Winter Tyre Choice - Would You Change?

dangermouse425 · 11 Feb 2015 at 15:12

It's that time of year when all the Ducatis hide away in their warm garages, cuddled up next to the fire, waiting for the summer months.

All of us real bikers are still thrashing our bikes around in the cold and rain like madmen, which is admirable, but I'm beginning to wonder whether my tyres should be changed for the conditions?

My 2007 Street Triple R currently has a pair of Dunlop SportSmart2s on, but I'm contemplating swapping to something different for the cold winter months with all the grit and crap on the roads?

Dunlop RoadSmart? Bridgestone Battleax T30s? Michelin Pilot Road 3s? - Will these be significantly better than my current setup for cold and wet riding?

Any thoughts?

TallPaul_S · 11 Feb 2015 at 15:27

Not sure what sort of tyre the SportSMart2's are - but for all year round/all weather/winter use: Pilot Road 3/4. To be honest I'd run these year round on a daily use bike, then leave the sport rubber for the weekend toy. Chances are if you commute on the Street you'll ride in the rain, the wet grip of pilot roads are meant to be hard to beat.

eidolon · 11 Feb 2015 at 15:41

I've had T30s and Pilot Road 3s previously and currently have Pirelli Angel GTs. If I'm honest I can't really tell the difference between them as they're all good in both dry and wet weather.

eidolon · 11 Feb 2015 at 15:41

I know one thing for sure though, the standard BT016s that came with my Street Triple were horrible in the wet.

wazza300 · 11 Feb 2015 at 15:51

can only recommend one trye atm,best ive used so far

Pirelli angel

aint used the pilot 3/4 yet,cant remember if my bike came with them on tho? but was a little bit meh imo,angel #1 for me so far all year round riding

ttaskmaster · 11 Feb 2015 at 15:55

TallPaul_S said:
the wet grip of pilot roads are meant to be hard to beat.

Depends on the bike... and how you ride.
Road Pilot 3s are good on big, heavy tourer types, but do wear quite quickly in the Summer.

I quite like Metzeler and Avons, myself.

acemastr · 11 Feb 2015 at 17:12

eidolon said:
I know one thing for sure though, the standard BT016s that came with my Street Triple were horrible in the wet.

I found them horrible in every condition, even a 90f day here with the sun beating down lol

TallPaul_S · 11 Feb 2015 at 17:21

My bike has a BT021 rear and BT016 front. I fell off in slippy damp winter conditions with not that much braking, due to the front locking.

Hmm...

MADMAN69UK · 11 Feb 2015 at 22:59

I have Angel GT's on my Speedy

Also stuck them on my Fireblade last year, -4C being the lowest I rode it in

Ghosteh · 11 Feb 2015 at 23:23

Metzeler Racetec K3's for me... I don't ride much in winter anymore

.

I used to ride my Bandit with BT016 or 021, can't remember which, all year round and I found them to be fine. That said, I didn't have much experience to compare them to, but I rode in the snow with them and I didn't bin it, so can't be too bad lol.

~Dockie · 12 Feb 2015 at 02:49

Just gone through the winter on Conti sport attacks. Best tyres i've had, even through all the cold weather. felt just as good as the pilot roads i had on last year.

Fireskull · 12 Feb 2015 at 09:41

Currently running Sportsmarts 2 also on the GSXR, they don't really like this weather but I am not planning on changing

If I was to change it would most likely to be to the new Road Pilot's for this weather.

Yaayuh! · 12 Feb 2015 at 11:42

I definitely want to try different tyres after my slip. I like the looks of the Pilot Road 3/4, but how are they in the dry/sun?

Dogbreath · 12 Feb 2015 at 14:42

acemastr said:
I found them horrible in every condition, even a 90f day here with the sun beating down lol

I have BT016's on my Fireblade (very few choices due to 16" front) and they are fine, never had a scary moment due to them.

Scythe · 12 Feb 2015 at 19:25

Rossi~ said:
I definitely want to try different tyres after my slip. I like the looks of the Pilot Road 3/4, but how are they in the dry/sun?

They're great in the dry/summer for moderately fast riding, but are also one of the better (if not best) if the wet on the road.

Ish · 12 Feb 2015 at 23:21

I use PR3s on my Ninja and find them good for all types of road riding whether that be commuting in the rain or blasting round the A roads in summer.

ConTRo13R · 13 Feb 2015 at 11:56

I went through the end of last winter with Bridgestone T30's, being the first tyres i have ever tried i felt they were good, handled well, did need to be a bit careful in the wet though or the cold until they were warm. Dunlops i hated, very slippery during summer so went back to my part worn T30's and i managed just under 9,000 miles legally on them. I did an extra 1000 and a lot of burn outs and the treads are almost shadows in the middle, but they are still very grippy in the dry. After the T30's i went for the PR4's the front went on first and currently has 8000ish on it and is almost 1mm of the wear indicators, probably wont last long into spring tbh, but through this winter these tyres have really inspired confidence in the wet, i am able to get leans in the wet that are simply stupid, they warm up very quickly even after just a few braking cycles. but at 3-4 in the morning they do go cold quickly if stuck at lights. But they warm up very quickly so its not a problem. Il probably buy one more PR4 for the front to last with the rear until summer and see how well they perform/last through the hot weather

dangermouse425 · 13 Feb 2015 at 18:51

I felt the back end start to slip as I went around a corner last weekend (low speed, but from cold, so may have leaned it over a bit too far, but I certainly wasn't trying to get my knee down or anything, just pootling along!) so I've really had my confidence in my current rubber smashed. That's why I'm asking.

Tefal · 13 Feb 2015 at 20:08

I run pereli (spelling?) Angels gt/st all year

Tefal · 13 Feb 2015 at 20:10

TallPaul_S said:
My bike has a BT021 rear and BT016 front. I fell off in slippy damp winter conditions with not that much braking, due to the front locking.

Hmm...

I had bt21 before I changed didn't like them at all they just felt oddly hard like they weren't gripping the road like riding with solid plastic wheels instead of rubber tyres