Triumph Sprint 1050GT - Tyres

MatBin

MatBin

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Time to replace my bike's tyres, currently Bridgestones.
As usual with Bridgestones they have cupped and taken on a strange profile so are now less than good, in fact kin awful, tramline and cats eyes and badly managed/repaired roads have them steering wherever they want to go and not obeying my input in the slightest.
They truly have been awful from day 1, no idea why Triumph have them as OE. The bikes done 5500 miles, the front is dreadful, the rear has been replaced once, due to a puncture, so has probably done 3000 miles and is mis-shapen already.
At one point I had an Avon on the rear, the dealer said it was ok to mix brands, and to be fair they fully refunded me when I said I hated the Avon, they said they had been getting similar feedback from 1050 riders although 955 riders liked them as did I when I had a 955 (increased weight of 1050 may have caused the issue apparently) but it could have been the front causing trouble and the fact the suspension had been setup too soft at the rear.

So I'm after something new and I'm thinking Pirelli Angel St (dont need the higher mileage of the Angel GT) or maybe something else, would like to keep to about £200/220 (plus fitting) if possible - anyone ride a GT1050 and tried any other tyres?

Matt
 
I have same dilemma with tyres and me and the wife both run BT's I once tried some dunlops and a set of Pirellis and just didn't get on with them. The BTs seem to be good just wear fast.

I ended up buying an extra rear when ordering my tyres and sucking it up.

My 2006 z750 is close to a rear also but the front is as new as per usual.
 
Mr Bump said:
I have same dilemma with tyres and me and the wife both run BT's I once tried some dunlops and a set of Pirellis and just didn't get on with them. The BTs seem to be good just wear fast.

I ended up buying an extra rear when ordering my tyres and sucking it up.

My 2006 z750 is close to a rear also but the front is as new as per usual.
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Very personal thing bike tyres - I hate Bridgestones, they always go off way before they have worn much tread out, never had a good one yet.
Shame the Avons didnt work as they were brilliant on my 955, some people dont like them though.
 
I didn't have any problems with the Bridgestone's on my Sprint but then I didn't tend to ride overly hard on the public roads.
when you say cupping do you mean the front tire edges?
the only time I got that is when I was pushing the front during braking whilst riding 2 up, I couldn't get enough weight on the front when riding solo.
 
AHILL said:
I didn't have any problems with the Bridgestone's on my Sprint but then I didn't tend to ride overly hard on the public roads.
when you say cupping do you mean the front tire edges?
the only time I got that is when I was pushing the front during braking whilst riding 2 up, I couldn't get enough weight on the front when riding solo.
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I dont think I ride particularly hard, maybe I do. The front tyre has cupped in the middle of the tread, I check my pressures regularly with this bike as it feels quite sensitive, unlike my 955.
Which Sprint did you have? The GT1050 has a longer swing arm and tighter rake, so maybe that's the difference?
 
I had the Sprint 955 from new in 2004.
I don't think I ever suffered cupping in the middle of the front tire. that is strange!
I suppose it could be the longer swing arm and steering rake, do you have the rear suspension adjusted high?
I had a similar problem with my Pan European when I first got it. that was caused by over adjustment of the rear suspension and too much oil in the front legs that made the front tire like a threepenny bit.LOL.
 
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I have had 2 off 955 St's loved them both.
Rear suspension is adjusted to mid point, bought it new so expect the oil to be at the right level (?) but I have never liked Bridgestones, even on my 955, sorry to labour the point.
An old 3d bit I guess you mean, not a silver one though :-) (or like a 50p piece for the youngsters).
 
I am a commuter so don't push my bike much at all on the corners.
The BTs seem to be good in the wet for me as well, bike tyres are always a challenge as there are so many types.
seems really easy with cars just fit a premium brand and voila.
 
MatBin said:
I have had 2 off 955 St's loved them both.
Rear suspension is adjusted to mid point, bought it new so expect the oil to be at the right level (?) but I have never liked Bridgestones, even on my 955, sorry to labour the point.
An old 3d bit I guess you mean, not a silver one though :) (or like a 50p piece for the youngsters).
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That's the one. I cant remember how many edges a 3d bit had but your reference to a 50p sums it up nicely ;)
 
Sounds like I could give that old Italian feller a bit of a run, he did ok last weekend. What does he use? :-)
 
MatBin said:
Sounds like I could give that old Italian feller a bit of a run, he did ok last weekend. What does he use? :)
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Ah yes Vale he uses Bridgestone's lets hope he visits TP and gives us some tips..LOL
 
found this on the SBN sport bike network.
these are a couple of answers on the subject of cupping from their forums.

Some (front) tires are just prone to cupping. Bridgestone BT010's were really bad for that even with no suspension issues and proper pressure.
All of the things mentioned (low pressure, suspension problems, poor balance) can make cupping worse.
"Pushing" the front through turns can also make cupping worse.

air pressure, uneven suspension action (one fork with less oil or uneven spring preload), and even the crown of the road can cause the tire to wear uneven.
Heck tires will cup even when they are wearing normally.
 
Tempted with the "new" Avon Sprint St's.
 
I had Avon on my Versys 650 about 5 years ago seemed ok
 
Mr Bump said:
I had Avon on my Versys 650 about 5 years ago seemed ok
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I've had them on my previous 2 955 Sprints and liked them but when I put one on the rear of this bike it didnt seem to like it but as I said earlier it may be because the front wasnt loaded up enough and made it steer very vague at slow speed.
I probably should have put a pair on too and loaded the rear suspension up to load up the front tyre as I am quite fast into bends :-)
 
Not ridden them but michelin pilot road 4 and now 5 get really good reviews.
 
When did Metzelers and Contis fall out of favour, they used to be the best tyres about 30 years ago?
 
Dunno thing with bike tyres is if you buy wrong it ruins your fun and you have to suckit up or buy again.
 
Mr Bump said:
Dunno thing with bike tyres is if you buy wrong it ruins your fun and you have to suckit up or buy again.
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Place I used in London (FWR) let me swap out the partly used Avon for a Bridgestone at no cost other than the price difference and £15 to refit.
So I'll probably go back there and see about a couple of Avon ST, or take their advice re some other brand.
 
MatBin said:
Place I used in London (FWR) let me swap out the partly used Avon for a Bridgestone at no cost other than the price difference and £15 to refit.
So I'll probably go back there and see about a couple of Avon ST, or take their advice re some other brand.
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I'm wondering myself when my BTs run out on the z750
 
ive Michelin pilots on my 1200 bandit at the moment and find them really good, soft enough to grip when leaning over and hard enough not to square off after a thousand miles
 
what about PR3s?
 
Mr Bump said:
what about PR3s?
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Got a pair of PR4 GTs today £275 incl fitting, balancing etc.
Done 50 miles so far, mixture of London, M1 and local B roads.
Stable on the motorway up to and just beyond the speed limit (cough), even with panniers and top box (all empty).
Tips into corners more readily on B roads, just have to trust it's not going to slide away as the Bridgestone felt it was about to. Seems like it's more think it through the Twisties as per previous Sprints so that's good, early days and not pushing it yet but seem better than previous tyres. Accurate in town and seem to ignore ruts etc.
Had to order some front pads too at £50 for four, expensive day.
 
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