Best wet tyre?

Pipz

Woke up this morning to a flat rear tyre on the bike. Was heading out for the spin today, so I just plugged it quickly and was good to go. Lasted well for the day, but I'd be reluctant to go much further on it purely because the hole in the tyre was at least 6mm, so it's a bit of a risk as to whether the plug will hold. The tyres on it are over 5 years old now anyway, so I'm just going to replace them.

So my question is what do people think are the best wet tyre at the moment? I figure if I'm going to buy a new set, it may as well be best suited to the wet and then they'll take care of themselves in the dry weather anyways (mostly).

Any suggestions?

Bikerguy

Pipz wrote: »

Woke up this morning to a flat rear tyre on the bike. Was heading out for the spin today, so I just plugged it quickly and was good to go. Lasted well for the day, but I'd be reluctant to go much further on it purely because the hole in the tyre was at least 6mm, so it's a bit of a risk as to whether the plug will hold. The tyres on it are over 5 years old now anyway, so I'm just going to replace them.

So my question is what do people think are the best wet tyre at the moment? I figure if I'm going to buy a new set, it may as well be best suited to the wet and then they'll take care of themselves in the dry weather anyways (mostly).

Any suggestions?

and you wanna tyres for moped? scooter? or? daily driving? your budget?

Pipz

They're for a yamaha r125, just use it for spins and the odd comute, but I was wondering in general anyways. Budgets not an issue.

Green_Martian

Pipz wrote: »

They're for a yamaha r125, just use it for spins and the odd comute, but I was wondering in general anyways. Budgets not an issue.

Don't have experience with 125's but from what i have used on bigger bikes Michelin Pilot Road 2 or 3 and Pirelli Angels are pretty good wet tyres

GBX

I can vouch for Angels.. great tyre. Also liked Bridgestone BT-23s in the wet too.

Wonda-Boy

+1 for PR2 or PR3's.

Bikerguy

Pipz wrote: »

They're for a yamaha r125, just use it for spins and the odd comute, but I was wondering in general anyways. Budgets not an issue.

i will give you honest advice based on my own experience. as for r125 i would fit pireli demons - budget tyre and they will keep you well on the road. if you wanna upgrade the bike then sure go for for PR2 or PR3's as wonda adviced. they are perfect, but for now if i am you i would stick to kinda budget/performance tyres as the pireli are.

cantdecide

I had some Continental Motions on my old XJR and I thought they were grand. Ditto the BT23s I have on my GSX1400 as were the PRs I had on my Busa.

The reality is they'll all be much of a muchness. Far over-specced and way more capable than you'll ever need them to be. If you ever exceed the grip level, it's almost definitely going to be to due to rider error rather than inadequacy of the tyre... so don't sweat it- there are no mistakes as long as you chose a suitable and recognisable tyre and keep it in the right condition. After that, it's down to you...

Bikerguy

cantdecide wrote: »

I had some Continental Motions on my old XJR and I thought they were grand. Ditto the BT23s I have on my GSX1400 as were the PRs I had on my Busa.

The reality is they'll all be much of a muchness. Far over-specced and way more capable than you'll ever need them to be. If you ever exceed the grip level, it's almost definitely going to be to due to rider error rather than inadequacy of the tyre... so don't sweat it- there are no mistakes as long as you chose a suitable and recognisable tyre and keep it in the right condition. After that, it's down to you...

guys he has 125cc not busa or GSX1400 just to mention. its not the same and it will never be.

cantdecide

cantdecide wrote: »

I had some Continental Motions on my old XJR and I thought they were grand. Ditto the BT23s I have on my GSX1400 as were the PRs I had on my Busa.

Bikerguy wrote: »

guys he has 125cc not busa or GSX1400 just to mention. its not the same and it will never be.

Yes, hence...

cantdecide wrote: »

The reality is they'll all be much of a muchness. Far over-specced and way more capable than you'll ever need them to be. If you ever exceed the grip level, it's almost definitely going to be to due to rider error rather than inadequacy of the tyre... so don't sweat it- there are no mistakes as long as you chose a suitable and recognisable tyre and keep it in the right condition. After that, it's down to you...

Bikerguy

no offence, but mentioning your bikes - i mean "big" bikes and then saying at the end "so don't sweat it- there are no mistakes as long as you chose a suitable and recognisable tyre and keep it in the right condition. After that, it's down to you..." its not advice for me at all... they are no mistakes? whats suitable and recongnisable tyre?

I am not here to blame you or something, but once again tyres such as bt023 or PR2 or PR3's are great, but they suit better "bigger bikes" why?

different power output,
they need little more time to heat on 125cc,
and they perform sligthly different.

dont get me wrong but i am not looking for trouble or conflict, i am just trying to get the lad best advice, thats all

Wossack

mightnt have the same choice in tyres on the 125

might be easier, if ye had a couple you were deciding between?

Bikerguy

sure thing.
logic more choice is better--> i can post the link to all tyres in the world to extend the choice and say that well known brand is great and you cant go wrong with any... does it sound right? not to me sorry tho.

thats why i asked for some details to get the lad the best advice, he said he is driving r125 and he likes spins and odd comuting, so any advice after his respond should be based on the facts stated by him.

cantdecide

My point (which I thought was obvious) is that ANY of the mainstream tyres are WAY more than adequate as long as you don't expect them to perform magic in wet conditions. Unless the OP is planning to take the bike racing (which doesn't appear to be the case), I don't think it's worth wasting too much time agonising about tyre choice. IME experience, this is the case for most tyres on most bikes. They are WAY over-engineered for general use.

I'm sure if a manufacturer goes to the bother of designing a tyre for production in a particular size (most of the ones mentioned in the thread probably aren't available for the R125 btw), we can probably trust them to consider the right spec and rubber compounds.

P.C.

Pipz wrote: »

They're for a yamaha r125, just use it for spins and the odd comute, but I was wondering in general anyways. Budgets not an issue.

If it was me, I would go over to Cotters on the bike, and ask them.
They know more about bike tyres than me.

Wonda-Boy

TBH, all of the good tyres will perform the same in the dry. IMHO its the wet that seperates the good from the bad....

batman_oh

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

TBH, all of the good tyres will perform the same in the dry. IMHO its the wet that seperates the good from the bad....

Not true at all. The best dry tyres are terrible in the wet. All good tyres will do the job for most people maybe but they aren't the same. The best wet tyres will be cooked on a track in a lap or two at any sort of decent pace

arybvtcw0eolkf

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

TBH, all of the good tyres will perform the same in the dry. IMHO its the wet that seperates the good from the bad....

batman_oh wrote: »

Not true at all. The best dry tyres are terrible in the wet. All good tyres will do the job for most people maybe but they aren't the same. The best wet tyres will be cooked on a track in a lap or two at any sort of decent pace

True, just to point to my last two sets of tires.

Conti Road Attacks ~ lovely, grippy tires in the dry.. Horrible wet tires with no feel at all in the wet.

Present tires are PR3's.. I was sold on the marketing hype, they're not as good as the Road Attacks in the dry but much better in the wet ~ however I wouldn't pay over the odds on them again and would opt for something like the Metzler Z8 or Bridgestone 023's and save a few bucks as they're really not that spectacular imo.

OP as someone said earlier, head over to Cotters if they're convenient (or any good MC shop) and seek their advice.

Wonda-Boy

My last set of tyres were the PR2's and I got crazy milage from them. I have the PR3's now, I think the Ideal setup would be the front tyre from the PR3's and the back of the PR2's to get better milage. The PR3 is made from a softer compound so will not last as long, the front PR3 tyre is a savage design and very sure footed in the wet.

RosieJoe

BTW Pipz is a girl. None of this he/lad malarcy

Wonda-Boy

batman_oh wrote: »

Not true at all. The best dry tyres are terrible in the wet. All good tyres will do the job for most people maybe but they aren't the same. The best wet tyres will be cooked on a track in a lap or two at any sort of decent pace

We are talking road tyres here not track tyres....or did I miss something. Obviously a set of slick tyres will be terrible in the wet....I am talking about road tyres and trying to get the best of both worlds. IMO for both wet and dry the PR2's or PR3's are excellant allrounders.

RosieJoe

Tyre recommendations by manufacture for a 06 YZF - R125

Bridgestone

Dunlop

Michelin

Pirelli

Out of all of the recommended ones I've only ever used the Pirelli Angel on the Bandit. I've never had an issue with them but I am only running them on the front.

batman_oh

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

We are talking road tyres here not track tyres....or did I miss something. Obviously a set of slick tyres will be terrible in the wet....I am talking about road tyres and trying to get the best of both worlds. IMO for both wet and dry the PR2's or PR3's are excellant allrounders.

You said they were all the same in the dry. They aren't. Road tyres included! I have Supercorsa SP's on my r1. They are a fast road/track tyre that come standard on the rsv4, panigale etc. They aren't a race tyre. Pilot road 3s are not as good in the dry in terms of grip/feel/profile etc.

Wossack

can open
worms everywhere!

batman_oh

Wossack wrote: »

can open
worms everywhere!

I never even mentioned race tyres so I'm not sure where that came from. Doing a trackday is not a race!

The most important thing is to buy the right tyre for the type of use you want. Nothing worse than having something completely inappropriate for what you are doing.

Wonda-Boy

batman_oh wrote: »

You said they were all the same in the dry. They aren't. Road tyres included! I have Supercorsa SP's on my r1. They are a fast road/track tyre that come standard on the rsv4, panigale etc. They aren't a race tyre. Pilot road 3s are not as good in the dry in terms of grip/feel/profile etc.

You are taking it way out of proportion...we are talking in general terms not specifics of performance tyes, we are talking about a set of tyres for a yamaha 125. And any decent set of tyres on a 125cc will perform more or less the same in the dry for most people not redlining the bike left right and centre.

If you are riding very fast bikes for years (clearly you have been) then YES you will be able to differentiate between high performance tyres. And then of course not all grip will be the same in the dry as you are pushing the tyre to the limit and you buy a tyre to suit the bike and YOUR riding stlye.

How many people plodding around on bikes are pushing a set of tyres to the limits?

Grip and feel with each tyre is subjective to the individual person and bike. But I understand what you are saying.

batman_oh

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

You are taking it way out of proportion...we are talking in general terms not specifics of performance tyes, we are talking about a set of tyres for a yamaha 125. And any decent set of tyres on a 125cc will perform more or less the same in the dry for most people not redlining the bike left right and centre.

If you are riding very fast bikes for years (clearly you have been) then YES you will be able to differentiate between high performance tyres. And then of course not all grip will be the same in the dry as you are pushing the tyre to the limit and you buy a tyre to suit the bike and YOUR riding stlye.

How many people plodding around on bikes are pushing a set of tyres to the limits?

Grip and feel with each tyre is subjective to the individual person and bike. But I understand what you are saying.

All i said was they aren't all the same in the dry - which is true :P
Then you said I was talking about track tyres which I wasn't!
But anyway, as I did say the most important thing is buying the tyres that suit what you are doing. So let's move on!

Wonda-Boy

Its all good in da hood.....I would still ride with BATMAN.

batman_oh

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Its all good in da hood.....I would still ride with BATMAN.

Ah sure i'll possibly see you out on a Sunday spin soon. Don't get out nearly enough these days as too many people have moved on with their more boring non bike lives :pac:

arybvtcw0eolkf

I'm going to stir the pot a little more and say that just as important, and sometimes more so, than the right choice of tyre is a smooth riding style.

A wreckless, jerky, heavy handed riding style will show the poor rider the limits of even the best tires fairly sharpish, whereas the smooth, progressive rider will get the best from almost any tyre.