Best tire for winter??? Rear and Front ZR 17"'s

[Jedz123]

Hey Guys
Quick Q for I intend on running my Fizzy into the winter and plan to use it on my 5 mile commute. I was wondering what tire would work great in cold conditions and light snow coverings. I know not much helps against Ice but I'm thinking a dual purpose tire would fit best in snow or slush situations. Any experience or advice?
Thanks!
-J

[GSX1000E]

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/64928/i/michelin-pilot-road-4-front-tire

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/64927/i/michelin-pilot-road-4-rear-tire

I used the PR-3's the past couple of years and these are the latest/improved versions of those.

[Jedz123]

I used the PR3s on my B-12 and FZ1 and didn't like how the wore out. Very good grip in wet weather but could never get more then 4K on a rear and the front was totally gone by 5k always cupped out. I use the Shinko 009 for daily summer use for they are cheap but I can get an least 5k out of a rear (this one is now coming to an end with 7k) and the front will last all season (15k miles). Traction is ok in the wet but I hate running them in the cold and they take a bit to warm up. My PR3s were good in the cold but no difference in snow compared to most sport touring tires. I really think a dual purpose tire will do a better job... Michelin couldn't sell me on their PR3s... Too much for a low mileage tire IMO.

[Lowflyer]

A sidecar might be a GREAT option also

[bwringer]

I dunno if they're available in the sizes you need, but I've used several sets of Shinko 705 dual-sport tires on my V-Strom and KLR650.

They have excellent wet traction when it's cold (many tires get very scary when it's cold as well as wet). They also have surprisingly good traction on ice and snow. I don't seek that sort of thing out, but I ride to work pretty much every remotely possible day and sometimes stuff happens...

I believe all three of us had Shinko 705s on our KLR650s on this trip to the Smoky Mountains area in October 2011. They're not knobbies by any stretch, but they work surprisingly well off pavement

This was on the Cherohala Skyway:




This was a steep switchbacked little dirt road covered in wet leaves and then a layer of snow. A tad bit slippery, you might say. We decided to turn around at this point, but later found out we should have kept going just a little further to reach the summit, Whigg Meadow.


Snow up high, wet down below:


Much warmer the day before -- this shot shows the tires:

[Jedz123]

Unfortunitly they are not in my size however they do have Metzler Karoo 3 (which is on it's way). Similar tread design as the Shinko. I'm looking for that type of performance you do on your strom. I'm not looking for an ice capade but if snow flies while I'm at work I want a tire that will perform well in the cold. Only 5 miles every day but I want to ride everyday this winter . For $70 The Shinko is hard to beat... Should I run it in the front (they have a front that fits) with the Karoo or should I just match the Metzler?

[lurch12_2000]

For less than $170 shipped to your door you can match the right set of front and rear tires for your bike with the Shinko Ravens 009. They have a pretty good rear tread design for traction, have soft rubber and I'll get about 6k miles out of the set I have on my B12 now. They are a very capable street tire during the "warm" weather too. The front would go 8k easy but I just replace both at that price. Honestly, I think it would be unwise to plan on making that FZ1 a winter commuter and expect it to behave well in pop up snow storms even with studded tires. Like the Bandit it has a lot of torque, hard to feather the clutch and throttle in slippery conditions and is too heavy to be fighting the snow. You will not match the right dual sport size tire as I've looked for the same in the past for the Bandit since I do ride through the winter too. I have a 110 mile round trip commute and got caught in a snow squall in Dec at night and it was a challenging (and unwise choice) 2 hours to make it home. I save the winter rides for nice winter days during the daylight. When you're commuting one end is going to be either pre-sunrise or after sunset, introducing other hazards up north here such as black ice , frozen spots from melt off and hoar frost. You'll never see it in the dark until it's too late too. Take it from another hard core rider, DON'T try to make that FZ1 a winter commuter!

[bwringer]

There's a gent on the V-Strom forum who rides all winter in Vermont -- deep snow included. He uses a winter car tire on the rear and a studded knobby on the front -- it's either a Conti TKC80 or a Metzeler Karoo, I think.

[lurch12_2000]

There's a gent on the V-Strom forum who rides all winter in Vermont -- deep snow included. He uses a winter car tire on the rear and a studded knobby on the front -- it's either a Conti TKC80 or a Metzeler Karoo, I think.

Even though the Vstrom is a nice bike, it's a slug compared to a modded FZ1, a little lighter and much narrower. Don't get offended since you love yours, as I've ridden them and still keep my eye out for a decent 650 or 1000 at a steal of a price. I ride "all" winter too but does that guy in Vermont commute daily during the dark hours? If he does then he is more mentally challenged than I am.

[Jedz123]

Thanks for the concerns Lurch, I've re-geared the bike with a 17 front sprocket (+3 compared to what I was running, +1 over stock), 42 rear (-2 over stock) and detuned the bike to stock with stock jetting and stock exhaust and reinstalled the stock ignition timing plate. Also the new Karoo is taller then most tires and I'll see an even higher gearing after the install. How's she Setup now she rarely see's +4K rpm and is quite the slug under 5k rpm. True she will still rip if I bring into its power band but I rarely do that. I have a 4.6 mile commute now and 4 of those miles are US route 7 and that road is always quite clean. 3 of those miles is >40mpg speed zones so I'm usually chugging low on the rpm around 1.5-3k. She's slower then my GSX650F now but cruises very nicely and gets stellar MPG. I ride all winter too. Last year was the only excpetion for she got snow locked in Northfield. The year before I ran PR3's in the winter for the 009 tended to break traction very easily on cold wet roads, I also was running a 15 tooth front with minor mods at the time and the bike was much faster. That year I put 14,811 miles on the FZ1 and about 4K of those miles were in the winter (burned out my PR3 in the back). This year I have a plan of attack to make the bike a bit easier for winter and dirt road travel. The current detune and the very tall gearing dulls the FZ1's power quite allot and keeps the needle very low on the tach during cruising speeds. The fizzy has nearly half the torque bellow 4.5k rpm compared to a B-12, the 998cc needs to be spun for its power unlike with 1157cc of the bandit, its torque can be felt as low as 2k rpm...

I also like the idea my Fizzy will be better on dirt roads for I ride it on dirt more often then one would think. Allot of them around here in VT and you can cut off allot of time around here if your willing to travel on the gravel, I usually always do with my bikes and bomb them.

Bwringer, I know a guy that works with me at the college who owns a DR650, Vstrom 650 and a Vstrom 1000. He rides all year round, I've been meaning to introduce myself to him. Not sure if its the same guys but it looks like he has studded tires as well... He was making fun of me the other day when I rode in and my tires were bald in the back... He asked if I was planning on running winters. I replied with a Yes. If it is the same guy he rides 30k miles a year and often any time of the day. He's nuts but awesome.

So the Karoo's were ordered last night, I'll likely pull the trigger on the Shinko for the front. The added height of the tires will give the bike a bit more ground clearence. It's going to be fun to explore some new roads around here on the Fizzy I'll be sure to post the pics of the FZ with the agresive dual sport tread.

Thanks.

[Jedz123]

Lurch All I run in the summer is the 009 Raven. I have over 25K logged on these tires on all my bikes. I'm currently running them on the GSX. That's whats on the Fizzy now.

I used the PR3s on my B-12 and FZ1 and didn't like how the wore out. Very good grip in wet weather but could never get more then 4K on a rear and the front was totally gone by 5k always cupped out. I use the Shinko 009 for daily summer use for they are cheap but I can get an least 5k out of a rear (this one is now coming to an end with 7k) and the front will last all season (15k miles). Traction is ok in the wet but I hate running them in the cold and they take a bit to warm up. My PR3s were good in the cold but no difference in snow compared to most sport touring tires. I really think a dual purpose tire will do a better job... Michelin couldn't sell me on their PR3s... Too much for a low mileage tire IMO.

[bwringer]

The V-Strom guy I was thinking of is "Randyo" over on the Stromtrooper forum, and he's from New Hampshire, not Vermont.

He pops up in this thread, complete with pictures of winter insanity:

http://www.stromtrooper.com/dl650-dl650a-2004-2011/224210-ready-winter.html

[Jedz123]

This was 2 seasons back, I went for a tour around Lake Champlain, dry roads for the most part but up at Rouse's point (northern most part of the lake) I encountered snow and slushy roads. The RP3's kept me somewhat glued but I avoided the gunk as much as I could for the tire didn't do well in it. I'm hoping this season I'll do a better job with better tires!.

[Jedz123]

Karoo 3 is on!