I have a 2001 Bandit 1200 and by next spring I'll need to get a new rear tire. I'm a total road bike noob and have no idea what I need to be looking at. I am looking for a tire that will give me the max mileage since I'm NOT a corner junky. Since I won't be pushing the lean angle of anything I get value is the word of the day.
I currently have a Conti Road Attack front and rear that came on the bike when I got it about a week ago.
I've enjoyed my BT45 tires. I think updated version is the 21.
I've read excellent things about Michelins Road Pilot (Pilot Road?) 2. I may try a set of those on the ST2. Conti road/Sport Attacks IIRC have also been mentioned a strong tire.
I have a set of Michelin Pilot Roads on my bike and have been very happy with them. Good grip in dry and wet, excellent wear, price isn't tooooo terrible... I haven't tried the Pilot Road 2's but they should be even better.
+1 on the Pilot Roads. I have them on my R1150R. It is much better than the crapola Michelin Macadams that came with the bike originally.
It is not as sticky as the Pilot Sports that are on my CBR600RR but for this kind of bike(Standard or Sports Tourer), it is more than good enough. I scrape the pegs all the time on the R1150R and the tires hold fine.
Pilot Roads are the way to go. I almost put them on my Strom but decided to hit the trans american trail in a few weeks so went to michelin tourance dual sport... almost tires.
I've had excellent wear on my Bridgestone BT-45s. They're dual compound tires. Harder rubber in the middle for better wear and softer rubber on the sides for cornering. It's been a great combo.
I've got 9,000 miles on the set and the rear will probably go for another thousand or two, while the front is still in great shape.