I like corners (1/4 inch chicken strips).............I want/need something that will last 10-15 k miles, but still hold onto the asphalt in the corners.
These two things contradict themselves a bit.
Some sport-touring tires we've run...
Dunlop D220: The wife hated them, the front cupped easily, had a tendancy to slide with her far too often. Rear tire was cords in 2200 miles. The front was pulled off the bike 500 or so miles later because it was too badly cupped. She vows to never own another set of D220s as long as she continues to ride. Other Dunlops we've run recently: D208 and Qualifiers.
Bridgestone BT-020: Ran a set on my ST2. The would stick when warm and took a while to get warm. I found them too easy to slide until they warmed up. Led to many puckering moments. Wet traction was ok. Tread life was fairly decent. I figure a set would have lasted around 4000 miles. I didn't mind dragging a knee with these when they were warmed up.These were used tires that came on a set of spare rims that I bought. I didn't like these tires enough to ever want to buy a set.
Pirelli Diablo Stradas - My absolute favorite tire of all time for my application. Terrific dry and wet traction. Warm up pretty quickly. Stick like glue when they are warm. My wife and I probably average 2500 to the cords with the rear tires and 3500 to bald sections on the front. I have never had any issues with these with any percentage of humidity and 35-105 degree temps. If I didn't find killer deals on the regular Diablo and some Dunlop D208 tires, this is the tire I'd be buying on a regular basis. My wife and I both love these tires and we've gone through about ten sets of them in the last three years.
Metzeler ME-Z6: I ran about three sets of these. I find them very comparible to the Diablo Strada, but I can find better deals on the Stradas, so I buy the Pirellis (BTW, Metzeler and Pirelli are the same company).
Michelin CT2: We've got 1000 miles on these with a Ducati Monster. Seem to be pretty good tires and if they are anywhere near as good as the Michelin Pilot Powers and Pilot Sports, I know they will become one of my wife's favorite tires.....I simply cannot justify the additional cost for Michelins, though.
Michelin Pilot Roads: My newest ST2 acquisition came with new Roads for shoes. I have about 1000 miles on them and like them so far, but I have not ridden the bike in the rain or ridden the bike as aggressively as I ride the other ST2. I think these will be good tires, also.....other than the additional cost over the competition's tires.
Michelin Macadam X90: Absolute POS tires and one of the main reason why it took nearly six years before I'd try another Michelin product. Cupped too easily, not very good wet weather traction, got about 5000 miles to a set, though......but I hated them.
In general, I prefer the Pirelli tires over all others, but mainly for the performance for the buck value. If the wife had it her way, and money wasn't much of a big deal, I think she'd roll on Michelins from here on out. I've been running Pirellis for about seven years now and have been very happy with their tires.....Dragon, Dragon Evo, Dragon Supercorsa, Diablo, Diablo Strada, Diablo Corsa, Diablo Corsa III, and Diablo Supercorsa Pro.....BTW, my wife and I have run through about 40 tires in the last three years and most of these tires were eaten by her R1 and GSXR and my ST2 and 748.
