I installed a set of these on my two wheeled Honda Civic last week. They have transformed my bike from, well, a Civic, to an actual motorcycle, that loves to corner, and that exudes confidence on the cold wet roads that are my life for the next 5 or 6 months. They where not the cheapest options out there, but after reading tons of gushing reviews, I decided to crack open the old purse and let the moths see the light of day.
Sadly there are no Airhead sizes, but if you have a later K bike or an Oil/Hex head, I suggest that you seriously take a look at them.
I almost put a set on my KTM, but they are not on the approved list. Interestingly (to me anyway) the non ABS version of the 990 SMT does not have the same tire list. So I went with Metzler Z8 Interact which are significantly less expensive and stick well even though they are a ST tire. Wet performance is excellent. The original Conti Road attacks were gone @ 6000klms.
Zombie Master wrote:I almost put a set on my KTM, but they are not on the approved list. Interestingly (to me anyway) the non ABS version of the 990 SMT does not have the same tire list. So I went with Metzler Z8 Interact which are significantly less expensive and stick well even though they are a ST tire. Wet performance is excellent. The original Conti Road attacks were gone @ 6000klms.
I replaced Z8s with the PR4s. There must be a different quality of tires for OE fitment. All the reviews for the Z8s are positive, and you are happy with them, but on the Honda they where frightening. Most everyone on the NC700 forum has a similar opinion of them as I do. The only negative comments I found about the PR4 was when they are OE fitted on the new 1200RT.
BTW the average mileage of the Z8 on an NC700 is just under 10,000 miles.
PR3's on the Oilhead, and they are absolutely the most neutral tires I've ever experienced on any motorcycle. They are the first tires I've ever had that had no noticeable characteristics - the bike just worked as perfectly as you could imagine it working, and you forgot all about the fact that it even had tires.
Major Softie wrote: They are the first tires I've ever had that had no noticeable characteristics - the bike just worked as perfectly as you could imagine it working, and you forgot all about the fact that it even had tires.
That pretty much sums it up.
I just came in from a very pleasant back road ride. It's a sunny afternoon but it has been raining and windy a lot lately. The road changes from dry (in the sun) to wet (in the shade) and back at almost every corner. Throw in some wet leaves and pine needles here and there plus the odd deer. Previously, I'd be a nervous wreck with my shorts full of skidmarks by the time I got home. Today I had a nice brisk ride without much of a thought about road conditions, it just doesn't seem to make any difference if the road goes from dry to wet right at the apex. No twitching, no vague feeling, I just carried on like it was summer time, and kept my eyes open for Bambi.
Major Softie wrote: They are the first tires I've ever had that had no noticeable characteristics - the bike just worked as perfectly as you could imagine it working, and you forgot all about the fact that it even had tires.
That pretty much sums it up.
I just came in from a very pleasant back road ride. It's a sunny afternoon but it has been raining and windy a lot lately. The road changes from dry (in the sun) to wet (in the shade) and back at almost every corner. Throw in some wet leaves and pine needles here and there plus the odd deer. Previously, I'd be a nervous wreck with my shorts full of skidmarks by the time I got home. Today I had a nice brisk ride without much of a thought about road conditions, it just doesn't seem to make any difference if the road goes from dry to wet right at the apex. No twitching, no vague feeling, I just carried on like it was summer time, and kept my eyes open for Bambi.
That's a pretty good review Garnet ! I'll keep them in mind . Slimey corners where the sun never shines are the true horrors for me, any protection is welcome !
"You ain't gonna learn what you don't want to know"
The Grateful Dead
I had PR3s on my R1200R and they were very very good to me. PR4s are apparently even better. Hard to go wrong with Michelin. Though on my GS, I had a couple sets of Anakee 3s which were good on the street, not so good off pavement. Now I'm running Heidenau K60s which are awesome in the dirt, yet still handle pretty decent on the street. Not as good as the A3s on-pavement but still pretty good.
Steve in Golden wrote:I had PR3s on my R1200R and they were very very good to me. PR4s are apparently even better. Hard to go wrong with Michelin. Though on my GS, I had a couple sets of Anakee 3s which were good on the street, not so good off pavement. Now I'm running Heidenau K60s which are awesome in the dirt, yet still handle pretty decent on the street. Not as good as the A3s on-pavement but still pretty good.
Yeah, Anakees are barely an adventure tire - kind of a 95%/5% tire. You've gone to a 50/50. The Michelin T63's are a nice 50/50 tire, and, unlike the wonderful but expensive Pilot Roads, they're really reasonable too - quite a lot cheaper than the Heidenaus.
