Mr. West's perspicacious opinions on road tires - wise words

KTMphil

KTMphil

Senior member
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Location
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Bikes
2007 KTM 990 Adventure Suzuki DRZ 400
When West starts talking about road tires, everyone shuts up & listens. He is one of the most interesting people to talk to in north Thailand, if you're looking to get the most performance out of your road bike for days rides or long distance touring.


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He's kindly written a piece for us here (he's not on any forums, but likes a read occasionally) & kindly did this to be published. He's focused on Pirelli tires because it's what's available here & what he uses. I'm wondering if this should be made a sticky as it's very useful information.


To be clear, all the credit and information below has been kindly put together by West, read on:




When asked by Phil about tires...
best meaning; best performance grip on Thai roads'
good meaning; second choice to best and they will last longer'
average meaning; there are downsides in the sense that why would you use them to road race when there are one or two better choices available ha ha... Unless you are intent on saving some cash and more than likely risk being overtaken by the guy with the right tires'



Supermoto


Best; pirelli rains/ good pirelli MT60, although less lean angle on these but enough to be good/ average nothing else as the carcasses are too stiff for these light supermoto's'



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Naked



Best; pirelli wet/ good pirelli supercorsa/ average pirelli rosso corsa... here you may want to say; hey what about diablo rosso 2... Answer not enough lean angle available on those if you reach or are at a level or intent on saving cash.... if not then consider them good in your case and you will get a softer more plush ride than on a set of supercorsa's lets say but not in regards to the wet's'



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Sport Tourer 17 inch wheels



Best; pirelli diablo rosso corsa... here you might say; he's gone limp on us what about supercorsa's.... Answer well if you're riding a Sport Tourer you want be fast for lets say at least 600 km a day right? The supercorsa's will pain you over more than a couple of hundred km's as you feel every little bump and groove, especially on a cement road like on the way to Lampang.
You may also want to say; hey hold on scorpion trails where made for a 2010 Multistrada S equipped with the Ohlin's package... Answer yes but lean angle is restricted on those, change them over for a set of diablo rosso corsa, remove the center stand forever, cut some metal off the side stand and get a set of foot pegs that are at least 1/2 an inch higher so you don't scrape.... as the increase in lean angle will get you down that much lower. Oh and set the suspension on sport with two up and luggage even if you're on it alone with little or no luggage as to stiffen everything up sufficiently let's say, to avoid scraping and go out and find the correct road'



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Sportbikes



Best; diablo rosso corsa or supercorsa bsb... choosing diablo adds a little more comfort and no loss really but i'm not sure as i just bought the bsb'



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Pardon my candor and no offense to anyone intended and remember always respect all those who ride even if they appear to be wankers. Oh and don't ask me about any other brands or other kinds of bikes, ha ha'


And finally track is another story ask Luke or Colin as they have had the bruises and spills to answer best in that arena whereas i have not suffered sufficiently there, ha ha'




Cheers West




 
Keeping on the subject of the thread, did you know there are only 2 words in the English language with all the vowels in the correct order? Well you do now. Dictionary is being returned to shelf.
 
Now if only Pirelli could actually give some decent service...rather then let people wait for weeks for a set of tires even though they were ordered a months ahead of scheduled change...TIT
 
bikesncats said:
Now if only Pirelli could actually give some decent service...rather then let people wait for weeks for a set of tires even though they were ordered a months ahead of scheduled change...TIT
Click to expand...


We've got a couple of good places in Chiang Mai. The Cockpit on Hang Dong Rd/ R 108 normally has stock or can source by the next day, does a great job balancing etc....



Also Piston Shop in Chiang Mai have taken the bull by the horns and have decided to keep Pirelli stock to attract business. Check your bike when you leave, check axle sliders put back on, fasteners all installed etc...., they often seem hasty to get the job done.



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Try Big Bendum in BKK - excellent service and produces when he says he will:

Name is Piroj - 089 1115 962




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Thank you for those tips Phil...I will certainly keep them in mind (as soon as I get a few toys back).
 
Thanks to West for that.

Been chewing over what to put on the VFR rear next.
The Pirelli Angel has lasted much longer than i thought it would but at the expense of super sticky grip...which isn't really a bad thing for road conditions in the north and the amount of riding i do on it.

Might give the suggested diablo rosso corsa a try next time.
 
i used pirelli Rosso corsa 2 twice on my ducati, very long lived tyres and pretty good but rear broke away often on bends , now using Michelin PR3 on one bike they are escellent and Dunlop sportsmarts on the other which also seem excellent but the dunlops are not available anymore in thailand ,
 
Hey guy's don't shoot the messenger i only posted the link :white flag: but it does provided some source of debate, then again all these magazine based reviews are always biased.
 
Loop said:
Thanks to West for that.

Been chewing over what to put on the VFR rear next.
The Pirelli Angel has lasted much longer than i thought it would but at the expense of super sticky grip...which isn't really a bad thing for road conditions in the north and the amount of riding i do on it.

Might give the suggested diablo rosso corsa a try next time.
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I ended up going with the new Pirelli Angel GT's to replace the old Pirelli Angel ST's on my sport tourer VFR 800.

What a transformation.

Along with tweaking the front fork pre loads the bike actually holds a line through the corners while dialling the throttle on now.
It was under steering badly with the ST's,so looking back the front was total rubbish but really happy with the new GT's.
Rear seems very grippy too and it hasn't let go once under hard cornering as the old one did many times.
 
I now find choosing the best soft/ grippy tire that can be used for touring very confusing. Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's, on the Ducati Hypermotard 821's, we're getting 7,000/ 8,000 km out of a rear tire (12,000 ish km out of a front). Super grippy, Pirelli Super Corsa on the rear would barely last on the rear tire for a 2,500 trip, so not ideal. How do you think the grip would compare on the Pirelli Angel GT's versus the Rosso II's? & would they wear about the same?





Loop said:
I ended up going with the new Pirelli Angel GT's to replace the old Pirelli Angel ST's on my sport tourer VFR 800.

What a transformation.

Along with tweaking the front fork pre loads the bike actually holds a line through the corners while dialling the throttle on now.
It was under steering badly with the ST's,so looking back the front was total rubbish but really happy with the new GT's.
Rear seems very grippy too and it hasn't let go once under hard cornering as the old one did many times.
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KTMphil said:
I now find choosing the best soft/ grippy tire that can be used for touring very confusing. Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's, on the Ducati Hypermotard 821's, we're getting 7,000/ 8,000 km out of a rear tire (12,000 ish km out of a front). Super grippy, Pirelli Super Corsa on the rear would barely last on the rear tire for a 2,500 trip, so not ideal. How do you think the grip would compare on the Pirelli Angel GT's versus the Rosso II's? & would they wear about the same?
Click to expand...

I don't think the ST front on mine ever worked well and wore prematurely.

The rear was ok and lasted 17k k's.
If i get that out of the new GT's i'll be very happy and to tell you the truth with the improvement in handling i wouldn't risk any of the softer grippier tires because the bike is so much better to ride i wouldn't want to give up the superior wear qualities of the Angel's.
I wouldn't try and tell anyone they hang on as well as the softer ones as they probably don't but they do eliminate the chance of exposed canvas while on a ride like many others have experienced and it is a big improvement on the previous especially the front.

Old tire after 17k k's...plenty of trips to Nan and roads with rough rocky surface...probably would have got another 2-3k k's out of it but the front was totally knackered so replaced the 2.


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Not sure if you are aware but the ad and price are for 2013 tyres, maybe that is why they are cheap(er).
 
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