Re: [ST] Are "sticky" tires worth it

[triumph1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I like the way this tire thread has developed.  Realism for real 
riding.  I tour more than hit the edges and since a dirt bike wreck last 
year with broken ribs, twisted knee, cuts, bruises and and 4 months on 
the mend this year has me thinking about those times when I've pushed it 
on the twisties and every time I go nuts the pain comes back to mind.  
At 42, I really shiver at the thought of breaking more bones and 
spending months limping around healing from my incurable adolescent 
side.  before last year my tires always had the edge worn as well as the 
center and this year I am less inclined to scrub up the edge.  Besides 
how realistic is it to have the best sport riding tire for real world 
riding?  I've only tried two types of tires on my RS and the stock 020's 
are the best all rounder in my opinion.  I push then to around 8k and 
the center always wears out first.  As a matter of fact as stupid and 
irresponsible as I have ridden in the past and still do, I still only 
managed to wear out the center.  If I ever have the dollars to buy a 
track bike or drop the $$ for six sets of tires a season, I may try some 
more fashionable tires, but for the real world and real roads and my 
real wallet, I'll stick to old faithful BT020's nothing better for 
endurance riding and occasionally riding fast through the curves.

T Elliott

Rod Brown wrote:

>>On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 10:47:33 -0500, John Petrey, Jr. wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>I realized several years ago that I wasn't really interested in saving
>>>a couple hundred bucks a year on 'average-sticky' tires when I have
>>>spend all the $ on bike(s), the millions of dollars worth of gear,
>>>      
>>>
>>accessories,
>>    
>>
>David replied
>  
>
>>While money is a prime motivator for me to buy longer lasting tires, it is
>>    
>>
>not
>  
>
>>the only one.
>>1) high end sport tires & trackday tires don't work too well when cold. So
>>    
>>
>if
>  
>
>>you are riding easy, they are not better then standard sport touring
>>    
>>
>tires.
>  
>
>>When you are just cruising along the tire is not up to full temperature.
>>    
>>
>If the
>  
>
>>unexpected shows up you will be lucky if you have as much grip as a
>>"average-sticky" sport touring tire.
>>
>>2) Many have almost no tread for wet riding.
>>
>>3) Just before any longish trip the current tires never have enough
>>    
>>
>mileage
>  
>
>>left, so they need to be changed early. If a tire only lasts 2k, then look
>>    
>>
>at the
>  
>
>>odds of having enough tread for a 1000 mile weekend.
>>
>>4) I hate changing tires. The "long lasting" sport touring tires don't
>>    
>>
>last very
>  
>
>>long as it is. Six sets of tires a year is enough already.
>>
>>    
>>
>
>In my opinion David makes some excellent points.  My stock BT57's got 4.7K
>and the replacement rear ME 4 isn't going to get much better, maybe less.  I
>ride 500 mile days.  Don't care who you are, the wear for that kind of
>riding is in the middle, NOT the edges.  Let me throw in a casual
>observation from watching several lists which on the surface looks like a
>totally different topic.  The guys who constantly talk about edge wear,
>scraping panels, and scraping pegs seem to be the same guys who chime in on
>the high side / low side crash experience threads.   My point is that I
>believe the more time you spend at extreme angles, the higher the probablity
>of wearing out your body parts and I don't mean plastic parts.  To extend
>that point, maybe there is some logic in getting tires with better wear and
>adequate stick at the edges.  I am going to be looking hard at the new Avons
>for those exact reasons.  If there is really some touring in that ST,  I'm
>not sure sticky is the way to go.   If you have dropped the T then sticky
>probably is the way to fly.
>
>Just my 2 pesos
>Rod
>
>
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