[rbp]

These leds look much better than the earlier ones. How much for these? Are they directly connected to the existing lights or have a separate switch?

[kailashnj]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Now, all my energies are focused on which tyres to get for the Dark Knight and it's putting me through sleepless nights

Go for angel GT.. this is a bike which is for touring and hence give it the best tyres for touring.

Or Metzler m7... But I would have bought the Angel GT

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by rbp

These leds look much better than the earlier ones. How much for these? Are they directly connected to the existing lights or have a separate switch?

Thanks! Got it for INR 1500/- from the store I purchase a lot of my biking accessories. Ofcourse, it's chinese stuff but, as quoted by the owner/friend it's one of the best from the latest lot

I did about 50kms at night and they do seem to have better visibility as these are spots unlike the previous one which was mostly spread

Connection is exactly as before. My directions to the wiring folks :

DO NOT cut any stock/company wires. Add if you wish. So the lights are connected to my high beam and works to blind obstinate people via. Pass switch

There is no additional switch which was a deliberate move as it would have looked tacky

Originally Posted by kailashnj

Go for angel GT.. this is a bike which is for touring and hence give it the best tyres for touring.Or Metzler m7... But I would have bought the Angel GT

Well, the size being super weird only 3 options left

1. Metzeler M7
2. Pirelli Angel GT
3. Michelin Pilot Street & Michelin Pilot Road 2

#1

Sticky tyres, great on tarmac and being soft compound susceptible to lot of punctures. Besides, its wet and gravel performance is not that great. I have used the Meztelers on my Bonnie previous and will not last more than 10,000kms

A pair will set me back by 23K

#2

Most of the Bombay V folks have gone for the Angel GT and are raving a lot about it. If I want to spend that kind of moolah then it will be the Angel GT eyes closed. No idea about how long they last but, dont expect it to cross 13000kms at most

This will make me poorer by 25k-26K a pair

#3

Getting some amazing feedback of many V owners using a combination of Michelin Pilot Street and Michelin Pilot Road 2

Above combination will make my pocket happy by 14K a pair !!!

One such feedback of a V owner who did 9000kms in below conditions and is super impressed with the tyres and no punctures till date. And, he is a guy who did 29 state capitals on the V in 34 days so I think his feedback cannot be ignored at all and not to mention another V owner who has already completed 30,000kms in 10 months also uses the same !!!!!

[kailashnj]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thanks

Getting some amazing feedback of many V owners using a combination of Michelin Pilot Street and Michelin Pilot Road 2

Above combination will make my pocket happy by 14K a pair !!!

I totally forgot about the Michelin. Yes even they are good tyres, I am sure they will serve you well. Best of luck in your quest.

[rbp]

These are the Angel GT's on my N650, done 8.5K kms, love them, cornering, straight line stability, grip in the rains almost perfect. What ever you buy, make sure you stick to the stock size. I have heard from CrazyDriver that some V owners have down sized to 150 and happy. Personally speaking I will never do that.

[Haroon]

Originally Posted by mobike008

3. Michelin Pilot Street & Michelin Pilot Road 2

Getting some amazing feedback of many V owners using a combination of Michelin Pilot Street and Michelin Pilot Road 2

Above combination will make my pocket happy by 14K a pair !!!

One such feedback of a V owner who did 9000kms in below conditions and is super impressed with the tyres and no punctures till date. And, he is a guy who did 29 state capitals on the V in 34 days so I think his feedback cannot be ignored at all and not to mention another V owner who has already completed 30,000kms in 10 months also uses the same !!!!!

After being a loyal Bridgestone user for many years, I went with the Michelin PR3 last year on my Concours 14. It was a phenomenal difference esp in wet conditions. For the Versys if you are mostly going to stick to Tarmac, these are a good choice.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by rbp

I have heard from CrazyDriver that some V owners have down sized to 150 and happy. Personally speaking I will never do that.

Thanks RBP for sharing your review of the Angel GT. What is the price paid for this pair and I assume its the same size as Versys

I would have never compromised with tyres with respect to quality and size (especially downsizing 10mm) but, the real feedback from our group is simply overwhelming to ignore especially from Pradosh, Chetan and also Team BHPian Rakesh Singh (He has a Street 750 thread on forum) who has also recently switched to Michelins and he is super happy and his feedback is as below

1. Absolutely no difference from stock tyres with respect to feel
2. Bike feels lighter and leaning in corners is much more sharp and easier
3. Visually the tyre looks similar from the back except if you look really hard or compare it with stock tyres
4. Grips are very very good

Rear : 150/60/R17 (Stock size is 160/60/R17)
Front : 120/70/R17 (Stock size)

As you can see from above only the width is reducing by 10mm where there is no change to sidewall and rim size

I'm more or less convinced to buy these tyres as even if they last for 12000kms it will cost me INR 1.2 rupee per km whereas the Angel GT also may also last similar or slightly more number of kms and will work out almost double the overall ownership cost

Originally Posted by Haroon

After being a loyal Bridgestone user for many years, I went with the Michelin PR3 last year on my Concours 14. It was a phenomenal difference esp in wet conditions. For the Versys if you are mostly going to stick to Tarmac, these are a good choice.

Thanks Haroon for your feedback. We may talk as much as we like about offroading the maximum we will do is bad roads, some light offroading and that is what the Versys is meant for and not for hard core offroading

Besides above, taking an example of 10,000kms life for a tyre, we will stay 90% (9000kms) on good roads and probably go through 10% (1000kms) through bad roads, wet roads, light off-road and everything else that is not good roads.

For anyone selecting a tyre, I'm sure the most important parameters for choosing a tyre is grip levels, cornering ability and of-course, longevity of the their life and final nail in the coffin would be the actual landing cost of them

[rbp]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thanks RBP for sharing your review of the Angel GT. What is the price paid for this pair and I assume its the same size as Versys

I had paid 27K, now the prices have come down a few K's. Any idea of the speed rating of the downsized tyre? Versys 650 and Ninja 650 have the same tyre dimensions.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by rbp

I had paid 27K, now the prices have come down a few K's.

Woah! That's super expensive!! I reckon the Angel GT's are now available for 24K-25K depending on where you are sourcing it from

Michelins are available for 14K for both rear and front on Amazon India which is extremely good value for money

Originally Posted by rbp

Any idea of the speed rating of the downsized tyre? Versys 650 and Ninja 650 have the same tyre dimensions.

H (210 kmph) which is more than sufficient for our bikes

[vikrantj]

I had changed the Michelins on my N650 to Metzeler M7 Sportech RR. Have done a track day and 2200kms trip to Rann of Kutch. Their dry road grip is amazing but they do feel a little wobbly on wet conditions. And yes they made me poorer by about 25,000Rs.

[rbp]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Woah! That's super expensive!! I reckon the Angel GT's are now available for 24K-25K depending on where you are sourcing it from

Michelins are available for 14K for both rear and front on Amazon India which is extremely good value for money



H (210 kmph) which is more than sufficient for our bikes

Just keep in mind the stock tyres are rated for speeds greater than 240 and the versys if given the stick can do speeds very close to 210. The H rating is significantly less, though you may not do those speeds, but still it is risky, though on paper the tyre profile of the 150, 160 is same, since the rim is wider, the 150 tyre's 60 profile will be stretched and be a lot flatter and in case you happen to ride with a pillion and luggage, you got to be careful with your rims.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

I had changed the Michelins on my N650 to Metzeler M7 Sportech RR. Have done a track day and 2200kms trip to Rann of Kutch. Their dry road grip is amazing but they do feel a little wobbly on wet conditions. And yes they made me poorer by about 25,000Rs.

Nice to know that. I have used Metzelers so I can concur the dry grip is phenomenal. However, it is not that great for gravel roads

How long did you use the Michelins and comparative feedback?

Originally Posted by rbp

Just keep in mind the stock tyres are rated for speeds greater than 240 and the versys if given the stick can do speeds very close to 210. The H rating is significantly less, though you may not do those speeds, but still it is risky,

I agree with completely what you say and know that V is capable of speeds close to H rating but, I normally exploit it little over 3rd of those speeds so there is still a decent margin with respect to the limit prescribed for H rating

Would like to give an example though might not be relative

My Coocase (Top Case) comes with a 120kmph max top-speed limit by manufacturer but, have been regularly doing speeds that is better not to mention on forum with no incidents to the top-case

In short, I know there is an element of risk but, I'm of belief that manufacturers also keep a buffer when quoting max load limits

P.S: I have ordered the Michelins and should be delivered later this week. Hope that I have made a good decision and not something I will regret later. So keep a look-out for initial impressions after the installation

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by mobike008

My Coocase (Top Case) comes with a 120kmph max top-speed limit by manufacturer but, have been regularly doing speeds that is better not to mention on forum with no incidents to the top-case

In short, I know there is an element of risk but, I'm of belief that manufacturers also keep a buffer when quoting max load limits

Please do not take it in the wrong sense. Top case to tyres there is no relation at all. Tyres are super critical especially when you have only 2 of them on a bike. I have done well over the 210 on the rbp's 650, so the machine is quite capable.

I would wholeheartedly agree with rbp (Raghu) on the speed rating, its better to get higher rated one than the lower one. Width has reduced means the side wall height too reduces, you need to be extra careful. Else bent rims or blown tyres will be quite easy to achieve especially if you are a hard rider. Pirellis give hella lot more confidence than the stock rubber for sure.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Please do not take it in the wrong sense. Top case to tyres there is no relation at all. Tyres are super critical especially when you have only 2 of them on a bike. I have done well over the 210 on the rbp's 650, so the machine is quite capable.

I would wholeheartedly agree with rbp (Raghu) on the speed rating, its better to get higher rated one than the lower one. Width has reduced means the side wall height too reduces, you need to be extra careful. Else bent rims or blown tyres will be quite easy to achieve especially if you are a hard rider. Pirellis give hella lot more confidence than the stock rubber for sure.

Thanks Krishna for the feedback. I'm aware how tyres are important and that is the reason I have changed tyres of every brand new car (bought quite a few) right off the showroom so no way would I take it casually as I know that's the ONLY contact patch with ground and is super important to have the best (if not the second best)

Without any live proof of folks already using it on the Versys, I would not even dare to even have them in my consideration. But, my confidence has grown over the last week especially after talking to V owners who have spent many kms (9000kms being highest) on them

Anyways, its a moot point now since I have already ordered them. Will keep you all posted of my feedback once I install them

Thank you all again for your lovely and proactive feedback

[Cyborg]

If one is spending 7-8 lakhs and above on motorcycles, then more on protective gear and accessories, then one shouldn't quibble on a few thousands for the most important aspect which is tyres with various justifications

If the company has given a certain specification, it has to be with a reason. Up sizing will not create issues that downsizing may and just because no untoward incident has not happened so far, it does not mean that the possibility does not exist.

Else it is being penny wise and pound foolish

Ride safe.

Cheers