Pirreli sport demon VS. Bridgeston Battle axe

[NorwayGT1]

so im stuck between these two.. help me make up my mind!!! plz

also im gonna upgrade my rear tire to 140/70-17... pros and cons plz!!!

thanks as always dudes

[slipperymongoose]

First bike and had to put new tyres on it I went sport demons, I like them tho I haven't tried anything else. I like the pattern and the fact their Pirelli.

[noiseguy]

I had a pair of new Sport Demons put on my '82 CB900F... I found them a bit slick.

[mister]

Slick? Yeah all new tires are slick until they are scrubbed in. When my oem bt45s needed replacing I chose Sport Demons. Smoother ride, more grip, better handling. Wear a little quicker but I think it's worth it - I easily do 20,000 plus kms a year.

Just put my 2nd Sport Demon on the rear.140. No real noticeable change in ride, just looks a little better is all.

Michael

[ohgood]

i liked the b axe. it wears great.

[noiseguy]

Slick? Yeah all new tires are slick until they are scrubbed in. When my oem bt45s needed replacing I chose Sport Demons. Smoother ride, more grip, better handling. Wear a little quicker but I think it's worth it - I easily do 20,000 plus kms a year.

This "slick" went past just scrubbing them in... on throttle the back would break loose, esp when accelerating out of corners... very controllable but odd. This, of course, on a 650# bike with 90HP at the crank... perhaps it doesn't apply here. I used the tires b/c several others with same machine used them (they are one of the better bias ply tires available for older bikes) but people either loved or hated them, and the main complaint from detractors was the slick tire on throttle thing.

[TonyKZ1]

I'd put in my vote for the Pirelli Sport Demons also. I'm currently running a set of those on my Ninja 250. I've ran the Bridgestone BT-45s and wasn't impressed with the life.
Tony

[NorwayGT1]

wow thanks guys, but i think im back at square one lol

[mister]

Slick? Yeah all new tires are slick until they are scrubbed in. When my oem bt45s needed replacing I chose Sport Demons. Smoother ride, more grip, better handling. Wear a little quicker but I think it's worth it - I easily do 20,000 plus kms a year.

This "slick" went past just scrubbing them in... on throttle the back would break loose, esp when accelerating out of corners... very controllable but odd. This, of course, on a 650# bike with 90HP at the crank... perhaps it doesn't apply here. I used the tires b/c several others with same machine used them (they are one of the better bias ply tires available for older bikes) but people either loved or hated them, and the main complaint from detractors was the slick tire on throttle thing.

Ah, that illusive extra info. A 650 90hp bike is not a GS500.

On my 919 (100hp) I use Pilot Road II for a good blend of long life and grip. Other guys I ride with think nothing of changing tires every 5000kms. Screw that! I don't ride aggressively so don't need that extra grip which comes at a cost of tire life.

@ Norway. I think if you bother doing a forum search you'll find all the tire info you want. Sport Demons are the clear winner.

Michael

[vinny]

Ive got the 2nd cheapest i could find that where the right size. Works fine for me...

[Kms254]

Ive got the 2nd cheapest i could find that where the right size. Works fine for me...

Why not the cheapest?

[smackdoogie]

ahh, the most repeated question on this forum i think. i think gsjack has the most info available on this forum for tires if you do a thread search. in my experience, i've had my 2004gsf since november 2007.  didnt know much about bikes or how to tell about wear on tires yet. had 5,000 miles on it and at 32,000 now. first set i got 3 months after purchase was a full pirelli sport demon set in february because the cycle shop had a deal if you buy a set you didnt get charged the service fee for changing them. put them on at about 11,000 miles so that meant the OEM battleaxe tires both lasted til then. swapped out the first sport demon rear in april 2010 at about 18,000 miles with a battleax and then the front in october 2010 with another pirelli after hitting a piece of metal in the road that put a horizontal slash across the width of the tire at about 20,000 miles. the battleaxe unfortunately seemed like it wore out fast and got a michelin pilot active 140/70 this may at 25,000 miles and still has plenty tread on sides and middle and is just now starting to show a little flatness in the middle. from what ive gathered on this forum these are my observations:
1) the stock battleaxes are decent tires for anyone starting out. they hold a pretty good life if you arent racing or doing a lot of hard riding.
2)the sport demons seem to have the most grip and are good if you do a lot of canyon carving or like going on the twisties. but if your gs is a commuting bike will wear down the middle extremely fast from my experience on the rear,but the front will last for a while. ever since swapping the front havent had another front tire because it just seems to steer great in any weather condition and have never felt like i would ever lose traction once, but this is just my own observations.
3)the michelin seems to have great all weather grip for the rear and at 8,000+seems to have great durability. took it to deals gap 2 days after purchasing and not once felt loose or slip even in rain at 70-80 miles an hour. want to hear some feedback about the front since all i've ever used up there is the pirelli.but once again, only my own observations and my gs is my year round commuter.

hope this helps a little bit. this is what is so amazing about this forum is all the help and wealth of knowledge you get, especially if you are a newer rider like myself. and ever since swapping out the 130/70 for the 140 it does seem from a personal standpoint that it seems to just handle better. used to slip a little in rain or slick conditions with the pirelli at stock 130 size, yet the michelin 140 has just taken everything and stayed on pavement through heat,rain,oil...have been really impressed so far.

[gsJack]

.....................got a michelin power pilot 140/70 this may at 25,000 miles and still has plenty tread on sides and middle and is just now starting to show a little flatness in the middle........................

The Michelin Pilot Power is a supersport radial and comes in a minimum 150/60 width.  Although it's been popular with Ninja 500 and GS500 riders wanting performance radials for their stock wheels I think you might have meant the Pilot Activ bias ply tire that come in the 130/70 and 140/70 sizes?

[vinny]

Ive got the 2nd cheapest i could find that where the right size. Works fine for me...

Why not the cheapest?

The cheapest had a couple really bad reviews. The ones i chose had ok reviews..And i preferred the tread pattern 

[smackdoogie]

.....................got a michelin power pilot 140/70 this may at 25,000 miles and still has plenty tread on sides and middle and is just now starting to show a little flatness in the middle........................

The Michelin Pilot Power is a supersport radial and comes in a minimum 150/60 width.  Although it's been popular with Ninja 500 and GS500 riders wanting performance radials for their stock wheels I think you might have meant the Pilot Activ bias ply tire that come in the 130/70 and 140/70 sizes?

ah, you are correct. My mistake sir.