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Talking to the parts guy at Browns Motor Works in Pomona he tells me that they are selling alot of MIchelin Road Pilots. They are about $20 more per set than the Z6's.

I am riding about 30 miles per day on freeways now, not as much percentage in the twisties as before. Freeways here are all heavily grooved, & in LA its suicidal to ride in the wet (I think alot of drivers actually speed up in the rain), so unless I'm caught out unexpectedly, rain riding is not a huge consideration.

I've been very happy with the Z6's, got 6,500 miles out of them, so not sure why to change to the Road Pilots if I do.

Any ideas?

Tires again. Yawn. Here again is my predictable pitch for Pirelli...

If you like the Z6, and if Pirelli owns Metzler (from recent thread:http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=4236), why not try Stradas if they are even less expensive?

A couple of reviews:
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/07octobe ... strada.htm

&

Jerry's (Pirate's Lair) review (copy/paste): Pirelli Strada Sport Touring Tires: My Review

The search for the perfect all-around tire.. Ahhh.. Like Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail..or Jude Law's quest for the perfect nanny.. you wonder if it's there really is such a thing.. or just a myth. Opinions on what's the best sport touring tire are all over the board and for good reason. A tire that works great in Florida or Ohio where the roads are flat and boring may suck in Northern Kaleefornia or Virginia and vice versa. Like choosing a woman, each of our needs are defined by our expectations and/or sick demented desires.. Higher mileage? The ultimate stick? Decent mileage AND stick? A woman that laughs at your jokes and wears Chanel No 5? Or a slut in a nun's habit, stiletto heels, and a cat-woman mask?

Most of us are looking for a good compromise.. and I think I have found one... in both my wife Amber and the all new Pirelli Strada Extended Mileage Sport Touring Tire.

I have less than 1000 miles on my first set but unlike every other tire I have tried in the past... Dunlops 205's & 7's, Metzeler MEZ-4's & M-1's, Michelins Pilots, Conti's, Pirelli Diablos, Corsa, & Super Corsa's, etc... these show virtually zero wear yet stick virtually as good as all but the super soft compound tires I've tried. As with all Pirelli tires, the feel is perfectly neutral with no surprises. Handling at triple digit speeds (or so I have heard.. wink wink.. nudge.. nudge) is rock solid. Warm-up is quick and peg/shift lever dragging lean angles are effortless. Pricing is even pretty damn good. You can find them all over the www at under $190 a pair. If you want to try something different next time around... you'll not be disappointed. I'll post updates as to long term mileage in a month or so.

I'm giving 'em a go on my KR now in hopes of getting a little more mileage

I had Pilot Roads on my Roadster. They're an excellent tire too. It was my first set of Michelins on the RR but I sold the bike when they were almost new so I can't comment on their lifespan. I do, however, remember liking the Diablos more.

Metzler, Michelin, Pirelli - I don't think there's a bad choice between the Z6, Pilot Road, and Diablo/Strada...

Either are good. I always thought the R felt about as good as it gets with the Z6's.

All I can tell you about recent vintage Michelins is that the Pilot Powers on my Speed triple are TITZ!
Dean-O says the Pilot Roads grip virtually as well on the street and last longer.

Tires, tires, tires...

Rob, first off, I'm with rivi777 on this one... Pirelli most assurdedly *DOES* own Metzler, and the Pirelli Diablo's he mentions do look like virtual clones of the Z-6's. Since the Pirelli's can be had cheaper, I would go for them...

That is, *IF* that was the direction I was drawn to...

That said, I only got 4,068 miles out of a rear Z-6 before I struck cords, and that's even worse than the friggin' OEM Dunlop's!

My next set of tires will be Michelin Pilot Roads... If for no other reason than I will be trying something different.

Just my rubber nickels...

Cheers!

Dallara

Hola, long time no post. My two cents would be go with the Pilots. I have a pair on my R and my ST. They grip excellent in corners, rain, etc. They get WAAAAAAAAAYYYYyyyyyy better mileage than a set of Z6's. The performance difference between the two does not warrant the loss in mileage. And, besides...with the Z6 you really don't know how much life you have left, especially if you're doing a lot of freeway riding, because there 'aint squat in the middle of the tire to put a wear indicator. Silly.

I agree about the wear indicator situation on the Z6's. Its like a stress issue, when will that cord be popping up?

So you tend to ride them to the cords, & then need a pronto replacement.

I think the Z6 tread wear indicator is the shiney steel belt showing through!

I am leaning to trying the Road Pilots just for a change. Can't say I'm unhappy with the z6's though.

Cords...

Yep! That was the wear indicator on my Z-6. Funny thing is that before I departed for the Big Bend ride the tire looked to me to be more than capable of doing another 1,000-1,200 miles or so...

Thank goodness I *DID* trailer out there instead of riding... I originally thought I would *just* wear the tire out if I rode out there, rode around, and then back home.

We did some miles out in Big Bend, but it wasn't *THAT* many (I can't recall how many right at this moment...), and the tire toasted through to the cords when we still had 80 miles to get back to Alpine!

Literally, it looked fine when we set out that morning, and was *GONE* 100-150 miles or so later.

That one drawback alone is enough to make me pop for the Michelin's - where you have some tread going across the center of tire for reference - instead of the Metzler/Pirelli's.

Could I have made it the 530 or so miles home from Big Bend with the cord showing???

Probably...

Would I have enjoyed it, liked it, or been completely comfortable with it???

Not a chance.

Just my two rubber tree plants...

Cheers!

Dallara

Exactly what Fernando told me at Brown in Pomona that sold me on the Michelins...you don't know they're gone until cords are showing. Too many people kept coming back and telling him that. So, as we stood there looking at the R one day in for service...it became obvious. The pucker factor of doing 80/90+ through the desert backroads on a worn Z6 just didn't seem worth it. Put them on the R that day...put them on the ST a year later. Love 'em.

Pizzaman, Dallara,

I'll be going Michelins this time.

Sunday morn. I took a ride up Angeles Crest Hwy, about 70 miles of serious twisties. Looked very carefully at the rear tire before the ride. All ok. Looked very carefully at the tire after the ride.

There were a few "crazed" areas on the centerline, I'm sure the reult of harder than needed downshifts (I know, not great riding technique, but I used to kind of like the chirp & resultant "squiggle" of the rear end, probably from my dirt bike days). On this set of tires I've tried to be very much more carefull on downshifts, because if I'm not trying to be, I still sometimes "chirp" the rear tire. That has to but alot of extra wear on the tires, and I think my extra care has rewarded me with the 6,500 miles of tire life. Anyway, I'm sure those crazed areas were the result of excessibe engine braking on harder than needed poo. Looking into the crazes on the tire, I could just see some steel braiding gleaming down there. Not on the surface of the tire, but not to deep either.

I wonder if the Z6 dual compound is set up in such a way that the soft sides extend all the way to completely under a harder strip in the middle. Wear through that harder top strip, & then watch out, that soft center just melts away. I've not seen the "crazing" on the centerline before Sunday. Really kind of looks like a different rubber compund.

So 70 miles was the difference between seeing cord & not. Not good. As best I can tell I still have a tiny bit of tire to go before at least one of the tread indicators on the side. I agree with Dallara that its just not worth it to not be able to judge that center wear. Especially if comperable tires exist with more normal tread pattern for about the same $$.

I do have to agree with Bones though, I've really liked the Z6's for ridability.

You guys switching to Pilot Roads are going to love them, I am getting 5 to 5,500 miles on the rear on the ST and I always switch them out BEFORE the wear markers say that it is time. I figure that the way that I ride......I need all the help that I can get.