Tyres for 750 SF1

gibbo-123

gibbo-123

Full member
Location
Warwickshire,UK
The general consensus on the forum regarding tyres for the bigger machines seems to be Bridgestone BT45. Does the same apply for the 750 bikes? I have Avon Roadriders on my Triumph Bonneville and can easily ride the edges off them, they give so much confidence and feel on that bike. I was naturally going to have the same fitted to the SF in the next couple of weeks. Is that a wise move? What else should I be looking at?

Thanks,

Stuart
 
gibbo-123 said:
The general consensus on the forum regarding tyres for the bigger machines seems to be Bridgestone BT45. Does the same apply for the 750 bikes?  I have Avon Roadriders on my Triumph Bonneville and can easily ride the edges off them, they give so much confidence and feel on that bike. I was naturally going to have the same fitted to the SF in the next couple of weeks. Is that a wise move? What else should I be looking at?

Thanks,

Stuart
Click to expand...

YES!!

Don't know what the Avons are like, can't get much better than the BTs, though.

I've got the BTs on all Lavs now, ranging from 500 to 1000.  Never experienced a better street tyre, almost as good as a pukka race tyre!

piet
 
yep - can confirm that. I had the BT45 on the 750SF(0) and the bike handled easy and secure, road-holding was excellent (even just after you rolled out of the garage; warm-up time is almost zero, however, I always pushed only when the engine was warm, too, for safety and wear reasons).

I have a friend with a 1000SFC that also thinks the Avon are the best tires for money. What he does not count in though are the three crashes he had in wet... Most owners do tell good things on the Avons, which I am not sure if it is because they don't ride in the wet, they do not have ever ridden other tires or if they are really that good. I must admit I never tried them. Simply because with the BT45 (as Piet said) there is no need to try anything else.

However, depending on the riding-style, you will experience some wear pattern on the edges of the front tire. Nothing problematic, it simply gives a minimal wobble when the tire gets older and you push the bike hard through the curves. Keep an eye on the air-pressure, they typically run a very high pressure (2,4 - 2,5 front, 2,7 - 2,9 bar rear).

Also depending on the riding style and millage you do per year (and the tarmac in your area of the world...), the BT45 can wear quite fast. Front lasts in Germany typically something like 5.000 - 8.000 Km, rear 3.500 - 4.500km. Personally I like that, as this means I always have fresh tires on the bike every 2 years ;), but if you do a lot of traveling with the bike, one season can see 2 tire-sets...
 
I really hate the way the BTs wear the front like that, I was told it was my riding style ie pushing the front too much, but ive never had that happen with the metzelers, and they lean and grip as far as the BTs, Trying the sport demons at the moment, they feel very similiar to the BTs but hopefully wont wear the front like a scallop
 
BT45s have a dual compound tread I think, softer at the edges. Maybe that explains the wear pattern.
 
Grant said:
BT45s have a dual compound tread I think, softer at the edges. Maybe that explains the wear pattern.
Click to expand...

Only the rears are dual compound unfortunately. Fronts are single.

I suffer with the cupping on the front as well.

The rest of this is subjective. I did 40,000km last year but I'm normally closer to the 20-25,000 average on a combination of BT45's, Dunlop 404's, Dunlop 501's, Metzeler Lasertecs and Avon Road Riders. I even had a "Kings" Tire on the rear for a while. It lasted 6,000 miles and cost me 55 USD fitted and balanced.  :o It never gave me a moment but riding down a mountain in the wet I was every bit aware that I had a $55 tyre on the rear.  :o

I've got Avon Roadriders on the Monza and front of the LM III in an effort to try other types. Avons are good but I have had a couple of moments in the wet that I don't think I would have with the BT45's. JMO.

Dunlop GT501's have a suitable front. Long lasting. Got nearly 30,000km out of one on the front of a V65.

I cannot fault the BT45 rears but I'm looking for a replacement for the front. I thought Pirelli Sport Demons were worth a try but weren't available last tyre change. I received an email on the Morini forum from a Danish guy who warned me that they need to get warm, which they never really do in the wet. It is the only negative comment I have read on them but I'm guessing there are a lot of riders out there that don't in the wet.

I'm coming to the conclusion that I'll just expect half life out of a BT45 front and change it when needed. Cheap insurance really.  ;)
 
I've got Dunlop 501s on my SF2. I'm very pleased: largely enough grip and longevity.
100 on the front and 120 on the rear.

Ciao
Paul
 
the wear on the front is a known issue at Bridgestone. The only solution they have is to raise the pressure and make sure it is really as high as 2.5 bar. Has to do with several things, not only riding-style. I think it also has to do with the BT being a Tubeless tire that gets mounted with a tube in our Laverda cases. This results in friction between the tube and the tire and causes the tire to heat up more than it is designed for. Just my assumption, not a technically qualified research, please.

The Metzelers I rode (ME33/55/99) were all shit against the BT in almost any regard. They warm up longer (and are very slippery when cold...), cool down faster (a bit of rain is enough to make them cool down to a serious point...), deliver less grip in dry and - mainly - in wet (here to a very, very dangerous point; had 3 crashes caused by slipping Metzelers!). The only advantage they offer is a higher millage, which is bought by a stiffer rubber mix, which results in the points above (less grip, less handling, shit in wet).

I have seen many trying other tires, just to see them coming back to BT45, as handling and grip in dry and wet is superior to any other tire they tried. They are used even as race-tires in many classic events, also as wet tires in wet-races. Guess why...  ;)

The only one sticking to Avons i know is my buddy with the 1000SFC, but he has never tried anything different than the Avons and he is a real mile-cruncher; both Lavis he has have over 100.000km and the BMW is getting close to that, too...

So - it all depends on what you expect from the tire. If you go for a sportive handling and don't do a lot of miles per year, the BT is your choice. If you look for a long lasting tire, look elsewhere. But do yourself a favor and never use Metzelers until they REALLY come up with something new.

BTW: not that I trust to much the Magazin MOTORRAD and their "independent" tests and reports (wonder why BMW always wins ANY competition...), but also other magazines in Germany do tire tests every year and the BT45 wins any competition there. Must be for a good reason, no?  ;)

that said, I absolutely do not want to underestimate what Cosi experienced. it is true and a known issue, but it really depends on tire pressure and what you expect from the tire. I have seen many Laverdas recently on the Forum meeting, all having the BT45 and except one, none had that wear pattern.

HTH
 
GO FOR THE AVON ROAD RIDERS !!!
I had these on my SF3, more because I was in a corner at the tyre shop, bald tyres, going away etc and bought these unfamiliar (at that time) rubbers.I realy like them and I was very pleased with the longevity, so Much so that I bought them for TOG (1200TS Mirage) as well, I have now had 3 rears and two fronts of the same, they will live a lot longer than the Battleaxe BT45 and give (IMHO) just as much feel and security, they also totally cured a low speed "hands off" wobbble on TOG,  so that was a big bonus.
CLEM
 
W erun in PSI here and i checked it against your reccomendation Lothar, I run 36 to 37 PSI front and 39 to 40 in the rear, dont get me wrong the BTs are great, and to be honest, the wear  had nothing to do with grip at all, it did vibrate a little as you said when the wear, The metzlers definetly have to warm up before you use them, that is for sure, So ill see how the demons go, they are definetly sticky enough to scrape the stand and exhaust
 
Must admit I like the Avon Roadriders too, not sure about ultimate balls to the wall grip but for the road that should not be an issue, to my style of riding they "feel" a lot nicer than the Bridgestones, more compliant where the BT's feel a little wooden to me.
   



    Keith
 
Hi.
Do not like the Avons in the wet, had a couple of very dodgy moments, fine in the dry.
The BT45 are a lot better for me in both dry and wet conditions. if youre a touring type rider that is easy on youre tyres then you might find the Avons ok, but if you give youre bike some stick then go for BT45 or metzelers.
Very nearly came of the other day in the wet at not much more than 20mph using Avons. Already ordered new bt45 to replace the Avons.
Clem watch out for the speed cameras in the IOM, fines at the Manx worked out at ?10 for every 1mph over the speed limit. ie 40 in a 30 ?100.

                                                           regards pete.
 
I measure in millimetres or microns for small stuff, but bigger stuff is all in feet and inches.
Luckily I have some old tape measures from the UK with dual units on it. The ones here are metric-only.

I always convert fuel consumption back into 'real money' of mpg. Can't make any sense of L/100km.
 
Hey, I've only been on the forum for two weeks and I've already hit the most sensitive subjects, oil & tyres  :D.

Talk of grip with the Avons in the wet suddenly reminded of 'a moment' on New Years Day while out on the Bonnie. The back end stepped out on a familiar corner, the road being a bit damp. Sort of took the edge off the rest of the road home.

When I get the wheels out to check the brakes over I'm going to get BT45's fitted. More because I've never ridden on Bidgestone tyres before and we'll see how we get on.

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

Stuart
 
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