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Tyres for Griso

While it's fun to read people's opinions on tires, they are just that. On the track, the only thing that mattered to me was lap times. On the street, I trade off wear for traction here in SoCal, land of the endless twisty heaven. Some are completely opposite and care only about mileage (as evidenced by Gold Wing riders using car tires)... So as always, YMWV. On the street, I use Dunlop RoadSmart II's exclusively, everywhere I can. Bummer they aren't offered for the V7 or Cal 1400. Pirelli's seem to be flat magnets, on all of my bikes that have had them (and the handful of others I service here), and on my '12 F150 FX4 I just sent down the road.

Tire and oil threads go on forever, yet never go anywhere.
 
Interested to know what you have done with tyres. I read through and see some interesting debates and suggestions. One of the most important is to run them in and it sounds as though you have a issue as loosing air means that they might not be seating correctly. I hope you get them sorted.
regards Vinny
 
Interested to know what you have done with tyres. I read through and see some interesting debates and suggestions. One of the most important is to run them in and it sounds as though you have a issue as loosing air means that they might not be seating correctly. I hope you get them sorted.
regards Vinny

Hey Vinny
No resolution yet. I've only put 3000 miles on them as the weather in London is still a bit rubbish, will try refitting them if only to bring peace of mind and help with the trouble shooting.
Have to say though that when they work they are a good tire a give good confidence.
 
The compounds may have changed since the earlier posts on here, but the Z8's on my 2015 Griso stick like baby shit to a blanket! It's my first experience with Metzelers, having been strictly a Michelin man on my Tuono for seven years, but I'm happy with them so far. Mileage will be the main determinant for me. My two cents!

lol. I went from a Tuono to a Griso too. Big change isn't it? In my case a 2008 Tuono to a 2010 Griso. The Tuono was mental and so much fun. Still I grin more on the Griso and spoil my underwear less.

What pressures you using on your Griso/Z8 set up?
 
I
Hi

I bought my 2010 Griso 8V last year and love it. It came with Dunlop Qualifiers on it but they didn't last too long, so I replaced them with Mezler Z8 Interacts, but I am not getting on with them.

I am running 36 - 42 psi but the front end feel is horrible, further to this the tyres seem to loose 2-4 psi every 10 days.

I'd love to hear what tyres and pressures you guys are running and your opinions.

Grazie
Simone..
I love my Avons. I use them on my Ducati & Griso. Wear is very good, grip is fantastic even in the rain. Avon Storm 2 next set I am going to get the Storm 3's.
 
Z8's are great tyres and well suited to the Griso from my experience which included good mileage in all sorts of conditions.
In my opinion your pressures are to high I ran 34 front and 37 rear.
Make sure you have a good gauge as they are often out by 3 or 4 PSI so you could be running much higher pressures than you actually think.
If everything is ok you really shouldn't loose any significant amount of pressure. I would start by ensuring your valve stems are secure and correctly seated if you have already checked that there is nothing embedded in the tread causing a slow leak.
 
Started out using 36psi and 40 psi respectively on my Griso (front / rear). Recently backed those pressures off to 33 and 37 and found the whole bike much more compliant, and grip is unaffected. Worth trying for city use. In the country on faster roads, perhaps I'd bump those up to 34 and 38, but no more than that.
 
Started with Metzeler Sportec M5 as original equipment & found them to be "greasy" and not predictably so. Retired them after around 9000km. Moved on to Michelin Pilot Road 3s for the next two sets and found them to be a great tyre for the type of riding I do - very confidence inspiring and stay put in the wet too!
I've just forked out for a new set of Michelin Pilot Road 4s @ 37,000km - be interesting to see how they wear in comparison to the 3s. Feels like a new bike, turns in & handles again. In my experience the PR3's get rather stubborn towards the end of their useful life with the rear squaring off & the front cupping - but that's squeezing approx. 14,000km out of a set (need to confirm with my records).
I usually run pressures @ 33 & 36, I find higher pressures too harsh for the road conditions here.
 
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I had Pirelli Angels on and was delaminating the rear in less than 3000 miles. Cracks appearing across the tread all the way round the centre.
I have Bridgestone BT045s on now, work to within 2mm of the edge either side, but no untowards marking after over 2000 miles. I recommend these highly.
 
Were those Dunlops Q2 or Q3? My first replacements (on my second hand '09 8V) were Q3s and while I can see they are not going to be high mileage tyres I will have fun for a decent amount of time. Reporting live from SF Bay Area, so I do have a little stabbing to get to the good roads. I am running 36R/34F. Very nice sporty tyre.
 
I've heard good reviews on the Michelin Pilot Road 4's- might be worth a try. Also, Micheline Pilot Power 3's and Dunlop Road Smarts seem to be well regarded by other Griso owners. All seem to be giving good wear and performance. The Pilot Road 4's are fairly new to the market so it may be a little early to tell with regard to tread life. I believe the pressures you're running are reasonable, but I'm a Griso newbie myself.
Ive been running the Pilots on my bikes for a while. Powers for sportbikes, Roads for everything else.

The Pilot roads, while not as rigid as the Q3s, have great feel and unbelievable wet weather performance. I've blasted around mountain roads in monsoon season with a smile on my face while my friends have white faces and red knuckles at gas stops.

Im running lower pressures though, like 32-36. Maybe not wearing as well that way but they hold harder than my neck can in corners.

As for air I never lose any. I had the MV in the living room for all 3 months of winter and the tires lost all of 1 PSI.
 
After 60k miles on 2 Grisos I found Michelin Pilot Roads to be the best balance between grip (in wet & dry weather) and miles per buck. The only trouble I had was that the fronts tended to lose their profile and upset the handling before they wore out and rears could go from being fine to completely knackered in a very short time - it was like they wore predictably for thousands of miles but once they reached a certain point they would turn from fine to dangerous almost instantly.
The dual compound they run uses the harder compound as a base layer for the softer compound on the edges, so eventually you are wearing off that sticky rubber and getting more of the hard rubber up the shoulders. Its progressive based on the "seams" I can see on my tire but it does happen eventually.
 
Michelin Road pilot 4. GT on the back, as harder in the middle for heavy bikes.
Got 20,000ks out of the front, though totally munted. 10,000 out of a Road Pilot 4 rear, had a flat spot in the middle partly due to 2 up through summer. Expecting more from the 4 GT. Overtaking the hogs round the bends brings a smile to my face.... :cool: Metzlers were sticky, but wore quickly.
 
i have a 2015 Griso. new bike, old stock at dealership. i still have the stock metzlers and the bike seems to fall into corners. is this an artifact of the chassis geometry or the tires. looking at swapping to Michelin PR 4's or Bridgestone BT023's. looking for a neutral tire.

thanks
 
Michelin PR4's are great as well as Metzler Roadtec 01 which have replaced the Z8. The Z8 is a good tyre but the 2 previously mentioned are a bit better. Your pressures are to high, try 34F and 37R which will give the Z8's more feel.
 
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I installed Dunlop Q2's on my Griso and because I have Todd's Right side exit exhaust nothing has to be removed for tire changes. I prefer sporting tires even though the lesser mileage and it's not my commuter. Otherwise I would put Michelin Pilot Road 3's on which my friends all rave about for mileage and grip! Dunlop released Q3's also.
Hello everybody, The original Metzeler tyres are wearing out fast...I am already planning the new set... What do you guys recomend? Are most of you using sport or sport-touring tyres?
I have been very happy with the Q3s and now the Q3+
 
Personally I like the Michelin pilot road four tires much better than the three's. They now have a pilot five that might be worth a look. I have the four's on a 1100 sport and the three's on a Centauro the four's feel like they are glued to the pavement in comparison to the three's
 
Guys, tire threads go no where... it's all opinion, and YMWV.

My rear shock is fairly overwhelmed by how much time my wife rides with me.
I have been trying to convince her that this problem is easily solved with enough Cubic Dollars. But she prefers that I spend money on the V65 for her to drive<ride.
All but the newest Griso have had terrible suspension specs (and even the new isn't great). If you weigh over 170 lbs in gear (solo) the suspension is abysmal. Replacement shock and fork kit will transform the bike. Been saying this for ~10 years now. ;)
Yes, cubic $'s is correct, but fair enough on that last statement.
 
Just fitted some Michellin Road Pilot 5's to the griso.
Off to Queestown next week (3500ks), so will give my thoughts on return.
(Mid March).
New tires always feel great, though tires pumped to 34/36 (2 pounds above norm for RP4"s)and
felt very firm returning from shop in showery weather. (2hr ride)
Will add more next month.
 
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