i hate when people post threads with questions that have already been answered... so i apologize if that is the case here. i did search but did not find a thread devoted to this question.

can anyone here speak to a high mileage tire? the 014 that came stock is gone with just under 1500 miles. i have heard of a lot of tires i could use, but no one i know puts enough miles on thier bike to talk much to getting real miles out of a tire. i have gotten over 5000 on the FZ1 with the pilot roads, even with a track day. and i have not had any issues with them needing to be warmed up or not gripping. i think this is because i am a big guy, on a heavy bike. i don't know how well the 14 will like this kind of tire though.

to be clear, i am looking for some real world experience. i have seen a bunch of lists of tires that get better miles. but i'd like to hear from the horses mouth if anyone is even trying to high milage out of a 14.

my riding style, because that plays a big part... i have for the first time, scrubbed the chicken strips off the tire. on the 14, i can really lean into the turns and, while i haven't gotten a knee down, can really lean off the bike without my knees giving me trouble. (the geometry and suspension on the FZ did not leave much room for this kind of riding, but now i have a better idea of how to really setup the suspension, i am going to give i a makeover in the year to com, and it will be my track bike.) but the truth is, i am looking to tour on this bike more then anything. after some necessary changes to the rear sets and exhaust, i am planning on givi luggage and a trip to colorado next summer.

thanks for reading, and any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Bubba

You mentioned Pilot Roads on your FZR, now for the 14, just step-up to Pilot Road 2.

And BTW, welcome to the board!

thanks for the welcom.

i only got 2500 miles out of my 2ct. and honestly, didn't care for it much. i might have just gotten a bad one, but it felt slippery most of the time and i couldn't seam to find a good tire pressure for it.

i have tried almost all the Michelins in the line up. i was thinking someone might have something good to say about another brand.

I've got 3000 miles on my diablo stradas and they still look new

conneaut, what kind of riding do you do? you still have stock internals? lots of hard acceleration? i'm guessing not...

please dont think this is a reflection on riding ability... just trying to get a feel for things... you know.

I get around 3000 miles out of 016's, I do ALOT of corner carving and try not to accelerate too hard after sitting up back on the middle of the tire. I ride my bike every day and DO jump on it when running around and on the highway. My front and rear are always gone at the same time, if not the front goes alittle faster, and I just take it alittle easier in the twisties.

Well we don't have a lot of hard curves in our area but we always ride as hard as the road will allow a lot of 150+ bursts luckily we do have a lot of roads to ride that are not patrolled heavily. I do still have stock internals. From the research I did before buying the stradas guys were getting around 10k out of a rear and they grip a hell of a lot better than the stockers with the stockers I was constantly spinning the tire and have not had that problem since getting the stradas.

I've used Stradas now for two years-about 4,500 to 5,500 miles per rear-double that for the fronts.High speed curves-aggressive acellerations-16/42 gearing,PCIII,secondaries out.No burnouts,no skidding.Best tires I've ever used.Never had a grip problem-plus-they're the least expensive of the high end tires out there.

thats the pirrelli, diablo strada? right? or are there more then one strada?

thanks for the feed back guys.

I didnt have such good luck with the Stradas (2yrs. ago so they might be changed now)
I am currently running Dunlops RoadSmarts.
Got them as a winter tire for rainy Washington.
Didnt take them off this spring because I am so pleased with them.
Excellent wet AND dry tire.
I spend my winter chasing after Motards on slickass backroads and general commuting.
In the spring and fall I tour (Gone to Alaska June/July)
Just did a quick (1700 mile) loop thru NorCal and smoked canyons in Or. and Ca.
These tires were amazing. Great grip and over 8,000 miles!!
nothing has lasted over 4 !
Fronts wear out first!!?? It will be toast within 2 thou or so.
The rear has deep thread in the middle but I've boiled the soft side thread in my pursuit of my tarded buddies and canyon runs.
Reallly cant rave about these tires enough.
And I was a big Pirelli fan.

* Last updated by: skiffman on 9/2/2009 @ 10:54 AM *

i have heard a lot of bad things about dunlops, and i really didn't care for the take offs i used, although i did get 3000 miles out of a $50 set on the FZ1. for those who do not frequent track days, there are some damn good deals to be had on take offs. you can get a set installed for under $70 in most cases, and as "commuter tires" they work really well. they don't genrally have much wear on the center of the tire, but you want to hand pick them. end rant. LOL

i have heard by several people that the road smarts are the way to go. i hope to the the bike out this weekend and get a few miles on it before going back on call next week, then a 500 mile trip the following weekend. i am going to go with the 021 for now, $170 installed by my buds down the road. (off bike) since this tire is closest to the 014 i have on front. (mixing brands is far worse then mixing compounds of like brands, is what 'they' are telling me.

i appreciate the input guys. i will be sure to report back my findings.

First post from a lurker....

Specifically for high milage with sporty capablity,
the Strada Front is VERY popular on other forums as well. Good prices. Great tire.
The problem is, the rear Strada is not as well liked. Doesn't last long and turn-in is not as neutral.

But, there are many other tires that have better rear but have wear pattern issues on the front.
These include:
Avon Storm is the hands down best wet tire and top shelf for mileage. (front cups out and causes head shake)
Bridgestone BT-020 is a close second on mileage and maybe slightly better on dry pavement.
(steps out and re-grabs very predicably in hard exits)(FUN!!) (front cups out and causes head shake)
Roadsmart is are a dual compound (hard in the center/ soft on the sides).
Very good dry traction and mileage. Not as good in the wet.
(front wears in a trapazoid pattern and can make turn-ins scary when they get old)

Based on this and recommendations of others, I am currently running Strada front and Roadsmart rear.
ZERO issues pairing these two flavors together. High speed stability is 100% rock solid.

Parelli is replacing the Stada with the Angels. They are very new. Two Brothers Tires is a way cheap source for them. They are running an intro special on them. Early reports are good. But high milage data is still missing for now. There are people with 3K+ on them and still lots of life left!! This probably be my next set.

* Last updated by: quicksilver on 10/23/2009 @ 1:50 PM *

Never heard of the angels-okay-will give em a go next tire swap.I'd kinda like to try the Pilots myself here sometime-but I've had such good results from my Stradas I hate to get something MORE expensive,and have it not work better.I was getting around 5,6 K miles when I had the stock gearing-could have gone farther also.With my gearing now-16/42-5,000 is a good length for me,LESS if I power on the straights and such.I usually ease up on the straights nowadays-and hammer through the curves.My fronts generally get almost twice the mileage as the rears.

High milage tires? My 08 zx14 came with BTO14's, 4200 miles. While on the road I had to put on the only tire the dealer had. That Michelin Pilot Road lasted 11,088 miles. Could have gone another 500 but the front needed to go so I thought I would put the pair of Pilot 2ct on at the same time. They lasted 5381. Next to the Metzler M3. They lasted 6295, all of these tires worked well. I have put on another pair of Pilot Roads @ 26964 miles and I just turned 30K two days ago. They show little wear for the last 3k miles. I run the tires @42 lbs front and rear, fill them with nitrogen and use ceramic beads (2 oz rear 1 oz front) for continuous balance.

AHahahaha - good way to join up- start a tire thread!!

I would be one of the worse people to ask about high mileage tires because i seem to get high mileage out of everything.

Welcome, though.

Daron

so, results since the last week in july...

bt014s, 1600 miles rear, 3600 miles front.

bt021s 4000 miles with about 1000 left and the front shows no wear with only 2000 on it.

i am thinking i will run thru one more 021 rear... but ultimately, i think i want to go back to the pilot roads. still have them on the FZ1 and with over 2500 miles on that bike since august 1st, i still see no wear on these tires.

(a buddy has put most of the miles on the yamaha... i can't ride enough< don't have time, to have put nearly 8000 miles on two bikes... LOL)

* Last updated by: rallyrodent on 11/10/2009 @ 8:46 AM *

Has anyone used the Shinko Raven 009? I know the street racers like the Shinko 003, but what about these harder compound tires?

Never used Shinko's.Put new Angel ST's on mine yesterday-38 degrees out-but they were very smooth.Didn't do any high speed stuff-just breaking them in.Come Spring we'll see how they are.Got good mileage out of my Stradas-these new Pirelli tires are supposed to replace the Strada line.It'll be fun finding out!!!4500 miles avg,from my Strada rear-lots of aggressive riding and 16/42 gearing."riding for the Son"--right on Slidderhd.Me too!

I have 2 friends who have each gone through a set of Shinkos.
Verdict was:
Shinko = Stinko
"greasy" was used by both to describe them.
That is not a tire attribute I want to deal with......

But,.... if you are planning a long highway trip.
They are cheap.

So, I guess Shinkos are best used for drag racing. Thanks guys.

thanks for the welcomes guys.

i have only seen shinkos on drag bikes. the adhesion of these tires, if i understand correctly, is foward only. they were not made for the turns, which works out for most dragsters, since they end up lower and stretched. also, they are limited, not buy milage so much, as shear number of heat cycles. my guess is they don't stand up to extended heat cycles and will 'go away' pretty fast in a canyon situation.

i really like the look of drag bikes (especially with a long muzzy drag pipe... *shudder*) but i just can't bring myself to ruin my wonderful handling! WOW what a difference a few turns on the rebound make! maybe when i buy my concourse i could buy and extended swing arm. the front tire looks so sexy tucked up in the radiator.

Man, I love the Orange color scheme on your ride. Wanted one real bad.

Pilot Road 2 front and Avon Storm rear is working awesome for me so far...handles/sticks sweet....and the rear storm is wearing like iron, I think its gonna last 4 times as long as the bt-014 lasted I'm liking this combo ALOT...the stock bridgstone front BT-014 cupped bad at 2500 miles, the road 2 is baby smooth, and turning sharp as a razor at twice that mileage

On the ZX14, I personally like the BT016 and I get around 8,000 kms for the rear and 13,000 kms for the front.
I've tried the PR2 on my other bike and love it!

So I would say that the PR2 is as good as the BT016 but it will last longer.

I get an average of about 1750 miles out of 016's before they are showing cords on the front and back! Been through 5 sets.