I am thinking about sports in front and roads in the back combo?

 

I've had a sport on the front for about a year now, and really like it. I still have the stock tire on the back, which is a lot easier to live with than having the stock tire on the front. The bike handled weird with the front Dunlop on it, and the Conti made it feel a lot better. When it slides it does so very smoothly and controlably, but it takes a fair amount (once warm) to get it to go.

 

Sports are sport tires, greater grip but lower mileage, 4k-6k rear. Road are street touring tires, lesser grip but higher mileage, 8k-11k rear.

Tread patterns are the same so I'd assume in the wet they'd be pretty close to each others performance with the sports softer compound giving it a slight edge possibly.

 

I have road attacks on my 650N and love them. They work great in the rain, in the twisties and after 1000 miles look new still.

 

I run road attacks on my sv.I commute year round,rain or shine and hit the mountains almost every weekend.They also heat up quite nicely and stick if you are smooth.......

 

If you're doing a lot of track days, go for the sports. Otherwise the Roads will be just fine.

A lot of riders underestimate the capabilities of a good sport touring tire like the Conti Road Attacks, Metzler Z6, Pilot Roads, Avon Azaro/Strom, etc... They are as sticky as sport tires were years ago and last much longer.

 

A lot of riders underestimate the capabilities of a good sport touring tire like the Conti Road Attacks, Metzler Z6, Pilot Roads, Avon Azaro/Strom, etc... They are as sticky as sport tires were years ago and last much longer.

I wish some mag would do a track day test of a makers sport tire and their touring tire just to compare what the actual differences one would feel after 10 or 12 laps. Powers 2CT Powers and Road 2CT, M3 and Z6, Conti Sports and Roads, Qualifiers and 208s, Corsa III, Supersports and Stradas. Just to see how far off ST tires are off sport lap times and how hard these tires can be pushed.

 

Thank's for the info. It sounds like the road attacks will be just fine for me so that is what I will get. I have heard that you should run higher pressure with the conti's. If so what pressure should I run front and rear?

Ted

 

I had sport attacks on my R6. They lasted about 5K miles. I liked them. Comparable to Pilot Powers I run now.
They never slipped, never let me down. Good tires.
They have a chart with recommended pressure for their tires on their website. Michelin's website sucks.

 

The sport up front and the road out back is a mean setup. Thats what I am currently running. LOVE IT!

 

What he said...

Why wouldn't run the stickier (Sport) tire on the front? It gives you that much extra safety (traction), not just cornering but braking as well.

If it wears out at the same time as the rear (Road) then you just replace them as a set again. Even though the front might not look worn-out, in 3 or 4 seasons it still will be getting hard and drying out and should be replaced anyway. Performance of tires deteriorates with time and heat cycles, even if the tread is not worn.

 

I run matched sets. Even running a Road Attack on the front, it'll wear out at about the same rate as the rear.

While it may look fine in the center, my front tires are decimated on the sides.

This used to be something that was done all the time, running the 'gripper' version of a tire on the front. But I think this is a thing of the past. Most tire manufacturers build their tires accordingly.

And you should always replace tires in a set anyway. I'm scared by how many folks on here not only run run tires of varying wear, but completely mismatched sets. Like a Dunlop rear and a Conti front.

I would NEVER do this! The only thing worse than this is mixing bias and radial ply tires of two different makes.

You're mixing and matching tires that were never supposed to work together. If all you are doing is droning down Main street, its probably okay, but the affects it could have to handling during cornering, braking or emergency maneuvers could be very very very bad.

Not always, but the potential is definitely there. Its significantly safer and wiser to stick with match sets. (IMHO).

dp

 

You're mixing and matching tires that were never supposed to work together. If all you are doing is droning down Main street, its probably okay, but the affects it could have to handling during cornering, braking or emergency maneuvers could be very very very bad.

Not always, but the potential is definitely there. Its significantly safer and wiser to stick with match sets. (IMHO).

dp

I was gonna say that this sounded like a bad idea... I know they don't recommend it for car tires (even so far as mixing all seasons with winters.) Though I certainly am not riding at the same level as many posters here, I don't plan on mixing different tires.

That being said, I like the look of the Road Attacks (the Sports too) and I really like the price! I plan on replacing the stockers with a set as soon as they're worn down (4400 kms down... I guess we'll see how they hold up!

 

I think you are riding at a different level than 90% of us - not many canyons around here. While not exactly droning down mainstreet, I bet most of us get a limited amount of time in the corners.

There isn't a chance that I will wear out my tires on the sides as fast as the center.

From your past posts I can tell that you and I don't see things eye-to-eye - which is fine.

You are definitely riding at a different level than I am.


Jay

 

I'm with canyonchaser on running the same tires front and rear.
My sport attacks were both done at the same time

 

I either do matched sets or at least from the same maker simply cause of the rubber compounds used should react the same way. And I'd really stick with the matched sets if you do allot of wet weather riding. Thats where the set will really pay off.

 

Pretty sure running diff tires-as i do- is not rocket science. I mean i ride aggressively and drag my stock hard parts on my naked. Never once have they stepped out or broke loose. They wear about the same, but the front feels much more planted and stickier than my last RA, and wears the same. Now the stock Dunlops are a diff story.

 

Pretty sure running diff tires-as i do- is rocket science. I mean i ride aggressively and drag my stock hard parts on my naked. Never once have they stepped out or broke loose. They wear about the same, but the front feels much more planted and stickier than my last RA, and wears the same. Now the stock Dunlops are a diff story.

Yeah, It's probably waaay safer to do with same-brand/family tires. And like I said, for 90% of the time, it may be fine - but what if you hit on a very bad combination?

I met a kid who was buying race-take-offs out at the track and was running a knackered Pilot Sport (old skool) on the front and a Pilot Race on the rear. Waaay scary IMHO. I warned him about it, mostly because the cardinal rule is to NEVER run a grippier rear tire than front - its better to have a grippier front tire. But the tire construction between the two tires was also significantly different as well. I mean you're supposed to run 18-20psi in a Pilot Race rear tire!!

When I warned him about it, he blew me off saying "I've never had any problems yet!" A few months later I stopped into the local honda shop and saw the remains of his bike in the back lot (with the same mis-matched tires). He'd obviously had quite the crash up one of the local Canyons. I don't know what happened, but I really wonder if the tires were a factor....

So the "peace of mind" that comes with having good-quality, matched tires is worth so much to me that I'm okay with the added cost. And even though my rear-tires still wear out in the center, my front tires wear out on the sides...

dp

 

The Conti website recommends F2.5/R2.9 bar. Which converts to F36/R42 psi. That seems high to me considering how soft the rubber is and how stiff the sidewalls are.

Canyonchaser, you run the SportAttacks right? What pressure do you use?

 

The Conti website recommends F2.5/R2.9 bar. Which converts to F36/R42 psi. That seems high to me considering how soft the rubber is and how stiff the sidewalls are.

The website is kind of confusing but those numbers I found were for the SV1000. For the 650 I found F2.25/2.5R, which is around F33/R36 psi ?

 

I actually run 40-42 rear and 36-38 front - so thats about right. I would have guessed a few pounds lower for the SV - but Conti's are known to require higher pressures.

If you run Conti's at lower pressures they will overheat and get greasy.

dp

 

http://www.conti-online.com/generat...erator/www/de/en/continental/motorcycle/themes/download/technical_manual_uv.pdf

 

http://www.conti-online.com/generat...erator/www/de/en/continental/motorcycle/themes/download/technical_manual_uv.pdf

Page 118 for the 650

 

I've run lots of mis-matched sets of tires on my 02 zx-12. I currently have 55,000 miles on it. I commute daily. So my primary issue is rear tire wear in the center. Plus with the power of the 12 wears the rears as well. On my commute I have a few twisties I use for a bit of fun and keep my cornering skills sharp. I run the fronts and rears to the edges so I have some skills.

If money were not an issue I'd run matched sets of soft tires all the time and have them replaced as needed in pairs. On the track it is essential. In the real world money is an issue, so I run the combo that suits me the best.

That being said here is my tire experience. I always run a softer front. After the junk stock dunlops wore out. I ran a Bridgestone BT10 front and BT10 rear. These felt good together, but the rear tire wear was lousy.

I replaced the rear with an Avon AV46 rear. The avon wore really well, and the grip was not to bad, but could be better. The BT10 and AV46 combo was not to bad.

I then ran a BT14 front. This tire had more grip than the BT10, but it had a lot of cupping as it wore out. I continued to run the AV46, this combo worked better with a 190 rear, then the 200 rear. Better turn in that matched the BT14. I still wanted more rear tire grip.

Michelin had come out with the pilot powers. And I was hearing rave reviews about them. So I put a set of them on. Yes they are very good tires. They have lots of grip. But the rear wore out very quickly.

I needed a longer wearing rear. I heard the new Pilot Road 2's were coming out. So I waited. When they did they had a 240 dollar price tag. Very expensive. The Bridgestone BT21 is also a dual compound tire and at 140 dollars was reasonably priced. So far I like it, it has good grip in the corners, and seems to be wearing well. I'm not so sure how well it matches with the Pilot power front. I'll probably try a BT14 front when the Michelin wears out. we will see if the combo is better, and if the 14 still cups.

I will be replacing the tires on my Son's 00 sv650. I am leaning to a set of Pilot powers front and rear.

 

I have a thousand miles on my Attacks, a Sport front and a Road rear. These tires are excellent. Quick tip in and then progressively more stable as you lean. I used to road race a bit back in The Day, but that was when technology for DOT trackable tires made a Michelin PZ2 or a Dunlop K81R the tire to have. These new Contis are far superior to either of those relics, and much better than the old Metzler Zs that I slipped around on for 3000 miles. I have taken a few sporty rides with these Contis, and I commute to work every day. I have wiggled a bit at the rear just a couple of times. Once in a decreasing radius left hander I had never seen before. I used the old addage "just lean it over some more" while a bit over throttled. Suprised me a bit but the rear tire regained traction quickly and I didn't have to do anything. The other time was going right with a big lean and too much throttle, again, no sweat.Very confidence inspiring. Wear seems pretty good too, (the Sport on the front actually looks better than the rear Road Attack). EITHER THESE TIRES ARE GREAT OR I AM JUST SLOWER THAN I THINK. I would recommend them!

 

I'll know soon enough about my new Sport Attacks. Got them mounted yesterday and have some track days coming up in May.

 

Keep us posted, I am looking to replace my stockers and would like to know how these tires perform

 

That has been my experance also, only 1 or 2 psi higher than stock. (Conti Road attacks)

 

I have 6404 miles on a Sport Attack front and a Road Attack rear. I think I can get another 500 miles or so. I do not ride real hard, commuting most everyday and zippin around when I have time. No trackdays, no burnouts, very little two-up riding. I have about 3/8 inch of unscrubbed rubber (conversation strips) on the back and essentially none on the front. I never did quite understand this discrepancy. The tread depth on the centerline at the back is getting really shallow, with noticeable cupping and flat spotting. I have been really happy with these but was hoping for more tread life. My guess is nobody gets this much mileage from pure sport tires...or do they? By the way, I plugged the rear after it went flat about 1800 miles ago. I never sweated it and have had no trouble with the tire AT ALL. This is the 3rd time on three different tires and different bikes that plugs have been absolutely trouble free for extended miles. Just info.

 

I had Conti Road attacks mounted yesterday, have not put more than 6 miles or so on them, looking forward seeing how they feel on an actual ride.

- Scott

 

i like my road attacks.
i think i'm going to do sport, f / road, r next time though.
see if there is a big difference..