Sport touring tire recommendations

[Priller]

So as mentioned in another thread, the tires that came with my Moto Guzzi Griso are pretty square and old, so it's time to get baby a new pair of shoes.

I'm curious what experience others have had with sport touring tires on relatively heavy bikes? I've been on sporty bikes most of my life, so have never paid much attention to mileage, but in this case, it's definitely a factor. The other factor is I mostly won't be riding hard enough to warm up a truly sporty tire.

My last (and favourite ever) set was some Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II's, which managed to be decent on the road, survive a couple of trackdays, and otherwise match perfectly with the Tuono. They were so much better than the Diablo Rosso III's (Pirelli's tire naming is insane) that came with the Tuono, which was a surprise to me, though I'm not sure if Aprilia plays some of the shenanigans that the Japanese factories do with the OEM tires being crappier. But those are pure sport tires, and not ideal for a Moto Guzzi. I used to run Dunlops on my ZX-10R, but more for price than performance (my dealership at the time offered amazing pricing on Dunlops), and went through a set of Bridgestone BT-016's that were the only tires I've ever genuinely hated.

For ST tires, MCN loves the Metzelers, but I have read elsewhere that the stellar feedback and grip tends to fade while the Michelins stay the same throughout their longer lifespan (especially for the Road 6). Pirelli Angel GT II's are also mentioned as a solid choice.

Here is my shortlist with pricing for a set from Revco:

- Michelin Road 5: $498
- Michelin Road 6: $545
- Metzeler Roadtec 01 SE: $460
- Pirelli Angel GT II: $468

At nearly $100 more, the Road 6's aren't the value choice, but I've also read they last longer than the others.

Anyway, if anyone has first-hand experience with tires in this category, I'm all ears.

 

[Evoex]

i liked the Road 5 more then the Angel 2s previously

 

[Baggsy]

I like the Road 6.

 

[TK4]

I like soup.

 

[PacoT]

I really love the Road 5 tires! I had them on my bike when I was in Mexico, and they were great for my daily commute, rain or shine. Even when I got caught in some heavy downpours on those twisty roads to Puebla or Veracruz, I never felt like I was losing grip. I put about 12,000 to 15,000 kilometers on them before I moved to Canada, and they still had some tread left.

My Tiger came with the Road 5s right from the factory, and they’ve lasted 16,000 kilometers so far on Ontario’s straight roads, with some life still in them.

Just a heads-up, though—I’m not the fastest on twisties, so I can’t really speak to how sporty they are.

 

[ljtenkor]

I’ve liked the Road 5 and now 6. I bought mainly on durability and all weather performance and was not let down. Before the Road 5s, the bike had some marginal Bridgestones that didn’t inspire confidence in the wet (don’t remember the model).

 

[Priller]

Hmmm, lots of Michelin love. Out of curiosity, has anyone tried the Metzelers? MCN loves them, ranking them first in 2020 and again very recently (test here). They rank the Michelins third, behind the Pirellis, but they are also on a sportier bike than mine, and in the UK, where the weather is more like BC than here. Fortnine also ranked Metzelers top back in 2017, for what that's worth.

There's also a brand new Roadtec 02 that's apparently just come out, but I don't see it for sale in any Canadian shops just yet. It is reported to be, as expected, "even better!" I suspect the North American distribution is trying to be rid of the 01 SE's sitting on the shelf before adding the 02's, as they are available in Europe...

Seems like it comes down to those two for now, will give it a bit and see if the 02's come to Canada and how the pricing lines up, I think.

 

[Lightcycle]

Hmmm, lots of Michelin love. Out of curiosity, has anyone tried the Metzelers?

Got the Roadtec Z8s on the R1250RS. I think our old RT1200ST had Z6s. Took that out on the track once. It was fine.

I'm not super-aggressive with the RS (got Diablo Supercorsa Pros on the Hyper which last me 6K kms ), so what I value in ST tires is longevity. The Z8s are dual compound which contributes to both tire life and edge grip. Got about 12K kms on the rear, lots of meat left so I think I'll be good for about 15K of good riding before I need to think about changing it out.

Wouldn't put these on a superbike, but the bike computer says I'm regularly getting 45-48° of lean angle on twisties and sweepers with a good hanging off style to boot. I don't push it in the rain or in freezing temps, so zero pucker moments as of yet. The performance is more than adequate for me.

 

[Priller]

Got the Roadtec Z8s on the R1250RS. I think our old RT1200ST had Z6s. Took that out on the track once. It was fine.

I'm not super-aggressive with the RS (got Diablo Supercorsa Pros on the Hyper which last me 6K kms ), so what I value in ST tires is longevity. The Z8s are dual compound which contributes to both tire life and edge grip. Got about 12K kms on the rear, lots of meat left so I think I'll be good for about 15K of good riding before I need to think about changing it out.

Wouldn't put these on a superbike, but the bike computer says I'm regularly getting 45-48° of lean angle on twisties and sweepers with a good hanging off style to boot. I don't push it in the rain or in freezing temps, so zero pucker moments as of yet. The performance is more than adequate for me.

Very, very good to know, especially about the longevity. I'd be happy with 15,000 kms in exchange for some decent grip.

I think 45 degrees is probably close to as far over as the Guzzi gets anyway, though I was watching some videos of a guy who calls himself The Maestro on YouTube, and he was hustling one pretty good. (Much as I wanted to roll my eyes at a guy who unironically calls himself The Maestro, I have to admit, he knows how to ride on the road. Incidentally, some of those videos made the thought of living in California almost tempting. Those roads and that weather in the winter!)

If I'd kept the Aprilia, it would have been due some new tires this winter, and that would have been about 6,000 kms as well. Middle was fine, but the carbon black edges were toast, enough that they had developed a bit of a step between compounds. The two track days did most of the damage, to be fair.

 

[Sunday Rider]

I’ve had the Metzler Roadtec 6 on the back and Michelin PR3 on the front and got long mileage 16,000 km and the front still had life. The Metzler was good in the rain even when tread was way down. This was a few years ago.
I’m running Dunlop Roadsmart 3 front and back and like them too so far.

The ST1100 is a heavy bike 700 lbs I think.

Many riders on the ST forums also like the Bridgestone BT32

 

[STARSHIP]

Have been running Dunlop Road Smart 4 on my similarly heavy naked 2017 BMW R1200R

Have also had the previous Roadsmart 3 prior and Michelin Road 4 and 5

Did not like the Road 4 OEM tire and then changed to Road 5 and now have been on Dunlops for the last few changes.

 

[shanekingsley]

Here’s a side by side comparison of the Road 5 and 6.
I bounce back and forth between the two and like them for wet grip, dry grip and cold grip. I also like the tread pattern that very easily lets me know when I’m getting low on tread in the middle of the tire, whereas I see that some tread patterns on other tires don’t have very good wear bars right down the middle.

For pricing, I keep seeing them pop up on Marketplace as brand new tires for cheap. My next set to go on is a set of the Road 5GT which I bought for $400. My last Road 6 rear was $200 and so on…

Michelin Road 5 tires opinions

I'll add, I'm hoping to get the XR to a trackday this year and it'll also have the Road 5's on it for that like many others here have done. Dry road grip isn't an issue with them and their wet grip is pretty awesome too (I don't go looking to ride in the rain but I've been caught in it).

www.gtamotorcycle.com

 

[Priller]

For pricing, I keep seeing them pop up on Marketplace as brand new tires for cheap. My next set to go on is a set of the Road 5GT which I bought for $400. My last Road 6 rear was $200 and so on…

I'll keep my eyes peeled. Have seen a few, but they've either been really old (2017), the wrong size (need 180/55 rear), or with too much wear (if I'm going to pay for install, I want new tires).

Incidentally, aren't the GT's for heavyweight touring bikes? Will be curious if the supposedly stiffer carcass affects the feel it if it's just marketing bumpf.

Pirelli also sells an A-Spec version of the Angel GT II's for heavier bikes, but I can't seem to find either them or the regular ones available. I even checked the Pirelli site to see if they had a newer model or something, but they don't, and they recommended the Diablo Rosso IV Corsa's as the top fitment for my bike! Jeez, I'm not doing trackdays, Pirelli ..

 

[Mad Mike]

So as mentioned in another thread, the tires that came with my Moto Guzzi Griso are pretty square and old, so it's time to get baby a new pair of shoes.

I'm curious what experience others have had with sport touring tires on relatively heavy bikes? I've been on sporty bikes most of my life, so have never paid much attention to mileage, but in this case, it's definitely a factor. The other factor is I mostly won't be riding hard enough to warm up a truly sporty tire.

My last (and favourite ever) set was some Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II's, which managed to be decent on the road, survive a couple of trackdays, and otherwise match perfectly with the Tuono. They were so much better than the Diablo Rosso III's (Pirelli's tire naming is insane) that came with the Tuono, which was a surprise to me, though I'm not sure if Aprilia plays some of the shenanigans that the Japanese factories do with the OEM tires being crappier. But those are pure sport tires, and not ideal for a Moto Guzzi. I used to run Dunlops on my ZX-10R, but more for price than performance (my dealership at the time offered amazing pricing on Dunlops), and went through a set of Bridgestone BT-016's that were the only tires I've ever genuinely hated.

For ST tires, MCN loves the Metzelers, but I have read elsewhere that the stellar feedback and grip tends to fade while the Michelins stay the same throughout their longer lifespan (especially for the Road 6). Pirelli Angel GT II's are also mentioned as a solid choice.

Here is my shortlist with pricing for a set from Revco:

- Michelin Road 5: $498
- Michelin Road 6: $545
- Metzeler Roadtec 01 SE: $460
- Pirelli Angel GT II: $468

At nearly $100 more, the Road 6's aren't the value choice, but I've also read they last longer than the others.

Anyway, if anyone has first-hand experience with tires in this category, I'm all ears.

I’ve ridden on all of those, my favorites were the metzlers, but I had them on a mid weight and not Gt carcasses.

Ive run all versions of RP (4,5&6) on heavies. Very good wet.

The GTs are worth the extra for a heavy ST. They are much longer lived, I got almost double the miles out of GTs and they don’t get ans flattened if you’re running big boring miles.

 

[Priller]

I’ve ridden on all of those, my favorites were the metzlers, but I had them on a mid weight and not Gt carcasses.

Ive run all versions of RP (4,5&6) on heavies. Very good wet.

The GTs are worth the extra for a heavy ST. They are much longer lived, I got almost double the miles out of GTs and they don’t get ans flattened if you’re running big boring miles.

Thanks for this! Good to know the GT's are genuinely different, as well as a comparison to the Metzelers. Did you find the Metzelers wore differently than the Michelins?

The Griso is likely around 540 lbs wet with the aftermarket exhaust and a few other mods, but I make up the difference. Together we're probably on the edge between the GT's and the regular 6's. Unlike Michelin and Pirelli, Metzeler doesn't seem to sell different variants of either the Roadtec 01 SE's or the 02's for heavier bikes, though...

 

[Mad Mike]

Thanks for this! Good to know the GT's are genuinely different, as well as a comparison to the Metzelers. Did you find the Metzelers wore differently than the Michelins?

The Griso is likely around 540 lbs wet with the aftermarket exhaust and a few other mods, but I make up the difference. Together we're probably on the edge between the GT's and the regular 6's. Unlike Michelin and Pirelli, Metzeler doesn't seem to sell different variants of either the Roadtec 01 SE's or the 02's for heavier bikes, though...

Can’t say apples to apples, the Metzlers were on my Vstrom middle weight, the RPs on heavies - a Hayabusa and FJR.

I had GTs on the Busa and FJR, and non GT on the FJR (before they made GTs). I will only go GT on the heavies, longer life.

I ride hard, but not like I’m on a track - I never pushed any of these enough to comment on handling differences near their limits.