Unlike the average car driver, motorbike riders have an intimate relationship with their tires, and fully understand the need to fit the right tire for your riding style and intended use. Sometimes lasting less than 2,000 miles, the right tire can literally mean the difference between a safe ride home in the wet, or a nasty highside resulting in a damaged bike, and potentially worse, a damaged body.
Sadly, as the motorcycle tire market is smaller than the car market, less money is spent on group testing by the magazines, and a good tire test is harder to come by. This makes the 2014 Motorrad tire test very interesting, as being German they've gone into great depth to discover which tire works best on a Honda CB 1000 R wearing 120/70 ZR 17 and 180/55 ZR 17 tires.
Sadly, this one has been a little hard to translate, and certain motorbike tire tests don't fully fit in with the way our tire database works so we recommend finding a copy of the full article. As usual we've summarised the best we can below.
All dry tests were performed on the road, and the wet tests were on track.
Dry: The first few meters prove the Michelin is an excellent tire, with great feedback and good feel in the cold road conditions. As it warms up, the fun begins with the Michelin offering a safe, neutral balance
Wet: With the best laptime in the wet and the faster speed in the curve, the Michelin excels when there's water on the ground. Overall first, but beaten in braking by the Bridgestone and Dunlop
In bad weather Michelin riders have always have good cards. The new Road 4 shows, as expected, no weaknesses
Dry: On the road the new Conti Road Attack 2 EVO proves it's still the best road tire, convincing even at extreme lean angles with an overall neutral balance and great feedback. Only slight drawback, a little nervous at high speeds
Wet: 4th overall in the wet, the EVO improves significantly over it's predocessor
The development step has been good for the RoadAttack EVO. The tire excels on winding country roads, makes heavy bikes handy, and has closed in on the leaders in the wet
Dry: The Angel GT shows Pirellis sporting background, convincing even at high speed on the road with excellent stability with high feedback. Not quite as quick to warm up as the Conti or Michelin
Wet: In the wet the Pirelli shows impressively with plenty of grip in reserve even at high lean angles, almost laping as quickly as the quickest Michelin.
A touring tire with a sporty character strong in both the dry and wet
Dry: While the Bridgestone doesn't have the outside speed of the top 3, it does provide a rewarding ride with plenty of balance and a neutral turn. The strength of the Bridgestone is long distance with a heavy load, it wears extremely well.
Wet: Best wet braking, but lacking clarity on the limit of grip in the wet making a fast time harder.
The T30 is particularly impressive as an all round balanced and very neutral tire
Dry: The RoadSmart 2 is a very sporty touring tire and offers high stability during cornering once up to temperature. Little slower to warm up than the top tires on test, and a little wooden until then.
Wet: Fantastic wet tire, offering great traction, cornering and braking. As in the dry, slightly wooden when cold.
As Roadsmart 2 swings the pendulum towards sportiness - what does that mean? A lot of stability, less maneuverability. And it needs to be brought up to temperature.
Dry: With an updated carcass construction, the new Z8 Interact works far better with our test bikes. Good feedback and good grip, the Z8 offers strong stability even at speed
Wet: Similar to the Dunlop in the wet, but slightly worse wet braking
Unlike the previous versions of the Z8, the new version is lighter, and works in the wet. The benefits are good, but the competition is also strong
