Conti Escapes - S rated or H rated?
 

Hi guys

I'm going to be ordering some new Conti Escapes to replace my Michelin Siracs which although have a lot of rubber left are cracked in the tread. Anyhow my query is whether to go for the S rated Escapes or spend a bit extra and go for the H rated. Now from what I can gather the XT will only do around 112mph max on the clock so is probably no where near that in real terms probably closer to 100mph. (I think I've sort of answered my own question here!)

Tyre ratings http://www.blackcircles.com/general/speedrating

Am I correct in saying that the standard rated tyres for Xt660Rs are "S"?

2006 brochure http://www.yamaha-motor-europe.com/I...m26-112128.pdf

The Siracs I have on at the moment are T rated.

So what are everyone's thoughts?

Cheers

Logan

I think as far as the law goes your tyre's speed rating need to exceed the maximum speed attainable by your vehicle. Not 100% sure, but I can tell you this, the Escapes are quite possibly the worst tyre I've ever had on a bike. Not that reassuring in the dry and in the wet slip slidy all over the place. On the road.
I'm sure they're made from recycled Colway remoulds from caravans.

Cheers Tom

Think I'll do a bit more research and have a re-think before ordering.

Logan

Oddly enough there seem to be very mixed reviews concerning these tyres.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219211

I am tempted to try them as I have Conti Twists on my XT500 supermoto and am really happy with them. The Twists stick really well, look cool and were cheap.

Will have a chat with my mechanic as to what else is available. The TKC80s seem to have a really good following on here but are a bit too knobbly for my style of riding as I only ride road slowly due to our 40mph speed limit. The Escapes seem to look the part and bridge the gap between road and trail.

Logan

I thought exactly the same as you, and I'd had reasonable experiences with the Road and Sport Attacks on my Firestorm and Speed Triple. If you were closer I'd say you could come and have my escapes for free if you took them off the loose rims; they're stuck in the shed as I was disgusted with them.
I went to Bridgestone Battlewings (NOT trailwings) on my Ten after the Siracs wore out. More road bias but longer lasting and more road grip.
Have you thought about the Pirelli Scorpions? Or even the Heidenau K60s? I'm tempted to try these over winter ready for the snow.

Thanks again for the input Tom

Did you have them on an Xt660R?

Logan

Hi Logan, no I ran them on my old DR600; same power as the XT, but less weight.
The Siracs and Battlewings I'm using on the current XTZ.

Thanks again Tom.

Check out this site for tyre talk.

http://faq.f650.com/FAQs/TireOpinionsFAQ.htm

Am even more confused as to what to get now, Distanzias might be an option but everyone seems to rave about the TKC80s even outside this forum. But I still feel they are too offroad focused for my riding.

Logan

That's a nice read, thanks Logan.
Tyres are like oil, in the sense that everyone will have an opinion on what works for them. I know what works for me on a sports bike and so stick with that, the Tenere is a different kettle of fish and my concern over going to TKC80s is that I do ride quickly and want the tyre to stay where I want it on the road wet or dry! Although I do mostly on road riding I will be doing more off road next year so will be tempted to fit TKCs then. Just be honest with what your abilities are and what you want from a tyre, and if you want to try something new, like I did with the Battlewings, then you may well be pleasantly surprised.

All good points Tom, I'm the same with sportsbikes, I swear by Bridgestones. I've got BT014s on my Busa at the minute (have had 010s and BT56s) and had just renewed the BT015s on my HRC 07 Blade before I sold it last month. Although strangely I had a bad front which had to be replaced, it caused the front end to almost tankslap off the throttle at 50mph.

After reading all the tyre talk on here and other sites I'm going to go with Avon Distanzias for my XT660R. Although I like Bridgestones, for the XT I think they would be a bit expensive and I'm not keen on the tread patterns.

Cheers

Logan

I never had a chance to try Bridgestone road tyres on my 'busa. I went for my trusted Michelin combo of Pilot Power 2CT front and Pilot Road2 rear. Worked well enough to scrape the fairing ;) I'd used the same combo on my Guzzi Scura to good effect.
Like I said, I'm very fond of the Battlewings. The last time I had anything with Avons on was when I had a ZX12R for an afternoon with Storms on; the multiple spin ups and slides exiting corners put me off them!
Good luck with the Distanzias, and if you ever get across to Wales, you can come and take these Escapes off me! :D

Wales eh? Strange question but what are you up to in May next year?

The XT500 club are meeting up of which I am part there-of, I'll let you know the dates once they are confirmed if you fancy popping down to see some interesting XTs. Always nice to put a face to a name!

It will most probably be held near Hay on Wye.

Cheers

Logan

Ah the Hay meet, yes I met the chap organising it this year at the Dragon. I couldn't make it due to, ahem, moped racing commitments, but would've liked to go.
I had an SR in the not to distant past so I do like the old thumpers. Keep me posted.

I've read that faq through several times, some good comments there but nothing to really help you decide!

I think my Michelin Anakee's are S rated. Done 5k miles on the motorway and they have been fine. S rating is plenty for the Tenere or the XTR.

I'm moving to Guernsey soon as you may know and I intend to stick to the Anakee. They should be as good as the Tourance off-road but they also have silicon in which is excellent in the wet.
I had a loan TDM 900 today wtih Bridestone BT21's and the rear skipped out at low throttle/revs exiting a roundabout. I usually give the Tenere a lot more welly at that point and have never had that happen in a years ridin so am very impressed with the tyres on the ten.

I've considered the TCK80 to try some light off-roading in Guernsey but as I'll still be commuting on the bike the Anakee should be plenty (looks like I'll get in excess of 8k miles on the rear and they are wearing very evenly and are better on tar-banding than the origional siracs)

Just my �0.02 anyway.

Cheers Deiaccord

I'll check out the Michelin website however I must say I'm not really a Michelin Man! :rofl[1]:

Logan