16" tire suggestion?

[CnnmnSchnpps]

Another 1000km weekend and the front's nearly out, anyone have suggestions for good tires available in 16"?? Neither Pirelli Angels nor Michelin Pilot Road are available in that size..

F - 130/70ZR16
R - 180/55ZR17

Looking for something decently sporty but not too soft, good mileage for long tours!

Cheers
-D

PS - The hornet 600 has a 17" front.. Wonder how much work it would be to retrofit on the 250.

[Jav]

What model/make is your bike? Usually swapping within a brand and with a different model
of similar vintage is less work, but really depends on the bike.

[tokyojrock]

Are you close enough to stop by, I carry basically all tires except Michelin (by choice). Or email me I'll go through the book and give you the options.

[Kamikuza]

Are you close enough to stop by, I carry basically all tires except Michelin (by choice). Or email me I'll go through the book and give you the options.

What's wrong with Michelin?

[Antkiller]

What's wrong with Michelin?

This is probably up to individual riding styles but Michelins when they get hot they let go so suddenly you can do nothing. This is on the track though, I have never used them on the street.
Saturday at sly I was on mike's Zxr with Pirelli tyres, the ones he used in last Octobers race and 3 or so track days afterwards and they were still fine. When they finally started to slide, you could still push them. At last on the second corner the rear stepped out big time but I could still feel it come so I could counter and pick the bike up before the point of no return. The sliding of the tyres happened so smooth and slowly it was predictable. With Michelin I don't get that to the point I lose confidence.

[Twinrider]

I've never used Michelins on the track, but have nothing but good to say about the Pilot Power 2CTs I ran on my TDM for the past 45,000km in terms of dry and wet grip, wear characteristics (resistance to squaring) and longevity. Also using T63s on my Djebel 250 and they are very confidence-inspiring offroad and are quiet and handle nicely onroad. In fact I like the T63s so much that I'll be putting them on the GS next time around.

[yzfr6]

I use the dunlop sportmax q2's on the roadie:
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/t/...torcycle-Tires

Those guys are pretty cheap. I got mine from there and fitted them locally. Dunno what prices like are over there.

On the track I wouldn't use them, only use pirelli sc1/sc2 or dunlop UK/USA/French NTecs. They are a bit expensive but not as expensive as low side or worse

[Kamikuza]

Interesting. I've used Pilot Powers on the TL for ages, and have Road2's on the Duke - very confidence inspiring and great feedback. Dunno how well the softer Road's will last though ... and it ain't even hot yet :o

The Diablo Rosso's on the bike when I got it would slide randomly and gave me the heebie-jeebies. They were probably the original tyres though ...

Had Dunlops on the GSXR and the NS and they've both dropped me on the road unexpectedly ... that was a while ago though ...!

[CnnmnSchnpps]

What model/make is your bike? Usually swapping within a brand and with a different model
of similar vintage is less work, but really depends on the bike.

My bike is the Hornet 250 which is supposed to be fairly similar to the Hornet 600. The 600 came with a 120/70ZR17 front in the later model years.

[Dana]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a 16" tire.

Have you taken a look here?

http://www.shop-mach.com/

Dana

[Dana]

Nevermind!

Guess I never looked hard enough!

http://www.shop-mach.com/index.php?pid=19085480

http://www.shop-mach.com/index.php?pid=12609774

I know of riders that liked the a-12 for the track. Not sure how long it lasts on the street.

Dana

[tokyojrock]

They @12 is highly desired. multi compound. Great for the street.

[CnnmnSchnpps]

a-12 looks interesting! Anyone know how it does in the wet?

[tokyojrock]

Gordo and Tony seem to swear by them and Gordo rides nothing but Moto's all the time any weather.

a-12 looks interesting! Anyone know how it does in the wet?

[CnnmnSchnpps]

Metzeler Sportec M3 High Performance Street Tires 130/70ZR-16 Front
Shinko 006 Podium Radial Motorcycle Tires 130/70ZR16 Front
Bridgestone Battlax BT-016 Ultra High Performance Street Tire Tubeless 130/70ZR-16 Front
Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S20 Tires 130/70R16 Front
Avon VP2 Sport High-Performance Radial Street Tires 130/70ZR-16 Front
Avon AV79 3D Ultra Sport Tires 130/70ZR16 Front
Avon AV45 / AV46 Azaro-ST Sport Touring Radial Street Tires 130/70ZR-16 Front

Still on the hunt.. Does anyone have any personal experience with any of these? The AV45 sound intriguing but I'm not sure if you can find em in Japan..

Cheers
-D

[tokyojrock]

I can get you all the above I will have prices today for you. As for the Shinko...they make good drag racing tires....But I am so not impressed by their street tires. So much in fact I refused a sponsorship contract.
The Metz and Bridgestones I can have in fast 1-2 days. The Avon would be about a week. But on your list having tried ALL of them I'd say the best of the bunch is the BT-016 or the M3.

[CnnmnSchnpps]

I can get you all the above I will have prices today for you. As for the Shinko...they make good drag racing tires....But I am so not impressed by their street tires. So much in fact I refused a sponsorship contract.
The Metz and Bridgestones I can have in fast 1-2 days. The Avon would be about a week. But on your list having tried ALL of them I'd say the best of the bunch is the BT-016 or the M3.

Awesome thanks! I'll read up on em a bit and let you know

[CnnmnSchnpps]

Hey all thanks for everyone's input I think I settled for the S20.. Wanted to check if anyone might want my old rear tire, it's got a decent amount of tread left (though it's quite old - stock tire from 2007). If you can pick it up Thursday night you can have it, just PM me



If no one wants it I guess I'll have to find a nice spot for some

Cheers
-D

[gkanai]

Bridgestone Battlax BT-016 Ultra High Performance Street Tire Tubeless 130/70ZR-16 Front

I think this is your best bet. Skip the Shinko. The BT-016 is well-tested in Japan. It's OEM on a lot of Japanese sportbikes.