Best Tire Mileage

[Chunky]

It's time for new tires on my R1200RT. It came with Metzeler Z6 tires which got me 12.5k. My dealer wants almost $420 for a new set of the same. I'm a very conservative rider & I want to know if Michilin Road Pilots get That kind of mileage. I can buy a set of Pilots online for $227.

[Emoto]

I don't know what sizes you take on your RT, but I can recommend SW Moto Tires from personal experience and the many good things said abotu them over on advrider. It would appear that you can get a set of Metzeler Z6s from them for a tad over $200 depending on what sizes you use: http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SWMT&Category_Code=Z6

[Bob Palin]

How about ME880s, they should get you the best mileage of the commonly used tyres. SW Moto are great and cheap, especially when you are buying two tyres - no shipping.

[RichEdwards]

The Pilot Roads have given me the best mileage.

[Satguy]

Another vote for the Pilot Roads... My 1200RT came with the Pilot Roads on it and they still have reasonable tread depth after over 15,000 KM. The front is cupped slightly but not as bad as I expected.

 

I have another set of Pilot Roads sitting in the garage ready to go on.

[hngininthr]

I also like pilot roads, but my next set (R12ST)is going to be Metzler M1 Sportec because my local CycleGear store is having a one day sale in two weeks (Oct 29) with the set going for $150. I don't expect the mileage to be great with these soft compound tires but the price can't be beat. My store is in Greenville, SC. You might check if you have a Cycle Gear store near you.

[Bob Palin]

How will the M1 be economical? You'll use it up in the half the time so your tyres will cost you $300 plus the hassle and expense of changing two sets.

[Chunky]

I found the $227 set of Road Pilots at motorcycleproshop.com

My dealer is Touring Sport BMW in Greenville, SC. They want $415 for a pair of Z6 Metzelers. It's 220 miles round trip to get there & back. If I can find a local bike shop willing a set of road pilots I'll order them online & be ahead paying the local labor charges.

[ScottT]

I recommend these guys:

 

http://www.cyclegear.com/stores/location_sc.cfm

 

This shop is about 100 miles from where you live but the sell tires at mail order prices and charge $15 to mount and balance a tire if you buy from them. They charge $30 if you don't buy from them. I just had both of my RT tires mounted and balanced at the Cycle Gear store in Plano TX. The store here even has the adapter for the new rear R1200 wheels. Also, I've had three tires mounted and balanced and they've yet to leave a mark on my wheels.

[BnChief]

My new 1200RT came with Pilot Roads which gave me 12,000 good miles. The Metzler Z6’s I put on have given me 12,000 good miles and need to be replaced. The only difference for me was less cupping on the front with the Metzlers.

[hophead]

Holy crap are you guys really getting so many miles out of your tires or are [our] local roads really in such ill repair? I was so happy to get 7300 miles out of my Bridgestone BT020s [05 ST] that I nearly pis...mys oh nevermind.

BT020s are such great tires for relatively heavy [but definitely] sport-touring bikes that try though I might, as much as I want to try the Metzler Z6s I think to myself...how can ANY tire have such a long enduring balance of grip/feel yet still provide such confident feel for the road in spite of the miles? Up to 7500 miles anyway? Love those Bridgestone BT020s!

[BamaRider]

Chief et al- How would you compare the Metz to the Pilots when leaned over? As sticky? Less? Noise?

[Stephen H]

You guys don't know you're alive .... I get 3000 miles from my back and 5/6000 miles from a front ... MEZ4's,020's, Avons are all about the same

 

The low milage is the result of our very coarse stone clip roads and the fact the the longest straight piece of road is less that a mile ... best county in the world for motorcycling (as long as you can afford the tyres (front and rear cost me USD350 fitted)

[Chunky]

Thanks all for the help. Thanks ScottT for the local info. I bought my tankbag for the RT from that store. It's 10 minutes from my dealer. If that store will mount tires for $15. they've got a deal. That total is $260 for Z6 & $270 for Road Pilots mounted. Cool! Sure beats $415. from my dealer.

[Marek]

I'll order them online & be ahead paying the local labor charges.

 

My local car tire shop has a machine which will change the tire in a "gentle" way - he is using that for all high $ wheels. He charge me $10 to change the set. He doesn't have anything to balance it with but chances are good they will be balanced right out of the box. I called HD dealer near by they want $60 per tire to change and balance - it's a rip off!!!

 

Mark

[Bob Palin]

He doesn't have anything to balance it with but chances are good they will be balanced right out of the box.

Uh no. Though Metzelers do seem to be fairly good they almost always need some balancing even if you line up the dot properly with a known wheel position. Do you know the heavy spot on your wheels? It's not necessarily where the valve stem is, neither of mine are that way.

[BnChief]

I can't tell any difference in the noise (Metzler vs Pilot Roads) but I wear earplugs or earphones all the time. I can't tell the difference in stickiness, the tires are more competent than I am. Even though I said the Metzler front cups less I do think there is more "road feel" than I like but this may be due to a hyper awareness issue after having a tire punctured x2 and going flat while running 80mph in bumper-to-bumper freeway traffic. I'll probably replace the Z6's with another pair simply because I've had good luck with them over the years

[wardyRT]

I loove the Z6's. I had the roads before on my GT, they were competent but when I pushed 'em they would break loose pretty fast. I always felt like I was "falling into" tight twisties, don't know if it's the more triangular profile of the Roads or what. The Z6's were a revelation to me, I'll ride them from now on. Unless of course, someone gives me free tires . The Metz's are wearing a little faster than the Roads did so far (3K mi.)

[Dave Grinsel]

My ST came with Dunlop 220's. I replaced them at 3300 miles before leaving on a major trip. They had about 1,000 miles left on them. My new tires are Conti Road Attacks. The cost roughly $350 mounted and balanced at my local dealer. They now have 5200 miles and appear to have 2,000 - 3,000 miles left. I tried many tires on my previous bike, an R1100S, and found Avon ST45 and ST46 lasted the longest - about 9,000 - 10,000 miles.

[hngininthr]

Thanks all for the help. Thanks ScottT for the local info. I bought my tankbag for the RT from that store. It's 10 minutes from my dealer. If that store will mount tires for $15. they've got a deal. That total is $260 for Z6 & $270 for Road Pilots mounted. Cool! Sure beats $415. from my dealer.

They will mount the tires but your have to remove the wheels from the bike yourself. I do this at home and take the wheel with tire to them in my cage and wait while they mount and balance the new tire. You can't ride the motorcycle to their shop unless you want to remove the wheel yourself in the parking lot. Also you will want to take the old tire carcass with you since they charge $3 to dispose of it. I wouldn't go there for a tire change during a weekend (Saturday) becuase if they are busy with customers, there might not be someone available to do tire mounting. They are open on Sunday and Monday, btw.