Trying to make a tyre choice...

[dougie]

For my Honda NT650 Hawk.
Narrowed it down to two candidates.
Michelin Pilot Activ.
Metzeler Lasertec.

Thoughts and/or experience would be appreciated.

[ME 109]

Gidday Doug!
Depends which one flattens off more quickly and if that even matters on the honda, like it does on an airhead.

I've been running pilot actives and they perform about as good as the Mac50

[dougie]

Gidday Doug!
Depends which one flattens off more quickly and if that even matters on the honda, like it does on an airhead.
I've been running pilot actives and they perform about as good as the Mac50

I did like my Mac50's, so that's a vote for the Michelins.
Thanks Jeff.

[Major Softie]

Very happy with the Pilot Road 3's I recently put on my R1100 after running Metzelers for quite a while, but I don't know how different the Actives are.

[khittner1]

I used Metzelers almost exclusively for the first 30 years of riding, until they essentially discontinued the rear Marathons. I've had a Micheilin Pilot Activ rear, in the correct 4.00 x 18 size, on my airhead for the past 5000 miles, and it shows essentially no signs of wear. Both dry and wet traction have been fine, though I don't probably push the envelope much. I have a matching Pilot Activ front that I will put on shortly to replace a somewhat-checked Metz Lasertec front; the Lasertec sidewalls do seem to become checked within several years, even without using Armor All or other known tire-degraders. I see no reason to go back to Metzeler.

[Jeff in W.C.]

I had a similar choice to make near the end of last summer. Metzlers or Michelins. I chose the Pilot Activs. Unforfunately, I haven't ridden the bike much since then for a comparison.

[ME 109]

I I've had a Micheilin Pilot Activ rear, in the correct 4.00 x 18 size, on my airhead for the past 5000 miles, and it shows essentially no signs of wear.

Amazing!
At 5,000 miles, my pilot activ shows no sign of tread.

[khittner1]

Well, I probably ride my RT more like a /2 than a dive-bombing ME109. As they say, "your mileage may vary" . . .

[dougie]

Thanks all - just ordered the Michelins.

[bbelk]

As for tire wear, these bicycle tires we have on old airheads seem super sensitive to speed. On my last trec out to west Texas in the 80MPH zone I could almost see my cheap back tire evaporating away. When we couldn't find a replacement in Del Rio (other than a front tire off a modern bike) I decided to try to limp home 300 miles at 55 MPH with lots of stops to look at my tire. There was no discernable new wear once I cut the speed down. On good tires with a mix of high and low speeds, I am happy to get 5000 miles. On the cheap tire, I got about 3000 (one is never sure with an airhead odometer).