Peeps! I am stupidly going to do a tour down to Lake Garda on an 899. Assuming it isn't broken, what tyres would easily last the journey? Rosso Corsas are out. Rosso II? I've only done 4000 miles on her and haven't strayed from the OEM... But no way will they last that long. Thanks in advance. Wil
Not a bad shout ditching the stock fitment. I am nearly done with the rear after 2.25k miles, I would try the newest rosso 3' road ones or what about Dunlop sportsmart, I did 2.5 thousand miles to Scotland and back and they were like brand new! Both options available in '60 profile rear Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm off to Luxombourg on my 899 in a few weeks and will be interested to see how the rosso corsas fair
Oh sorry, my mistake I thought the new one was a 60 profile, I would go sportsmart 2's then Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have Sportsmarts on my Gixxer and they wear pretty well, and were quite good on the track. In our touring group there is a Tuono V4, an RC8, a Harley, a 748... so it's a fair selection of bikes so being knee down all the time isn't likely. What matters is not having to buy a new set of tires on the continent.
Enjoy the trip, you'll love having the 899 when you get onto the good roads We went down to Southern Italy a year or so back when I'd just bought the 1199s and it was an awesome adventure. I posted a thread for the trip.
I am doing Spain on Supercorsas. I am surprised you don't think that a new set of Rosso Corsas will last the distance.
I used Supercorsa SP on the way down, they only do 2-3000 miles but I would have thought that you would manage it on that, and worse case they are squared off a bit for the journey home? I did decide to try the Rosso Corsas on the way back and they last a lot better but I like to give it some beans and prefer the more racey profile and stickiness of the Supercorsas. The Rosso was perfectly acceptable and if I was doing more regular touring then I'd maybe use it again. One thing worth a look is the Metzellers, some of the BMW S1000RR come on them and whilst they are similar to the Supercorsa SP that mine came with, I found the Metzeller is probably a better road tyre for the rain,etc.
Never had them on any of my bikes previously but I've had the sportsmart 2's on mine for the last 4k (almost) and they've been great to be fair. That's commuting every day and long(ish) weekend trips. They havent made my arse twitch once. Wouldnt want supercorsa's anywhere near me in the wet, but hopefully that wont be an issue for you.
Fair enough, they are dodgy as hell in the twisties when it's raining. Perfectly fine on the open roads though
For me, a trip to italy/pyrenees/spain etc is basically a 10 day track day. I have only ever used Supercorsa sp2's and metzeler racetecs. Never had any issues. Great tyres for warm empty twisty roads just need to be aware if you get caught in any rain.
Just to inform all you UK based bikers, it is possible to buy and have fitted any make of bike tyre while in Europe. You may also find that they are cheaper than the UK! I buy my tyres from Pneus moto pas cher, achat online de pneus moto or from Pneus motos » Livraison en 48 heures » Oponeo.fr and get them fitted in town. If anyone wants to position some in this part of the south of France before a trip then PM me for my address and I'll happily help out.
I'm sticking with Rosso Corsas for a 6000 mile euro trip. Plan is to get them swapped out in Helsinki about half way.
Simple advice, grow some balls, ditch low mileage questionable all round grip sport tyres and go for sport tourers, better in the wet, better in the cold, warm up quicker and they will easily last the tour (will easily get two out of a pair)without squaring off. Metzeller Roadtec 01s or some older Z8s. Once you have made the swap you won't go back and wonder why anyone accepts only 2,500 miles out of a tyre FFS Metzeler announce new Roadtec 01 | MCN or an MCN review of the older Z8 Metzeler Roadtec Interact Z8: first MCN test | MCN
Unfortunately not in 899 sizes for the Roadtec, which is a slight flaw in a thread about 899 tyres. Especially since the wrong sizes appear to upset the traction control.
Last year at the Donny trackday I changed from the oem pirellis to the continental attack sport 2s as fitted to all the California superbike fleet of Dukes and did the afternoon session. The rear Rosso was worn at well less than 3 k miles and was pretty awful sliding everywhere I had used it for usual road riding and only limited track use as I had my 1198 track bike the first year of ownership. The first session at Donny was pretty awesome and so was Silverstone and two super days at Cadders. The same tyres were on until only a few weeks ago when I was at Odiham track day and didn't feel good but it was snowing first session and my mojo left me. New conti attack later and no need to scrub in the bike and me was back on it. Last weekend we went over for a blast down through France and down to the Black Forest in mostly freezing conditions but again the tyres were stunning. Bearing in mind I'm still on the same front from last year and the rear has stacks left. Over a 1000 miles of super fast riding with luggage back through Luxembourg and Belgium plus a fair bit of autoroute/Mway. Bottom line is I would highly recommend you get a set of conti attacks fitted, probably the new 3s but the 2s are awesome rubber for the 899 and I would expect you will love them too and have no worries getting there and back.
I assume you just mean for touring and trips and general long distance road riding? I can tell you that sports touring tyres don't warm up anywhere near as quickly as rosso corsas. They do last MUCH longer though and offer good grip from cold which you may be getting confused with. I've nearly always used sports touring tyres on the road, but when getting a move on and on track there is no contest. Especially from the front end feel department. The sportier tyres really make sense then. I rode a blade sp on supercorsas on Friday and I've never been so confident in a tyre. Knee down on the road material. End of the day it's Horses for courses and entirely depends on what you're like as a rider and what the bike gets used for.
