Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Alrighty, I have to order tyres in because the local Bike shops stock Jack Shit.
I was thinking Pilot Road 2's front and rear, but you guy's have a lot more recent experience with tyres than me
Combinations and explainations would be much appreciated
I mainly do twisties that are less than 50 klm's away I don;t commute and I'm far from rich at the moment, so something
that last's more than a thousand klm's would be good
Oh yeh and from recent experince, would Pilot road 2's be good in the gravely shite
Cheer's Steve ( half pissed again, but then it is Fathers Day )

Mate i use Pilot Road 2's on my thing and i can't fault them. I normally got 7/8.5 k out of a rear and a bit more out of the front manly on the twisty stuff, but i only have 120 ish hp and not shit loads like a 14

Well Marti runs pilot road 2s and i run dunlop roadsmarts both simular tyres and considering we were both in front of you and we both survived then yep there fine in gravel I love my roadsmarts and wont be changing to another tyre,although marti keeps telling me to change to the pilot road 2s i aint budging As for ks the rear roadsmart has the longest life of any tyre i have run on the nine.The front wears out before the rear probabaly get 5-6000 on the front sides are buggered by then but theres plenty of meat in the middle.The rear can vary from 7500-8500.

You switched sides Mal, whatever happened to M3's, love em, swear by em, will never ever have another tyre etc etc??

PR2 rear and Pilot Power front based on the type of riding you say you do but then again I dont know anything

I got the PR front cause Im doing a fair amount of commuting but been told the Power front gives some better turn in... Whichever way I dont think you'd go wrong!

mick_dundee wrote:You switched sides Mal, whatever happened to M3's, love em, swear by em, will never ever have another tyre etc etc??

Mick, you're about a year and a half behind, I've had 5 sets of Roadsmarts since my last M3s

Just watch out I hear the PR2's let go suddenly

Blurr wrote:Just watch out I hear the PR2's let go suddenly

Nah I think its got more to do with Gumby's turn in particularly at roundabouts

i decline to comment

z900/zx9 wrote:

mick_dundee wrote:You switched sides Mal, whatever happened to M3's, love em, swear by em, will never ever have another tyre etc etc??

Mick, you're about a year and a half behind, I've had 5 sets of Roadsmarts since my last M3s

Can I ask why the switch?

Nelso wrote:

z900/zx9 wrote:

mick_dundee wrote:You switched sides Mal, whatever happened to M3's, love em, swear by em, will never ever have another tyre etc etc??

Mick, you're about a year and a half behind, I've had 5 sets of Roadsmarts since my last M3s

Can I ask why the switch?

I was getting less and less ks out of M3s so i looked for another tyre,Marti tried these out so i thought i will give the roadsmarts a go.differances Roadsmarts better in the wet,And average an extra 2-2500 ks on the rear without sacraficing any grip.As far as the front tyre goes i belive it is a bit softer on the sides,if it is pushed on the edges through twisties regularly it wears lsightly faster than an m3.Oh did i mention the wet grip .On the warmer days say doing laps i found the m3s to grease up a bit on the rear,providind a fun sliding motion which was always consistant and fun,but the roadsmarts dont seem to do this as much. So in the end i used to get about 6000 ks front and 6500-7000 ks max out of M3s the roadsmarts i get 5500 -6000ks front and up to 8500 out of a rear.Mind you by this milage they are well and truly Rooted,except for the front as it still has tread in the middle Also the roadsmarts must have a slightly more forgiving side wall as the bumps seem to be soaked up a little more.

What are the conti sport like?

i got the pilot race tyres from mick hone bikes for $470 the set and they handle beautifully

truly like cheating...


dont want to think about km's though, guess I will see, but given that the pilot power 2cts I was after are 600+ a set its a good saving...

I've used the Roadsmarts and the Pilot Road 2's. The Roadmsart is a nice tyre too, but the PR2 gives the same grip, with better mileage and is even better in the wet than the Roadmsart in my opinion. I could only manage 6-7K from a rear Roadsmart, whereas, the PR2's give me anywhere between 9 and 10K depending on usage.

As for the conti's, I've only ever used the one which is like a Pilot power or a BT016 ....ie to say a sports road tyre, not a race tyre or touring tyre, can't remember what they called it. I think at the time, I gave it the gong for the worst tyre I had ever used just behind the 002 street and the Avon whatever it was which lasted, sydney-melbourne (around 1000klms!!). The carcass is as stiff as a 16 year olds wanger and they have average grip, feel and wear...once again ...in my opinion! But remember, I have no vested interest in selling tyres of any specific brand.

i found M3s alright... couldnt really fault them got 8500 out of the rear, and i guess it still had some life in it.. with the 14 tho i'd say you'll munch rear tyres whatever you choose