At the end of the day, you have to choose a tyre and try it! If it doesn't work for you, then you simply gain experience and try something else. It all costs money, but hell, there's nothing you can do about that. I would highly recommend AGAINST fitting mismatched tyres, i.e. use a Dunlop front and rear, or a Michellin front and rear, etc. Also, stick to the stock sizes, especially on the street.
I personally absolutely positively HATE Bridgestones! I think they feel unstable and don't like the feedback at all, but a lot of people like them.
On the other hand I liked my (original style) Pirelli Dragons. Dry grip was superb, and when they slid it was very progressive. A Corsa (v. soft) front and a "normal" rear worked really well for me - not much fun in the wet though, but I don't ride in the wet, that's what I have a car for!! I went to the Dragons because I wasn't able to buy the same GPR70's that the bike was imported with at the time I came to replace them, and I could buy them in the correct speed rating, which is very important on a small capacity bike.
The last NSR (MC21) I rode with Michellin Pilots on felt strange, it did however have an RVF400 front-end with the wider 120 section tyre. It was a strange combination. The front steered slowly but the tyre felt like it was falling over onto its' side when you tipped the bike in as it has quite a "triangular" profile. I didn't like the setup at all.
I've just gone back to GPR70's recently as I can no longer get the Dragons in my preferred style. Different feel again now, but I know I'll get used to them again. As Stephen mentioned earlier, during some quite fast road work (in pretty cold conditions too) we both had the NSR's a bit "squirrely" this evening, but the GPRs kept us right-way-up!
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Andy.
NSR-WORLD.COM
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