The Millionth Tire Thread

[Airavata]

Granted that I'm a n00b here, I wanted to jump in with a slightly different take. I am currently living in India, and will be buying a 'Busa in January. Since the roads here are not even close to the calibre of roads back in the US, I do not need a super-sticky gumball tire. Between all the sand patches, diesel spills, and cow dung, I'm not going to be dragging any knees here. I need something that's going to last a while, since tires for this bike are going to be marked up quite a bit, and will be hard to find. It also has to have good wet-weather grip, since we get 4 months of rain (off and on) here from May through September. Braking performance is also important, as many drivers here don't bother to look before turning/pulling out/changing lanes. We also get cows wandering out into the road frequently, and they never signal.

So, apropos Tufbusa's post upthread about buying a touring tire vs. buying a sport tire, what are the best touring-oriented tires for the 'Busa? I have seen several recommendations around the net for the Michelin Pilot Road 2, and several for the Avon Storm 2. I have also seen some support for the Metzeler Z6 and Z8 Interact. I also liked the look of the Continentals, as they seem to have good tread design for evacuating water. Does anyone here have any views on the Iron-butt side of the Busa? What experiences has anyone here had specifically with tires built for mileage, rather than trying to find the balance between mileage and stickiness?

 

[sleepless_red]

Granted that I'm a n00b here, I wanted to jump in with a slightly different take. I am currently living in India, and will be buying a 'Busa in January. Since the roads here are not even close to the calibre of roads back in the US, I do not need a super-sticky gumball tire. Between all the sand patches, diesel spills, and cow dung, I'm not going to be dragging any knees here. I need something that's going to last a while, since tires for this bike are going to be marked up quite a bit, and will be hard to find. It also has to have good wet-weather grip, since we get 4 months of rain (off and on) here from May through September. Braking performance is also important, as many drivers here don't bother to look before turning/pulling out/changing lanes. We also get cows wandering out into the road frequently, and they never signal.

So, apropos Tufbusa's post upthread about buying a touring tire vs. buying a sport tire, what are the best touring-oriented tires for the 'Busa? I have seen several recommendations around the net for the Michelin Pilot Road 2, and several for the Avon Storm 2. I have also seen some support for the Metzeler Z6 and Z8 Interact. I also liked the look of the Continentals, as they seem to have good tread design for evacuating water. Does anyone here have any views on the Iron-butt side of the Busa? What experiences has anyone here had specifically with tires built for mileage, rather than trying to find the balance between mileage and stickiness?

I've been using the Avon Storms for the last 57K something miles and they never failed me.....not once. I ride a lot as you've seen. 73K+ miles in less than 3 years. Last July, I did 1,000+ miles in 19 hours and almost 6 hours of it was in the rain.....hard at times. Not once did I feel the bike lost traction even in the mountains of West Virginia. We were still averaging 80mph in the rain and they stuck to the road like it's not raining at all. I can't recall how many miles I get on them but it's probably around 10K miles or more.

I highly recommend them for the type of riding that you do.

 

[sleepless_red]

I forgot to mention that I also ride all year round. The coldest I've been out there was 12*F. Still never failed me in those temperatures. The only reason I only did 114 miles was because we had to be somewhere that afternoon. If not, I would have done more.

You know how temperature can affect traction.
Here's proof.

 

[071300r]

powers 2ct for me feel good

 

[Airavata]

Thanks for the quick reply, Sleepless. Of course, with regard to temperature, I'm gonna have exactly the opposite problem. In April and May here, the temps regularly get well over 100. In the winter, it never freezes, and rarely gets below the 50s.

 

[sleepless_red]

Thanks for the quick reply, Sleepless. Of course, with regard to temperature, I'm gonna have exactly the opposite problem. In April and May here, the temps regularly get well over 100. In the winter, it never freezes, and rarely gets below the 50s.

You're welcome.:-)

I know that temperature is not gonna be an issue for you. Just wanted to share with you that even in those frigid temperatures, they're still performing very well.

 

[busa-saga]

3500 on stock is low. i hit 10k on my stockers. like u, just pure riding. i have the bridgestones on now and in the twisties i wasnt too impressed but at almost 8k miles with the 'stones, i cant complain. i wanna try the avons tho.