looking for a good tire that will last me 8,000 miles for my next trip

[1200B]

ok so my next road trip will be about 8,000 miles and i need to find a good tire that will last 8,000 miles of twisties and highway.

Looks like it's down to Metzler Roadtec Z6 or Avon 46 maybe conti road attacks heard some good and some bad like take away to get up to temp and were slippery...

who's running the metzler on their bandit 1200? I've heard lots of good stories about them from friends, but they ride bmw sport tourer, bmw 1200gs, and a fjr1300...

don't know if the metzler is a dual compound like the AV46, like the idea of a dual compound, never tried one before tho....

[ippo]

I recommend metzeler roadtec z 6 .
I rode 14000km( rear wheel.)We have hoarse roads here in Finland due to studded tires.

[Red01]

Never ran either of them, but I have gotten ~10,000 miles out of Michelin Pilot Road rears (3 times) and ~15,000 miles out of the PR fronts (twice).  Before the PR's, I ran a Bridgestone BT020 rear and BT020 front and the pair lasted just under 10,000 miles.  I even milked my OE tires for 9,000 miles, but the front was prone to inducing vibrations when it only had ~2,500 - 3,00 miles on it and whould have been changed if I wasn't such a cheapskate.

You tire mileage will depend heavily on your riding style and the condition of the roads you ride.  To be up front, I tend to get more miles out of all the tires I've tried than most folks who've posted mileage results with the same tire.

I just spooned on a pair of the new generation Pilot Road2's, but the mileage on them is only at ~2,000 miles right now, but they're still looking like new, despite those miles being mostly brisk and at local air temperatures >100*F most of the days of a 4-day 1700 mile trip.  So far, I'm loving them.    

The original PR's aren't dual compound, but the new PR2's are.  The original "Roadtec Z6" came out around the same time as the original PR's, so I'm guessing they aren't dual compound, but I'm pretty sure the new "Roadtec Z6 Interact" is.

[Have Blue]

I've used Conti Road Attacks exclusively on my B12S for the past three years.
Adhesion/grip is fantastic, wet or dry and I run out of ground clearance before I run out of grip.  Tracking and feedback are also excellent.  My riding is probably a normal mixture of zoom and plod.  LOL  Tire milage averages about 6k miles to about 1/16-1/8" tread left and replacement.  I would be surprised if anyone could get 8k miles out of a set.

Blue

[smooth operator]

I've used Conti Road Attacks exclusively on my B12S for the past three years.
Adhesion/grip is fantastic, wet or dry and I run out of ground clearance before I run out of grip.  Tracking and feedback are also excellent.  My riding is probably a normal mixture of zoom and plod.  LOL  Tire milage averages about 6k miles to about 1/16-1/8" tread left and replacement.  I would be surprised if anyone could get 8k miles out of a set.

Blue

  Same here,I'm going to try a set of Conti Road Attacks on the SV next too. I put a new set on the Bandit at the begining of the year and are still holding up good. The Bandit has been ridden most of the time. But I never got 8k out of any tire. Maybe 4 at the most.(rear)

[RDUBandit]

+1 for the Michelin Pilot Roads.  I get >10000 miles out of a rear.  I have the new PR2 on now.

[Bandit1250]

This question is really relative with how HARD you ride.
I can't get more than about 3,500-4000miles out of ANY rear tire.
Real sticky tires get me about 2,000-2,500 miles, Sport Touring get me about 3,500-4000.

[dhcolesj]

+1 on the Michelin PR2s.  Good tires. 

[snofrog]

+1 pr2`s

[B6mick]

one word, three numbers



Shinko 009


and I ride hard enough to wear out a shinko 005 front before I wear out a 009 rear, now go figure that. Maybe just a little front end push

[RISINSON18]

i currently have the stock BT-056 on my 600 bandit and they are great. especially for stock. how ever i dont like that center tread on the front tire, it makes me nervous. :D
the tires are old and need replaicing so...
i thought about the 020's but it looks like the 021's are better quality better grip?
what do you guys think of the BT-021 tires??? has any one here used them before???
thanks.

[pmackie]

I've run the stock BT-056, grip was good, but wear was high. I've run two BT-020 rears, and one each BT-020 and BT-021 fronts. I preferred the standard BT-020 on the front. The BT-021 wore funny and did not last any longer. At the end of it's life it had less grip than the BT-020, but likely had better side grip when it was new.

I tend to wear out the sides of the front tire before the centre, and both the BT-020 and BT-021 had centre tread left when the sides were gone. So the harder centre section on the BT-021 ended up being no use to me.

I wanted to try the BT-021 on the rear, as I normally wear out the centre, and the harder center section should have been a benefit, but I was unable to get one when I needed to change tires on the road. That's why I ended up with the BT-021 front with a BT-020 rear.

I currently am running Dunlop Qualifier Sport tires. Grip is great, but wear is high.

So far, for my money, I have liked the set of Michelin Pilot Roads best. Best overall compromise of grip vs mileage. I wanted to try the Pilot Road 2's, Maybe next set...

[Bandit1250]

Bridgestone BT 020's for the front are CRAP......they Cup like crazy, did it on 3 different bikes for me so I know it's not the bike but the tire. I've heard others complaing about the Cupping also IMOP Bridgstone should've recalled ALL those tires for Cupping issues.
Rears seem fine......only the fronts are bad.

[banditone1250s]

 I have the 016's on my 1250 Bandit and they seem to do fine. I don't really have a lot of miles on them yet but they do seem to be doing fine... I had Avons on it before that and they were good too but they did not last very long. They were great traction in the lean but again they did not seem to last very long... I think that I got about 6000 miles on them. By the time that I took them off they were rubbed raw on the extreme sides and you could see where the rubber was worn from the friction of the lean. I hope that these Bridges are as good a traction tire as the Avon and I do hope to get a few more miles out of them as they are dual or maybe triple compound...banditone1250s...

 There is a thin line between fear and respect...Feel Free to drift across it every now and then....

[banditone1250s]

  I have a friend that had the Metzler "Sportec on the front and the Roadtec on the back of his Kawasaki Z1000. We were on the Cherahala Skyway right after he put them on and he got a screw in the rear tire. Of course we had stuff to repair the tire and re-fill it with air and we were on our way. Back to the point that I started making, after putting a plug in the tire where the screw was, he rode those tires for 10,000 more miles. I'd say that the Roadtecs were well worth the money that you pay for them for sure...banditone1250s...

  There is a thin linw between fear and respect...Feel free to drift across it every now and then....