The Big FJR Tire Poll

[cometman]

Angel rear 2 up spec. and angel front are doing very very well. I like them. 2nd rear and 1st front. Will be needing a 2nd front soon.

 

[MGB]

Really happy with the PR2's on both my old R1100RS and my FJR. Getting good mileage out of them too.

 

[gt4rcdude]

Just spooned on a set of PR3's. Never fails to amaze me what a new set of skins does for a bike.

 

[FJRBluesman]

I love tire threads! Thanks for letting play.

 

[dragonchef]

I run a pilot power 2 on the front and have been switching between PR2 and PP2 in the rear. The powers are definately more fun. On the fronts, I get @ 7k, but the rears are good for just under 5k. My first PR2 I got almost 10K, but the one I just changed out MOnday had 7500 on it (this is after I went with the Race Tech suspension....hmmm...).

So my plan is to go back to the PP2 in the rear for the next few tires...I'm sure they will go quicker with the new suspension, but then again, I only ride for pleasure...

 

[beemerdons]

I love tire threads! Thanks for letting play.

Who in the Hell is this FJRBluesman guy?

 

[wabill]

Dunlop Roadsmarts front and rear and still looking good with over 7000 miles on them.

 

[McRide]

Conti Motion rear gone at 8,000 and front replaced at 11,000. Front has a few thousand left but I'm on some rides that will take them over so, better now than then.

 

[squeezer]

I voted for Pirelli Angels because they are actually my favorite tires, but I use just as many PR2s as Angels because the PR2s last a lot longer and I like to take long rides that I would not be able to complete on a set of Angels.

Yeah, this, though I voted for PR2s, so we balance out.

Angels are on there right now because I'm on a couple year hiatus from LD rallying and wasn't going to take a long tour this year. PR3's will probably go on next because I haven't tried them yet.

So, Fred, how the heck have you kept this out of NEPRT for almost two months?!? :lol:

 

[bikerkash]

I have recently went though my first set of Z8 Metzelers. They felt as good or better than the Z6's. The biggest issue I had with the Z6's was the lack of a "Wear Bar" so tires had to be replaced by understanding the app. mileage you could get. The Z8's looked like they would be better at judging wear. At 5500 miles I picked up a nail in the rear tire but the tire appeared to have good tread left on it. What I found is the Z8 front tire was starting to cup rather bad because of, what I believe, the new tread pattern. I have went though many sets of Z6 tires and it was always the rear tire that was wore out and the front always look good and would probably go another 3 to 4 thousand miles. The Z8 would not have done that because of the cupping that was very appearent at 5500 miles. I have decided to try a Z8 rear and a Z6 front and see how that combo wears.

 

[airboss]

Surly, thanks for finding this poll.

Wonder what's changed since 2011?

 

[jmgrif]

After the disastrous BT 021 (bike came with them) I went to PR 2's. Now on my second set PR 3's. I would choose either but really like the 3's in the wet. I get about the same mileage with both? About 15,500kms rear and 17,500kms front.

 

[Duezzer]

Well I must be an odd bear out - I tried the PR2s and really did not like them, Front turned into a 3 sided POS. Low speed handling was the pits and high speed had some issues. Lasted, you bet they did. I will give them that.

Looking for anything that is not a dual compound - That has to be the stupidest idea yet.

I would rather ride a head shaking Conti Motion before I put another PR2 on my bike.

Maybe I got a bad one but the ones we put on the wife's EX650 are doing the same thing

What out there any more is not dual compound.

Avon?

 

[RossKean]

I finally got around to changing out my over-used and very squared off PR2's. Great durability but the last few thousand miles were a bit ugly. Since this thread has been "refreshed", I thought I would add another tire to the mix. Just installed the relatively new Pirelli Angel GT. (rear tire "A" spec) First impressions (10 miles) are favorable but ANY tire would feel better than the worn out piece of crap that was on the bike. Hope its a good one!

 

[Fred W]

Well I must be an odd bear out - I tried the PR2s and really did not like them, Front turned into a 3 sided POS. Low speed handling was the pits and high speed had some issues. Lasted, you bet they did. I will give them that.Looking for anything that is not a dual compound - That has to be the stupidest idea yet.

I would rather ride a head shaking Conti Motion before I put another PR2 on my bike.

Maybe I got a bad one but the ones we put on the wife's EX650 are doing the same thing

What out there any more is not dual compound.

Avon?

As you can read above, this poll was done a couple of years ago. At that time there were no Bridgestone BT023GTs, Pirelli Angel GTs or new Avon Storm II's.

You complain about the Michelin Pilot 2 tires but then only describe the fault with the front one. IMO you are right and that is the reason that I use the Bridgestone GT on the front with the PR2 on the back. The Bridgestone will cup, over time, but it doesn't tend to triangulate as severely at the PR2 (for me). I have been mixing tire brands on the FJR since back when the original Roadsmarts came out. The rears really were the best wearing tires at that time and the fronts were total POS.

If you really want a non dual compound front the Pirelli Agel ST is single compound, and I've heard some relatively good reviews on it. Or you could try running a sportier tire up front like a Pilot Power (not Pilot Power 2 which is dual compound). It is a good match for a PR2 rear. The PP front will wear out at just about the same mileage as a PR2 rear, which is nice if you are paying for tire changes.

I finally got around to changing out my over-used and very squared off PR2's. Great durability but the last few thousand miles were a bit ugly. Since this thread has been "refreshed", I thought I would add another tire to the mix. Just installed the relatively new Pirelli Angel GT. (rear tire "A" spec) First impressions (10 miles) are favorable but ANY tire would feel better than the worn out piece of crap that was on the bike. Hope its a good one!

Curious why you went for the A spec, Ross, being that you only ride 1-up. Looking forward to your long term impressions. I used to run the Pirelli Diablo Strada's (single compound) on the front end exclusively when they were still available. Perhaps the Angel GT front would be a good match for some of the other longer wearing rear dual compound tire as mentioned above as well.

 

[RossKean]

Curious why you went for the A spec, Ross, being that you only ride 1-up. Looking forward to your long term impressions. I used to run the Pirelli Diablo Strada's (single compound) on the front end exclusively when they were still available. Perhaps the Angel GT front would be a good match for some of the other longer wearing rear dual compound tire as mentioned above as well.

There is very little information out there on the tire and what I have read suggests that the "A spec" tire is more appropriate for heavier sport-touring bikes. (Heavier clearly describes the FJR). I have never bothered with the heavier spec tires for PR2's or anything else. While I don't ride 2-up, I am not petite and often carry up to 50 lb or so of luggage and camping gear. For a first try with this new tire, I thought I would err on the side of possible overkill rather than risk running into difficulties. I will run these for awhile and see how they work for me. If I like them, I would probably try the regular version and save a few bucks. Was a bitch to mount the rear - much worse than PR2 or PR3.

I will report back on them after a few thousand miles. I hope that they don't develop the "Michelin trapezoid" too early in their life!

 

[Mr Bill]

Curious why you went for the A spec, Ross, being that you only ride 1-up. Looking forward to your long term impressions. I used to run the Pirelli Diablo Strada's (single compound) on the front end exclusively when they were still available. Perhaps the Angel GT front would be a good match for some of the other longer wearing rear dual compound tire as mentioned above as well.

I'll be able to report on the GT regular spec in a few weeks. I have a set mounted waiting to be shredded at EOM. Hope they last the trip. The old Angel didn't make it home from EOM two years ago on my or S76's bike.

 

[fastpappy]

Well I must be an odd bear out - I tried the PR2s and really did not like them, Front turned into a 3 sided POS. Low speed handling was the pits and high speed had some issues. Lasted, you bet they did. I will give them that.Looking for anything that is not a dual compound - That has to be the stupidest idea yet.

I would rather ride a head shaking Conti Motion before I put another PR2 on my bike.

Maybe I got a bad one but the ones we put on the wife's EX650 are doing the same thing

What out there any more is not dual compound.

Avon?

I've been running the Z8s which i think is an improvement over the Z6s which came on my bike. I got 11,500 out of the 6s and there was still some left in the rear when I swapped them out but the front was toast. I decided to do both because I wanted the matched set. About 4,000 on the 8s at this point and looking good no appreciable signs of wear. If I'm not mistaken they are a single compound. YMMV.

 

[Fred W]

I've been running the Z8s which i think is an improvement over the Z6s which came on my bike. I got 11,500 out of the 6s and there was still some left in the rear when I swapped them out but the front was toast. I decided to do both because I wanted the matched set. About 4,000 on the 8s at this point and looking good no appreciable signs of wear. If I'm not mistaken they are a single compound. YMMV.

The Z8 interact is a dual compound rear but single compound front tyre.

 

[Bungie]

Conti Road Attack GT2's. Good stuff. Single compound, stick like glue, great turn in. Had them installed at EOM'12. Took them off the bike in July in preparation for a trip to Alaska. Approximately 5000 miles on them with about half depth remaining on the rear. The front was cupped, which I believe is entirely my fault - Let the tire pressure get to low for to long. Bad Steve. Other than making a bit of noise because of the cupping, stick and handling remained.

I'd expect to get 8000 miles out of these tires pretty easily. Just for reference, I usually get between 10-12K miles out of a PR2.

Unfortunately, their still off the bike as the bike has been replaced with a 2013 and still has the car tire and PR3 front on it. These will be removed and the Conti's put back on before sale. The PR3 front has about a 1000 miles on it, and I have a brand new, never installed BSpec in the shed. Both these tire will be installed on the '13 before EOM '13.

ExtremeMarine is currently running the RA GT'2. Maybe see what he thinks of them after blasting around SE Ohio/WV.