Tired FOAK.....

The age old question raises its head......

The Viffer needs re-shoeing, it's a 1996 VFR750F-V with 120/70 ZR17
and 170/60 ZR17 sized feet.

If you were going to be doing more sedate gentlemans type touring
rather than any track days, what flavour rubber would one opt for ?
Good mileage and wet weather grip are a must, quick lap times are not
really needed - but the ability to keep up with the pace would be nice.

 

Pilot Road 2

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, ogden

What he said.

 

BT021s.

 

What they said. Or even a Pilot Road non-2.

 

Cool.... confirms I was looking in the right direction - had narrowed
it down PR2's or Conti Road Attacks.

Will ring Micheldever to see what they can do price wise on both.

Thank you one and all.

 

a tyre marketed as "sport-touring"

I had a VFR of the same vintage and the Pirelli Dragon GT tyre worked well.
Seems the latest incarnation of that tyre is the Angel ST
http://www.pirelli.co.uk/web/motorcycle/tyres/angelst/product/default.page

Continental make a similar tyre, which I'm using on the R-GS. It comes in
VFR sizes, the Conti Road Attack
http://www.conti-bike.co.uk/default.asp?spid=3

 

Cool.

MichelDever came back with ride in ride out fitted prices of :

Michelin pilot rd 2 £254.55

Bridgestone bt021 £239.21

Dunlop roadsmart £234.95

Does that sound about right ? Pilot Road 2 seems to be well liked on
various forums.

 

It's the right ballpark.

FWR pair prices are £229 for Road 2s, £199 for 021s and £209 for
Roadsmarts. Add on a tenner a wheel for fitting, etc and you're within
about an acceptable margin either way.

The Roadsmarts have quite a good rep, but the only ones I've used of
those above are the Road 2s. They got me through trips to the Alps and
the IoM, with some reasonably spirited riding throughout, plus a load of
cross-town commuting, and had enough tread left that if it hadn't been
for a surprise nail I'd probably still be on them.

 

the Dunlops could be delivered to you for £202 from Blackcircles.com so
the margin for buying & fitting from retail premises seems okay.

Have you got a price from Merityre? They have a branch in Witney which I
have used in the past. http://www.merityre.co.uk/tyres-witney.htm
Several branches elsewhere inc. Abingdon

 

Not checked that exact size, but a more normal size pair of Roadsmarts
is around 185 delivered from bctmotorcycles.co.uk. They're the
cheapest supplier I found during a little search a couple of days ago.

 

@news.eternal-september.org:

They are about a fiver cheaper than blackcircles for my bike at £185
delivered. However, my independent BMW fitter supplies tyres for my bike
for £195 ride in, ride out so it's a no brainer to support him. He's in
Cardiff, so probably not worth Brownz travelling.

 

Similar for me, works out around 2 quid more for the local place to
supply & fit to loose wheels.

 

You didn't mention whether cost is part of the equation. WHen looking
for tyres for the SS I realised that I could get a pair of Maxxis (sport
touring, which seem to get good user reviews) for around £125, whilst
the PR2s came way beyond £200. At least for the Ducati, it is not really
necessary with the high mileage you get from the PR2s it it means you
end up with 4-5 year old not yet worn out tyres.

 

I'll second the Road Attacks - have used them on a VFR800 and currently
on the Ducati.

 

(SteveH) wrote in

I'm not so sure about the gentleman but your recommendation certainly
qualifies in all other respects

 

Ditto here. Dave Clark motorcycles in Oxford are the people to see

 

Are their tyre prices good? I've never actually checked.

I've had -loads- of MOTs done there now - I like them. Even if DC senior
appears to be going daft as a brush.

 

Go with these, they are well worth the extra 20 quid

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Tourer, CBR600F-W racebike in the making, TS250C, RD400F
(somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

Avon Storm ST. (probably)