Pirelli DR2s are great, but...

[cadd]

DR2s are probably the most popular tire to upgrade to (according to this forum). However, I commute and would like to have something that will last a tad longer, even if it means I'll have to give up some grip.

From what I've read, I think the DR2s have dual compounds. It seems like they are: soft & even softer.

I've read a lot of people seem to be averaging 5k miles on the rear before they are down to the chords in the center. Some are even experiencing replacing the rears as early as 3k miles! (That means I have to get a new tire every 3 months?!?!).

Since I commute on relatively straight roads mostly, and only get to see twistier roads once a week, I think DR2s are overkill for my needs.

Do you guys have any good experiences with another tire that is somewhat performance related (soft on the sides), but have a harder compound in the middle?

Oh....and I want to keep the front 110 & rear 140.

Looking forward to hear your suggestions!

[alex.s]

if you are only commuting i would suggest a bt45s

[Alex]

/moved to 300 tech

[cadd]

Hey Alex, would it be possible to move this to the 250 section (or the general section) as this is for my new gen?

[choneofakind]

Read about the Michelin pilot street radial from a few high mileage (and hard riding) members. Very very good mileage tire without sacrificing too much grip from what they say.

[cuong-nutz]

^^ What chone said. Pilot Street radials and after that the BT45. I currently have the BT45s and Looks like I'm getting roughly 8k out of the rear. I think the guys on the Pilot streets are getting like 10k. which is pretty damn good for a radial.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Read about the Michelin pilot street radial from a few high mileage (and hard riding) members. Very very good mileage tire without sacrificing too much grip from what they say.

the local moto cops are sporting these. they talk about them as if they're some new form of rubber discovered from an alien ship or something. they look the same to me but i haven't tried them. they are claiming they get 20k miles out of a set. seems like BS to me though.

[cadd]

Are the pilot Street radicals more performance oriented vs the BT45s?

I still want performance since I do like to hit some twistier roads on the wkends.

[choneofakind]

Paging @rojoracing53. He has a thread where he talked about it. And he rides a combo of long distance commuting/trips and hard sport riding

If you're looking for a sporty but high mileage tire combo, take a page out of Jason's book and go with a sticky tire up front and a pilot street radial in back. You'll get the performance and stick from the front end, but the 250 doesn't have the guts to spin up the rear unless you're being stupid with it in the wet, so the harder touring-minded pilot street makes sense. That might actually get you a combo that wears at the same rate. IE, none of the usual 2 rears for every front with a sticky set of tires.

[cuong-nutz]

Originally Posted by cadd

Are the pilot Street radicals more performance oriented vs the BT45s?

I still want performance since I do like to hit some twistier roads on the wkends.

You will be fine with them.

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by alex.s

the local moto cops are sporting these. they talk about them as if they're some new form of rubber discovered from an alien ship or something. they look the same to me but i haven't tried them. they are claiming they get 20k miles out of a set. seems like BS to me though.

I think I'm at 12-13k on my rear and it still has several thousand miles left in it. Seeing how a Rosso only lasted me 2500 miles before corded were showing I'd say 20k would be easy for some.

Those who are asking the questions about the pilot street radial Keep in mind I'm only using the rear and absolutely love it. In the front I only use 120mm wide race tires used on the 600's and 1000's, normally as race takeoffs but sometimes I'll by a new tire from online. Some members will point out I'm using a R-6 front wheel which is 3/4" wider then the stock 250 wheel but I also used the 120 front tires on my stock wheels as well and still loved them.

At 12-13k miles on my current set of tires my front tire is almost totally bald, you can hardly make out about 30% of the groves and the rest is totally smoothed away. The rear as I mentioned earlier still has several thousand miles left in it but because its on the square side of things at this point I'll probably change both tires and save the rear in case of emergencies like a nail in your tire. I think my front would have lasted another 1-2k miles but it was originally a race takeoff so it already had some race miles on it.

Tire companies lead you to believe tires come in sets and must be run that way. It's not true so just pick the rear that's gets you what you want then pick a front that gets you what you want and go with that.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by alex.s

the local moto cops are sporting these. they talk about them as if they're some new form of rubber discovered from an alien ship or something. they look the same to me but i haven't tried them. they are claiming they get 20k miles out of a set. seems like BS to me though.

considering that people have been getting 10k out of them while doing track days and that I have seen ~6-7k and barely even notice the wear at all with close examination they're pretty damned amazing, the only difference I'd go with would be a drII for track use

[JohnnyBravo]

My bike wants Forrest's magic shoes!!!

[cadd]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

I think I'm going to go with Michelin Pilot Street Radial (140/70). If these are good enough for you guys, I'm sure they're more than good enough for me. I'm a pretty conservative rider.

For the fronts, I'm still debating. Either the DR2s or the Pilot Road 3 (110/70). Any preferences there? Or would you guys recommend I look at something entirely different?

I've considered having a mismatch front & rear in the past, but didn't know if it'll throw off the bike's handling characteristics....so I have always purchased full sets. But since some of you guys have good experiences with not running a full set, I'm comfortable doing it as well

As for the BT45s that a lot of members here also like, are they considered more of a touring tire? How do they compare to the Pilot Street Radials in terms of performance (grip)?

[choneofakind]

I had a set on my pregen for a while. Not bad tires, the front wore funny though. They seemed to grip pretty well and got better mileage than my current sticky tires. I think I got 6-7k out of the rear, could have gotten a lot more if it weren't for the fact that I was going to track and wanted fresh rubber. In hindsight they would have been fine because they stick well and really were only worn down the middle, but hey.

Overall, I was happy with the performance and mileage from the BT-45. If I were in your shoes and could run more standard sized radials, I'd go with radials. Correct me if I'm wrong, but BT-45's are still bias ply right? Not that it's hugely important, but I feel like if you have the ability to run nicer and newer rubber, why not? The pilot street radials were literally designed for the ninjette and baby cbr.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by cadd

Hey Alex, would it be possible to move this to the 250 section (or the general section) as this is for my new gen?