02-05-12, 03:26 PM
(02-05-12, 07:55 AM)pitternator link Wrote: i am also a bridgestone fan, but will also praise the dunlop roadsmarts, which really work well on my 09 speed triple, which is maybe closer to ur bike than a gen1.Speed triples do eat tyres though as its so grunty, but an FZ-1N with its top end rev bias should be gentler on tyres ( cos you can treat them gently).The dunlop roadsmart are also very good in the wet. On my gen1 I got 5000 from a rear, which is very good for me. 023 bridgestones more like 4500 to 5000.
When I next change tyres I want to try the new roadsmart2 for both my bikes.
Sorry I dont vote michelin...I never got on with them, and they are alwas at least £20 dearer per set to anything I usually buy ( roadsmart/ 023), so am not a fan.
Thanks for that (and to everybody else who has responded). I was always a Bridgestone buyer of choice until recently. I also loathed anything Michelin with a passion. I had the dreadful Michelin Hi Sports on my Hornet 900 and hated them. When they wore out I got BT010s, which were miles better and lasted a bit longer (what's not to like!). I've ridden several demo bikes with Pilot Roads, and always felt like the front end was trying to go wider than I'd aimed it. When I got my '06 R1 I chose the limited edition yellow one, and then my heart sank when I realised that it had Pilot Powers as opposed to the Dunlops or Bridgestones (I don't recall which) the standard bike came with. But then I was absolutely amazed by how good they were in the dry or the wet, and how quickly they warmed up. Yet they still lasted fairly well. Then I got a Hornet 600, which my dealer had to order from Honda UK as they didn't have any in stock. That bike came with either Pilot Powers or BT012SSs. Of course mine came with the Pilot Powers. I wasn't convinced that I'd like them, even though they worked well on my R1. But again, on a significantly different bike, they were really great (at least for my riding style). So I'm pretty much sold on the Pilot Powers. I've always found that I'm either way about Dunlops. My only reservation about the Pilot Powers is how long they'll last on my FZ1-N.
However, I got my dealer to price up a few options on a ride-in, ride-out basis and the cheapest quote was for Dunlop Qualifiers, with the pair of Pilot Powers being just £4 dearer. The BT023s were a full £50 dearer than the Pilot Powers. I want to get them dealer fitted, as the bike is ABS and I want to be sure that it's done properly (and with comeback if they do bend anything), but actually all their quotes were only about £7 dearer per pair than our local branch of Protyre, so I'm reasonably happy. So the upshot is that I'll go with the Pilot Powers and report back on how I get on with them and how they last compared with the OE Dunlops.