Hi, just bought a used 2014 VStrom 1000 on OE Battlewings and rears look pretty square at 5500 miles although 3-4mm tread. Will they last for a 4000 mile road trip as I am low on funds or do I replace with a road tyre ? I don't do off road and was thinking Pilot 4 for wet weather. What have others used for purely road travel ?

I switched to Michelin Anakees on my DL (initially the 2 and then the 3).

Strong consensus in the UK that the Anakee is better than the Battlewing on the DL. I was using on road only and it was good.

Know others who happily used the Pilot as well.

On mileage my hunch is that you wont get 9500 out of a Battlewing - i am pretty sure i didn't. Check out www.v-strom.co.uk - lots of tyre threads there that will give you what you need.

Cheers
Andy

Hi,

Had a browse through and will go for Pilot R4

Cost in Teesside will be £243 fitted

Thanks,

Paul.

Pilot Road is a very good series but I used many other tires during my 80K miles aboard my '02 Vstrom.

For pure long life, the Metzeler Tourance is top of the list in my experience. Will outlast that Pilot Road 4 by 20% or so. Wears like iron yet is excellent in rain, handles well too.

I used just about every tire made for the bike, favs were Tourance, Mich Anakee,
Avon Distanzia. These tires are better than ANY road tire on wet roads due to wider, deeper tread sipes, high silica content. All excellent.

You can't go wrong with Pilot Road 4 but just won't match miles of the Tourance, which also beats Anakee and Distanzia on longevity.

+2 on the tourance. closing in on 10k and mine barely look used after having been ridden on south florida's smokin hot roads and coral rock.

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'07 DL1000 '08 DR650

+3 for Tourance. 2up +gear on dl650 and wear rate is very low.

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Regards Tim

Learning my craft for the big stuff, it won't be long now and it's not that far anyway

Dunno what Tourance model the guys above are referring to (?), but I doubt it will considerably outlast a PR4. And if you´re riding purely on the road, there´s no need to have anything else than a full on road tyre. The PR4 is quite simply the best wet weather tyre I´ve ever had on my bike, and definitely not bad in the dry either.

+1
I used Road Pilot 3s on a Versys and the sipe pattern and rain clearance capability was impressive.
Dual compound rubber also, according to all the bumph.
It would be good to hear how you get on with the PR4s.

Anything has to be better than an OEM fitting however.

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Dave

The above is true if wet pavement is CLEAN and SMOOTH. I contend a tire like the Tourance is better if PUSHING hard through corners, using full power everywhere on a dirty road. Why?

(Note: I've used 3 versions of Michelin Pilot Roads ... version one and two. Excellent road tire, excellent side grip and very good wet grip as mentioned above.)

But ... if the road is rough with sand patches, mud, grit and pot holes or gravel patches (for Snow), then IMO a Dual Sport tire like the Tourance performs better.

The wider and deeper tread "Sipes" of the Tourance cut through sand or gravel better than a road tire and GRIP onto paved surface below. Especially on a heavy bike leaned over mid corner on the power. The front is more secure IMO and the rear tire will "step out" less on a dual sport tire in my experience using BOTH types of tires. Ride them back to back, compare.

On lighter weight dual sport bike you can risk more and get away with it ... but on my 1050 Tiger or previous DL1000 V-Strom, I prefer the Tourance (or an Anakee or Distanzia) when traveling bad roads at an aggressive pace in wet, dirty conditions.

In the Alps of Europe ... or really most European roads, I never saw anything like our California roads. EU roads are like a work of ART by comparison. Our roads are like a scene from Mad Max in some areas.

Both of these tires last well but on a light dual sport bike I get more from the Tourance.

On a high HP bike like my Tiger (105 rear wheel HP) ... NO tire can survive beyond about 8K km on rear tire. (5K miles, more or less)
As always, YMMV. One thing is sure, tires wear out, so if you don't like one, you'll be mounting a new tire soon anyway! Take your pick!

" PUSHING hard through corners, using full power everywhere on a dirty road "

I think doing that might easily lead to a few ´oh shit!!!´-moments..

Personally I think the advantages of having a tyre like Tourance for road riding are a little bit more cushion/flex in the tyre for bumpy roads, in case your suspension is on the stiff side (and you prefer a softer ride), and maybe a little less prone to punctures, because the tread is quite deep compared to a full road tyre, at least when new.. And when using tyres of this kind, you actually give up a little bit of flickability and steering precision, although they can still be very enjoyable to ride on tarmac. And the Tourance won´t come close to a PR4 on wet tarmac. PR1 or 2 could be a different story.

Man I guess I'm just lucky, I got 14k miles on my first set of trail wing tires and average about 10k per set now that I've switched to shinko. I'm on the first set of 705s right now, 3k in and they're doing fine, mostly road miles

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