New rider needs help picking tires

[Bevans555]

I just purchased a 2013 ninja 300 with 6k miles and the stock roadwinners need to be replaced asap... Im brand new to riding, only logged about 55 miles so far. Anyway, the bike will be used for pleasure cruising and occasionally riding back and forth to work, I will not go to the track but would like a tire that has good enough grip for some fun riding on corners and that will give me confidence.

I was thinking about:

Bridgestone BT45
Michelin pilot street radials
Pirelli DR2
Pirelli sport demon

Looking for opinions on these tires. Again I'm a beginner and don't want to waste money on super high performance tires that I don't have the skills to properly use.... But I also don't want to get a tire that rides horribly stiff or might slide out on corners causing lack of confidence.

So what would you guys recommend?

Thanks!

[Triple Jim]

I have BT45s on my '05 Ninja 250 and they're excellent in all ways, except they're too new to let me comment about tread life.

I had Sport Demons on my '89 Moto Guzzi Mille GT. They felt excellent at first, but the rear wore out very quickly. The front developed a chattery way of taking corners well before I reached the tread wear indicators. Obviously they may behave differently on a little Ninja.

I don't know if they're available in the sizes you need, but I really like Avon Roadriders on every bike I've tried them on, which includes my Yamaha DT100 mini roadracer and a Yamaha RZ350. They have excellent and predictable traction, and good life from what I can tell so far.

[Yakaru]

If you're going with Pirelli I'd say given your comments I'd recommend the Sport Demons over the Diablos. I run SDs on my primary ride any time I'm not at the track.

As an aside, I just put a pair of the new Dunlop GPR300s on my second 300; they're super sticky but I have no idea what lifespan they'll have. Probably a bit too performance/short-life-span oriented for you but another option for the list.

[Bevans555]

Thanks for the replies... I actually looked at the Avon roadrider, they were priced considerably less than the other options.. And look great but I just read a few threads about people saying they show cracks like dry rot within a year.

I'll look into the dunlops too.

[Alex]

The Michelin Pilot Street are generations ahead of the other ones you are considering. Dramatically better wear, good handling, no real downsides other than slightly pricier. They will last 2x to 3x as long as the DR2s or the Sport Demons. Tread life might be more similar to the BT45, but the Pilot Streets will handle better and last longer.

Reviews on this site:

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=146666
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=181591

All that said, as long as you keep the tire pressure near where it needs to be, and monitor tread life, a new rider isn't going to feel much difference between any of these tires. It would be much more noticeable (to most) between a new and a worn tire, or a properly inflated vs too soft tire, rather than the differences between any of these tires themselves.

[choneofakind]

Pilot Streets are the way to go if you're not riding track.

I borrowed a 300 last spring that was wearing Pilot Streets and once they're up to temp, they have more than enough grip for anything you can reasonably throw at them for street use. Other trusted users here have suggested that they get particularly good mileage and do acceptably in the wet.

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by Bevans555

I actually looked at the Avon roadrider, they were priced considerably less than the other options.. And look great but I just read a few threads about people saying they show cracks like dry rot within a year.

I just checked the date code on the Roadriders on my DT100. They were made three years ago, and there is no sign of any deterioration, cracking, etc.. I do keep the bike in a garage, out of sunlight, and out in the country where there's no big-city amount of ozone, which could make a big difference to any tire.

They do stick well. Here's a shot taken when I was riding the friend's RZ350 with Roadriders this spring:

[NevadaWolf]

Trying to recall if I've ever ridden on the Sport Demons - some nagging little voice is saying that I did before I started using the DRIIs. Hurm...

Anyway, I know for a fact that I ran the DRIIs, the BT45s, and the Pilot Streets. Right now I am back on the IRCs.

This may sound silly, but my opinion is just get what you can afford right now. Being a new rider, I agree with Alex that you won't notice any difference between the tires themselves as long as you keep them properly inflated and watch the wear indicator. Plus until you really decide how you are going to ride, it really isn't going to make much difference between what you are looking at.

My opinions on your options:

DRIIs - shortest life (5-6k rear, 11k front - ish), good for general use, better for pushing your limits in twisties. Really gave me confidence on the track and improved my confidence in the mountains. Stopped using due to (for my riding) really short life.

BT45s - moderate life (7-9k rear, never killed the front so unknown), all around good general use tire. Wore these when hitting the stupid monsoons back east and they stuck nicely on I-95 and US-50. Stopped using as it didn't have the life I wanted.

Pilot Streets - longest life (17k rear, 20k front), great long lasting tire, holds up well to flat interstate travel, can drag peg on mountain roads, no problems in rain, light snow, dirt, gravel. Love this tire! Stopped using just because I won't have the Ninja for another 20k miles so went for inexpensive this time.

So what would I recommend?

If your pleasure cruising is going to learn towards twisties vs flat sections and the commute is short/curvy - go with the DRIIs.

If your cruises and commute are equally flat/straight and twisty - go with the BT45s.

If you are mostly looking at long, flat, straight with periodic stretches of curves - go with the Pilot Streets.

[Sirref]

Between that list I would only consider two of the options

Pirelli DRII: great tires, they grip well and you can rail corners with them (by any reasonable stretch of a street rider's definition of railing corners) and even do a track day or two without any grip issues. Downside will be tire life compared to the other option

Michelin Pilot streets: I highly recommend this tire, fantastic option for street riding. It will handle track pace but it is far from ideal for a track tire as the limit grip in dry is poor compared to other options. In the rain the tire performs amazingly well. In fact I still have a set on hand to run as rain tires if I am ever worried enough about rain races. The tires last forever as well

Between the two I would go for the michelin due to the tire life and ability to handle inclement weather well

[Bevans555]

I ended up ordering a set of bt45's.... Got them for $205 shipped. They were about $50 less than the michelins, and I read a lot of good reviews on them. I agree being a brand new rider I probably wouldn't be able to tell any difference. thanks for the help.

[Panda]

I recommend round ones.

[Triple Jim]

You'll be happy with the BT45s. I know guys who do track days on them and do very well.

[InvisiBill]

Keep in mind that tires do wear out from age, not just miles. If you're not going to be putting a whole lot of miles on the bike, going with a high-performance, low-durability tire may make more sense. There's no point in giving up performance to get a 20k tire if it'll need to be replaced when you only have 5k on it. On the flip side, it would be really annoying to ride 20k/year on tires that only last a few thousand miles.

I replaced my 500's OEM Exedras (of unknown condition, same size as the NewGen 250) with a set of Avon Roadriders. I didn't play with them much, but I find that the Michelin Pilot Powers on my slightly-larger aftermarket wheels feel much better to me. I've had the bike longer, and had the PPs on longer than I used the RRs, so I know the bike better now. But the PPs just feel smoother and inspire more confidence.

With my personal Michelin experience and all the praise I've heard about the PSRs, they'd be near the top of my list to check out in stock sizes. Looks like they've gone up a bit since I last looked, but they're $237 shipped for the front & rear in 300 sizes (the smaller 250 size is a few bucks cheaper), so still not crazy-expensive. Due to the limited riding season up here, I seem to be able to get a few years out of less durable tires, so I'll probably lean more toward the performance end than the durability end when I replace them.