For the thousandth time, tires

I would never recommend a Pirelli Night Dragon unless you live in the deep south and get the tire warm before any spirited cornering. Never had a tire slide as often. After 10-15 minutes though, it would stick well.

I'm running Night Dragons (with the GT rear) on my '15 R3T and my experience doesn't jibe. I've put about 1k miles on at temps from 40f-80f and haven't had any issues with grip. Certainly doing much better than the stock Metzlers did. Love em so far. Very confidence inspiring, with noticibly quicker turn-in and grip. We'll see how the mileage is, but so far, I don't see any wear (nor would I expect to at 1k miles).
 
Ish,
A 240/40 R 18 will not fit my Rocket, no matter how good it is.

A 140/75R17 will fit and I may have to give one a try . . . $145 at Rocky Mt. ATV.
Bridgestone Battlecruise H50 Front


Would be nice to have a set of tires from the same brand!!!
 
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It may have been a typo, but on two different sites ? I'd go to Bridgestone's site.

FYI -
I note that this new B-stone is 67V weight/speed rated, same as the Avon Cobra, Michelin Commander II, Pirelli Night Dragon, Dunlop American Elite and Shinko 011 Verge.
 
Honestly the Avon is so good there’s no reason to even pay attention to anything else that fits imho.

I know that sounds incredibly closed minded, but, after seeing pics from people doing track days on their R3 and my own experience on the Avon, I just don’t see a need for anything that performs better in ultimate concerning grip, it’s like velcro. It wears very well also, look how little cupping/scalloping and how even across the surface is after what was essentially a 10 session trackday today:

6,000 miles, 36 PSI religiously
DF242BB2-5FB2-468A-8E30-84376F323F7A.jpeg
AA951BF6-08F0-4C93-9904-0294CFF436BB.jpeg
A2A900AD-ED20-45F5-9128-D352B4930DED.jpeg


For context here is the back, yes there’s another degree or two I could get over, but you can see the way they both heat at similar rates and the rear slid, the front stayed glued down. This was a 85f day and I was giving it all 176lbft in 2nd gear leaned over pretty good and all but once it stayed hooked up. The E-max is cheap, and so is the Avon.

700 miles, 41 PSI religiously
4AE68129-F1ED-494B-8736-6A1D4D84C03F.jpeg
643174E9-FB54-4291-AE57-F8D2780BB884.jpeg
 
Found an interesting picture that has to do with tires just now looking through some google searches on the topic of traction.

The E-Max rear has this type of shape quite pronounced and definitely puts more rubber on the road in a corner than going straight, the AV71 deforms readily, it has a soft carcass, so will provide the same effect as the second picture when cornering.
Leaning Patch.jpg


While the below is an add for a specific brand/model of tire, it's not at all unique to that brand/model. THIS is why I rail against car tires on bikes, the contact patch on a square tire is nowhere near the patch indicated below at 40 degrees of lean.
Roadsmart deflection.jpg


That's an excellent picture on tire tech and contact patches!! Thanks for posting.


So, I'm getting the general vibe the Metzler's are no bueno, yes? I bought a 2016 Roadster with 850 miles, has metzlers front and rear, which is now concerning.
 
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