Recommendation for long-wearing rear tire?

[SWriverstone]

Hi All: I've been using and loving Metzeler Tourances (and Tourance EXP's) on my Wee for several years now.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm doing a lot of commuting now on the slab and not-very-twisty roads, and the Tourances just aren't cutting it in terms of wear. My current rear is down to the cords in the middle while still having lots of excellent tread left on either side. :-(

So I'd love to hear some recommendations for an 8k-10k mile tire that won't slip out from under me if I lean more than 10 degrees. :-)

I'll do more digging through threads here but figured I'd ask the question to get the most current response. :-)

Thanks!
Scott

[bobbyvstrom]

You will see a lot of conflicting responses to your question, but I'm first!   I switched to Bridgestone BattleWings last time instead of trail wings because I was going to do some track days and such.  I have been very surprised that I have about 5,000 miles on them now including a rigorous track day with rubber hanging off the edges off the rear and there is lots of tread left.  I should get 8,000 easy on them.  Good mileage and great grip combined.  Tough act to follow.  Bobby

[realshelby]

The Battlewings are a very good tire and can get some good mileage.

Value wise it is hard to beat the Bridgestone BT 023's for a V Strom. Very good street manners and good wear, at around $220 delivered per set in the States.

[SWriverstone]

Well, sometime perception differs from reality. I was thinking I got crappy life out of my rear Tourance EXP...but I just called the shop to ask what the mileage on the Wee was when they mounted it...and it was 10,420 miles ago! 

Needless to say, I was impressed. But then I started thinking, and realized that 70% of my riding on that tire was low-speed, around-town commuting. (Another 15% high-speed slab, 15% fun riding in the twists. Yes, it was a crappy year for riding.) I commute on the Wee literally every day, year-round (including winter, except for the few days when there was snow/ice on the roads).

So clearly low-speed, around-town commuting doesn't wear tires much. I'm interviewing for a new job this week, and we'll be relocating soon. As a result, I have no clue what kind of riding I'll be doing. I could be riding far less (e.g. if we move to Vermont), or I could be doing a 100-mile commute on the slab every day. (Opposite extremes.)

So I guess I'll order another Tourance EXP for the rear. I don't know if there's a compelling reason to go with a harder/longer life tire without knowing what kind of riding I'll be doing in the coming year...

Here's a photo of my rear Tourance EXP at 10,420 miles:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1198978/STO/Tourance_EXP-10kmi.JPG

Scott

[richw]

Bridgestone T30's waiting in the garage

120 =19 not available so went with the 110

On existing 23's ran over all sorts of dirt and some mud....  I got thru

also scraped the foot pegs

[biggin]

Michelin pilot road 4, great commuter tire , good mileage and handles great.

[TravellingStrom]

Grab a Heidenau K60 Scout. Used them on my travels overseas and are brilliant. Longevity for me was the main reason and have had them last 25,000km which is more than twice what I got for any other tyre

As for handling, never had an issue on Autobahn or desert and cornering through the Alps was sticky as sh$;t

The only downside is they are a tad noisy

Cheers
TS

[richw]

T30s

popped on well balanced with little weight


turn in is nice (new tires)
Holds a line well

doing a trip and have some miles

[sprale]

I have going on 24k miles in about 33 months on a set of Michelin Anakee III tires . They're a great tire, good on tarmac, acceptable on loose gravel, if cautious (I think I'm finally one of those old guys). I haven't even lost traction in the wet either, not that Texas has had much rain on years. It's time to take the Strom to the mountains! Any PNW riders here?

Grab a Heidenau K60 Scout. Used them on my travels overseas and are brilliant. Longevity for me was the main reason and have had them last 25,000km which is more than twice what I got for any other tyre

As for handling, never had an issue on Autobahn or desert and cornering through the Alps was sticky as sh$;t

The only downside is they are a tad noisy

Cheers
TS

If I could get some serious riding time, I'd been thinking about the Heidenau chunkies. They look awesome, and I've heard some good endurance reports. Of course, I'm still putting off replacing my side case lid, which disappeared in traffic one morning...

Anyway, keep in mind that I'm also they guy who would get 20k miles out of cheap pair of Kendas on a Ninja...

Approximate 4/32" left on the front....



...and 6/32" on the rear.



Keep in mind that this is mostly urban commuting, with a few hundred yards of gravel at a time whenever possible. I love construction zones! :

And no, I haven't washed since I bought it, but I did drop it on the missus. That'll cost ya...

[silverado]

Got to go with bobbyvstrom. I get about 6500 miles out of a rear on a 1000. Much better tire then the trail wings and I can scrape the pegs on a good road. I got 4500 with the trail wings and could not lean as far.

[bobbyvstrom]

Sprale:  You need to finish your profile so we know where you live.  And yes, there are a number of PNW riders here, if that's Pacific NorthWest.  I'm near Seattle.  Bobby

[Mel]

I doubt that you'll get more miles out of anything than the standard Tourances.

[cycleman]

Have had good luck with Michelin Anakee 3's.  Very good in the wet.  I do little off pavement so can't comment. Wear well but you will hear a bit of noise from the front tire in certain conditions as it gathers the miles.

[old codger]

Had good luck with Pilot Road 4. On a  5000 Mi. trip to Canada from So Cal this summer, great tire in the Rain and in the Twisties. have about 5000 Mi. left will buy them again..

[DMNordin]

I tried Anakee III's -  didn't like them in the turns so much.
Tourance next - my favorite tire!
I commute 70 miles a day, 10 months out of the year in Utah on the super slab, and all I get out of any tire I've run is 7,000 miles. That's 2 rear tires per yea. Totally sick of that action, so I went to the darkside and put a car tire on the rear earlier this year.
Happy about it stil,  & all is well  after 7 or 8 months of the darkside.
Doug

[Chicken Strip]

DMNordin,

What CT did you go with? What pressure do you run 2-up/solo?  I've visited darkside.nwff.info and I am thinking about a Michelin Pilot A/S3 205/50-17.  I have a 90-mile commute and the kids are of an age that it will be a few years before the wife and I can get back to weekend escapes to the twisties.

I've been lovin' the Anakee 3's... the PR3's before that were great too but $300 a year on tires is getting old especially as they come off bald in the center and meaty on the edges. 

[vicmitch]

Michelin Commander II in 160/70-17 should go 25k miles with ease.