Team-BHP - Motorcycle Tyres : Compared!

Mods: There is no tyre thread for motorcycle tyres.I felt if will be helpful for others who want to change the tyres on their bikes so that they can choose better ones available in the market.Kindly make this as a sticky.

We all know the importance of a good set of tyres for our vehicles.After all they are the only point of contact between you and the road.These tyres take even more prominence when it comes motorcycles because there is only one pair of tyres that hold you to the road and the odds are more against you if and when something goes wrong.So its very important to have a good set of shoes for your bike.

So here i will be penning down my observations through experience of some of the tyres that can be used in the most commonly sold motorcycles in India. I will not be including the scooter tyres(Like that of wego,dio etc) since there are not many options for them in India.Note that i have written about the tyres that i have used and have first hand experience with .If you have used other tyres then you can add your experience here,preferably in the format followed for all the tyres,so that it can be helpful for the members and guests alike

So here i start

MRF Zapper C

Application:Rear tyre
Commonly used sizes : 100/90-17 ,120/80-17
Costs approx 2500 in 120/80-17

This tyre is the mostly used in the Pulsar range of bikes. Its a decent tyre .With everything just decent about it. Its a typical hard compound tyre in the size 100/90-17.Just refuses to wear off! however in its 120/80-17 avatar its a medium compound ! Yea even i was surprised. But its true that the fatter rubber is softer than its sibling.This i think was made for the P220 as its marketed as having Soft compound tyres.

Pros:
Decent grip in wet and dry alike.
Very resistant to puncture

Cons:
Fishtails like crazy once its clocked few thousand kms.
Tramlines a lot.
Loses its line during cornering

MRF Zapper VYDE

Application:Rear tyre
Commonly used sizes: 120/80-17
Costs approx 2600 in 120/80-17

The vyde is a looker! No second thoughts about that. Its the best looking among the MRF tyres.Its also one of the best after market tyres of Indian make available easily at affordable prices.Its a soft-medium compound tyre with a very good tread depth.It has a 'roundier' profile than the Zapper C.
This tyre 120/80-17 fits all the pulsar bikes(old 150,180 too that have 100/90-17 as stock) without any modification,cutting of chain guard etc etc. Just plug and play. Even if it touches the chain guard ,any local mechanic and do some adjustment to the swing arm screws and set it right. Trust me this is the best upsize tyre you can blindly put your money on if you are not interested in 'searching' for imported tyres.You shall not be disappointed with its performance.Braking distance 100kmph-0kmph in a pulsar 180 using just the rear brake is 100 meters

Pros:
Excellent grip in dry,very good grip in wet.
Looks very good.
Excellent cornering ability.It just leans into corners without any effort and holds its line
Flickable in traffic
Cushioning ride

Cons:
Wears out fast.Typical life is 15-18K kms
More prone to punctures

Michelin Pilot Sporty

Application:Both Front and Rear( Direction of rotation differs)
Commonly available sizes: 100/90-17, 110/80-17
Cost: Since this tyre is not officially launched by Michelin,its available only as grey market imports.Price varies between 2000-3000 rupees.

The pilot sporty is a round profile tyre with a very good looking tread pattern .Due to its round profile even the 110/80-17 looks puny.Its also a soft-medium compound tyre like the vyde.The round profile helps a lot during cornering . Its dry grip is very good but its the wet grip where it really shines. Excellent would be an understatement.

Pros:
Excellent wet grip.Holds its line even when braking hard.
Good cornering ability.Holds its line during the turn.

Cons:
Very sensitive to punctures.
Bumpy ride due to a almost non existent and hard side wall

MRF ZAPPER FS

Application:Front tyre
Commonly Available sizes:90/90-17, 2.75-17
Costs: Approx 1650 rupees

The FS is the front tyre used in all pulsar series. Its a normal tire with a decent wet/dry grip. Nothing great to write home about. Does it job.Has a hard compound rubber.

Pros:
Nothing to explicitly write about.Can be called an all rounder

Cons:
The hard rubber develops cracks after a year of usage.
Not a great gripper of wet tarmac.
Squeals ,Locks up under medium-hard braking.

MRF ZAPPER FY

Application: Front tyre
Commonly available sizes: 80/90-17
Price: Approx 1600 rupees

The FY is the front tyre that comes as a stock in the R15 V1.According to Yamaha, MRF developed the front the rear tyres of R15 keeping grip and cornering as the highest priority.And boy it lives upto its expectations! Its truly an amazing tyre with incredible amount of grip! Handles wet and dry conditions with aplomb.After i changed my pulsar tyres with this one ,i was astonished by its grip.Not once has it squealed under hard braking,neither has it locked up! Lasts 15K to 20K kms.

Pros:
An excellent tyre at a very cheap price.
Superb dry and wet traction.(You can do stoppies on wet tarmac!)
Excellent assistance during corners.
Increase in braking ability.

Cons:
Nothing i can think about

MRF ZAPPER FY1 ( R15V2 Front tyre)

Application-Front tyre
Size- 90/80-17 Tubeless
Price - 3100 at Yamaha Showroom.

Pros:
Grip
Feedback
Stability
Awesome Braking

Cons:
None

Okay, So its been one week since i have started using this tyre on my pulsar 180 UG3 and i can describe it in one word- PHENOMENAL!

The tyre grips,grips,grips................................. .............,and grips! clap:

Want to throw around the corners- check.
Emergency lane changes- check
Emergency braking -Hell yeah!

One thing i like a lot is the feedback this tyre gives.It will say exactly how much pressure you need to apply on the brake lever.It also provides excellent feedback of the type of tarmac.Its sibling the FY did not provide much feedback.And it never locks or squeals no matter how hard you brake.

The braking in dry once the tyre is warmed up is mind boggling.To say in figures, i was able to stop my pulsar from 70-0 in 30 feet using the front brakes only! You can feel the G-force when you brake!And the bike stops in a dead straight line.So squealing,no slipping,no sideways movement.One more noticeable point is the handle bar stays straight under hard braking.Its your sibling(Zapper FY) used to tilt the handle towards left under hard braking but this doesn't .

Sometimes i feel my pulsar 180 does not do justice to the grip level this tyre provides.But i am sure that i can bank upon this tyre to save my skin during those emergency situations!

Verdict- The best replacement tyre for Indian conditions than can be used on any bike whose front tyre specs read 2.75-17, 90/90-17 . Pulsar and RTR owners-Chuck the factory tyre out and replace it with this tyre .Or if your existing tyre is up for replacement go for this tyre without any hint of doubt ! It can convert a normal street bike into a corner craving SBK :)

Ride Safe

Michelin Pilot Sporty (Made In India)

Application:Rear
Commonly available sizes: 120/80-17
Cost:Price varies between 2500-3300 rupees.

I had used and reviewed a Made in Thailand pilot sporty above. I was on look out for 110 or 120 section tyres since the zapper vyde was almost at its end of usable life. I chanced upon this 120 section,Indian made Pilot Sporty . Since i was very happy with the previous Pilot Sporty,I purchased this immediately. I was damn sure that the grip levels would be as awesome as my older pilot sporty. But how wrong i was!!The dry grip is good but nothing exceptional.Brakes well and corners well too. But the wet grip is where this tyre disappoints. It does not grip well and hardly inspires confidence. Throw in a slightest amount of muck and the wheels go spinning.I would say this tyre is downright dangerous in muck after the rains but better in a full blown downpour.

Clearly the tyre compound has been altered to suit the mileage oriented Indian junta.I see negligible tyre wear at 10,000 kms whereas its softer, Made in Thailand counterpart had worn down half by 10K mark.This tyre will last 20K plus easily.

I would prefer zapper vyde which is a true all-rounder over this!

Pros:
Good dry grip
Good cornering ability in dry condition.Holds its line during the turn.

Cons:
Bad wet grip and mediocre grip in slushy conditions.

This will be slightly different review as in it is of a scooter tyre and not a motorcycle tyre. This tyre is installed on our Mahindra Flyte and ridden for 10K kms.

Metro Continental Navigator

Application:Front and Rear
Commonly used sizes : 3.5-10
Costs approx 1100 Rupees with Tube

If there was one of the worst tyres that i would like to list , this tyre would top that list! Mediocre wet grip and strictly average dry grip. Skids at the slightest hint of moisture on the road. No confidence at all to brake on wet roads forget pouring rain! Rock hard sidewall offers little or no cushioning. The rubber compound is hard and will easily last for 40K kms! There is hardly any wear after 10K kms.

Pros:
Average DRY grip

Cons:
Dangerously bad wet grip
Hard compound
No confidence in braking and turns

One word - AVOID . Continental tyres are crap. And this is no exception and holds the bad characters of continental tyres well!

If you want the tyres to last 40K plus kms then go for it. If you are putting this on your family vehicle then you are putting them at Risk!

Michelin Pilot Street 110/70-17

Application:Front tyre, Radial
Using as : Rear tyre after reversing the direction of rotation based on the information from various motorcycle forums.
Available sizes: 110/70-17(Front), 140/70-17(Rear), 150/60-17(Rear)
Price range- Rs 4000 to Rs 6000 depending on the size.

The pilot street is designed for medium performance bikes, 150CC to 300CC category and is a soft to medium compound tyre . After the horrible experience with my previous 'Made In India' Michelin Pilot Sporty 120/80-17, i had decided i would buy the best tyre i could lay my hands upon this time around after sufficient research. Soft-Medium compound tyres are scare, almost non-existant, in the 100 and 110 section . All of them are Medium-Hard compound tyres . Only one available is the Zapper S 100/80-17, which is the rear tyre of the R15 old version. But finding this tyre proved more elusive than finding a needle in the haystack.

Reading through KTM thread here , i chanced upon the Pilot street and was happy to see the positive reviews by 390 owners. Also checked other forums and most of them had only praises for this one. Only catch - the 110/70-17 is placed as front tyre. After further reading around forums, i concluded that it was OK to use a radial tyre designed for the front, at the rear, if the direction of rotation is reversed. Reason being, the steel cords are placed in such a way to aid braking loads and not the acceleration push.Meaning, the cord arrangement is such that during braking the cords are pushed towards each other.So to suit the acceleration forces experienced for a tyre at the rear , reversing the direction of the rotation will to some extent ensure that the cords are pushed apart to lay down power to the tarmac.

So after much thought, finally purchased the tyre and installed it a couple of weeks back. Have ridden them for 500 kms in rain, shine, gravel and below are my impressions

Pros:
->Best tyre you can get in India currently for bikes with 100-110 section rear tyre
->Solid grip in dry,very good grip in wet.
->Silence. Now, one will associate silence to car tyres. But motorcycle tyres also create a racket. For the first few days, i wondered why the bike engine is sounding so gruff after installing these tyres and later came to know that the racket created by the earlier tyre was masking the engine gruffness!
->Very confidence inspiring behavior .Could be due to radial construction.
->Excellent cornering ability.Leans into corners without any effort and holds its line very very well.
->Flick able in traffic and at also at high speeds
->Does not lock up even under moderate to hard braking where most tyres give up
->Does not fishtail at all under hard braking. In fact it resists locking up as much as possible.
->Excellent braking ability in dry and wet. High speeds(80 plus) can be shed using the rear brake alone in wet and dry with equal confidence.
->Gives excellent feedback of the road surface.

Cons:
->Since 110/70-17 means sidewall of just 77mm compared to the usual 88 or 90mm in a 100/90 or a 110/80 tyre, the shock abosrbing capacity is reduced resulting the transmission of bumps to the seat. However it is not too bad. You will forget this con once you get used to the grip these offer.The reduced sidewall also means speedo error. The bike reaches a lower speed at a given RPM compared to stock.
->Life might be around 20K. But hey, for the grip these offer, i would not mind.I would rather spend a couple of thousand extra on good tyre than pay to the doctor in case something goes wrong because of bad/average tyres.