Some tire advice please

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I am ready for a new back tire on my 1100. So far the bike came with a 160/60 Conti Road Attack, I replaced that with a standard sized 160/70 Bridgestone BT020 and then the latest tire is the T30 Evo in 160/70. I am absolutely convinced the higher 70 profile is the right way to go, but that does limit tire choices. All of my riding is solo and on very curvy roads, so traction is high on my list, but as I'm not made of money, I want something that lasts too. The BT020 was actually pretty good, stuck well enough and I got 11000km out of it. The T30 is a nicer tire, softer riding and very grippy, but I am seeing the wear bars after 3500km! I have been fastidious about pressures and kept them to 42 psi at all times.

My tire supplier has told me the BT020 is discontinued, and that the BT023 is the replacement. Does anyone have any comments on where the 23 sits vs the 020 and 30 Evo? Or another brand/model that I should try? As far as I can see, other options would include the Dunlop Roadsmart II or III, Metzeler Z6. Thanks for your advice.
 

Uncle Phil

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I use the BT020 Bias (fits on the rear of the BMW KLT1200) for mileage. AFAIK, those are still available - at least on this side of the pond. Some ST1100s folks have gotten great results out of the Michelin Commander on the rear. As a general rule, I get better mileage out of a bias than I do a radial. I end up with a radial on the front and a bias on the back - which works just fine.
 

John OoSTerhuis

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The original OEM rear in USA is STill available from Honda, with a part number: Bridgestone Exedra G548

Long life and wonderful neutral feel through entire life of the tire. Recommended. I’m on my 15th or 16th... loST track.

John
 
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Almost 20 years on Metzeler Z4's then Z6's. I like 'em and they give me very good mileage, averaging 25,000 km on a front or rear.
 
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Terry, that tyre is ugly in no miles at all.
I am running T30 Evo's front and rear on standard pressures and after 2000 miles of day rides there is little wear to talk of.
I was running 023's before and got about 6000 miles before they were poop. Front and rear would wear at about the same rate.
Nearly all my miles are two up and a large proportion with luggage. I would say my riding is spirited but sympathetic to the old girl on acceleration and braking.
Whilst I listen carefully and respect what the likes of UP and JO tell us mere mortals tyres are very individual and geography makes a difference. There's people on here who claim 15000 miles on a set, they must ride on cotton wool!
FWIW I find the Evo's too firm compared to the 023's so will probably not fit another set unless mileage is massive.
Avon have recently released a tyre which I think is in our sizes and I think it's called a Spirit ST. Might be you could try it for the rest of us, mileage is supposed to be good. Sorry I'm vague about the Avon but I'm a few months off new tyres just yet.
Good luck.
Upt'North.
 
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Terry,
Just checked on the Avon Spirit ST (where did they get that name from?) It comes in the right sizes for ABS and non ABS and is claimed to be high mileage sport touring.
Upt'North.
 
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I just fitted a T-30 EVO on the front of my ST. I only have a few miles on it but it is the STiffest tire I have seen. But, the first bead went on without using any tools.
I would almost bet you could let the air out of it and still ride.
It replaced a Metzler Z-6 Roadtec that was shot at 6,000 miles. I noticed more gyroscopic effect probably due to the weight difference between the new versus old tire and slightly more steering input needed to enter a lean. The Metzlers seemed to fall into turns quite easily when first installed. I agree with others about a harsher ride from this tire.
I'm not saying I don't like this tire. That will depend on how well it holds up. I envy the guys that say they get 11,000 miles on a set of tires. Less Sport=more Tour, I guess.
I am running a BT-023 on the back.
 
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I had Mettler Z6, lasted 10k miles before I decided to replace avons.Had previous experience w,metzlers on my 929 so I didn't expect high mileage but did expect grippiness!! only washed out once while in turn in rain while driving over oil patch
.
 
OP
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TerryS
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Thanks for the replies people. I'm going to give a BT023 a try next, but will keep in mind the Commander II and Spirit ST suggestions for next time if the 23 disappoints. The Commander II certainly seems to be the go-to for mileage.
 
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I use the BT020 Bias (fits on the rear of the BMW KLT1200) for mileage. AFAIK, those are still available - at least on this side of the pond. Some ST1100s folks have gotten great results out of the Michelin Commander on the rear. As a general rule, I get better mileage out of a bias than I do a radial. I end up with a radial on the front and a bias on the back - which works just fine.
Uncle Phil :

How is the BT020 in the rain ?
 
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The original OEM rear in USA is STill available from Honda, with a part number: Bridgestone Exedra G548

Long life and wonderful neutral feel through entire life of the tire. Recommended. I'm on my 15th or 16th... loST track.

John
John :

How is the G548 in the rain ?
 
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I've been running the BT-020 b for years (ST1100A) with no problems in the rain. I especially remember the excellent performance during a Derecho two years ago on the way to a Pipestone. This tire is much harder to mount on the rim then any other I have encountered but yields excellent mileage.
 

John OoSTerhuis

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John :

How is the G548 in the rain ?
Fine, but I don’t ride ten tenths in the rain, heck I don’t even ride five tenths... not a Ricky Racer. I’ve ridden in a LOT of rain over the years sadly... The only time I’ve ever had an Exedra rear “step out” a bit on me was a bit of light gravel the same color as some old asphalt. Not too much drama luckily.

The dual compound radials I tried wore into ‘V’s quickly, flopped into turns and required back pressure to hold a line... twitchy too. Took one off early and another took a nail and went up in the rafters patched for emergency loan. I’ve never had a flat on an Exedra, FWIW. Bias tires work great on this bike, Honda spec’d them for it. JMHO

John
 
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jfheath

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I may be mistaken, but when I had my 1996 ST1100, the BT020 radials were not available for the ST1100 - but they were available for the later models. I used them on my 2000 ABS model as soon as they became available. I was told at the time that this was to do with the rims not being suitable for radials on the earlier 1100s. How true this is, I do not know, but it is what I was told.

For my 1996 ST1100, I stuck with the OEM spec Exedras (See John's post), and typically got 10-12K out of them. In contrast, I get about 5000 miles out of the BT020s that I use on my ST1300.

The 1996 ST1100 was my first motorcycle in 20 years. Before that I had ridden a couple of motorbike and sidecar combinations. I was quite nervous about how much power there was, how the technology had changed, riding a solo bike having not ridden for 20 years, and remembering to put my foot down when I stopped !

I booked myself a weekend training course - A brilliant weekend - I had his expertise to myself and he responded to what I needed to learn. Primarily, I wanted to know that I was safe, that I could handle such a heavy bike in low speed manoeuvres, and I was concerned about tyres - we would be riding two up and going camping - were the tyres OK. At the end of it all, he said, "Well, John - you are perfectly safe enough, but you are not getting the best out of the bike. Get on the back, I'll show you what it can do ! He was about the same weight as me so this would answer my question about the tyres.
I should have said - he was a class 1 police motorcycle instructor, well used to the ST1100 as a police bike, and spent some of his spare time racing.

Strewth - I never knew that a road bike could lean over that far - and with two heavy blokes on it on bog standard tyres.

I always stuck with the Exedras on the ST1100 after that. They were more than up to what I would be doing with the bike !
 

RobbieAG

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I'm watching this thread with interest as I'm due to replace tires this winter on my 1100. I put the Exedras on last time and have done very well. I have 15.5k on the front and almost 13k on the rear. I've kept the air pressure at or a couple pounds above the recommended amounts. That being said, I think I'm going to try something different this time. I know the Exedras were designed for the bike, but that was 26 years ago and tire technology has come a long way since then. The Exedras are oriented to heavy bike touring with hard rubber which wears very well, but may give up something in handling. I'd like to see how much of a difference some more modern radial tires will make with how the bike handles. I've had my eye on the T30 EVOs, but may reconsider after hearing how poorly they wore for you Terry. I may consider the BT023s, Dunlops, Michelins, Avons or something else. I know options are limited for the 1100 non ABS.

EDIT: FYI (I see I wasn't clear) - that's 15.5k front and 13k rear - miles, not km and they still have some tread on them. I also ride pretty hard (at least I think I do ;)), with lots of twisty roads in western and central North Carolina and Virginia.
 
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TerryS
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Robbie I may not be the poster boy for milking the best mileage from tyres! I don't ride in a touring manner, and all of my riding is on twisty roads with plenty of acceleration and braking, generally on quite abrasive surfaces. I have never worn out the centre of a tyre, my tyres usually wear down at about 60% lean. That said, on my VFR800 or VTR1000 I would typically get 8000km from a grippy S-T rear tyre like a Z8 or T30, so I was pretty surprised that the ST1100 and I managed to destroy the T30 in less than half that distance. As stated I got 11000km from the BT020.
 
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