Hi,

I'm fairly new to the forum and it's been useful as I am currently restoring an MC21.

I wondered what your current recommendations are for road tyres. I found a post from 2017 but things might've changed since then.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Cheers

Graham

Hello Graham, and welcome to NSR-WORLD.

If you can track down the correct sizes, my personal favourites are Pirelli Diablo Supercorsas, but not always easy to find in 110/70 & 150/60. We've run them on everything for years now, from the NSR250s to NSR500s, and RC30 & RC45 endurance bikes. Don't be tempted to fit oversized tyres, unless you're particularly handy with suspension and geometry setup, as it's very easy to ruin the handling.

I can't stand Bridgestones myself, but others here swear by the BT090. I'm not particularly fast, so I don't know why I feel so uncomfortable on them, but of the bikes I've ridden (all MC21s) on Bridgestones, they've all felt unstable. Having said that, we ran one of the NSR500Vs on BT090s, and the feedback was very good.... right up until it was crashed... twice! Once low-sided into the hairpin at Donington, and the other a massive high-side, again at Donington! But what do I know?! 🤣🤣🤣

As always with tyres, it's very subjective, and everyone's opinions will differ.
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Thanks Andy, I'll have a search for some supercorsas. I know they're a good tyre, although I had a big off at Donington down Craner and snapped a 400 in half on em 🙂!!

Higgy50 wrote:
Thanks Andy, I'll have a search for some supercorsas. I know they're a good tyre, although I had a big off at Donington down Craner and snapped a 400 in half on em 🙂!!

And there's the problem with tyre recommendations!
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Dunlop Q3 are a great road tyre, Super Corsa's are a great race tyre but if your not racing they are very unpredictable.
I have used both on the road and have had at least three sets of Q3's after ditching the Super Corsa's after a cold weather bum clenching front end slide on a roundabout, not an issue since I fitted the Q3's.

I have to say, back in the old days, when there was only 4 channels on TV, and Radio 1 was still on AM, I used to love my Dunlop "Sportmax" GPR70's. They went on to become GPR70SP, which were fantastic for the time, then ɑ10, and eventually ɑ13. I never used the Alphas personally, but never really heard any complaints.

Is the Sportmax Q3 basically the latest incarnation, or am I way off the mark? As I say, for years now (probably since about 2012) I've only run on the Pirelli.
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Andy.
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Andy, I could go even further back and rave on about Dunlop TT100's, they were great at the time but time and technology has moved on....thank the lord

If you only ride on sunny dry days and mostly on open roads you will probably be absolutely fine on super corsa's, it's when they cool off and you ask a bit too much of them too early that you discover that the grip is not as good as it was 10 minutes ago.

Q2's / 3's & 4's are multiple compuonds, hard in the middle so stop them looking like thruppenny bits in 2000 miles and soft on the edges to give you that grip when you get a bit too excitable.

I had Super corsas on my ZX6RR (they were the tyres I had on it when I raced it) When I put it on the road and the bike felt very vague for the first couple of miles and as previously mentioned had a few slides which made very feel wary. I spoke to a tyre dealer who suggested Q2's and it totally transformed the bike, confidence thoroughly restored! I have stuck with them ever since, other manufacturers also do dual and triple compound tyres but as I have never used them I don't feel qualified to comment.

I'm not really fast enough for it to make much of a difference! I liked my GPR70s, and liked the SPs that came after. (Tyres of the mid-90s, when I got my first NSR.) I also liked the original Dragons, but that was more due to the trendy tread pattern and the fact that I'm a tart, more than anything else! When they changed the wavy tread pattern I went back to the SPs.

As I say, the only tyres that I have really felt uncomfortable with, on a few occasions (different bikes), were Bridgestones. Normally I'd just say it was subliminal, but the last NSR I rode fitted with them, I actually pulled over to check if something on the front-end was loose! But others love, and swear by them!
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OK, please forgive my small ignorance, my comment on tyres was based on my experience with slightly larger bike, I.E. My Kawasaki 600RR which is powerful and heavy enough to work a tyre up to a good temperature.
My recently aquired MC21, I have just realised has some pretty old boots on it, 12 years old! Now I am not saying they don't work but in the recent test we have here on the Isle of Man (we only have one and that lasts for the life of the vehicle ....Yahoo...no MOT stresses here) The examiner noticed that small cracks were appearing in the grooves of the tread, which can't be good can it really?
So for the sake of a few hundred quid of tyres, verses even a slow speed slide off, I am going to replace them.

I spoke to the guys at my local tyre place, who are all bikers by the way,and they advised me that due to the power and weight of a sport 250 machine they would never (unless you are track daying it) really get that hot....or even warm and recommended that a set of the softest compound were the best option and his recommendation were Bridgestones.

Taking all that previous info into account, it is likely I am going to heed that, the problem at the moment is they don't have them in stock at the moment and Bridgestone are sending over container loads of tyres but not telling the stockist what is in them!
Such are the strange times we are living in.

Hope this helps you in your dilemma

IomMan wrote:
I spoke to the guys at my local tyre place, who are all bikers by the way,and they advised me that due to the power and weight of a sport 250 machine they would never (unless you are track daying it) really get that hot....or even warm and recommended that a set of the softest compound were the best option and his recommendation were Bridgestones.

Yes, and no. What you've been told is a little ambiguous.

Ideally you want an H rated tyre. The speed rating [up to 130mph/210kmh] is specifically designed for small lightweight sports bikes like the NSR/TZR/RGV, and I can assure you, get well up to optimum temperature on spirited rides, particularly in summer! Bridgestone make the 090 in H rating.

However, for example, you could get the softest 110-70-ZR17, and find it doesn't get up to full operating temperature, as it's rated for 150mph+. Again though, there are exceptions to every rule. Certain suspension setup and riding style can work a front ZR tyre quite hard... so I'm told!
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I cannot recommend Metzeler M7RR's high enough. Brilliant road tyre and even good in the inters group at a track day.. Never had any problem getting them warm as they just seem soft enough to be the perfect 250cc bike tyre.




Best of all they are not a slick looking tyre like most grippy trackday tyres so work really well if you do ride in the wet too...

morepower wrote:
I cannot recommend Metzeler M7RR's high enough...

Effectively Pirelli by a different name. When we were endurance racing in the UK Pirelli Championship, we were allowed to run Metzelers. And yes, bloody good tyres too.
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Andy is right (occasionally).

Super duper corsa's if you can get them in the right size and have the bank balance to fund them.
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fontyyy wrote:
Andy is right (occasionally).

Super duper corsa's if you can get them in the right size and have the bank balance to fund them.

Nah.... I was wrong once.... April '94.... I remember it well! 🤣🤣🤣

Nice to see you on the Forum, Fontyyy! It's been a while!
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