I've posted this up before but I'll give a quick run down on my tire preference.
If you are a casual rider who spends much of your time cruising with the occasional twisty romp, this is my view on tires. The front tire is the control point of every motorcycle. You can loose traction on the rear and it's no big deal, loose traction on the front and chances are you'll find yourself on your head. After tasting the asphalt on more than one occasion due to front tire grip, I have come to the conclusion that I want the front tire planted. I don't run touring tires on the front, ever!
Although I am a performance tire guy who has learned that sticky tires are much cheaper then plastics, when I have the need for mileage over performance I purchase a sticky performance front tire and a dual compound rear which gives me a long life center with sticky stuff on the sides.
Last year I chose Bridgestone's BT016 front and BT023 rear. This combination worked flawlessly. Could drag a knee whenever I chose and the combo lasted 4500 miles. I could have purchased longer life genuine touring tires but I would be giving up performance. With a high performance tire on the front and dual compound touring tire on the other end I had the best of both worlds.
I'd be just as happy with the same combination of tires from other manufacturers such as the Dunlop Q2 front and Roadsmart rear. I choose the Bridgestones over the Dunlops due to price. The idea is to keep the front planted while extending the life of the rear where most of the wear occurs.
This is just my own opinion from past experience. It works well for me! If you spend most of your time in the canyons by all means stay with a performance tire as tires are indeed cheaper than plastics!
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