and what about pirelli tyre ?

See what i would suggest is that go for a dual sport soft compound tire.
The soft compound tire will last around 10k, and your hard compound will last for around 15k.
But the soft one will be a riding pleasure, and also very very safe.
Breaking will be like awesome.

Pirelli has only Sport demon available in india. The rest have to be imported.
The size for sport demon are :

17"
130/70-17 M/C TL 62 H SPORTD
130/80-17 M/C TL 65H (M) SPORTD
140/70-17 M/C TL 66 SPORTD
150/70-17 M/C TL 69V SPORTD

18"
110/90-18 M/C TL61 H SPORTD
110/80-18 M/C TL 58H SPORTD
120/80-18 M/C TL 62H SPORTD
130/70-18 M/C TL 63H SPORTD


These are all rear Tire specs

tvs tyre are soft compound or ? i used this stock tyre for more than 35k my tyre size 90/90 17 n i dont like mrf tyre so which tyre for me ?

all indian tires are Hard compound tires.
A soft compound will hardly last for 15k(max).
but a hard compound will last for at least 22k.

Yamaha R15 v1.0 used to come with soft compound tires, and they used to wear out very quickly.
Thats MRF Zapper FS 90/90 17 ( front tire ).
you can use this one. but the breaking will be very very different. The break will be having more tooth. keep this in mind.

and its not about MRF. Its about us and our thoughts.
We want a tire to remain like that for at least 30k. So that we dont have to spend anything on the bike.
MRF really produced a gem of a tire for R15. Thats why R15 was so quick and stable in the corners.
try the MRF Zapper FS for front.

thanks if i select r15 front tyre so it will effect of handlling ?

no nothing like that ..

My learnings:

Disclaimer: Most of my learnings which I have mentioned below are not all by my own experience but the knowledge which I got by doing some search on internet and different forums like Xbhp,Bcmtouring
and Team-bhp. Also a lot of guys on these forums have helped me with their own experience and rich knowledge. I am thankful to all these guys for enriching my knowledge. I would also encourage if you all
guys could add-more to the knowledge pool here on this forum. I would also like to state that much of the information below you would be already knowing but I am just penning it down here so that for people
who are new to tyres can get consolidated information in this post and need not go through the trouble of reading a lot of material on internet.

Most of the average joes like me usually dont find much trouble with their tyres on dry tarmac but they find problem while off-roading, going over slush, gravel and loose soil. Off these the most encountered problem where you will find many people complaining is the grip of tyres in wet conditions on-road where we do the most driving. The grip in wet conditions reduces as much as 2/3rd of the dry grip on tarmac.

While selecting tyres we need to consider the following points:
1) What type of grip you want - Dry, Wet tarmac, Slush, Gravel, loose soil ?/Type and depth of tread pattern.
2) Tubeless or tubetype
3) Load rating.
4) Rim size.
5) Clearance between Swing arm and the tyre. Extent of Modifications required to fit in your favourite fatter tyre.
6) Compound of tyre (Soft/Hard) used in manufacturing the tyre.
7) Profile of tyre - Round/Flat.
8) Width of tyre/Wider contact patch.
1) What type of grip you want - Dry, Wet tarmac, Slush, Gravel, loose soil ?
If you want dry grip on tarmac you need tyres which would give maximum contact area with the road that means a tyre with no tread grooves at all! also called Slick tyres as used in racing.Slick tyres also
require a lot of warm up before they start gripping so they are nearly banned for on-road usage.These tyres will be quite bad in wet on-road conditions also because they dont have any grooves which will
draing out water during wet operation. Slush, Gravel, Loose soild will require a higher depth tread pattern and like a button (like motocross bike tyres). The more looser the soil the more the distance between
two studs/buttons. A Dual purpose tyre will have closely packed buttons because they have to perform good on tar road as well as little off-roading and so contact patch needs to be good for more grip. A
motocross type tyre will have very less contact patch and so will perform poorly on tarmac but the studs will grip the loose soil (sort of a positive contact) better and so good grip in off-road conditions.

2) Tubeless or tubetype
If you are having alloys in your bike then one should go for tubeless tyres. Tubeless tyres have one advantage that in case of punctures they dont leak air abruptly (also called as "burp" -lingo) and will deflate
slowly. This is a serious advantage considering the fatalities that can occur if you loose your balance due to sudden loss of air. Incase of puncture tube type air leak air very abruptly because a major quantity
of air comes out between the tyre and the rim. This doesnot happen with tubeless tyres as they have a strong air tight seal between the rim and the tyre beads. Also you save on the extra cost of a tube
required for a tubetype tyre.
The only disadvantage with a tubeless tyre that I can think of is that its difficult to repair a tubeless tyre puncture with sidewall punctures. Also if you bent alloys/rims its difficult for a tubeless tyre to maintain a
airtight seal with the rim at the beads. And thats why one should never use a tube type tyre (TT) as tubeless because a tube type tyre will leak air very abruptly between the rim and the tyre beads with the
slightest deformation of the rims. A tubeless (TL) tyre has a special structure for better sealing at the beads where it contacts the rim and therefore better ability to seal slight deformations of the rim. TL also
has its inner lining coated with butyl rubber which is more impermeable to air and it also forms a good seal with the puncturing nail and so air leaks slowly. Its also advised not to scratch the inner lining of TL
tyres so that the tyres are able to maintain the tyre pressure for a longer period. TL tyres cannot be used with rims having spokes because air can leak at the spoke joints. But some internet search and few
people have coated the inner linging of spoked wheels to form a airtight joint. But again spoked wheel deforms a lot and the airtight seal might not last long and also especially when the spoked wheel deforms
during crossing a pothole at high speed.A Tubeless tyre is marked "Tubeless" on the tyre or "TL" at least in the specifications provided by manufacturer. Dont make the mistake of fitting a TT tyre as TL.
In heavy off-roading alloys are not used as they can crack and are not so much flexible as a spoke rim so if one is into heavy off-roading one should go for tubetype tyre to avoid the "burp".

3) While changing tyres we just forget this check. Its necessary because a Load rating of the tyre means the capacity of the load it can carry. One should always opt for a higher load rating or at least the
same, holds true for those who travel with load or a pillion.

4) Rim size:
It is important that we match the rim size with the tyre size. If we use a fatter tyre on a thin rim having less width, the tyre bulges out and makes a rounder profile at the contact patch thus practically reducing
the contact patch inspite of we going for a fatter tyre. The more rounder profile creates two problems, we have comparitive more wear at the centre of the tyre and also the beads at the rim are in considerable
tension which might lead to premature failure or the "burp". But this tyre might be good for cornering.
A short research on google and with my own little logic I comeout with this:

RTR 180 has 2.15j x 17" rims. It means 2.15 inches width of the rim measured between inside of the walls of the rim where the tyre beads sit.
RTR 180 has 110/80 x 17" tyre size.
Pulsar 220 has 2.5j x 17 rims. It has tyre size: 120/80 x 17".

So if you fit a 120 section tyre of Pulsar 220 in RTR 180 it is being made to sit on a rim having narrower width. This will lead to make the tyre to take the form of a U which has a very less crossectional radius.
I mean the Tyre will bulge and it will nearly have no flat patch at the centre of the tyre. So the contact patch of the tyre with the ground will be reduced inspite of we having fitted a more broader tyre. This will
defeat the whole purpose of going for a broader tyre. Now all this is theoretical and practically it also does happen which I have confirmed from a guy who has actually fitted a 120 cross section tyre in his
RTR180. But practically we need to measure the contact patch of 110 section tyre and 120 section tyre and then only we can conclude which really has a more bigger contact patch. I still feel that the 120
section tyre will have a more wider contact patch but it could have been more wider if we had used a rim size of 2.5j instead of 2.15j.
Also a tyre with more bulge will have more probability of it coming out of the wheel rim.
I referred to some wheel rim and tire size tables and found that some tire manufactures specify the wheel rim size on which they can be fit. Further googling led me to come with contradictory results. As per
some calculators it is not recommended to fit 120 section tyre on 2.15j rims, whereas some tyre manufacturers allow 120 section tyre to be fit on 2.15j rims. But even the tyre manufacturing companies dont
specify which particular tyre model can be fit on what type of rim.

So guys if you want a broader contact patch just fitting a fatter tyre would not give you a bigger contact patch, you might be required to change the rim to one with a bigger rim width say 2.15j (Apache rear rim)
to 2.5j (Pulsar rear rim).Also a more rounded profile of a tyre than your stock tyre means it has a bigger rolling radius and so it will mess up with your speedometer and also your bike will be raised a bit.

5) Clearance between Swing arm and the tyre. Extent of Modifications required to fit in your favourite fatter tyre.
This clearance is very important as the tyre can rub your swingarm or your bikes body parts especially during the bike going through a pothole. And what if the tyre punctures and there is no space for the
flattened tyre. I am still to find out the acceptable gap between the swing arm and the tyre but I feel a minimum of 7-8 mm will be required for all the conditions the tyre has to go through.(The tyre expands
width wise while going through a pothole). You can adjust a fatter tyre in your existing bike by pulling the rear tyre more rearwards by adjusting the chain. You might be required to fit an additional link in the
chain to do so. You will also might be required to cut the chain guard to make clearance. I would never recommend cutting the swing arm to make space for fatter tyre as it will lead to serious problems with
the rigidity-read stability of the bike and also the reliability of the bike.

6) Compound of tyre (Soft/Hard) used in manufacturing the tyre.
Compound of the tyre is one of the most important even more important than contact patch. A softer tyre compound has better grip than a similar hard compound tyres. But a softer compound tyre will wear
faster leading to less life of the tyre. A harder compound tyre has less onroad grip but will last longer. On pure loose soil as in off-roading the compound of the tyre will not matter much but the tread depth and
tread pattern will matter more.(Read button type). A Dual purpose tyre will have a right blend of the Soft and Hard Compound, Hard enough so that it lasts long during the off-roading and at the same type soft
enough to get a good grip on tarmac which is quite difficult to get.

7) Cross-section Profile of tyre - Round/Flat.
Tyre which are found on race bikes will have a more rounder profile which is good for cornering at high-speeds. Tyres which are found on touring bikes will have more of a flat profile to get better contact patch
while straight-ahead driving position. One more point to be noted here is that a thinner rim width will make a tyre more rounder and a higher rim width will make the tyre more flat so one might need to select
the correct rim width size to get the correct tyre profile he desires. The tyre profile depends on the tyre make the tyre manufacturer can make a tyre which is mounted on thinner rim to have a flat profile where
as a tyre which is mounted on wider rim to have a rounder profile so it all depends on the type of tyre. One should always check whether a certain tyre width can be mounted on a particular rim width from the
manufacturer itself.

8) Width of tyre/Wider contact patch.
We always want a wider contact patch at the contact between the tyre and road contact point. Now one would question that Mu Friction coefficient is not dependent on area but then that is only true of ideal
bodies which dont deform.For those bodies which deform like the tyre rubber the above law doesnot hold true and the law of micro asperities rules the situation. So the more wider the tyre the more grip it will
give. But remember a wider/heavier tyre and more so with a soft compound due to more grip is bound to reduce your bikes acceleration and also to some extent fuel efficiency.

For 17 inch rim size rear tyre (from various owners experiences) :
Zapper C (TL) 100/110/120 /80 X 17: A typical hard compound tyre but with a good blend so decent grip in wet braking and dry grip on tarmac. Average in all conditions so a good all-rounder. A pulsar 120/80 x
17 tyre is having a medium compound while the other sizes of Zapper C are hard compound tyres. Lasts nearly 20000 plus kms.
Zapper Vyde (TL) 120/80 X 17: A good tyre for wet grip and phenomenol dry grip. Its a soft compound tyre and so prone to punctures and has less life of around 15k kms.
Ceat Vertigo Sport (TL) (Button type tyre but closely spaced buttons) 100/120 /80 X 17: Excellent tyre for off-roading/slush/gravel and with Ok grip in Wet conditions on tarmac. Riding at high speeds and high
speed cornering can be a concern. Not a track tyre obviously neither for corner cravers. Wet grip on tarmac is less than Zapper C but good on slush/gravel etc. Its a Indian dual sport tyre sort of.
TVS tyres (TL): All TVS tyres are made up of extremely hard compound tyres and so offer bad grip in wet conditions. In dry conditions for a average joe it will be just ok but a wet patch is enough to loose its
line. I would not recommend these tyres to anyone. Only advantage is they are very hard to puncture and have a long life.I had used them in my Ladakh trip (as stock tyre on my RTR180 spec 110/80 x 17)
without any punctures or air-pressure loss but were horrible in wet conditions.Long life of the tyre but at what cost?Seriously not recommended. Life nearly 35k kms with zero grip.
Michelin Pilot sporty (Tubetype TT) 100/80 x 17: Soft compound tyre with excellent grip on dry aswell as wet tarmac but looses its line on gravel. Lasts 15k kms.

MRF Rear tyre for R15 version 1 (100/80 x 17): Soft compound tyre very good grip in wet and dry tarmac conditions. Not so good for gravel and off-roading. Lasts 15k kms.
Other Imported International Soft compound tyres: IRC NR48 and Pirelli MT75 (110/80 X 17) Have good dry as well as wet grip.Good for On-road grip. Life around 15k kms.
Other Imported Dual sport tyres from Vee Rubber and Duro: Heard good reports about them but cannot comment on its availability and particular tyre model.
From the above its clear that we really dont have a single tyre which is good enough for on-road (dry/wet) condition and for light off-roading. Michellin Sirac and M45 both which were imported are good dual
purpose tyres but now very difficult to find and I think are tube type ones and not available for 17 inch rim size.
Michelin Sirac street is made in India but are hard compound tyres and not so grippy as Michelin Sirac Imported.
Dunlop tyres have mixed response from people.Some find it OK and some find it not so good. Dunlop Geo-Cruiser wears out unevenly from middle and later hampers grip.
I hope other people add more to this list.

Mods: Please delete this post if it infringes or does not makes sense here.

Two points which I noticed
1)For soft compound/medium compound tyres, if you press your finger nail it will go deeper inside and it takes some time before the cavity thus created to get filled. Do the same thing for a hard compound tyre and there will be hardly any indentation in the tyre and even if it happens it regains back very fast.
2) Hard compound tyres had smooth surface finish, where as the medium compound had rough surface finish. I mean if we rub the soft/medium compound tyres like Michelin Pilot Sporty and also Zapper C (120/80x17) some micro layers of rubber will come out like how it comes when you erase a thing on the paper with rubber (Just the feel).
I really dont know whether the above two points can be taken as a test for distinguishing between Soft and hard compound tyres but its just my observation.

Hi, can anyone tell me, what will be the best tires for my karizma ZMR rear? Bike runs on an 18" 2.15 wide TL rim. I usually use the bike for highway cruising and city riding only. Please help me.

mrf zapper q, michelin sirac street, mrf meteor...

Hi Guys,
please let me know if you have any idea about the price of the following tyre in Mumbai and where can it be available:
'Pirelli MT 60 RS Corsa'

If you want up size,Pirelli SD 110/90-17 best grip on roads even in wet conditions,lasts up to 15k kms.Then Sirac Street 100/90-18 offers good grip in any terrain.

Need to change my RE electra 350 tyres.

Hi Mates,

I brough my Electra 350 last month but i tyres are not good. SO i want to change my tyres . Can anyone provide details how can i change my tyres and other information in this regard.

Thanks
Puneet

Also if you are interested to import, then check out for these tires
1-> Pirelli MT90
2-> Shinko 705
3-> Vee rubber


Available for 18" and 17" models.
They have a tyre called the all terrain / dual sport tire.
The grip will be just too good, and very good for highways and mud or any terrain.
They have excellent road grips.
I am using Pirelli MT90. the grip is too good.

Query Approved and Merged with existing thread