What sticky tire did you own?

[Clanman]

Any input on tires that were very sticky, great in the rain (and without saying... did not get a lot of miles out of them) and you may or may not buy again?  Would really welcome your opinion on this.

TIA.

Clanman

[Snuff™]

Just stuck another E3 on the rear last night.  Rode it in the rain a couple of times Only got 11K miles out of it. Probably go back to Elite II next time.

-Snuff

[guido4198]

Back in the middle-late 90's I put an Avon "Super-venom" ( I think that's what they called it..) on the rear of my FXRS. took off the next day on a 3,000 mi. run. Lottsa rain on that trip. The tire was GREAT. No suprise however that it seemed like I could literally see tread "going away" already on that one run. Replaced it @ about half the mileage I routinely get from Dunlops. Won't try that again. After trying most everything out there since 1985 on this bike...I just stay with Dunlop 401's. 

[Princess Butt]

I've found the Avon Venoms to be the stickiest in the rain, but I was surprised with a set of Continentals that I slapped on the Road King last year. They seem to be pretty good in the wet, much better than I expected.

The Dunlop E3's I ran on the Ultra up until 2 weeks ago were also very good. I swapped them out for 402's. I figure I'll try them again.

Age of the tire will definitely play a role. The older the tire, the harder it gets, and the less traction you get in the rain. A ten year old tire will definitely sacrifice some grip.

BnEUC

[Bruno-Katz Fokkerpilot]

Avon Venoms every time, When i first bought my Harley, it came with Dunlops, they lasted along time but, because of the hard compound, they were dam near useless in the wet and they made the bike handle like a partially inflated Zeppelin. I changed to Venoms, they transformed the bikes handling completely, they stick to the road like s**t to a blanket and they also come in whitewalls if you want them. Its true they wear faster than Dunlops but i think that a tyre that gives you the safety and confidence in all weathers that the Venoms do, is worth the compromise both in longevity and price.

[PC_Hater]

Avons on the bagger, about 8,000 miles on the rears, about twice that on the fronts.
Bridgestone BT45 V rated on the Sportster, 5 or 6,000 miles on the rear, Avons a bit more.

Continentals are OK too, never my first choice but they work in the wet.

[threadkiller]

Back in the day Metzler Comp K's rules. Unfortuneately no longer in production, what a shame. TK.

[HotRock]

Dunlop K591

[ThumperDeuce]

When I was running a 17" rear I used a Metz Sportech, very sticky and lasted about 7k.  I have a 18" on it now and have to use a 880xxl.  Not as sticky but still better than stock.

[hrdtail78]

I have always liked the Avon AM23's for rear applications.  Now they are very hard to find in my size.

[Dennis The Menace]

Avon Venoms.  Great traction and wet riding tire, over Dunlops (only other tir I have ridden).

Keep in mind, the softer the compound, the better overall traction and grip, but faster the wear too.  Its a trade off.  Also, the softer compound tire will ride softer than a hard compound tire.

These rules apply to all vehicles, not just bikes.  I ran Pirellis on my car, and they were soft, great cornering traction, quiet ride but only got 25k mile out of them.  A good Sears tire got me 40K miles, but was hard riding, and much less cornering grip and was noticeably an inferior tire, compared to Pirelli.

Also, road surface plays a role, IME.  We have very rough, abarasive roads here in Colorado, so you wont get the mileage from any tire here, that you might get on smooth surface roads in other parts of the country.  So, just because someone here says they got 15k from a Dunlop doesnt mean you will.  It depends on where, and how, you ride.  And, of course, burnouts will shorten the life of any tire...duh.  lol

menace

[hotroadking]

Avon Venom X sticks, smooth, quiet,

If you crack a higher HP engine a lot you can wear them out quickly,

Ride like normal and 8 to 9 on a bagger isn't hard to get,

Higher air pressure is needed

A plus is the bike will handle 10 times better...

[14Frisco]

On my Sporty I am running Bridgestone Battlax BT45V - which I like a lot.

[deathwish]

Avons all around on all my bikes. Very good. I call Dunlops-Skidlops. It may not make much difference in some areas but where I ride it is crooked as a rattlesnake. Venom X on one bike, but Cobra R on the other 2. I prefer the AM 20 (21" on the fronts). About 12,000 on fronts but about 6,000 on rears. I run one 113 and 2 124's so I don't expect mileage. Another issue is all our roads are being coated with ground glass/tire rubber/tar. Very hard on tires!!!

[codyshop]

Avon Venoms, again.  Ray

[drgn*95]

Avon Venoms....

[Ken R]

Avon Venoms.  Wore 'em out quickly . . . front tire super quickly.  (less tha 1K miles and the threads were showing along the edges). 
Rear tire cupped.  I'm pretty hard on the edges of the tires . . . not so much on the centers.
Back to Dunlops about 3 years ago.  (E-3's).

[Deye76]

Another vote for Avon Venoms. Avon used to make a tire call Elan, great tire IMO.