29-04-12, 05:13 PM
Gen1 rider here but thought I'd throw in my pennys worth;
Asking for tyre advice is a tricky subject, people have different riding styles, different requirements regarding passengers / luggage, ride different types of roads at different speeds, and prefer certain handling characteristics over others. I used to really like Bridgestones on my bikes but would never get more than 4k out of a rear, then I read on a forum that someone was getting 8k out of their Avon Storms so I switched to Avons, and ...........still only got 4k out of a rear !!! However it turned out I preferred the handling on the Avons and stuck with them until they did something with their fronts which made them have uneven wear. I'm now back with Bridgestones as I'd heard good things about them, but I still prefer the way the bike handled with Avons, so might be trying something else when the time comes.
The reason you'll pay more for the newer generation of tyres is that being dual compound, they offer longer tyre life, from my experience though paying 20% more doesn't equate to 20% extra mileage, the trade off is the newer tyres offer better confidence round bends due to the extra grip and redisgned treads / profile. To me though if you really liked the handling of the Pilot Powers on your R1, the price is right and you'd prefer not to take a chance on newer more expensive rubber sounds like a no brainer.
Asking for tyre advice is a tricky subject, people have different riding styles, different requirements regarding passengers / luggage, ride different types of roads at different speeds, and prefer certain handling characteristics over others. I used to really like Bridgestones on my bikes but would never get more than 4k out of a rear, then I read on a forum that someone was getting 8k out of their Avon Storms so I switched to Avons, and ...........still only got 4k out of a rear !!! However it turned out I preferred the handling on the Avons and stuck with them until they did something with their fronts which made them have uneven wear. I'm now back with Bridgestones as I'd heard good things about them, but I still prefer the way the bike handled with Avons, so might be trying something else when the time comes.
The reason you'll pay more for the newer generation of tyres is that being dual compound, they offer longer tyre life, from my experience though paying 20% more doesn't equate to 20% extra mileage, the trade off is the newer tyres offer better confidence round bends due to the extra grip and redisgned treads / profile. To me though if you really liked the handling of the Pilot Powers on your R1, the price is right and you'd prefer not to take a chance on newer more expensive rubber sounds like a no brainer.