Best rear tire for commuting?

[gregjet]

Put simply. Entirely in my opinion:

The stock 023's are poor. Not dangerous but harsh and unfeeling ( like a girlfriend I one had). Grip isn't that bad but they have little feel. Wet grip is OK.

The Michelins are a HUGE step up . Softer more compliant feel. Better road feedback without harsh "Dunlop" feel. Grip better than almost everything on the market in ALL conditions, hot, cold, wet, dry... even reasonable ( not great, just reasonable) in the dirt. If you ride consistantly change to them. If you are occassional rider wait until the 203's wear out or go hard. I finally went 170/60 ( Pilot Road 4 as size not available in 5's) instead of 180/55. Definitely prefer the new profile.

Edited August 22, 2019 by gregjet
incorrect figures

[stickshift]

12 hours ago, gregjet said:

The Michelins are a HUGE step up . Softer more compliant feel. Better road feedback without harsh "Dunlop" feel. Grip better than almost everything on the market in ALL conditions, hot, cold, wet, dry... even reasonable ( not great, just reasonable) in the dirt. 

They are a pretty good all-rounder on the street for different weather conditions, but not at all up to high temperature track riding.

[gregjet]

That I didn't know, stickshift. Only had them since I gave up the track ( in North Queensland so the track temps would have been ridiculously high).

They were very good for loaded touring in 44deg C though, but that a long way from feathering temp.

[DewMan]

10 hours ago, stickshift said:

They are a pretty good all-rounder on the street for different weather conditions, but not at all up to high temperature track riding.

 

58 minutes ago, gregjet said:

That I didn't know, stickshift. Only had them since I gave up the track ( in North Queensland so the track temps would have been ridiculously high).

They were very good for loaded touring in 44deg C though, but that a long way from feathering temp. 

Thanks guys, I have no plans to track my FZ so it'll be a non-issue for me.

[dmoney]

Just about to replace my pr5's. They've been great and will get them for my next tyre. I use mine for mainly commuting but they handle 'spirited' riding well too. 

[BryantJT]

As someone above asked, I know the Pilot Road 3 and 4 were multi compound, I haven't looked at the 5's yet.  I used the 4 series on my FZ09 and took a 2500 mile interstate trip shortly after installing them.  Very minimal center wear/flat spotting.  The OEM tires on the 09 were shot in 1800 miles, I can't recall exactly what they were but I hated them with a passion.

[noodles]

On 8/12/2019 at 1:03 PM, noodles said:

I commute 35 miles one way about 80% highway, 20% in town. I've had the OEM Bridgestone Battlax BT-023, a set of Pirelli Angel GT, and now the Continental RoadAttack 3. The BT-023 were stiff without great grip, the Angel GT has good grip but the center wore down fast. The Contis have worn evenly over 6,000 miles and provide great stiffness and grip. I love the Contis, I'll put these tires on the bike until it stops rolling.

 

If anyone was curious I got 18,000 miles out of the Road Attack 3's rear, front is still doing fine. Will run these tires until the bike dies. 

[longrider1951]

I work in a shop and the mushroom patches are the only ones we'll do. Just be aware that the labor to install a patch or to mount a new tire is the same. If the tire is more than 1/2 worn replace it.

[shinyribs]

On 6/18/2021 at 3:51 PM, noodles said:

If anyone was curious I got 18,000 miles out of the Road Attack 3's rear, front is still doing fine. Will run these tires until the bike dies. 

18,000 miles!? Teach me your secrets!

[Pursuvant]

Read up on the diff patch types just so you know. But most important, put together a small tire patch kit and carry it, your pen flashlight, and quality pocket folding knife. Carry it, you can save yourself and others a lot of trouble, and it costs almost nothing.

Like Diz here

[shinyribs]

8 hours ago, Pursuvant said:

Read up on the diff patch types just so you know. But most important, put together a small tire patch kit and carry it, your pen flashlight, and quality pocket folding knife. Carry it, you can save yourself and others a lot of trouble, and it costs almost nothing.

Like Diz here

Plugged two tires recently. One on the tractor and one on the work truck (10,000lb step van).Had to patch two dirt bike tubes today.  I'd be broke if I didn't have rope plugs and patches to keep things rolling around here! 

 

My current rear inner tube on the dirt bike has 7 patches on it now. I'll never be convinced that patches and plugs won't hold up. 

[Pursuvant]

1 hour ago, shinyribs said:

My current rear inner tube on the dirt bike has 7 patches on it now. "> 

You mean your patch has seven pieces of inner tube on it