Great British Roads that are focced up.are sports compound tyres now applicable?

[noggythenog]

There are tyres that are designed for the road but can be used on very minor off road as I've seen quite a few supermotos with them, an example is Avon Distanza. A lot of supermoto riders seem to just put sport touring or semi / full on-slicks on though so I would suggest what we have on is best for a sport tourer riding on tarmac. Not quite sure what you're actually asking though, that was a lot to take in and there are a few different actual questions haha. If you're on about solely dry riding in summer for pleasure and maximum cornering grip then yes a sportier tyre like a metzeler M5 sportec etc will be a better choice of course.


I think if you are mid bend and see a pothole / debris the tyres will not really make much of a difference as long as they're good quality it will more likely be the suspension that will save you and your riding ability to not tense up if you do hit it and try to look past it to avoid it. If you're talking about riding the roads now which I don't think you are because you asked about summer, I would say now isn't really the time to be going balls to the wind anyway because I know where I live the roads are dreadful and wet leaves, wet manholes and potholes are all over the place not to mention the distracted drivers commuting home.


On another note, this could be a bit of a risqué comment and not my place but it's meant in good faith. You sound as though you enjoy cornering the most but to me regarding a lot of your posts I don't think you're enjoying your FZ1 as much as you expected and are trying to justify to yourself the performance it should have by trying to go faster and faster and faster. Thing is, I can only see it ending badly which nobody would want to happen. You often spoke well of your Fazer 600 and loved how it handled. I think if you actually timed yourself doing your favourite roads on both bikes, you are actually smashing your old pace to pieces on the FZ1 but because it is such a beast, you are feeling pressured to as if you MUST beat the old FZS and this is my point. You aren't riding just for the fun of it perhaps and its now becoming more about riding well with good pace which sometimes the road conditions wont allow. In my opinion, smaller less powerful and lighter bikes are more involving as the actual perception of speed, fun and pace in the bends is greater. This is off on a tangent to your OP I know, but just my opinion. I think if you got an MT-07 or something smaller that can handle and feels like you are actually more involved in riding it to its potential without going stupidly fast and making greater chance of serious accident you wouldn't be thinking about stuff like this quite as much perhaps. There is an interesting article in Bike magazine 500th anniversary edition I just bought regarding this.

Some fair comments here yamazer......and taken on the chin......i think we have simillar riding styles us 2 and i see the sense in your posts....ill have to have a look at bike magazine 8)


I was trying not to have a personal thing about me as im interested in the whole follow the pack tyres mentality but as youve raised something that can broadly given example:-


On the thou it is definately a bit more difficult to adjust a line mid bend.......the extra weight, the wider rear tyre plus the extra entry speeds no doubt  means that when you pick a line going hard you are usually pretty much stuck on that line...........it is more tricky to pick the bike up or shimmy around a big rut in the road when you see one.