Does anyone run "hypersport" tires?

[mjfink420]

I've had touring tires (currently Road 6's, but I've tried most of them now) on my XR since I got it. My 660 came with a real "sport" tire on it (Pirelli Rosso 4s), I've not tried anything else on it yet.

But I went to a "bike night" recently and was looking at the sport bikes there, seemed that nearly everyone (except me) was running Power 6's, Power Cups, Rosso Corsas, etc.

Just surprised me, most of the guys I talked to weren't into racing/track days; I didn't directly question the "why", but I wondered, anyone here run a super sticky tire for road riding (only)? If so, why? Wondering if I'm missing something and should give them a try or if it's more a "I want the best" and willing to deal with the downsides of a super soft tire (biggest for me would be poor rain performance, followed closely by poor lifespan).

 

[r0ckrat]

In SoCal, a lot of people run Rosso Corsa etc tires on sport/supersport bikes. A lot of them ride imho far to fast for public roads, too. Other factors: they don't feel like they need to worry about rain, and since many people are weekend only riders they don't put that many miles on. It still amazes me how many bikes are for sale that are 10, 15 years old with less than 10k miles, even out here in SoCal.

 

[mjfink420]

In SoCal, a lot of people run Rosso Corsa etc tires on sport/supersport bikes. A lot of them ride imho far to fast for public roads, too. Other factors: they don't feel like they need to worry about rain, and since many people are weekend only riders they don't put that many miles on. It still amazes me how many bikes are for sale that are 10, 15 years old with less than 10k miles, even out here in SoCal.

Great point, that actually makes a lot of sense. If you never have to deal with rain (or cold), I'm not sure there's much downside to going up to a tire that's more track focused. I guess lower tread life would be a consideration, don't know how they compare (like a Rosso to a Rosso Corsa). My area (SC) gets a lot of rain and a lot of cold; one of the reasons I was surprised to see so many "track bias" tires (this event was in the hills of North Carolina); they are pretty awful in the rain from pretty much every report I've ever heard!

And yes, that's really the 2nd part of the question, how fast are you riding to want (or lord help us all, need) a tire like that on the road?!? I'm slow on a track. It's not my tire (Rosso 4's). But OMG, if you ride on the road even at my "snail" pace on track?! You're setting up for a REAL bad day. I just can't imagine what sort of riding you'd be doing on the road where a tire like that would be necessary that wouldn't be absolutely insane.

Your last point.. Yeah, blows my mind. Tires are a big expense for me, I go through a few sets a year, and I don't consider myself a really "avid" rider. I try to get a few 100 miles a week. Took me almost 2 years to get to my 18K service on my XR, so ~10K/yr? I see bikes for sale just like you describe; 10 years old, 5K miles?! My 660 has close to that many miles on it, I got it 3 months ago! So, yeah, if you're going to put <1000 miles a year on the bike, might as well put whatever the heck you want on it, it'll dry rot first!

 

[pauls1150]

My bike handles MUCH better with semi-sport or "mostly" sport tires than with pure "road" or "touring" tires. (I've never tried supersport or track tires on it.) SoCal has lots of twisties easily accessible, and I'm quite willing to sacrifice mileage for stickiness, and improved braking with all the phone drones and unlicensed drivers.
When I was in New Zealand, the bike provided had Pirelli Diablos on it (I forget which version), and they were Great!

 

[oldcamper]

I’ve always preferred stiff sidewall high mileage tires and used to put Dunlop Touring Elites on any bike I could get them to fit. OEM Metzlers always felt a little mushy, especially on the LT, and tread life wasn’t so great either. Although I skidded the front tire a couple of times on hard braking on bikes without ABS and had the rear walk out in the rain, I never fell off. Guess I was just never a fast enough rider to need that last bit of absolute maximum traction. YMMV, of course.

 

[mjfink420]

My bike handles MUCH better with semi-sport or "mostly" sport tires than with pure "road" or "touring" tires. (I've never tried supersport or track tires on it.) SoCal has lots of twisties easily accessible, and I'm quite willing to sacrifice mileage for stickiness, and improved braking with all the phone drones and unlicensed drivers.
When I was in New Zealand, the bike provided had Pirelli Diablos on it (I forget which version), and they were Great!

Do you recall what you used to run and what you have today? I feel like none of the "rankings" are super consistent, is a Pirelli Rosso "semi-sport", "sport" or "road"? I think one could argue any of those.

I consider a Road 6 a "road tire" for example, but I guess some might consider them "touring"? I will say, the Road 6 compared to an S22 was/is a noticeable difference, not because I was "outriding" a S22, but the Road 6 seems to turn in much faster (likely the profile of the tire?). And maybe that's some of it too, it's not specifically because you need more grip, it's because the "feel" is better?

Guess I was just never a fast enough rider to need that last bit of absolute maximum traction. YMMV, of course.

And that's kind of what I'm getting at; you need to be REAL fast before you're pushing the limits of a "road" tire. Like really, really fast. A Road 6 will take you to 45 degrees of lean angle (and likely further, but I'm not testing it) totally comfortably and without complaining at all. Is there any situation on a public road where you need more than that if you're even within sight of the speed limit? I'm sure there are some roads where the answer is "Yes" but they seem to be very, very rare. Actually, if you know of one, please pass it along, I'd love to ride it!

 

[pauls1150]

I have Pilot Power 2CT's on there now; they've always done well by me. Trustworthy and good feedback, sticky enough and great in corners. (And once in a while, I get a significant coupon from Cycle Gear, that helps!)
I also liked Bridgestone's BT014 a lot, after it warmed up. I also liked their BT010 F&R, but they're obsolete now. Their BT020s were OK for blacktop and squirmed less on grated bridges and grooved roads (we have many of both around here) but the BT010 was definitely stickier.
I've never tried Dunlop Qualifiers; a few locals have told me that when they reach the edge, the feedback is pretty sudden, but that may not hold (pardon the pun) for the newer series.
One nearby neighbor really likes his Conti Road Attacks.

 

[kbasa]

In SoCal, a lot of people run Rosso Corsa etc tires on sport/supersport bikes. A lot of them ride imho far to fast for public roads, too. Other factors: they don't feel like they need to worry about rain, and since many people are weekend only riders they don't put that many miles on. It still amazes me how many bikes are for sale that are 10, 15 years old with less than 10k miles, even out here in SoCal.

I ran those on my 916 and while they could be very sticky, they took a bit to get up to operating temp on the street and weren't great on cool mornings.

 

[lee]

I consider a Road 6 a "road tire" for example, but I guess some might consider them "touring"?

Michelin considers it a Sport Touring tire.

 

[dduelin]

Do you recall what you used to run and what you have today? I feel like none of the "rankings" are super consistent, is a Pirelli Rosso "semi-sport", "sport" or "road"? I think one could argue any of those.

I consider a Road 6 a "road tire" for example, but I guess some might consider them "touring"? I will say, the Road 6 compared to an S22 was/is a noticeable difference, not because I was "outriding" a S22, but the Road 6 seems to turn in much faster (likely the profile of the tire?). And maybe that's some of it too, it's not specifically because you need more grip, it's because the "feel" is better?



And that's kind of what I'm getting at; you need to be REAL fast before you're pushing the limits of a "road" tire. Like really, really fast. A Road 6 will take you to 45 degrees of lean angle (and likely further, but I'm not testing it) totally comfortably and without complaining at all. Is there any situation on a public road where you need more than that if you're even within sight of the speed limit? I'm sure there are some roads where the answer is "Yes" but they seem to be very, very rare. Actually, if you know of one, please pass it along, I'd love to ride it!

Plus when you're out on a rain ride tires like the Road 5 and 6 are uncommonly trustworthy in the wet. It rains a lot here and it's no reason to stay home. I think today's sport touring tires are better than most riders are.

 

[rbourey]

Used to tour occasionally in the K100RS days on sport tires with ~3000 miles between changes, to get every last bit of performance out of the bike, but advances in tire and suspension technology (R1200RS/tractive) have me at the limits of my skills on Dunlop RS IVs. In the modern era, no need for sport tires off the track.

 

[mjfink420]

Plus when you're out on a rain ride tires like the Road 5 and 6 are uncommonly trustworthy in the wet. It rains a lot here and it's no reason to stay home. I think today's sport touring tires are better than most riders are.

I can't believe how good they are in the wet. I try to find the limit (going slow, do something like stab the throttle so I can get a sense for how close I am) and am always shocked how much "more" there is then I think there will be. I can easily lift the front wheel in the wet on a Road 6, either just on power or clutching it up. Just feels wrong, how can that tiny patch have so much grip in the wet?!?

Used to tour occasionally in the K100RS days on sport tires with ~3000 miles between changes, to get every last bit of performance out of the bike, but advances in tire and suspension technology (R1200RS/tractive) have me at the limits of my skills on Dunlop RS IVs. In the modern era, no need for sport tires off the track.

That's pretty much my conclusion as well. A road tire can probably navigate just about any turn on any public road at least 2X the speed limit. Lots of turns 3X. I guess if you're going for 4X+ (80 through a turn posted at 20), OK, maybe it's time to pull out the sport tire?

I just put on a new rear Rosso (not Rosso Corsa). I've got a few more track days coming up, then it'll probably be getting cold and time to lay that bike up for the winter. Maybe I'll try out the Corsas next year, see if it's a noticeable difference on track. I'm sure it is, but I'm not sure I'm fast enough (on the track) to notice yet!

 

[pauls1150]

Actually, if you know of one, please pass it along, I'd love to ride it!

Just inland from Malibu, there are several roads up in them thar hills that meet this description; also a couple between Ojai and Frazier Park; and a few sections of route 58 between Atascadero and Buttonwillow.
These are probably out of your neighborhood, but just go into whatever hills and mountains are in your area!

 

[mjfink420]

Just inland from Malibu, there are several roads up in them thar hills that meet this description; also a couple between Ojai and Frazier Park; and a few sections of route 58 between Atascadero and Buttonwillow.
These are probably out of your neighborhood, but just go into whatever hills and mountains are in your area!

We have some great roads in the nearby area, including the Tail of the Dragon. But all are posted pretty darn low; there used to be one really tight road with a 50MPH speed limit near me, but sadly, this year they changed the limit to 25. When it was 50, there were some turns on that road where just a "bit" (around 60) over, you could really use the "stick" on the side of your tire. If you did that road at 70-80, I could totally see where a more track/race focused tire would be useful. Sadly, however, that's gone; you'd now need to be 3X+ the speed limit.

I see videos in the Malibu canyons, looks pretty amazing! I've never noticed, are most of those roads posted at 50-55? The last year or so here in the NC area, they seem to be going around to the "canyons" here and reposting them much, much lower. Most of the really fun roads near me are feeders up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and are in the middle of nothing, until recently, many of them were unposted (which implies 50 is the speed limit). Guess there have been too many wrecks, most of those roads there aren't even people who live along them to complain, so must be EMS getting tired of running up there.

 

[pauls1150]

Most of those roads are "officially posted" at 25 or 35 mph, depending on the neighborhood, but the police use their personal discretion to determine "unsafe for conditions" or "display of speed". There are many excellent riders all around the county & state, but there are also many squids and crashes, so enforcement has picked up.
https://www.pashnit.com/
I'm a bit familiar with the Virginia and North Carolina roads too - haven't met one I didn't like!

 

[mjfink420]

Most of those roads are "officially posted" at 25 or 35 mph, depending on the neighborhood, but the police use their personal discretion to determine "unsafe for conditions" or "display of speed". There are many excellent riders all around the county & state, but there are also many squids and crashes, so enforcement has picked up.
https://www.pashnit.com/
I'm a bit familiar with the Virginia and North Carolina roads too - haven't met one I didn't like!

I'm so jealous!!! I love rural CA, it's amazing; we go every 2 years. Last year was Volcano/Lassen area. Holy smokes that's remote! United States of Jefferson?? Had to look that one up, wasn't aware there was a succession ongoing in CA (although, to be honest, not all that surprised, rural and urban CA might as well be different planets as far as politics are concerned).

It's on the "retire" bucket list. Bring our RV out to the west coast for a few months, CA, MT, WY, Idaho, etc. Oh, and Oregon, my wife and I really fell in love with OR, especially for a quick trip, land in the airport, get your rental car, you're in the serious mountains in around an hour.

Must be a lot of guys who run those roads and communicate back and forth? The Dragon is like that, a "critical mass" that makes it hard to get a ticket up there because you'll get so many warnings if a cop is setup. Some of the guys I see posting videos; it's not "a bit over", it's full "Isle of Man" speed!

 

[r0ckrat]

Look up "Glendora Mountain Road" on a map... Lots of people go up there multiple times a week, and just go "up and down" the front side (to where Glendora Ridge Road splits off.) The "back side" is a little simpler, just switchback after switchback, but I find it more fun going up than the front side.

 

[mjfink420]

Look up "Glendora Mountain Road" on a map... Lots of people go up there multiple times a week, and just go "up and down" the front side (to where Glendora Ridge Road splits off.) The "back side" is a little simpler, just switchback after switchback, but I find it more fun going up than the front side.

I think we've been on that road. We did some hiking on Mt. Baldy, which looks like it's right off that road. Of course, we were in some POS rental car, so I'm sure I wasn't nearly as excited as I would have been had I had a motorcycle!!

 

[r0ckrat]

I think we've been on that road. We did some hiking on Mt. Baldy, which looks like it's right off that road. Of course, we were in some POS rental car, so I'm sure I wasn't nearly as excited as I would have been had I had a motorcycle!!

You probably took the more direct Mt. Baldy road up - Glendora Ridge + GMR would have added a lot of miles that wouldn't have been pleasant in a car.