K1200RS Tire Recommendations?

I had a 2000 K1200RS about 4 years ago, and ran Pirelli Diablo Strata tires. That bike was totalled by a soccer mom in an Escalade.

I recently bought a 2003 K1200RS (blue and white!), and went shopping for the Diablo Strata tires, but they didn't pop up right away. Maybe they have been replaced by a newer model?

I need a somewhat sticky tire that will give decent mileage.. 10,000 miles or so.

What tires do you run on your K1200RS, and how do you like them?

Thanks!

I don't think 10K miles out of a tire on a bike as heavy and powerful as that is a reasonable expectation. More like 5K or less on the rear and 6-7K on the front is doing good.

I like Michelin Pilot Road IIIs. Nice steering feel, neutral and they wear as well as anything out there. The price is reasonable too. Next choice would be Dunlop Roadsmart II. I have used both and both are excellent. The Dunlop surprisingly costs more than the Michelin.

Btw, try typing Diablo Strada into your search engine and see what you get.

K1200RS tires

I have run Michelins, metzlers, Dunlaps and Conti Road Attacks.
Second set of Road Attacks on now and next tires will Conti Road Attacks.
As tire mileage decreases, Fun increases.
The Lonerider

I'm running PR3s on my K12TGT and am very happy with them so far. Handling is good and wear is as good or better than expected. I should be able to get 10k out of them easily. The one thing I can't comment on is their handling in the rain because by luck (good or bad, depending on whether you're a farmer or a rider) I haven't yet had to ride any wet roads at real speed.

A popular tire for mileage and grip is the PR3. We tried the PR and PR2 on our RS and was happy with those. I got about 8,000 miles out of the backs and my wife got about 7,000.
My wife has the PR3 on her K1300S and it looks like it's wearing slightly better than the PR and PR2 she ran on her RS.

A little dated here as tire models have changed over the last 4 years.

Metzler Z6, Good, heavy to turn, great straight line, allows pull to right to show up more than others, 10,000 -11,000 miles, Front lasts a little longer. Cupped a little more than the others on the front. Some found them very unpredictable with end of wear. I found that watching the TWI bars just either side of center allowed a very predictable last 1500 miles. The last under 1000 miles they get a very strange crown effect on the rear.

Michelin Pilot Road 2s, Somewhat better. less straight line stablity, the best with no drift to right, easy to turn in but a bit eager to do that at slower speeds once a certain lean angle is reached. Front wears out around 9500 miles, the rear has just a little more left but always replaced as a set. Front will get some funky little wear pattern around 4000 miles that starts to hum a little, nothing objectionable handling wise, just a little noise.

Dunlop Roadsmart. Good tire. It did all I asked of it without notice. Felt a bit more neutral than the Michelin PRs. Ran pretty straight, nice turn in without the suddenness of the effort at mid lean at slow speeds of the PR2s Rear worn out just before 10,000 but front wore out at 7500. I think I would try it again over a PR2, not sure if PR3, I might just try the PR3 to compare.

Dunlop Q2s, My favorite 5,500 - 6000 miles. It gives the bike a completely different feel. A very easy eager predictable turn in and line in the curve. A bit more wandering on straight line in windy conditions but much more agile feeling in twisties. A little of the pull to the right shows back up but easily balanced out with load in bags.

None of the tires have really slipped around in dry or wet. I have had them all on long straight slab runs and technical tight bad pavement roads. I have had a knee down with all of them. Dunlop recommends not using the Q2 as a winter tire. That was why I tried the Roadsmart. In cold 25-45 degree temps neither tire will warm up. The Q2 is designed to be sticky above 50 degrees and warm up then. The Roadsmarts compound might be a little stickier in cold temps. I have done both in those temps and always ride with more care. Neither ever slipped on me.

The pressures I run vary from around the manufacturers recommendation to lower. I use tire temp as a basis. A guru I happened across taught me to expect a hot tire to have about 10% more air pressure in it than a cold. If the tire isn't getting warm enough to generate that increase, it is too hard. (I am going with mild to warm air temps for this). So I find the pressure where the tires warm and do that. If they get hot, then I add a bit more air. I found there is a nice line where this happens and being more than 2lbs either side of that mark has a big difference Thus the rear pressures will vary across these tires (and the loads on them) from 36-42, fronts from 34-36.

Your mileage will vary with roads, the texture of the roads and your riding style. I only posted these to show the relative nature of the tires compared to each other. I typical ride from the low 20s to almost 30K per year. I like the Q2s so much that I will work in an extra tire change per year.

NCS

I have use PRII(2 sets) and been able to get 10k miles. I'm using my first set of PRIII and they seem to do quite well.

ROC

PR3's (B - Rear)

I must be a wimp rider with the set of PR3's I put on about 13.7k ago.

While I know I do not push the envelope riding, nor do I hot dog in accelerating or do hard braking often, the PR3's I still have on are about shot!. Be lucky to see another 1k out of them. The rear is worst than the front. The rear is still showing the center Z tread and dots, true, not by much. I do mostly interstate commuting miles, almost every day (120 round trip) running in the 75 mph range.

I also use those non-functional Dyna Beads..... yep so far a very nicely worn tires, no cupping but I do have flat areas for center roundness, as expected for tires with about 14k on them.

Cannot comment on wet traction, just not much rain this summer during my commutes or weekend rides. But what little that did occur, nothing scary about the bike's handling.

Tar snakes, yep, I feel them and do not like them, but again, nothing worst than the previous 80k I put on BMW's here in Utah or the other 200k on other brands of bikes. Tar Snakes are bad when the front or back give the feeling of slipping out from under you.

Yep.. you guess it, I got a set sitting near the KRS to go back on when this set is gone. I got another set in storage just to be sure I have a set on hand.

Tires like Oil

So, tire threads are sort of like oil threads....everybody has way different riding styles and preferences. I could never get 10,000 miles out of any tire on the RS unless I behave, I suppose. The MEz6 I have on now has just over 5,000 and has the worst wear pattern of any tire I have ever had on the bike and is into the wear bars. Admittedly, I blew it and ran them with way low pressure for a couple hundred miles, but they were wearing wierd and fast before that. I have had the best run with a combination of Bridgestone 010 Fr/ 020 Rr. The designations have changed now, but I consistently got 8,000 per set. The lowest I ever got on anything was a Michelin race compound, so that was expected, but still got 2,000. I have made it to 8,500 on two sets of Pilot Roads, before they came out with the Road 2 or 3.
So, maybe if you less agressive or whatever, you might get 10,000 from a PR2ct or PR3, and unless you are on the track, they should be grippy enough for most any other style of riding, no problem. I have the 2cts on my S and love them for both wet and dry grip and reasonable longevity at about 6,000 miles of relatively aggressive riding. Even did a track day on them.

Have fun choosing!

'02 K1200RS, Michelin Pilot Road 2s have worked very well for me. Replacements will be MPR III's.