less meat, the carcass is also a vastly different compound to the meat.

For what you want:

Bridgestone S21 - Long life, excellent grip, lots of feedback, good in all weather - Best from Spring to Autumn.
Metzeler Sportec M7 - Long life, excellent grip, medium feedback, good in all weather - Best from Autumn to Spring.
Pirelli Rosso 3 - Long life, excellent grip, confusing feedback to me (hard carcass, soft tyre wall), good in all weather.
Dunlop Q3 - Decent life, excellent grip, little feedback, ok in all weather - can feel unsure in cold/wet conditions.
 
#12 ·
Rosso Corsas come stock on the Tuono I just bought. They stick real well. No idea about mileage, but everything I know Ive seen says the tire has the same edge compound as the Super Corsa with a harder center. Might be worth looking into.
 
#13 ·
They're more in the vein of Q3's. Sacrificing some life and cold/wet grip for more dry grip. Excellent tyre though. Good for a mix of hard, dry, road riding and track days.

Honestly, tyres these days are so incredible, it's almost pointless going above anything like an S21 range tyre on the road. I see a lot of guys running semi-slicks etc, but what they don't realise is that those tyres require more temp to perform, and a lot of road riders simply cannot keep that pace up to have them working in their optimal range. Not from lack of skill necessarily, but due to conditions, traffic, cops, all kinds of things.
They lose heat faster, and take longer to warm up. At an average to advanced pace on the road, an S21 or Sportec will out perform a semi simply due to being in their temp range pretty much all the time.

Not show boating, but showing just how good they are. The attached is a mates S1K that I took for a mountain run with that S21 well beyond what most people would tolerate, and even at night temperatures it still managed 60 deg of lean without too much complaining.

2nd pic for those who don't know what the tyre looks like fresh.
 

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#14 ·
Yeah, the Rosso Corsas are a lovely tire except for 1 thing, they tend to eat away quickly down the rear tires center quickly. Not so good if you have a bit of highway commuting as part of your ride routine. For banging canyons or mountains or even a track, they would be great. Think Pirelli needs harder compound on the rear center with what they have on the sides currently. Then I'd be happy. Found both Diablo Rosso 3 and Rosso Corsa to suffer the same fate, center eaten in under 3k kms riding.

S21 givers the same side grip as the the Rosso Corsa but I get better wear through the center and at the track it deals with hard acceleration without any fuss. Only a little edge slip when warming up on corner entry. Must be more active in temp watching as I ride though. Just to observe what is going on.
 
#16 ·
Could be just your own riding style eating away at the center of the tire...

A common problem especially with street riders is they love hearing the engine on compression braking so they bang a lot of downshifts and let the engine do the braking on the rear for them. That engine braking causes more wear & tear on your tire than typical acceleration does. We all know how it's done.. Bang a downshift and then dump the clutch to hear the engine revs increase & most guys do that gear after gear instead of applying the brakes and downshifting to the gear they actually want . You can try this yourself by screaming down an off ramp & let the engine slow the bike down through through each gear on dowshifting then immediately stop & look at your rear tire & you will see thousands of tiny rolls of rubber coming up from the center of the tire that have rolled backwards due to the tire slipping against the pavement.

Riders that do this often rarely realize the damage they are doing to their tires and always complain about wearing out the center of the tire before the edges etc.

Yea you can all thank me later when I write my book about motorcycling :grin2:
 
#15 ·
Huh, interesting to know. I didnt really look too far into them other than knowing they were pretty good and sticky. One of my buddies said the center was a harder compound, but oh well. I guess im gonna chew through them quick them. Well see. Lol. I only have 600 miles on it at this point.

Thanks for the info my dudes.
 
#17 · (Edited)
LDH, you are on to me once again )))

Actually, the roads here in Central Finland are relatively straight (mild curves which at not loosing license speeds = yawn) and quite abrasive. The surface get chewed a lot during winter with spiked car and truck tires and that can rip through softer motorcycle rubber in short time.

As for banging down through the gear box, why bother with quick shifters or clutch?? Seems like more effort to me ;)
Goto also get to hear the rear rubber skipping on the road surface to really achieve good engine braking sounds :p
 
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