Spring is hear! Time for Winter Tire?

Well it seems like just yesterday I mounted a General tire to my Nomad and instantly became a life long member of the Darkside. But now it's a year later and as some of you know the Altimax HP has it's own way of telling you when it's begun to reach the end of it's tenure at the rear wheel and is ready for reTIREment. That being said now that spring has sprung I am shopping for a replacement car tire to take on the 2012 season and I was wanting to ask some of the more senior riders their experiences or opinions on using winter tires on a motorcycle. The reason I am considering this route as of late is because of the higher availability of symmetrical tread patterns, low to average price range, deeper tread (in some cases), and also a lower "T" speed rating (in some cases) for longer life. I've seen at least a couple of members in here sporting Michelin & Nokian snow tires so I know it is not unheard of but any thoughts or testimonials you have on any specific tires or winter tires in general (road noise, tread wear, performance, safety, ect) would be greatly appreciated and would benefit me and maybe others on making an informed decision on the subject.

THANKS

The speed rating has nothing to do with tread life. As for winter tires on a bike, they will hold the road like glue but wear out pretty quick(soft rubber).

ROD

My Michelin Alpin PA3 ZP is a winter tire and has the same wear rating as a comparable Michelin summer tire.
It really isn't a "softer" rubber. I have about 8000 miles on my PA3 and it still looks new.
I've worn out motorcycle tires in that many miles before, and they are definitely harder rubber.
The idea of winter tires being softer rubber just isn't true.
A winter tire has a higher % of silicone in the rubber formula to keep it from getting hard
at sub-zero temperatures, that is not the same thing as a softer rubber.

On the GL1800 Darkside board the Michelin Alpin is a very popular and highly rated tire.

I have about 60% tread left on the General Altimax Arctic (205/50-17) on my V-strom 1000 at about 18k miles on the tire, I expect to see 25k+

winter tires wear fast on cars & trucks, less weight with a bike and less g-force stress in corners.

I wouldn't run anything but a winter tire, they don't need to be warm to grip

00 Doc wrote:My Michelin Alpin PA3 ZP is a winter tire and has the same wear rating as a comparable Michelin summer tire.
It really isn't a "softer" rubber. I have about 8000 miles on my PA3 and it still looks new.
I've worn out motorcycle tires in that many miles before, and they are definitely harder rubber.
The idea of winter tires being softer rubber just isn't true.
A winter tire has a higher % of silicone in the rubber formula to keep it from getting hard
at sub-zero temperatures, that is not the same thing as a softer rubber.

On the GL1800 Darkside board the Michelin Alpin is a very popular and highly rated tire.

Look at what the tire is " RATED " ....I run a Cooper Zeon 2XS on one of my bikes and a Fuzion ZRi on the other two....The Cooper is rated 280 / The Fuzion is rated 320 ( both are directional ) ....Lower the rated # softer the compound / Softer the compound the better it stick's and the faster it wears....I'll take faster wear anyday to know my bike will be under me when I come out of a curve....Some of these high rated tires that's made for Grand-ma's Buick some of these folks use I would'nt ride to the mailbox on.




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00 Doc wrote:My Michelin Alpin PA3 ZP is a winter tire and has the same wear rating as a comparable Michelin summer tire.
It really isn't a "softer" rubber. I have about 8000 miles on my PA3 and it still looks new.
I've worn out motorcycle tires in that many miles before, and they are definitely harder rubber.
The idea of winter tires being softer rubber just isn't true.
A winter tire has a higher % of silicone in the rubber formula to keep it from getting hard
at sub-zero temperatures, that is not the same thing as a softer rubber.

On the GL1800 Darkside board the Michelin Alpin is a very popular and highly rated tire.

I do like that tire doc, I wish the Alpin came in my size. Thanks for the info.

coldweatherfreak wrote:I have about 60% tread left on the General Altimax Arctic (205/50-17) on my V-strom 1000 at about 18k miles on the tire, I expect to see 25k+

winter tires wear fast on cars & trucks, less weight with a bike and less g-force stress in corners.

I wouldn't run anything but a winter tire, they don't need to be warm to grip

Thanks Cold, I was looking at that tire as well but the lower 99mph speed rating kinda made me weary. I got about 12k out of my Altimax HP which is lower then expected but still a little more then twice what I get out of a motorcycle tire. A softer compound would be more grippy but probably wouldn't fair as well when it comes to tread life I'm thinking.

Smokin'joeVRCCDS#0005 wrote:Look at what the tire is " RATED " ....I run a Cooper Zeon 2XS on one of my bikes and a Fuzion ZRi on the other two....The Cooper is rated 280 / The Fuzion is rated 320 ( both are directional ) ....Lower the rated # softer the compound / Softer the compound the better it stick's and the faster it wears....I'll take faster wear anyday to know my bike will be under me when I come out of a curve....Some of these high rated tires that's made for Grand-ma's Buick some of these folks use I would'nt ride to the mailbox on.

Thanks Joe. All these replies have been very helpful. I almost hate to admit that I had it all backwards before. I thought the higher the speed rating meant the softer the rubber. Think I'll shoot for at least a V rated tire next time around since my H rated was a little lower then I expected in the tread life department.

I find it funny that the winter tires don't have any mileage(UTQG) guarantee.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?customSizeSearch=&width=215%2F&ratio=45&diameter=17

ROD