At the risk of posting another which tyres thread… My 748 has barely worn tyres (300 miles or so?) but are 12-13 years old. I’m not that bothered for the road but I intend to have some fun with it on the track this year, so I’m gonna change them. I’m not a fast rider, on the Fireblade with S22’s I’m about the middle of the inters so I don’t need race tyres. I am leaning towards another pair of S22’s cos I feel they’re a decent all round tyre but I am also thinking about Metz K3, Michelin Power GP or maybe even Road6’s. There’s a lot of choice now and as usual it’s paralysing. I’ve still got a 120/60 on the front which I’m almost definitely going to change to a 120/70. Do I also need to drop yokes down the forks 5mm or so to keep the geometry or is it better to set the steering head angle steeper?
I have 2022 Metzler TD slicks 180/55 & 120/70 if your "Shire" location is in the South somewhere. I run them on my 748 R & RS at front of Middle Group on Euro TDs.
Supercorsa SC are great. I used 120/70 on my 748 for years - never changed the yoke position but did set sag and preload and damping for my weight.
I think my V4S came with these OE. Rather than faff about changing to my tyre of choice (KR108’s) I used them at Donington for breaking the bike in. They were absolutely fine!! Great tyres…
To me it’s more about how you intend to use the bike. If it’s track only then go for a 100% track orientated tyre. If it’s road and track I’d be going for s22 or Pirelli Rosso Corsa 2’s. better in the wet/damp than hyper sport tyres.
I’ve had a look for Rosso II corsa but the usual places don’t seem to have stock. What about Supercorsa V3 SP? They aren’t expensive and seem to be available. Unlike other manufacturers I can’t get my head around Pirelli’s naming scheme though
If you ever ride in rain the Rosso Corsa or S22 is a better bet. I’ve had both s22 and Rosso Corse on my track bikes and they are very similar. If you don’t ever ride in the rain Supercorsas are excellent. Better than the aforementioned two.
Jack is 100% correct - it’s very much down to your intended use and priorities. Any new sports oriented tyre you put on is going to be a massive improvement on your old tyres - not just because they will have turned to stone by now! But because tyre technology is constantly improving. First decide your usage. 100% track? 20% Track 80% road? Dry only? Tyre warmers? What’s your priority if mixed use? Track performance over longevity? Dry performance over wet? Please fill in answers to the above to improve your selection process! And give us something to disagree and debate about………..
Download the latest Pirelli technical guide to learn all about their range. It has handy graphs like this! https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-gb/motorcycle/technical-data-book
Last year I did more mileage on track than on the road as I don’t really know any good roads around me. @cookster has said he’s going to help me rectify that As I have a Fireblade also I’m not sure that I’m gonna keep on taking the 748 to the track, but I’m gonna have to try it and see if I prefer it to the ‘blade. If that’s the case the Ducati will be 90% track for a while and the ‘blade will become 90% road (or I’ll just sell it). I’m not sure a 25 year old 748 is an ideal track bike though. To answer the rest, I don’t intentionally go out in the rain, and I’d prefer tyre performance over longevity as I don’t do many miles, and if I get to track and it rains I probably won’t bother going out. I went out at Donny in the wet last year on the ‘blade and had a few scary slides (S22s). Tyre warmers: I can’t be bothered with that faff and expense cos I’m not quick enough to make use of those kinds of tyres that need them.
And the same for Metzeler, https://d1ykpo4jhzi0cx.cloudfront.net/download/metzeler_tdb_2022.pdf. I can highly recommend the Racetec RR K3. When most stayed in the pit lane in the afternoon of the Ducati day at Silverstone because of a bit of (mental) rain, I had a hoot on track ….. just had to stay off the F1 grid white lines Andy
Basically the further to the left you go the more ‘Dry track’ oriented they get - once you go off the left hand side of that graph you are into the truly track oriented range which starts to offer different compound choices and assumes you will change tyres to inters/wets if you need to. “I’ve still got a 120/60 on the front which I’m almost definitely going to change to a 120/70. Do I also need to drop yokes down the forks 5mm or so to keep the geometry or is it better to set the steering head angle steeper?” If I were you I would match the 180/60 rear with the 120/70 front and leave the fork settings as they are until you try the bike - then if you want to speed things up drop the forks through the yokes a little. The Diablo Rosso IV Corsa are probably the ones from that range that suit the preferences you have described best. You wouldn’t choose them to go out on a wet track but if you were caught out in the rain on the road they would get you home without scaring you. Because they are a 2 compound tyre they have a very soft band outer band so offer genuine track tyre grip on the edge in the dry. The central band has a decent silica content so offers wet weather/cold temperature grip. The SP’s are that little bit more track focused - but that little bit more scary in the wet.
I was in a similar situation at the end of last summer. My Pilot Power 3's still had tread but they were 10 years old. I don't ride a lot anymore. I considered the Road 6's but I just don't go out in the rain. I'll ride home if caught out but I don't start out that way. So my pick ended up being the Michelin Power 5.
