Best tires 2015 for touring motorcycles

As summer is getting closer to the end, likely tires are getting worn out and due for replacement. German motorcycle enthousiast magazine Motorrad has done an extensive test of 6 brands of tires for touring motorcycles. As testing fleet they have used the Yamaha FJR1300A, 6 drivers, 10 kg of weight in each tankbag, 20 km of weight in a roll on the passengers seat, and approximately 4000 km of round trip. The testing pattern was roughly 2000 km, so 50% of the total distance, on the highways in Germany and France with partially also driving at high speeds. The other 50% was driven on the island of Corsica with nice hills and curvy roads. On their way from Germany to Corsica, the test crew also visited a Michelin test track in order to evaluate the tire performances on wet tracks, as rain is not something you can get on demand. All in all this test was pretty representative for touring drivers and with pretty demanding driving circumstances for the tested tires. The complete test, which is in German, can be obtained as PDF for €2.00 via this LINK, or can be bought and read on your iPad in Newsstand via the Motorrad magazine number 12 / 29.5.2015. As the large majority of the TourOn2Wheels readers are not understanding German, I have tried to put a little summary down on the results.

1st place: Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact (front wheel “M” classification / rear wheel “O” classification): The Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact managed to excel in a lot of the criteria. It had top performance on curvy country roads and on highways/motorways. It was performing a bit less than the Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT on wet roads. But in return was the tire which had the least wear. So all in all a very good choice, and with right the 1st spot.

2nd place: Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT and Pirelli Angel GT (rear wheel “A” classification): The 2nd place was a shared one with equal number of points, but very different strengths and weaknesses. On curvy country roads and on highways/motorways the Pirelli was the winner in this duo, and the Michelin tires did not do so well as they missed precision plus show some cupping after 4000 km (something which I can confirm as experience from other touring drivers having the Michelin PR 4 GT on their BMW R1200RTs). On wet roads the performance of the Michelins are unbeatable and a benchmark for the others. Pirelli is at the same level as the Metzeler with whom it shares the ranking in the wet tests. Pirelli is nearly on the last place of the 6 tires tested regarding wear-resistance while Michelin, having a good reputation in this area, is very, very close to Metzeler’s performance.

4th place: Bridgestone Battlax T30 EVO: The Bridgestones ended on all tests pretty much in the middle. Performance on highways is good and balanced as well as on country roads. Wear-resistance is more good than average and close to the Michelin PR 4 GT. Wet performance is a little lower than average.

5th place: Dunlop Roadsmart II: The Dunlop Roadsmart II is in Germany not released for use on the Yamaha FJR1300, acc to Dunlop due to the risk of cupping. This did not occur during this 4000 km test. The performance on curvy roads was not very good, being less stable in curves giving it the poorest result of the 6 tested tires. In wetness it performed close to the Bridgestone regarding points awarded and also here the confidence in curves was its weak point. On wear it is doing better; still 4th place but close to the numbers 1 till 3.

6th place: Continental Road Attack 2 GT: Top performance on curvy-rich roads and on highways, even above the number one in this test. Great handling tire! But in this case performance goes to the expense of wear resistance in which the Conti was the worst as after the 4000 km the front tire had no tread anymore. Also the performance during wet driving conditions was the poorest of all 6.

I hope this article gives you some good information to make a choice for your next tire on your touring motorcycle. In case you want the in-depth information (when you can read German text), then please buy the PDF (link in the beginning of this article) or buy the digital magazine in iOS Newsstand. We love to hear your experiences with touring tires, the choice you made and the why.