With over 17,000 miles, the OEM TrailWing was showing it's age. Although it still had tread left, I was sick of the headshake I was getting with the thing at low speeds. I started looking at what few options we have for our 19" front rims, and at first was going to buy a Conti Trail Attack. Lucklily, the tire seems to be on back-order everwhere, so I searched a bit harder and realized the Road Attack is also available in the 19" size. I say luckily because I never go off road; I really wanted a ST type of tire anyway.

I was drawn to the Conti Attack tires because they look like a ST or sport tire; minimal tread with an agressive radius. I ordered from Bike Bandit on Wednesday afternoon, and the tire arrived Friday morning! Free shipping too. Saturday I pulled the wheel and took it to Dennis, the manager at the local Cycle Gear. I'd had the Trail Attack on order there, but they cheerfully refunded my money and installed the Bandit tire. When I was leaving, Dennis warned me to look out for a big change in handling. Wow, was he right!

The first thing I noticed as I rolled out of the garage was how light the steering was. It was like going from manual to power steering. The 'Wing had become pretty squared off and I didn't realize how much it was dragging. I've put about 150 miles on it now, and here are my impressions:

The tire is very soft, especially compared to the TrailWing, which had hardened to about the consistency of formica. I'm sure I'll pay a price in mileage, but I've always figured tires are cheaper than hospital and repair bills.

The handling is extremely fast; almost too fast. It's very touchy; I've had to really pay attention to steering inputs, much more so than with the old tire. At low speed it's no big deal, but on the Interstate the bike moves around a lot more than before. However, in the curves and corners, the tire really shines; there's way more lean angle available and it feels much more planted than the Wing ever did, even when new.

In spite of my best efforts, I still have 1.5" chicken strips on either side. I don't know how much lean it's gonig to take to clean the nubs off the edges of the tread, but it's probably more than I'll ever do.

Overall, I'm happy so far. I suspect I'll get used to the touchy steering after a while, and the tire will probably lose some of that as it wears. Here in South FL there's not many curves, so this soft compound is probably going to square off like the TrailWing rears do. I guess I'll have to find an empty parking lot from time to time and try to round it back out. I've never dealt with Bike Bandit before, but I sure can't complain about the price and speed of delivery. Apparently they have regional distribution centers; I was amazed at how fast the tire arrived.

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"Adidas has officially unveiled the Adidas Bystander, the first shoe designed for running away from a mass public shooting."

I had the Road Attacks on my SV 650, no complaints. I also ran Bridgestone BT021's as well as the stock Dunlops. I liked them all, all felt the same to me, handling wise. Mileage was about 8k miles for rear, and about 10k for the front.

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Silver Strom Club Member #11
'09 Aprilia Mana 850 (current)
'09 Wee Strom ABS (current)
'06 SV650 (sold)
'87 Harley Low Rider Sport (current)
'84 Yamaha Virago 1000 (sold)

Hi Kenneth,

Any updates on the Road Attacks? In particular mileage? I'm looking at replacing my front BT-020 in a couple of months and have been looking at street only tires.

The RA is on my short list and I see you ride the same flat, straight, hot roads that I do

Didn't the BT-021 and Pilot Road used to come in our front size? The selection seems to be pretty limited now.

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Black 04 Wee with H&B engine guards, SV Racing Frame and Swing Arm sliders, Superbrace, Givi top case, gel grips

The Pilot Road is available in a front tire but the BT-021 has never been.

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

From the Michelin US website ( http://www.michelinmotorcycle.com/in...vent=pilotroad ) five minutes ago...

SIZES Front
120/60ZR17 (55 W)
120/70ZR17 (58 W)

Only those two front tire sizes show up on motorcyclesuperstore - http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...ront-Tire.aspx

I've looked a lot today and found no michelin, no bridgestone, a Pirelli Scorpion Sync, Metzler Z6, Avon AV45 Azaro, and Conti RA for street tires from mainstream companies for the front of our bikes.

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Black 04 Wee with H&B engine guards, SV Racing Frame and Swing Arm sliders, Superbrace, Givi top case, gel grips

I had a set and loved them. Once I wore them out (@ 9,000 miles for the rear), I switched to Conti Trail Attacks which are just as sticky, but look better (I think) on the Vee.

Loaded down for 10 days of camping, I was out running sport bikes on the Dragon with the Road Attacks:



Also, I just picked up a set of the Road Attacks for my Ulysses which I'll put on this weekend (they don't make Trail Attacks in that size).



Word of warning though: They seriously S U C K off road, including on gravel (probably because of the higher air pressure they require).

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Big D
IBA# 37957

Big Dadddy's Ride Reports

2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250SA
2003 Suzuki DR650

Lower the pressure off the pavement.

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

Which of those would get better mileage for a Wee? I ride street only and have no twisties where I live

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Black 04 Wee with H&B engine guards, SV Racing Frame and Swing Arm sliders, Superbrace, Givi top case, gel grips

The Trail Attacks, much more tread depth to wear down that the RA's.

That said, if you ride in straight lines only, I assume a commuter, there are other options that
may make more sense.