QuestionI have a short commute to work, ride in the sun and the rain, and spend little time doing high-speed runs through the hills. Living in an over populated silicon valley, I don't really have the luxury of waiting for my tires to warm up before they start performing...not that they would ever warm up in morning traffic anyway.
The info on the web sites from the tire manufacturers talk about the grip level of their tires but all the info relates to the grip at full opertaing temperture. I'd like a tire that is super sticky even when cold and raining. I do not care how long the tread lasts.
I'm currently running my second set of Pirelli MT60Rs and am happy with them but I don't see them on the Pirelli website this year so think they are gone.
I'm riding a SV650. Can you recommend a tire that will meet my use case or at least let me know how to figure out how well a particular tire will handle hard braking when cold and that will handle ruuted highways in the rain.
Thanks
AnswerWilliam,
Thanks for the question.
Basically, I think you are a bit too worried about getting your tires "up to temperature" and the grip factor. Unless you need to scream up to Mt. Palomar or some other similar road, the tires you have now and basically any tire that will fit your bike from any of the major tire makers is going to perform adequately.
I understand your desire for ultimate traction and cold-weather performance, but the truth of the matter is that in the rain, you have about 90% of the traction you do in the dry when braking in a straight line, and almost that much in a curve. Really, you do, I'm not making that up and I have the panic-braking-in-the-rain experience to know it's true. I ride year-round in Oregon, and we get a bit of rain.
The exceptions, of course, are when it first starts raining after a dry spell and it's super-slick, and wet surfaces like manhole covers, crosswalk stripes and the like. You need to use common sense in wet conditions, and look for the hazards.
Don't worry about getting your tires "up to temperature." It take hard, non-stop, fast riding to get a tire warmed up. Besides, if tires did not perform "cold" pretty close to what they do "warm", people would be crashing in corners all over the place. The perfomance in the wet for a modern tire is very, very good.
Even in cold, cold weather (like we get here), I've gone out and ridden aggressively in the dry on my ZX-11 on Dunlop D204's. They work great, maybe not so much in the rain, but riding them "cold" never is a problem for aggressive street riding.
If you MUST have the stickiest tires for your SV, pretty much something like a Dunlop D208RR is going to stick like glue in the dry. But since it's a "dry tire" (actually, it's quite close to a track tire), the rain performance is not going to be that good. So you will have to compromise.
I don't think anyone really makes a super-sticky tire with an aggressive tread pattern that's good in the rain. There's just too little demand for it. What you will find is a blend of both. On my old KZ1000, I use Bridgestone B211's, which have a tougher center section for mileage, and softer shoulder sections for grip. Plus they have a good tread pattern for water. But they are bias-ply tire and will not work on your SV. But there are tires like that from Bridgestone and others for your SV. You just need to pick one.
I would look again at the Dunlop, Bridgestone, Avon, Michelin, Pirelli and Maxxis sites and see if they make a "dual-compound" tire that fits your SV and will give you the traction and wet performance in one tire. If possible, go to a dealer and have a salesperson show you some tires and look closely at the tread pattern.
Most likely they won't be tires you take to a track day, but for everyday use, a dual-compound tire will do what you want very well. Don't obsess over tire temperature, unless you touch down pegs in the corners on your way to work. Just get a good brand-name tire with a good rain tread pattern and you'll be good to go.
Good luck, ride safe.
Bill (William) Roberson
