[prateekm]

I regret not going for better rear tyres when I took my 180 ABS. Now, I've used the stock ones for ~8000 kms, so should I change the tyres now or use them and change at the end of it's life? If I change them now, my budget is around 3-4k, so which one would you guys suggest?

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by prateekm

I regret not going for better rear tyres when I took my 180 ABS. Now, I've used the stock ones for ~8000 kms, so should I change the tyres now or use them and change at the end of it's life? If I change them now, my budget is around 3-4k, so which one would you guys suggest?

Does your RTR have 17 inch or 18 inch rims?

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by _raVan_

Excellent thread! One request from my side is to add pictures as it will help a lot in distinguishing the tyres when on road Also, please add the information for 18 inchers.

Here you go for 18". Let me add one more brand, though I am not sure if its imported now.

IRC Tire

Its a Taiwan make if I remember correctly since I had used it way back in 2008 on my Karizma. Size used for the rear tire was 110/90 - 18. Had used it for my Kodai trip and it served quite well

Pros:

Excellent grip on dry & wet weather, specially drizzle where the roads are partially wet
Gives you cornering confidence

Cons:
Since it was soft compund the life would be less

[_raVan_]

Excellent thread! One request from my side is to add pictures as it will help a lot in distinguishing the tyres when on road Also, please add the information for 18 inchers.

[praful]

I will add my experience with tires on my bike so far.

I have used the following rear tires till now (in chronological order) :-

• 1x - MRF Zapper C [120/80-17]
• 1x - MRF Zapper Vyde [120/80-17]
• 3x - Michelin Sirac [120/90-17]

And, these are the front tires I have used till now (in chronological order) :-

• 2x - MRF Zapper FS [90/90-17]
• 1x - IRC Wildflare [90/90-17]
• 1x - MRF Zapper FX [100/80-17]
• 1x - Pirelli Sport Demon [100/80-17]

Here's a brief about each tyre I have used :-

MRF Zapper C
This was the stock tyre that came with the bike, it was decent in grip. It wore out in 20K kms. Once past the 15K mark, there was a steady drop in grip. Especially in wet and gravel conditions. Nothing exceptional about this tyre and nothing to complain about it either.


MRF Zapper Vyde
When I think about this tyre, all that comes to mind is "FUN". It had phenomenal grip and best part about the tyre was the more aggressive rounded profile which made cornering very quick and easy on this tyre. It was a super soft tyre and wore out on my bike in 12K kms. But there are a few con's with this tyre, and the biggest being the lack of grip under panic braking situations the rear would tend to loose line very easily. And wet grip was a notch below Zapper C.


Michelin Sirac
The ultimate touring tyre for the Pulsar 220. Grip, Braking, Cornering, Life - this tyre scores exceptional ratings on *ALL* counts. I could be leaning into a corner accelerating hard and this would not loose line even if there was gravel. This still is the best tyre for someone with dual purpose riding needs.

Everything was hunky dory, till Michelin decided to screw this tyre up. I have a feeling their compound has changed drastically post 2010. Sent a couple of e-mails to Michelin India, but they refuse to accept that anything has changed in the tyre. Infact both the Sirac's that I purchased post 2010 have 50% lesser grip compared to the first Sirac I had used. If you ask me, I think the pre-2010 Sirac's were the original Thai import tyres. Now the Sirac's being sold are just dumb hard compound Indian variants of the tyre.


MRF Zapper FS
Used this as a front tyre twice on my bike. Decent grip, each time lasts about 20K. Nothing wrong with tyre really. Its an VFM all rounder. It does loose grip under extremely hard braking.


IRC Wildflare
So far the best front tyre I have ever used for my bike. This thing would grip in all conditions wet, slush, gravel. Throw anything at it and it would just HOLD. It was a perfect compliment to my Sirac rear tyre till it stopped getting imported! It was on the softer side and lasted me barely 15K kms.


MRF Zapper FX
This is the stock front tyre for the Yamaha FZ. For me it was an experiment that went horribly wrong, definitely not suited for my bike's rim width and the final profile formed was a very aggressive 'V", so basically I did not have much of straight-line grip and there wesn't much contact patch when leaning into a corner. I re-iterate, its a good tyre on the FZ but the profile formed on bike's rim was not suitable.


Pirelli Sport Demon
The most expensive front tyre on my bike yet. It was super grippy, almost as much as the IRC Wildflare. But it lasted on the first 2K kms. Post that the grip just went downhill. Infact post the 2-3K kms mark the tyre hasn't lost much thread but there isn't much in terms of grip left. This has to be the most disappointing tyre I have used so far. Paid some 2.7K for this on top of that!

[sharanvenu]

I can share my experiences on 18 inch wheels.

MRF Zapper Y 100/90-18
This is the tyre which came as OEM on my Honda Unicorn 2nd UG. Made of hard compund , this tyre just refuses to wear out. Grip levels are ok for dry surface. But scary wet braking, fish tailing in slush and tram lining made me replace the tyre at 21,000 km eventhough tyre looked like new. Costing around 1600-1800rs in the open market excluding tube, this is certainly a VFM option for people who don't do much spirited riding.
Expected Life Span - 40,000km

Pros - Excellent VFM, Moderate Dry Grip, Durability

Cons - Wet Grip is compromised, Allergic to Slush, tram lining

Michelin M45 4.00-18
This made in Thailand soft compound tyre is the one to have for mild offroading and excellent wet riding. No fishtailing even in slush or under hard braking. Tram lining is well controlled. Cornering is confidence inspiring. The bike will ride planted on the road at any speed. Costed me 2050 including tube from Dunlop in 2010. 18,000km later it has still some life left. Also, Unicorn Riders, please note that this is the largest tyre you can install without altering the stock settings. But, sadly, this is not in sale anymore in India through green channel.
Expected Life Span 25,000km

Pros - Excellent Wet & Dry Grip, Puncture resistance, Can be used for mild offroading

Cons - Life Span is lesser than others in the market, Cost, Reported cases of uneven wear.

MRF Zapper FS 2.75-18
OEM Front Tyre for the Unicorn. Again shares lot of characteristics with Zapper Y. Hard compound, Long lasting, but grip could be better. Puncture resistance is respectable. Had my first ever puncture on the Unicorn today after 5 yrs and 39,000km. So, I consider it respectable. Cost is around 1200-1400 excluding tube.
Expected Life - 40,000km.

Planning to upgrade front tyre to Michelin Sirac Street 2.75-18 before monsoon .
Any body using the same, kindly share your experience.

[schitre05]

My Thunderbird twin spark is nearing a tyre change at 27k kms now
What options do I have for 19 inchers for both front and rear.
Thanks
Cheers!!

[tharian]

Originally Posted by schitre05

My Thunderbird twin spark is nearing a tyre change at 27k kms now
What options do I have for 19 inchers for both front and rear.
Thanks
Cheers!!

Stick to the same model tyres that the bike has at present which I assume would be MRF's.
A couple of friends have Dunlop Unigrip 3.50 with button thread which is good as well as they have improved from what it was years back. And the thread design give the bike a rugged look as well.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by prateekm

If I change them now, my budget is around 3-4k, so which one would you guys suggest?

3-4k is a good budget. Recently a member on a different forum changed his RTR180 rear tyre to MRF Zapper Vyde and he is very happy with the grip levels. He got it for 2700/- It is a 120-80/17 though but you dont need any modification to fit the tyre and it does not rub the walls as well.

I changed mine due to a puncture which was refusing to leak air on the stock tyre. I went with Pirelli MT75 (stock RTR180 size) and its a very good tyre with good grip on dry, gravel and aids cornering as well. Full wet i got to test only twice and it was perfect and sea of change compared to stock.

Honest opinion, change them now and enjoy a better handling bike, rather than waiting for end of life of the tyre which is probably 20k kms.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Does your RTR have 17 inch or 18 inch rims?

The RTR180 comes with 17 inchers. Very nice compilation and a much needed thread for the motorbikes section. Thanks for starting the thread.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by prateekm

I regret not going for better rear tyres when I took my 180 ABS. Now, I've used the stock ones for ~8000 kms, so should I change the tyres now or use them and change at the end of it's life? If I change them now, my budget is around 3-4k, so which one would you guys suggest?

As abhinav has suggested you can go with pirelli mt75 , pirelli sport demon, or zapper vyde.

Sport demon is hard compound while the other two are relatively soft.

[Slick]

Does the Michelin M45 come in 3" 18? allround Grip is what I need.
I have a couple of Rxs which need new tyres.
Was planning a 2'75, 3'18 combination for both.
Existing combo is 2'50 -3'18

[SriramEfunds]

Originally Posted by Slick

Does the Michelin M45 come in 3" 18? allround Grip is what I need.
I have a couple of Rxs which need new tyres.
Was planning a 2'75, 3'18 combination for both.
Existing combo is 2'50 -3'18

To answer your question, Yes, M45 came with 3.00x18 and 4.00x18. However, it is hard to spot even M45, forget about the size. I was able to get only 4.00x18 for my ZMA last year and picked it up without second thoughts. When enquired about 3.00x18, it was not available and the dealer does not expect any M45 at all.

[praful]

Originally Posted by SriramEfunds

To answer your question, Yes, M45 came with 3.00x18 and 4.00x18. However, it is hard to spot even M45, forget about the size. I was able to get only 4.00x18 for my ZMA last year and picked it up without second thoughts. When enquired about 3.00x18, it was not available and the dealer does not expect any M45 at all.

Michelin Motorcycle Tyres India have stopped the M45 and Sirac. Now they are just aiming for the mass market with commuter/sporty commuter segment with the Sirac Street range of tyres.

Their focus is more on playing the number game than actually catering to all segments looks like.

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by prateekm

I regret not going for better rear tyres when I took my 180 ABS. Now, I've used the stock ones for ~8000 kms, so should I change the tyres now or use them and change at the end of it's life? If I change them now, my budget is around 3-4k, so which one would you guys suggest?

Prateek, my bike is still running on the TVS Srichakra up front. 28k on the odo and the tire is still running fine. The rear, however, had always been the culprit. Change it asap. As Abhinav suggested, the MT-75 is a great option. My friend's R15 is running on them, and I am pretty sure that it's a million times better rubber than the stock TVS. It hasn't got the leech type grip of the stock R15 rubber, but works fine and doesn't fishtail under hard-braking.

If you want leech-type grip though, try finding the IRC NR48. Comes in the same stock 110-80/17 size and it goes without saying that it's one spectacular tire. Amazing grip levels on all surfaces. It will transform your RTR into a more planted and confidence-inspiring cornering tool. ;-)

The only problem with soft-compound tires is their very short period life, and this IRC is no different. Less than 15k km of running and it has started showing its age.

I am going to change the rear and front tires of my bike in a month or so. Search for front is still on, but the rear is definitely going to be the IRC again. I am so much impressed with this tire, really...

[sharanvenu]

When Michelin took up the marketing in India, M45s were available in 2.75, 3.00, 3.25 & 4.00 all on 18". Soft compounds, reasonable cost and reasonable life span too. All of them were imported from Thailand. The M45 was the tyre to have. I have one as the rear tyre of my Unicorn, and I when was just about to change the front tyre also to M45, I heard that they were no longer in market through green channel. Anyway, its still available through regular importers.

Kaulson Racing ...... GO !!!!!!!!!!!! For KRP

By the way, I have changed my fro tyre to Michelin Sirac Street 2.75-18. just did 50 odd km on it. So, its too early to comment. Once it completes some 300-350 km I'll be able to comment on the grip levels. Any way, by the way it squeaks on the parking lot flooring, I can tell the compund is much softer than my previous MRF Zapper FS. Fingers Crossed.!