Tire report - Conti Road Attacks

[kevin_stevens]

I shouldn't be able to spin the rear tire up at will on a 600, on dry pavement, when barely leaned over.

I have 1" chicken strips on this damn thing, and my Metzler on the 1100 was less than 1/16" front and rear, on a bike with over 100 more whp.

(shrug)  Again, experiences differ.  That photo I show is the strips on the front of my ZX-14 with the Road Attacks.  There were none on the rear.  The second is where the fairing dragged at ButtonWillow.

KeS

[gradus]

 ...If, however you ride in a more reasonalbe fashion you may find them quite a good tire.  

If you're riding like that, go ahead and get a harley.  

[hmadams]

Like my RA's a lot better the the Z6's on my Norge.  The RA's have been working well on the Colorado roads.  I have 5k on these tires and rear will need replacing soon, front nearly as new.  My next rear tire will be a Road Attack.

[JrGman]

I'm with Kevin Steven's as I had a set of Road Attacks on my Hayabusa and loved the easy turn in and they still felt planted when the peg feelers were touching the pavement. They lasted 3k miles but I rode them pretty hard. Was impressed enough that I was considering a set of the Sport Attacks on my CBR1000, anybody ever try those?  (sorry for the unabashed thread jack...)
RA's are a good tire and I first heard about them on canyonchasers.net    
You have to also like the price that they can be found at.

[JonS]

I'll have to be the opposing force here I guess. I'm running Conti RA's on the wife's 600, and HATE them! Hate them hate them HATE THEM!!!!!!


Seriously, it feels like I'm riding on grease! Thats on dry pavement. In the wet, they feel like grease on ice!

They wear great, but so do the tires on my car, and I'm not about to slap them on the bike.

I've had 2 other bikes that I ran an RA on, and they did the same thing. Had this one not been on the bike when I got it, it wouldn't be on there now. It was brand new, so I couldn't bring myself to yank it off.


Next up, some BT016's I think. Or maybe I'll stick with Metzler Sportecs. Those things can even keep my animal of an 1100 glued to the road. Of course, I was also changing the rear twice per oil change....

 All I can think of is that you're riding style is completely different than mine. No, I don't take it easy in the corners either.

[coastalmainedan]

08 FJR1300: have a road attack on front, at 6400 miles and still has a thou or two left.  Wet or dry, very happy with it.  May try Strada E next.

[kevin_stevens]

I'm with Kevin Steven's as I had a set of Road Attacks on my Hayabusa and loved the easy turn in and they still felt planted when the peg feelers were touching the pavement. They lasted 3k miles but I rode them pretty hard. Was impressed enough that I was considering a set of the Sport Attacks on my CBR1000, anybody ever try those?  (sorry for the unabashed thread jack...)
RA's are a good tire and I first heard about them on canyonchasers.net    
You have to also like the price that they can be found at.

I ran a set of Sport Attacks afterwards, primarily because they were available in a 190/55 profile and the RA's were only in a /50 - I was looking for extra ride height at the time.  I thought they worked great during two days in the rain at Laguna Seca, so maybe I'm doing something wron.  

I'm running BT013s right now as I got them at a great price, and will *probably* try the new Qualifier IIs if they're out by the time these are gone.  If not, I'll go back to the RAs as I didn't really feel the need for whatever added grip the SAs had - or maybe run an SA front and RA rear as the fronts last so much longer with this brand.

KeS

[02Tac]

I shouldn't be able to spin the rear tire up at will on a 600, on dry pavement, when barely leaned over.

I have 1" chicken strips on this damn thing, and my Metzler on the 1100 was less than 1/16" front and rear, on a bike with over 100 more whp.

Maybe you have one of those special 600s that make secret super HP?  Honestly though, maybe you got a bad tire.  I am pretty sure my B12 makes more torque than your 600 and even when I have gotten on it fairly hard there was slippage?  Bike set up way off maybe?

[02Tac]

If you're riding like that, go ahead and get a harley.  

 I said reasonable, not sedate.     I would get a Bergman or a Tmaxx before I got a HD anyway.  Of course either of those would probably outperform an HD too!

[HipGnosis]

- or maybe run an SA front and RA rear as the fronts last so much longer with this brand. KeS

THAT is what I SHOULD have put on my 650!  (ie., great idea)

[swimmer]

To the OP, where did you get the contimotion tires from?  Not many places seem to have them and I don’t see much of a price difference between them and the RA’s.  Also, the rear contimotion tire does not seem to have any grooves crossing the center of the tire, isn’t the metz Z6 the same way and that it makes judging tread life remaining difficult?

If the contimotion is supposed to be longer lasting than the RA (not sure if that is true) I could see running an RA in the front and a motion in the back.

Not many reviews out there on the motion but I think it has been available in Europe for a bit longer than the US.  

[02Tac]

To the OP, where did you get the contimotion tires from?  Not many places seem to have them and I don’t see much of a price difference between them and the RA’s.  Also, the rear contimotion tire does not seem to have any grooves crossing the center of the tire, isn’t the metz Z6 the same way and that it makes judging tread life remaining difficult?

If the contimotion is supposed to be longer lasting than the RA (not sure if that is true) I could see running an RA in the front and a motion in the back.

Not many reviews out there on the motion but I think it has been available in Europe for a bit longer than the US.  

 I got the motion from my local dealership.  At the time Conti had it on sale for about $30 less than I could get another RA for so I decided to try it out.  I do not think many reviews are out for two reasons; 1 - I believe the Motion is a fairly new release to the US. 2 - I find that Conti is not a widely carried brand at dealers and I think many folks will buy what is on the shelf rather than wait for something to come in.  I will be running the current (8500+ miles) RA in the front, we will see if it lasts through through or at least as long as the motion.  If so, that would give the RA front about 16K miles.    After the Motion wears and it is time to replace both, I may just go with an even less sport oriented tire as I do not ride the bike aggressively so a longer wearing tire would be worth it for me.  

[Lawn Dart]

Guys,  a point of order may be needed on this thread.  I have to say, different tires truly do behave differently on different bikes.  Case in Point:  Z6 vs. RA.  RSL vs. GS.

On my R1100RSL ( ) the Conti RA's were borderline scary - they stuck well enough in the dry but were pretty sketch in the wet.  Further, the profile of the tire made the RSL turn in too fast and had a very real "falling in" feel to them.  The Metzler Z6 was a much better handling tire.

On my R12GS the opposite is true.  The Z6's didn't have the stick I wanted and the profile just wasn't really working with the 19" front.  The Z6 is still best in rain but I found dry traction a bit lacking - and they certainly were the limiting factor when I did a double track-day last year in Pahrump.  I ran out of tire with plenty of lean angle left.  As much as I loved the Z6 on the RSL, I really don't like them at all on the GS.

The RA's on the GS are still a bit greasy in the wet - but the dry stick is superb and the profile of the RA really does work well.

So, two very different bikes with different tire sizes and two very different opinions.  It is entirely possible that riding styles, tire pressures, road surfaces and the phase of the moon may cause one person to love a tire and someone else to hate them.

[swimmer]

RAs are $16/pair cheaper than the motions from ride ridedirect.com

[02Tac]

RAs are $16/pair cheaper than the motions from ride ridedirect.com

 Good deal.  When I called around looking for tires the RA were consistently more than the Motion. Additionally, I prefer to use a local shop when I can. YES, I know I can sometimes (factor in shipping) get it a bit cheaper on the web, but I would rather see my $$ go to a local shop than one who knows where.  This is a big issue in one of my hobbies, RC cars/boats.  People like to purchase their RC vehicles from large web houses to save a few buck, where do they go teh first time they break it or need advise?  THE LOCAL HOBBY SHOP!  My favorite LHS has gone so far as to make a sign stating that if you bought it off the web, take it back to the web to have it fixed or ask for advise.  This may sound like BS, but you cannot expect the hobby shop tp be there for you when you need help or small parts when you spend the big $$ on the web instead of the shop. For me the same applies to to items I purchase at the local MC shop. I will, however see if they will work on the price VS the cost (plus shipping) of the same item on the web and they usually do.  The shop I got the tire from even cuts you a break on mounting/balancing if you purchase the tire there.  Walk in with a tire from the web and m/b will cost you more.

[HipGnosis]

My current Conti Road Attack report;
I put Conti RA's on my new-to-me Kawi 650R.
Got out yesterday with a good bunch of the region 4 ST.N folks on a very good route of a very wide variety of roads.
The RA's (and the 650R) are awsome.  Easy to turn in, but don't fall in.  Very neutral in the turns.  Stays on the line or lets me adjust the line.
To be honest, I wasn't doing alot of changes in any corner - other than applying the gas, because my other bike is a BMW k12RS - it's telelever front end has me a bit spoiled and I've only had the 650R a bit over a month.  I generally try to be a smooth rider regardless.
By the end of the day, the tires gave me the confidence to do hi-speed sweepers w/ only one hand on the bars.

[02Tac]

First ride on the Motion today. 111 miles of mixed city, highway, back roads.  I di not notice any difference from the RA to the Motion other than the bit of fall in the RA had toward the end due to square off.

[XLR8]

Here's my long-term review:  http://lengtheningshadows.com/Contiroadattack.html

In other news:  I've burned up a total of 4 sets of RA's now.  I average about 4,000 miles on a rear tire with my GS.  Stickiest ST rubber made with a 19" front that I've found yet in the dry.  Significantly stickier than Metzler Z6's.

Still a bit slick and scary in the wet though.  Z6's are much better in the wet.

Thanks for the review. I just ordered a set for the VFR for the trip to Quincy in September. They also seem to be popular with the V4 crowd.

Based on your past reviews I know we both like the Z6 so this should be interesting.

[whoaru99]

I shouldn't be able to spin the rear tire up at will on a 600, on dry pavement, when barely leaned over.

I have 1" chicken strips on this damn thing, and my Metzler on the 1100 was less than 1/16" front and rear, on a bike with over 100 more whp.

Huh...dunno what's up with that.

I've got about 1/8"-1/4" chicken strips on my RAs on the Suzuki RF900 and never had any "greasy" feelings. Granted, the RF is only 125-135hp, but the tires present no worries to me.

[Jes_VFR]

Thanks for the review. I just ordered a set for the VFR for the trip to Quincy in September. They also seem to be popular with the V4 crowd.

Based on your past reviews I know we both like the Z6 so this should be interesting.

really, I've been seeing a lot more vfrlist traffic about the z6's, some pilot (race/road) combination, Diablo's and 'stones long before the RA's
In fact I see more posts about the Avons than the Conti's.

I guess I have not been paying enough attention to the tire wars on the list.