I finally bought a set of Road Attacks. I wanted Sport Attacks but I had to face the facts, I will be doing a lot of commuting with my 9R and the roads around here are pretty straight. I figured I'd wear out the center of the Sport Attacks quickly so I opted for the longer lasting tire (hope it was a good choice). Anyway I got both tires, mounted, balanced, new metal valve stems,with tax for $311.00. They look roudy! This is the best looking tire I have seen on a bike... Not that looks mean anything... I'm just saying they do look good. So I need the weather to clear up around here so I can see how the handle. The dude that mounted them says they run truer than any of the Pirellies he has mounted and every bit as good as the Pilot Powers. They took very little weight to balance them. Thats always a good sign.

 

Yes a good sign in trueness in the balancing statement that you made. hahaha, you say rowdy, I think aggressive looking. Same idea me thinks. Let us know on your analysis of the tires.

 

OK so here is an update to the conti road attack tires I bought. 1500 miles and only 1/32 tire wear in the rear (I did one small burn out). I ride with a big group that has everything from battleax to pilot powers. I can hold a curve just as well (if not better) than the bikes with pilot powers. They warm up quick, hell they even grip good when they are cold. They feel even more stable in curves than they do on straight roads. The only time I felt un easy about the tires is when I had the bike laid down to its edges the front end started hoping but in all fairness my front wheel is slightly bent and I could tell thats what was causing it. All in all they are great tires, I highly recommend them. I've had them on wet surfaces, dry, tar (the rear broke loose on soft tar under heavy throttle), gravel (not good with any tire). As far as mileage goes... My riding buddies that bought pilot powers are talking about buying conti's next cause they are showing major wear on thier rear tires already. The conti road attacks will easily go 7K on a rear tire.

 

Good write up. What were your rider sags while testing?

 

YOU GOT ME WANTING TO TRY THE CONTI'S.

 

I can't say what my preload is as of this point. I raised the rear of the bike 1" and it handles so well I haven't bothered to even measure the rider sag. I can say that I put over 600 miles on the bike in the last 2 days (400 in one day) That took a toll on the tires, the front is just starting to show some wear and the rear went down to about 1/2 tread. It was pretty hard on the tires to go 400 miles in one day, not many people ride that far in a day and the tires were really hot. Its was 85 degrees and sunny.

 

so far the tires sound like there working out for you pretty good. I might have to try them out when it's time for me to change my tires. Anyone else have any good ideas on a good tire to run for highway use? my battleax are getting flat spoted in the center from riding.

 

so the 1" ride height in the rear affected both front and rear patterns. Just curious. Tire pressures, geometry changes, type of riding for 400 miles, that kind of thing would be nice to know.

 

Raising the rear brought the front and rear suspension in together, before it always seemed that the front end was very harsh and the rear was weak, raising the rear changed the center of gravity now the wieght of the bike (and me) are more evenly distributed on both front and rear suspension. Its so even now that I opted to leave it just as it is with no further adjustments.The bike handles rough roads so much better and I get beat up a lot less. Now My bike may never see a race track, I need the suspension to work well on the road and it does very well.
As for the type of riding for the 400 miles, I had plenty of time to get to Columbus, it was early in the morning, foggy, and I was watching for deer. I was riding pretty easy. From Columbus to Cincinnati I was running very late and had no time to spare, I rolled on the throttle hard, I was one of the guys at that point that you see on the interstate and think "this guy is gonna be plastered on the back of a truck" Hard acceleration, hard braking, and lots of weaving. After the training class in Cincinnati I went back to Columbus (had to go to Iron Pony) Traffic was heavy, lots of hard acceleration to got the spots I wanted to be in, again more braking and weaving. From Columbus to Greenville I was tired of being on the bike and just wanted to get home. I ran fast but not hard. So all in all it was about 200 miles of really hard road riding and 200 of cruising. It was one of those trips that make you cringe when you think about what it happening to your tires. They still don't have muchof a flat spot. I'm really impressed by that cause I don't get to ride the twisties very much, I have a hard time finding roads that I can cut my chicken strips down on.

 

ok, since you seem pretty comfy on the new setup. We pretty much know already on the tires, but what is the static and rider sags that you are liking? With gear how much are you weighing in at to feel comfy with your settings and new tires? Good that you are comfy now.