Tires

[sonny]

You are going to be very disappointed with the Pirelli night dragons. Ran a set on the Harley and they sucked. When they first come out very expensive and a lot of talk about how sticky they were. Reality they suck and cup very easily. Not worth 2 cents on wet pavement. By far the worst tire I have ever tried. Metz and Pirelli are all the same company.

 

[rjsjota]

Some run the 140/75/r17 on the front but they do not make a 240 16 inch rear. Now buy a 18 inch rim and you'll be able to run a full set. Your best bet for the rear is a bridgestone exedra max 240/55/r16 and either the 140 Michelin or say a 140 cobra on the front.

Spawn, Roadsters have the same wheels as the Classic, so lots of Captains should be able to give their comments on the front Commander II.

I have run the first Exedra combination suggested by warp9.9.

Today I removed a worn-out Commander II 140/75 front, which I used with a 240/55 Exedra Max rear. Grip and steering with the Commander were very good, but it wore down to 1mm tread in 8,000 miles.
The OEM Metzeler 150/80 front lasted 11,000 miles, with some tread left. I ran it at 38psi.
Rapid wear of the Commander II went against everything I'd read. I might have had a bad one, but it might be due to the greater countersteering effort needed by the Exedra max, compared with the 240 Metz. I ran it at 40psi, all miles solo, no trailer.

Today I fitted a 140/75 Avon AV71 Cobra front. Waiting for the freeze to end so I can ride.

Off-topic comments on rear tires:
I had no probems with the OEM Metzeler. It howled in corners, becoming louder as it became more squared off, but the steering remained OK throughout its 11,000 mile life. I had no issues with grip.
Next was the 240/55 Exedra, which I initially used with the OEM Metz front, then the Commander. From the beginning, the Exedra needed more counter steering effort than the Metz rear. I removed the Exedra after 8,000 miles because it had squared off so much that steering had become high effort. It had at least 2,000 miles of tread remaining but it picked up a nail. I used a rubber plug for a while, but wasn't confident it would hold. Removing the tire to fit a proper glued plug/patch wasn't worth it. I was ready for a new tire by then.
I haven't read any comments on the reluctance of the 240/55 Exedra to roll on its side, so maybe I got a bad one? I ran it at 40psi, all miles solo.
I recently fitted a 200/60 Exedra Max on the rear, haven't covered many miles yet, but I really like the effortless steering. This tire is much too small for the rim, the sidewalls are NOT in the position designed by Bridgestone, and I'm NOT suggesting anyone else try it. This is an experiment I'm conducting, out of curiosity. I wish Triumph had used this size as OEM, with the appropriate rim (6"). The bike still looks tough with the 200 tire.
As you can tell by the mileage I get from tires, I ride conservatively most of the time. But I enjoy corners, I sometimes ground footpeg feelers, and my chicken strips are narrower than most. YMMV.

 

[Claviger]

Something to keep in mind is speed rating, Avon is the only W rated front and the only rear I've found any reference to over V speeds, 149, is the E Max, and that is inconsistent with some documentation saying it's a V tire and other saying its (V) meaning "something greater than 149mph", so not W, but better than V.

For the majority of Captains this wont matter, for those that it does, you're stuck with Avon F/ Emax R.

That said, the salt flats record was set on Metzlers from what I understand @ 174 mph (and spinning the rear).

 

[TriumPhil]

Yes, AMA racer, Jason DiSalvo set that record and broke traction on the salt at close to 180 mph.

Another commentary on the radial B'stone Exedra Max 240, which I was also the first to fit to an R3 for extended, everyday use. I am an aggressive rider that rides our abundant, local, hilly, twisties almost exclusively. Within the first couple hundred miles of riding on a newly mounted rear tire, you will not detect any chicken strips on my rear tire. The road surfaces in my home area are moderately coarse and I often hunt the lower gears in order to better access or maintain both fuller power when desired and to utilize gear braking in the transitions. These preferences (steeply graded twisties, low gear hunting, gear braking and trail braking) do not support maximum tread life, so they do reduce my tire wear by a good 25% or more vs. riding more conservatively for more extended tire life. You'll practically never find me riding on the superslabs (Interstate Hwys.) or other major ( 4+ lanes) highways. I never do burnouts and rarely spin my rear wheel, powering out of turns, although I do keep it close to the edge in that regard.

The reason that I posted this is to highlight some important objective and subjective aspects of rating tires, the difference between the two generally yields disparate points of view. Things like proper tire inflation (especially when varying weight loads over time is an issue), proper tire balancing, rider's weight, ambient road surface temperatures and a multitude of other factors enter into the equation and must be considered, as well.

 

[Spawn]

Yes, AMA racer, Jason DiSalvo set that record and broke traction on the salt at close to 180 mph.

Another commentary on the radial B'stone Exedra Max 240, which I was also the first to fit to an R3 for extended, everyday use. I am an aggressive rider that rides our abundant, local, hilly, twisties almost exclusively. Within the first couple hundred miles of riding on a newly mounted rear tire, you will not detect any chicken strips on my rear tire. The road surfaces in my home area are moderately coarse and I often hunt the lower gears in order to better access or maintain both fuller power when desired and to utilize gear braking in the transitions. These preferences (steeply graded twisties, low gear hunting, gear braking and trail braking) do not support maximum tread life, so they do reduce my tire wear by a good 25% or more vs. riding more conservatively for more extended tire life. You'll practically never find me riding on the superslabs (Interstate Hwys.) or other major ( 4+ lanes) highways. I never do burnouts and rarely spin my rear wheel, powering out of turns, although I do keep it close to the edge in that regard.

The reason that I posted this is to highlight some important objective and subjective aspects of rating tires, the difference between the two generally yields disparate points of view. Things like proper tire inflation (especially when varying weight loads over time is an issue), proper tire balancing, rider's weight, ambient road surface temperatures and a multitude of other factors enter into the equation and must be considered, as well.

WOW.....Just...WOW. I'm going to have to read that a few times.

 

[TriumPhil]

I only wish that i could have had my R3 when i lived and attended Cal State, Chico back in the 70s.

Oh my, pushing her through those luscious Sierra Nevada twisties would have been a trip!

 

[EasTexRIII]

I only wish that i could have had my R3 when i lived and attended Cal State, Chico back in the 70s.

Oh my, pushing her through those luscious Sierra Nevada twisties would have been a trip!

Weren’t you already on a “trip”?

 

[Claviger]

On my way home after the group ride was over today I had a chance to Finally stretch Mufasa’s legs a little.

Got some full lean nearly dragging, hanging off, full weight on inside peg, 60mph limit corners in at around 150mph and some tighter 45 limit corners in at 110.. The E-Max is a beast, absolute beast, grips like gum at speed, and it was 44f outside... While I can still spin it up if I’m really heavy handed, I have to try to do so instead of having it spin unexpectedly.

Can’t recommend it enough as the top rear available.

 

[TriumPhil]

Just remember that when you hit the last 20% or so of the E Max's tread, t it starts to replace grip with slip on acceleration combined with aggressive lean angles, when riding needs on road surfaces under 55 degrees and most noticeably under hard rear braking. That last issue has me wishing for ABS brakes on my '07.

 

[Spawn]

Well, I took everyones advice and got the Bridgestone. I hope it last. In the mean time I'm out $160 in labor!