Tyres

Through a combination of writing off bikes, working away from home, and
selling bikes before the tyres are worn, I don't appear to have bought a
new set of tyres for at least three years.

So, it appears that my favoured BT010s are/have been phased out, and I
need to go for BT012SS or BT014, but which?

I thought FWR were meant to be cheap, so I had a look at their website:
BT012SS, Front: £75, Rear: £120, Free carriage; Total: £195
BT014, Front: £75, Rear: £110, Free carriage; Total: £185

But http://www.motorbike-tyres.com/ are advertising the following:
BT012SS, Front: £69, Rear: £85, Carriage: £6; Total: £160
BT014, Front: £72, Rear: £99, Carriage: £6; Total: £177

Those BT012SS look like a bargain, even if I have to pay a tenner per
tyre for fitting at my local place. I've got a trackday in a couple of
weeks, but are they going to be unsuitable for commuting in the autumn?
I've had supposedly "sporty" tyres before, and found that they took a
lot of warming up before you could use the grip that they were meant to
have.

Pointless suggestions? Unfounded opinions?

 

I bought nine tyres off them in spring and would highly recommend
them.

--
Adie
(replace spam with nickname to reply)

UKRM FAQ: http://www.ukrm.net/faq/

Triumph 955iSS / ZX9R / GSF1200 bandit (for sale) / CG125
MRO#11 BOTAFOF#7 BOTAFOT#130 DIAABTCOD#17 MIB#24 YTC#16 BOB#15 ex-UKRMMA#22 BOMB#11

 

"£169 A PAIR Bridgestone

All sizes* BT014 BT014

* All sizes except with a 190 or 200 section rear.
For pairs with these sizes, please call for price."

 

Yeah, I saw that. I want a 190, but I'm not convinced they're going to
beat motorbike-tyres.com's prices.

Anyway, I'm quite capable of shopping around for the best price (also
taking into consideration the fact that I'd rather give my friendly
local bike shop the business).

What I really wanted to know was: do I go for BT014 or BT012SS?

 

I've had both and the 014 are better for the road. The 012SS need
hard work to warm up and then need to be worked to keep the heat.
Ultimately better grip but better suited to a track.

014s do everything the 010 did but better. Buy them, I did.

 

Exactly what I thought might be the case.

I will. Ta very much.

 

Seconded.

 

I'm never sure how you're supposed to tell how long they take to warm
up, other than by falling off, but I think I do prefer the 014s now on
the gixxer[1] to the standard 011/012 fitment. They just _feel_
better.

[1] The rear of which need replacing _again_[2].
[2] Must have done 4500km on them since July, so it's no worse than
other tyres, just annoting how quickly it comes around.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

You don't want a 190, you want a 180. The 9R will handle better on the
narrower section rear tyre, trust me on this, I've tried both widths.

I changed from using Bridgestones to Dunlop 207RR and found them to be
better but the front can become a bit twitchy on the gas due to a
slightly different profile.

 

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

"Hmm... Rear's looking a bit squared off. I'd better crash."

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets
and Ducati Race Engineer.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

My local Honda dealer charged me £170 for just the rear tyre, although
the price included fitting (Dunlop D208K 180/55 ZR17).

Felt a bit ripped off because they quoted £130 for the tyre over the
phone and when I went to pay the bill claimed it was "the excluding VAT"
price that I'd been quoted. Apologised profusely that their margin was
peanuts on this particular tyre compared to the D208 and couldn't
understand why it was more expensive.

I would definitely have a different set of tyres for autumn commuting,
although the "sport" Dunlop for my bike claims "a short warm up period".
I'm assuming the Bridgestone compounds are similar for the dual
purpose and sport tyres.

 

Eddie says...

I bought a pair of BT014s for my gixer in 190 and 120 sizes from a bloke
on eBay. I paid 125 for the pair, plus shipping at 15 quid.

He quite regularly has tyre auctions for the same tyres as I bought and
180/120 combos.

 

Ben says...

I'll go along with that. I love the 014s I have on the Gixer and have
bought another set to replace these now knackered ones.

 

Not Bridgestone I know,
But I have an email here either M&P or The fast one [1] are doing deals on
Michelin Macs for 109 UK credits for a pair.

Not a lover of Miches meself, but for that price, worth wearing a couple out
I guess.

[1] same company IIRC

 

Would this have been Dave Milling perchance?
I buy all my tyres from him, the prices he does them for are the cheapest
I've found anywhere!

 

Had the same problem with the 748 when I wanted to replace
the BT010s, so just went for the BT012ss as recommended and
they've been fine. They grip well enough for the track and
in the wet as well, so seem to be on par with the 010s.

I think the BT014 are the dual compound ones, more like the
old BT020s? More of a touring tyre. I'm sure they'll be
fine for trackdays though, might just take a little longer
to warm up maybe.

Ah sod it, just go with the cheapest ones.

 

Greybeard says...

No, this guy is called Lee and hails from the W. Midlands

 

Right, different chap.

 

Phew! They saw you coming: I paid ~£190 for the pair, fitted to the bike
while I waited.

 

That's a good price - by the time I'd paid for fitting (which would have
to be to loose wheels) it would cost a total of £160, saving me £30. But
involving a bit of extra effort.

There's a lot to be said for spending the extra dosh at your friendly
local-ish independent bike shop, and being able to turn up announced and
get them slung straight onto the bike while you wait.