The Rubber Watch

HomeDigitoolsMotorcycle Tires, A Sport Touring Rubber Watch

Curated by Brian Wringer, the following info is also maintained by Travis Burleson and Robin Dean.

Here's your regularly updated, casually organized and far from definitive list of currently available sport touring motorcycle tires. It's the sort of information we rabidly rapid road riders discuss amongst ourselves over eggs, bourbon and/or email. Like all obsessed sport touring riders, we wear out a LOT of motorcycle tires and we keep a close eye on tire prices and deals in order to maximize fun per dollar.

“Like all obsessed sport touring riders, we've worn out a LOT of motorcycle tires. This pages keeps record of pricing, availability and notes.”

See anything inaccurate? Something we missed? Feedback? Thoughts? Want to send us free sport touring motorcycle tires to abuse ::cough:: I mean ... evaluate? Get in touch via the contact page. We'll get on it.

Oh! And let us know if you find this useful. We'll keep things updated as the demons demand.

Sort By: Brand | Price | TROpinion

$181.00

TROpinion: 2 out of 5
Rider(s): Robin
Mileage: 1300

Robin's only able to get about 1,300 miles out of a rear. After that, he's seeing belts. In Conti's defense, Robin's pretty ruthless with mid-corner torque. Minimal longevity means we can't recognize them as "ST" tires. Maybe that can be achieved with more forgiving, mid-power bikes. Also, with no center siping, it's difficult to calculate when they're worn out. On the upside, they're excellent commuters. Sticky grip in good weather with normal surface conditions. Slip and recovery on chip seal, however is far more dramatic than with other options.

$214.00

TROpinion: 3.5 out of 5
Rider(s): Travis

Travis just mounted a rear for testing with a used Metzler Roadtec01 Front. Initial feel is sticky/soft single compound with decent siping. Doesn't feel expecially heavy. Mounted super easy and balanced very well. Will update with ride report and longevity. Word is that they work well in all conditions but don't last as long as the expensive brands. They seem to rely on a thick, soft single-compound rubber rather than silica to make them last.

$235.00

TROpinion: 4.25 out of 5
Rider(s): Robin, Brian
Mileage: 3000 - 4000 (est)

Robin and Brian are currently testing these. So far, so good. Plenty of silica for (hopeful) longevity. Feel is great! Sticky, reliable, fast recovery over momentary loose surface. Cool angel/devil thing in the tread pattern as they wear, if that sort of thing is the sort of thing that's your sort of thing. Robin's at 2500+ miles which is pretty good, considering his abuse of torque. He likes them better than the Dunlop Roadsmart series.

$258.00

Not Yet Rated

Bargain all-rounder, been around a while.

$271.00

Not Yet Rated

Made in Korea. Dual compound sport touring tire at a bargain price. Word is that they work great wet or dry but wear out more quickly than the big brands, which is consistent with our experiences with other Shinko tires.

$304.00

Not Yet Rated

Bargain prices popping up on this previous version of Metz's sport street tire.

$320.00

Not Yet Rated

Conti's middle-of-the-road ST choice.

$339.00

Not Yet Rated

Their latest/greatest $100+ upgrade from the ST. Also offers an "A-spec" version for heavier machines. Don't buy the A-specs for your light bike, though! Doing so comes with that "Flintstones" effect ;-)

$340.00

Not Yet Rated
Rider(s): Travis

Longest. name. Ever. Dual compound rear. Road Biased ADV tire. Could be good ST tires for crumbling mid-western infrastructure and occasional gravel and chip seal duty. Dual Compound Rear. Minimal reviews were positive. ChapMoto has video review on BMW R1200GS. Travis has set on deck for testing with his CB650R

$365.00

Not Yet Rated

Current sport street tire from Big M.

$373.00

Not Yet Rated

Dual-compound sport touring hoops with generally favorable reviews. Heavy-duty GT versions available for 500+ pound sumobikes for a few more bucks.

$375.00

TROpinion: 2.5 out of 5
Rider(s): Travis
Mileage: 3500

Big M's Sport Touring Tire. Dual Compund Rear. Modern Siping for water dispersion, less siping on shoulder for improved dry grip in cornering. Travis got ~3500mi out of OEM set on 2nd hand CB650R. Rear was squared to wear bars, front was cupped and trapizoid. Same milage out of rear on new set. Front still has plenty of Tread. Currently testing Kenda KM01 Rear with the Front Metzler from 2nd set. Good handling and wet and dry grip. Good slip recovery, Ok on loose surface. 2nd rear was VERY difficult to dismount, may have been related to hot-sticky weather.

$392.00

TROpinion: 3.6 out of 5
Rider(s): Travis, Robin, Brian
Mileage: 4500

A long-running TRO favorite. The RS3 was a screaming bargain for a few years after the RS4 came out, but pricing has crept up significantly.

$416.00

Not Yet Rated

No direct experience, but Conti is always a quality brand. Also available in GT versions for bigger machines for a few bucks more.

$447.00

Not Yet Rated

Technically a dual-sport tire, but a very street-oriented tread. Included here because there's a $60 rebate offer through 12/31/24, which would drop the net to $387

$460.00

TROpinion: 3.5 out of 5
Rider(s): Brian
Mileage: 3,000 - 3,500 (est)

Recent $60 price jump. After 2,400 miles of testing and abuse, about 1/3 interstate, the rest some truly heinous back road bombing, significant wear is visible and feel has changed. Pretty decent unpaved road chops. Excellent pavement manners and grip wet or dry. Unexpectedly lively feel. Seem to do especially well slurping up the gravel and assorted mammalian filth adorning the best corners in the midwest without disturbing the path of travel. Changed early for track day, but I don't anticipate these would get much more than 3,000 - 3,500 total. Fantastic while they lasted, but short lifespan and high cost disappoint.

$473.00

Not Yet Rated
Rider(s): Jasmine

Considered the ultimate by some. Ridiculous pricing, so we wouldn't know. Pricing recently eased, just a teensy bit.

$498.00

Not Yet Rated

Pricing creeping into Michelin territory. 27% spendier than the RS3, but claiming a 20% increase in treadwear ... Word on the street is that they also have a slightly lighter, nimbler feel than the RS3.

$499.00

Not Yet Rated

Same as the regular Road 6 but heavier construction for sumo-class bikes. Michelin pricing has recently eased to sneak under $500 a set.

$612.00

Not Yet Rated

These have been discontinued but you can still find 'em online. We're not exactly clear on improvements over the base GT series. Either way, they're pricier.

Sport Touring Motorcycle Tire General Notes

This list only includes tires in the most common sizes. By that, we mean 120/70-17 front, 180/55-17 rear. Because them's the bikes we ride, that's why.

We don't include sport-oriented tires, dual-sport tires, vintage bike tires, cruiser tires, etc. Only sport touring tires are mentioned here. Most are dual-compound and optimized for mileage, wet traction and strong predictable grip in all conditions.

We check with three or four major US online tire retailers. Motorcycle tire pricing appears to very consistently stay within a few bucks at each supplier, so we don't expend much effort scraping around for that last few pfennigs. Just average market cost.

All prices are rounded up to the nearest dollar. "Approximate" is the word here. If we're within five or ten bucks, that's good enough for us.

Of course, prices and availability can (and do) change without warning, so the info above was only moderately accurate at the time it was posted. For entertainment purposes only. Don't blame us if you can't find the rubber you want at the price mentioned.

Prices include standard shipping within the Continental US. This is normally presented as "free" shipping. Freedom isn't (always) free.

This is all assuming you mount and balance your own tires. If you're using someone else to install your tires, make sure it's cool if you order the tires. Or buy a Rabaconda.

Rebates are listed separately. We've had pretty good luck with rebates. Just make sure the paperwork is filled out exactly correctly and consider using Rocky Mountain ATV/MC because they send in the rebate forms for you.

Some general notes are sometimes given for each. These are our general thoughts and opinions only. YMMV, caveat emptor and all that. If something is incorrect, tough beans. Check for yourselves before ordering, mmkay?

Motorcycle Tires & Retailers

There are many great motorcycle tire sellers out there. We've focused here on the few that we've personally used the most and found to be very consistent and reliable. These consistently offer "free" standard ground shipping and have fast service and accurate inventory.

Tires may be shipped directly from the retailer's inventory. That, or they may be shipped from distributor warehouses. If speed is important, it may be best to call and ask.

American Moto Tire - widest inventory, especially if you have a weird bike, always great prices. Nuthin' fancy here. You find tires, you order tires, tires show up.

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC - Although they focus on the dirty side of riding life, they're a great source for all kinds of motorcycle tires. 5% "RMBucks" rewards to keep you coming back. If there's an active mail-in rebate offer, they'll do the paperwork for you - VERY handy!

Revzilla/Cycle Gear - You all know Revzilla/Cycle Gear. Up to 5% ZillaCash rewards depending on annual spend. They're pushing paid "RPM" membership pretty hard and this may or may not make sense for you (J&P is also part of the Comoto "family").

As noted, there are many other good retailers we've left out: Dennis Kirk, MotoMummy, ChapMoto and others.

scAmazon and fleaBay can be a way to save a few bucks on motorcycle tires, especially if they're really coming from an actual reputable volume retailer with a storefront on the platform. But there are significant risks here as well in that sometimes you can get old leftover inventory and you may not get any sort of warranty if the tire is defective. Be wary and make sure you understand who is actually stocking and shipping the tires.

TRO

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