False economy

Now i have read alot of opinions of late in regard to buying tyres out of the US, and am guilty of purchasing the worst tyre i ever had the conti road attack 2, great tyre in the dry, but sphincter tightening in the wet, distance 7,000 ks. Not flash. Then for $330 delivered me old faithful PR2 set from jake wilson.

Now i have to say unlike some members of this forum i am never going to get above 10,000 out of a PR2 rear and 13,000 out of a front. But this set is looking like i going to be lucky to get 7,000, front and rear.

Having had a chat with my mate Terry who a habitual importer of tyres, he also gets shit milage out of what he puts on. And he always trying different brands and styles. But he reckons my theory is bullshit  

So i have come to the conclusion that whilst tyres are cheaper to get out of america they must be a different rubber compound cause whilst they are grippy   they wear faster

Another friend of mine agrees he says the US tyre is made for there smooth concrete roads, send a aussie tyre over there you would never wear it out.

Going to try a set of pirelli angel GTs next the www.bikeshop.com.au has some good deals going on those, be interesting to see grip levels and wear cause they reckon up to 25,000 ks life span. We will see or maybe i need to stop riding with my multistrata mate as he is a bad influence. Or i could take up drinking coffee and join the local ulysse club, but could be a bit extreme for me

I've got a pirelli angel gt put on my front wheel only recently, seems ok but I haven't been in any rain yet and I'm still wearing away the new tyre slippery stuff. I've got an angel st on the rear.

I have difficulty believing that the tyres (well tires) sold in the US are different to the ones we get here.  I note that the Michelin's imported from the US (in this case Pilot Pure's) were made in Spain just like the ones here.  Some have claimed that they are old stock, and possibly, on occasions they are.  But don't kid yourself, riders in the US just don't do concrete interstates, they have their two-laner's, they also do track days etc.  The biggest difference is the temperature range; but on the other hand you don't see many bikes in winter anyway so it's a bit moot.  

Anyway, speaking of moot, importing tyres from the US is starting to get pretty marginal.  Australian importers/retailers seem to have screwed a better deal off the manufacturers, plus shipping just seems to steadily increase, and then you have to pay for fitting.  Personally, am tending to buy my tyres locally these days as a 10 - 15% saving is not worth the effort, IMHO.

Dekenai wrote:I have difficulty believing that the tyres (well tires) sold in the US are different to the ones we get here.

I have to agree. With the relatively small market Australia is, I can't see Manufacturers running a small batch of tyres as a different compound just for us.

Maybe those of us who purchased from the US have made a difference to prices in Australia

i have always had the pirellis - they're good

I don’t think that there is much to separate the well-known manufacturers i.e. Michelin, Metzler (who now owns Pirelli), Dunlop, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Continental, Avon, and for that matter possibly emergent brands like Mitas.  While there is (to me) a noticeable difference between Touring (PR2’s), Sports (Pilot Pure), and track-rated tyres (Power Cup), I seriously doubt that I could pick the difference between say Pirelli Diablo Rosso II’s (which were on the fireblade) and say Pilot Pure’s.


And yes, I think all of us who have been buying o/s has forced a significant re-alignment in Australian pricing.  All we gotta do now is to get the US and European helmet ratings accepted as ‘equivalent or better’ than AS1698 and we can have some competition there too!

Dekenai wrote:And yes, I think all of us who have been buying o/s has forced a significant re-alignment in Australian pricing.  All we gotta do now is to get the US and European helmet ratings accepted as ‘equivalent or better’ than AS1698 and we can have some competition there too!

Interestingly (I think) I just bought a Shark Vision R helmet from this mob http://www.motorbikeroadgear.com.au/

and a quick Google suggests that the price was on par with the US and UK, not sure about other brands though.

Coming up to 24,000 on my rear Pr2

Kaupy1962 wrote:Coming up to 24,000 on my rear Pr2

Put up pic please i have to see that

Jim your PR2s must be from the same batch as mine. Im looking at about 9000km max down from regular 16000 so im sure the rubber varies from batch to batch.  Im expecting about the same from my Pilot Pures and trust me they are super grippy on the FZ. 
Can someone please try the new SortsMax before I put down my hard earned? 

I have seen Kaupys tyres before. At 24k his side stand becomes optional

Side stand optional -  

I have the sportmax sportsmart on my 1250 . 10000 km front and rear and wont get too many more k's from them. No good for regular freeway use as the rear will wear down the middle. Good tyre though, they steer real well and haven't had any "moments" but at regular speeds I struggle to get any heat into them.
Graham

sorry guys I think I posted in the wrong thread, anyway.........
Graham

BoomGT wrote:I have the sportmax sportsmart on my 1250 . 10000 km front and rear and wont get too many more k's from them. No good for regular freeway use as the rear will wear down the middle. Good tyre though, they steer real well and haven't had any "moments" but at regular speeds I struggle to get any heat into them.
Graham

Thanks.  That's the feedback I'm after.

Jimcoleman wrote:

Kaupy1962 wrote:Coming up to 24,000 on my rear Pr2

Put up pic please i have to see that

Will do

2wheelsagain wrote:

BoomGT wrote:I have the sportmax sportsmart on my 1250 . 10000 km front and rear and wont get too many more k's from them. No good for regular freeway use as the rear will wear down the middle. Good tyre though, they steer real well and haven't had any "moments" but at regular speeds I struggle to get any heat into them.
Graham

Thanks.  That's the feedback I'm after.

I only got 8,000 out the sportmax I had on the rear

Kaupy1962 wrote:

2wheelsagain wrote:

BoomGT wrote:I have the sportmax sportsmart on my 1250 . 10000 km front and rear and wont get too many more k's from them. No good for regular freeway use as the rear will wear down the middle. Good tyre though, they steer real well and haven't had any "moments" but at regular speeds I struggle to get any heat into them.
Graham

Thanks.  That's the feedback I'm after.

I only got 8,000 out the sportmax I had on the rear

Was that OEM or retail rubber Mate?

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Kaupy1962 wrote:Coming up to 24,000 on my rear Pr2

Ooops Sorry I tell a lie. Coming up to 20,000 ks

2wheelsagain wrote:

Kaupy1962 wrote:

2wheelsagain wrote:

BoomGT wrote:I have the sportmax sportsmart on my 1250 . 10000 km front and rear and wont get too many more k's from them. No good for regular freeway use as the rear will wear down the middle. Good tyre though, they steer real well and haven't had any "moments" but at regular speeds I struggle to get any heat into them.
Graham

Thanks.  That's the feedback I'm after.

I only got 8,000 out the sportmax I had on the rear

Was that OEM or retail rubber Mate?

OEM

You did well... I got 3000kms out of the OEM Dunlop shitmax

These days a Battlax 023 last around 6-6500 on the rear. Fairly sticky which I'd rather than skatey rear. I am going to go to a softer front shortly as I have had a few moments with the current 023 front