The Honda Owners Club

Thanks Erica

I shall have to decide on a complete swap or go with a new Bridgestone I guess.

Cheers
Phil

Had a look at the rear today and there is loads left.
Guess I need to go for a BT020 - or an 021????

God is nothing simple?!

Having read and analysed all of the information and comments received on this subject so far I have come to the conclusion that the answer is Gerald. In the event that you do not have one of your own, I suggest that in the event of wishing to make a long trip, you contact Erica and borrow hers.......
The type of riding you do and how you control the throttle are the two main contributors to tyre wear. Rolling the throttle on will always return better milage than "grabbing a handfull". I've also noticed that tyre wear increases in town, presumably due to all the stopping and starting at lights etc. Ive tried other tyres on the Blackbird but always ended up coming back to 020's because I feel more comfortable with them, though I like the sound of this 10,000 ish milage, so assuming they do the reinforced carcase for the bird I might give them a try. Assuming Gerald's not available of course......

Graham

Graham wrote:Having read and analysed all of the information and comments received on this subject so far I have come to the conclusion that the answer is Gerald. In the event that you do not have one of your own, I suggest that in the event of wishing to make a long trip, you contact Erica and borrow hers......

Graham

I don't think that a 'Gerald' is a standard optional extra with Honda's - I obtained mine 37 years ago via a different licence and since then its proved very effective at keeping tyre replacement costs low (no sharp excellerations, no wheelies or burn outs ) and fuel costs economical (a sharp dig in the ribs if 100 mph is exceeded ).A 'Gerald' is also equally effective in a car

Do they do a Geraldine ?

Either that or would Gerald wear a mini skirt

Alan D wrote: or would Gerald wear a mini skirt

Not adviseable! I've seen his legs!

Barry wrote:The tyres are likely to have different profiles, but as a new tyre and worn tyre have different profiles anyway, I can't see any problem. What are you looking for in changing your make of tyres?

Hi Phil, Like Barry says I can't see a problem either, Make sure you get a reputale tyre fitter to advise you... One large company in Doncaster wanted to fit a cross ply tyre to the rear of my old pan with a radial on the front... The same company sold me an Arai helmet and when I asked the Arai area manager if I could get the strap replaced he said yes until he found it to be a helmet that had been imported via the back door then didn't really want to know

Having had bad experiences with Michelin Pilot Road tyres on my Hornet, I swore that I'd never fit them to any bike, but time passes and reading good reports on the Pilot Road 2 when fitted to Hornets, I was pleased to hear that there was a fitment for my ST1300A4 Pan.

I checked with a couple of tyre dealers on any feed back that they had, all good, and I checked with Michelin who said that they too had good feedback from Pan riders.

So, armed with all that research, I went out and had a pair fitted.

Right from the start they never felt quite right, well not the same handling as the Bridgestone 020s they replaced, but they were well worn. But they suffered from understeer, like the tyres were under inflated, which they were not.

I persevered with them for a while longer though, and although in a straight line they were OK, as they wore, the handling got worse, and made riding the twisties an un-pleasurable experience. Then during a fast motorway overtake the bike went all wobbly on me. It had never done that before in 27,000 miles. With death staring me in the face, as the speed dropped off, the wobble went away.

It never occured again, as those tyres went the way of my Hornet's Michelin tyres, straight in the bin.

This time I'm sticking to what I said before ' Never again' !

I'm on the 2nd set of RP2s on my ST1300 and can only say good things about them!, I got the bike new with 020s fitted and they are fine, but the RP2's have lasted a lot longer (11k as opposed to 8k on the 020's) and I find they don't 'track' the edges of white lines/bitumen lines etc, like the 020's
My friend has a ST1100 can't get RP2s for it and tried the 021's when we were touring mainland Britain and the front wore out like a 50p bit in 4.5k! he has gone back to 020's and is now looking at Avon Storms for his next tyre of choice
All in all I'm more than happy with the RP2's and I can only suggest that you stand over the tyre fitter and watch his every move when you get your tyres fitted, I do, and I've seen some seriously dodgy tyre fitting as garages tend to leave this task to the apprentice/tea maker and they don't seem interested in balancing wheels, putting the correct pressures in, refitting caps, I've even had one fitter brag about how quickly he had fitted my new rear tyre so I made him fit it again, Properly as he had not fitted the washer on a new valve in his haste!

I have heard great reviews on the Michelin Pilot Road2 tyres. I am getting a set fitted on my 1996 VFR750F tomorrow so will keep you updated with how they handle on Australian roads. I currently have Metzeler tyres and they too have been excellent except for excessive wear in the centre of the rear. I do a lot of motorway riding and twisty work so a dual compound will be great.

Well, I have done over a 1000 miles now on the pilot road 2's and they are excellent. Highly recommended. Cornering is faster smoother and more in control. Braking distance reduced. Better feel and also slightly better fuel consumption.

next week i will buy pilot road 2. it's recommended by every cbf riders here. It's useful for our roads. and it's perfect at curve of a road.