Tires

[V11crazed]

I have the piot roads the wear like iron and work well for me. Just bought a second set.

 

Hey Brentwood,

 

Anymore feedback you can give me on the roads? I just found out the PO is sendng me a new 170pilot road rear. The front is a Battleax, practically new, and I'm leaning on keeping it. If I unload it, how is the pair (roads) in regards to wear, grip...etc.

 

thanks in advance for any input...

[BRENTTODD]

Hey Nancy I like the roads just fine. I just walked back into the house after a little perk and its about 44 degrees here in Nj the tires hold well in the cold weather and even better in warmer weather. I would tell you to get the 160 in the place of the 170 if you think the bike steers hard. If it is to late dont worry about it i have a 170 now I havent put the new set on yet. I would guess you should get at least 7 to 8 thousand miles on them maybe even more. By the way in your handling problem check the threads about moving your fork tubes up a little in your tripple tree talk to the cat who wrenches on your bike he should know whats going on. That made a noticeable difference in my bike somebody might have told u that already.

 

Good luck

Brent.

[rocker59]

Why put Metzeler Z6 or Pirelli Diablo Strada on a sporty bike like the V11LeMans? OK, I agree that they last longer and are also very good on rain, but Metzeler M3 Sportec are softer, safer and give you more angle to bent. A sport touring pair of tires for a sport touring bike. Personally I find them excellent also on wet roads. And if you are thinking of track days....these are excellent too. A great balance between sporty mood, safety (wet roads) and longevity.

 

 

This is why: 4,500 mile ride report

 

Otherwise, I'd be running Pilot Power or Bridgestone BT-014.

[Guest ratchethack]

Why put Metzeler Z6 or Pirelli Diablo Strada on a sporty bike like the V11LeMans? OK, I agree that they last longer and are also very good on rain, but Metzeler M3 Sportec are softer, safer and give you more angle to bent. A sport touring pair of tires for a sport touring bike. Personally I find them excellent also on wet roads. And if you are thinking of track days....these are excellent too. A great balance between sporty mood, safety (wet roads) and longevity.

Safer?? How do you get that?

 

I have Diablo Strada's on my V-11 and chase my son and his 'busa around the mountains all day long. Great stick with nice progressive indication of traction threshold. Clean recovery from slippage with no risk of hi-side. Excellent wet road performance. Decent wear characteristics. Great tires for a heavy sport bike!

Don't softer tires (like M3) give you (generally speaking) greater stick in comparison to the less soft ones (like the Z6 or Diablo Strada)? The more harder the "rubber" the less the "accretion", am I not right?

Interesting exchange. IMHO there are valid points on both sides here.

 

First off, sorry to say this if it comes as a surprise, but it may be credibly and resonably argued that it's been at least 20 years (some would argue ever) since a Guzzi LeMans ranked in the same class of performance as the "Sport" category. Sport versions of the V11 included.

 

No question about it, the M3 is both softer and stickier than a Z6 or Diablo Strada. Yes, the M3 is a "sportier" tire for Sport Bikes, whilst the Z6 is a Sport Touring tire for heavier bikes. Guzzis are without Q, heavier bikes at ~550 lb.

 

IMHO the significant facts here are:

 

1. In wot I refer to as "The Golden Age of Moto Tires", ALL "top o' the evaluation list" steel radial tires are SO GOOD that even the best road racer on a V11 would be hard-pressed to be hampered by any lack of grip, handling, or performance shortcoming of top notch Sport Touring tires ON THE ROAD -- even pressing them hard at moderately "supra-legal" speeds.

 

2. 99.9% of riders cannot possibly extract the full performance designed into a Sport tire like the M3 ON THE ROAD.

 

3. Changing tires is a significant PITA for all riders. Sport tires get HALF the mileage of Sport Touring tires like the Z6. This automatically makes them twice as expensive AND doubles the maintenance costs of having them changed.

 

4. Because changing tires is SUCH A PITA, Sport tires also get ridden past their prime, squared-off, and therefore get compromised in their handling and thereby become progressively more dangerous ON THE ROAD at double the frequency of Sport Touring tires like the Z6.

 

5. Many dedicated non-track riders (myself included) ride Sport Touring tires like the Z6 in extremely demanding terrain, all the way to the edges of the tread, dragging hard parts, with superb control, superb grip, superb handling, with predictable, sure-footed balance and just as quick (if not quicker) turning feel -- in every kind of marginal condition.

 

So unless you b'lieve you're Johnny Road Racer on your overweight, badly balanced, poorly suspended, and underpowered V11 (relative to the best of the high-zoot Sport Bikes of the last 20 years), IMHO you're only FOOLING YOURSELF by putting track shoes on your horsie!

 

Learn to enjoy the absolutely FABULOUS handling and grip of the current top Sport Touring tires on your Guzzi. You can't hardly do better than this ON THE ROAD at any price.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

 

Cdr. Hatchracket, dedicated Road Geez

[antonio carroccio]

For this time I am with Ratch.

I wear now my second pair of Z6.

The ‘oldies’ who know me, they know I have had few different brands of tyres and I never have been that enthusiast about the Z6.

I would say, The Z6 is even better than Pirelli Diablo.

 

There is one disadvantage, if you are not riding your tyre in, at least three years, off, better use sporty tyres. They are faster worn. To wear tyres for a long time, the rubber will change his typical property. A Z6 after three years and with only 4000km running, it is just shame to through away.

[v11cafe]

M3 is my favorite, but for real life where you don't want to pay for tires every 4000 km,

Diablo Strada and Z6 are the best. Diablo is a little better in wet , and grip is enough for everything

unless your name start with Ro..and ends with ...ssi.

I"ve done recently a track day with Diablos, and although I already have them for 6000km, they were safe

and you could easily lean the bike to the end.

Truth is that tire evaluation is a personal thing, because depends on the way one drives

[Baldini]

...even the best road racer on a V11 would be hard-pressed to be hampered by any lack of grip, handling, or performance shortcoming of top notch Sport Touring tires ON THE ROAD....

Oh come on ....As you say, ST tyres grip great, but SS tyres grip better, end of story.

 

.... Because changing tires is SUCH A PITA, Sport tires also get ridden past their prime...etc...

Fast wear on ss tyres is a real pain in the arse but I replace em when they are worn. Wear pattern depends where you ride: I ride now only for fun, mostly only on twisties & don't do many miles. Power 2CT's (ss tyres) wore evenly across their width, f & b, & maintained good handling & performance until replacement at a little over minimum tread. If I was doing more distance I'd use ST tyres. Tyres should be replaced when worn whatever the type.

 

...So unless you b'lieve you're Johnny Road Racer on your overweight, badly balanced, poorly suspended, and underpowered V11 (relative to the best of the high-zoot Sport Bikes of the last 20 years), IMHO you're only FOOLING YOURSELF by putting track shoes on your horsie! ....

That's me then. Oh well...

 

KB,

[Dan M]

2. 99.9% of riders cannot possibly extract the full performance designed into a Sport tire like the M3 ON THE ROAD.

 

3. Changing tires is a significant PITA for all riders. Sport tires get HALF the mileage of Sport Touring tires like the Z6. This automatically makes them twice as expensive AND doubles the maintenance costs of having them changed.

 

4. Because changing tires is SUCH A PITA, Sport tires also get ridden past their prime, squared-off, and therefore get compromised in their handling and thereby become progressively more dangerous ON THE ROAD at double the frequency of Sport Touring tires like the Z6.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

 

Cdr. Hatchracket, dedicated Road Geez

 

I'm currently considering my next set. I have had NO issues with the Diablo Stradas, and may be a fool to stray but I'm always willing to try something newer or better. As has been said, most all brands have excellent supersport and sport touring tires in their line. I've always leaned toward the sport touring but now, many brands are putting out something in the middle. Pirelli has no less than 4 in the Diablo line: Diablo Strada, Diablo, Diablo Rosso, Diablo Corsa III. Besides short life of the sticky sport tires, the other trade off of the more sporting tire is decreased wet performance. Still, I'm thinking the compromise of the plain Diablo may be the way to go.

 

The one down side of this being the "golden age" of motorcycle tires is with all the Diablos, Pilots, Ms & Zs, Road Attacks & Sport Attacks, Venoms & Vipers, Sportmaxes and Battlaxes; Choosing a tire is kind of like choosing house paint. The more choices there are, the harder it is to choose.

[rocker59]

Antonio and Baldini are right:

 

If you're only running 3,000 miles to 6,000 miles per year, then why not use supersport tires? There are lots of occasional and recreational riders out there who ride only a few thousand miles per year, so they may as well get top performance with something like Pilot Power.

 

On the other hand, if your idea of a weekend ride is a couple thousand miles, running supersport tires is just plain wasteful when modern sport-touring tires are "almost" as good and last twice as long.

 

I run BT-014s on my Sport 1100 because I only ride it occasionally.

 

I run the Z6 on my Nero Corsa because it's my main bike that I ride 2-up and on trips...