R1150R tires again!

[Hank_B]

Ok, so i need tires for my low mile 04 r1150r. I live and ride on Long Island, so not so much off road for me. From $150 shenko pairs to $400 Perelli pairs , im a little overwelmed. Any body have experience with dunlap roadsmart2's? Michelin's website recomends 2ct's Too many choices! Any recomendations and anecdotal observations would be appreciated!

Hank

[towerworker]

I ran Shinko 009's for about the last 50K when I changed to Shinko 705's (dual sport) on my '04 R. I switched to the 705 because of the occasional dirt and gravel road I'd find myself on here in Va. And I ran them out to Texas and back last spring. I was very happy with them. They're not as smooth as a pure street tire of course but the milage life over shadowed that. About 15K on the front and 12K on the rear. But back to the 009.....I was always very pleased with the performance and tread life, 6-8K rear and 10K or so on the front.

[Buckster]

I have been very happy with any of the Pilot Road series tire from Michelin. Long lasting and good grip even in the rain. I have the Roadsmart II with a little over 1000 miles and they have been good so far although I have not been in the rain with them yet. They were less than the PR but I'll have to wait to see if they last as long.

[Bogdan]

I managed to get a couple hundred short of 10K miles on a set of Pirelli Angel GTs - at that point they were definitely finished.I liked the way they rode/handled in all situations. I then mounted a set of Pirelli GT's next generation - the GT II. On these, the sideways are very stiff; they may last longer. However, if you mount yourself be forewarned. They were the most difficult tires I've ever installed.

[Hank_B]

Buckster , the pilot roads dont come in my rear size (170/60r17), but the dunlaps do, so maybe ill try them. Thanks

[swamper]

Roadsmarts 2 will get the job done but the Pirelli Angel GT's have much better performance in every category.

[two wheel tango]

Buckster , the pilot roads dont come in my rear size (170/60r17), but the dunlaps do, so maybe ill try them. Thanks

I think you're probably referring to latest Michelin Road 5. The previous versions were branded Pilot Road (4 & lower) and were available in 170/60. But not so with the Road 5, at least not at first glance....

The Road 5 Trail is available in 170/60. Don't let the name throw you off... It's a 100% road tire with the exact same tread pattern is the standard Road 5. I think it's just a marketing name for big adventure bikes that never go off road. I suspect it does not have a stiffer carcass like the GT version. But actually unclear on the precise differences between the standard Road 5, Trail & GT versions-not much info to be had.

I know because I just mounted a set this week... Standard version on the front, trail version on the rear. They were expensive.... but so far they feel fantastic will see how the hold up mileage wise.

[swamper]

Trail is labeled for the adventure bike sizes, it's the same as standard.

[sweatmark]

Thought I'd add recent tire performance impression:

Based on Wayne's and Mike's enthusiastic recommendations about Shinko Raven 009 tires, I bought a set during the following discussion:
http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f ... lit=shinko

Well, those tires have been sitting in dark garage until 2 weeks ago. Equipped my Rockster2 with the Shinkos and have put 2000 miles on the bike over the past week, including a multi-day run around the edges of Oregon, and blasts into the mountains and out to the coast.

For comparison, I've used all of the Pilot Road series on R1150 bikes, and have Road 5s on my K1300. Also burned through sets of Dunlop Q2s and Q3s, plus a few metzelers and pirellis. And I'm quite impressed with these low-buck Shinkos! The front's very round profile works well with current Rockster's geometry and suspension, and wet grip was better than expected during wet run through mountain roads on Sunday 6/28.

FWIW

[peels]

shinko 009 "raven"

Ive been pleased. best value by far. Have a rear getting bare, will be replaced by another.

[riceburner]

I still like Pirellis on the Rockster. Currently running (iirc) Angel STs.

[colewj]

Just my $.02
Most of my riding is in Western NY.
I've used Bridgestone T30 EVO's on my '03 R1150R for a few years and have been very happy with all aspects of their performance.