New Rubber

[Conman]

I thought it was about time for some new tyres. The original Scorpions were still not at the wear limit but with 13,500 miles on the clock the front had started to become a bit vague in corners especially in the wet and I think a rear tyre is probably a bit too squared off if you can do this with it...

I've been riding round on Scorpion Trails for many years and always found them OK. On a previous bike I swapped to Dunlop Trailsmarts and found them ok too, almost identical in every way. Then, on a BMW F800GS, which at around 10,000 miles lost all cornering grip from the front, I tried Anakee3's and was completely amazed at the level of grip. So naturally I ordered some Anakee 3's for the Ducati.

I've had some bad experience with tyre changes at garages in the past, so I tend either to take the wheels down off the bike, or do them myself. On this occasion the weather was nice and I had spare time so I did them myself. Oh and I didn't have a car or van and it's not easy taking them down on the bus 

So what are they like? Unfortunately nothing like the revelation in grip I was hoping for. Mind you there was not much wrong with the Scorpions anyway; the Ducati seems to be good on its tyres (well in my hands anyway). On the down side, the Anakees are a much stiffer tyre (the have a reputation for being a pig to fit and I can vouch for that!) so you feel a lot more of the bumps in the road surface. They also seem to make the front a bit lumpy which I seem to remember from the F800GS. I thought at one stage it was because the wheel was out of balance, so I checked it, and it was but correcting it made very little difference. I'm going to give it a few more miles before I start tweeking suspension settings etc.

Obviously I've not done many miles yet, a couple of hundred I think, so I don't know long term wear or touring potential etc, but at the moment because there is little advantage and the stiffer construction gives a harsher ride, I think I would prefer the Scorpions 

[neilb]

Yes, the Scorpion Trail ll are an excellent tyre and suit the Duc very well. I’ve just had the third rear fitted, seeing no reason to switch to another maker. They grip well, wet or dry, and give good mileage.

BTW, all credit for doing your own fitting. Fortunately, my fitter is a dedicated motorcycle man and does a perfect job.

[D8ona]

13500 miles!!!!  wow good going... what do you weigh??  4 ounces??  anyhoo changed mine for Avon Trail Riders and imho marginally better that the Pirellis for allround use

[ChrisS]

13,500 miles is about double the best I've ever managed. My VFXR1200X only got 5,000 km (about 3,000 miles) on its first set of Pirelli scorpion trails and 8,000 km on Michelin PR4. The OE Scorpions on the multistrada seem to be wearing much better,  looking more like over 10,000 km.  I'm estimating based on wear for the first 6,000km, don't know how they'll do in the second half of their life of course.  One thing i noticed is tread depth at new is much deeper than the Michelin.

[Conman]

I do seem to be easy on tyres. I have no idea why 

[lowprofile]

Mines around 12500 kms and about to go kaput maybe in another 1000 kms.

I bought metz roadtec 01 for the rear and will fit it about January when the scorpion trail hits the wear bars (maybe 2 mm or 1,5 mm left)

The metz should not last that long but should offer better road grip

[Fabfor]

After 12.000 km it has been time to change the OEM Scorpion Trail. Despite I consider them a good rubber, I like to change and I fitted Bridgestone A41: up to now just 1.000 km but it seems really good. Especially in this season (this morning when I left home t was -2° C) it seems that the new Bridgestone became warm much fastly than Pirelli. Let's see how they will be after 6/7.000 km...

[Conman]

I've heard comments that we would be better fitting pure road touring tyres because, lets be honest, how much offroad are we likely to do on the bike. And the bike is really better suited to road conditions anyway. I still don't know what to think 

[neilb]

Originally Posted by Conman

I've heard comments that we would be better fitting pure road touring tyres because, lets be honest, how much offroad are we likely to do on the bike. And the bike is really better suited to road conditions anyway. I still don't know what to think 

The Scorpion Trails are a really good road tyre but absolutely useless when up against wet mud, as I found out the other day when the tarmac/gravel of the lane I was riding ended; the remaining half mile or so was mud. It was a real effort to keep the bike upright and going where I wanted.

[Wassers]

Originally Posted by lowprofile

Mines around 12500 kms and about to go kaput maybe in another 1000 kms.

I bought metz roadtec 01 for the rear and will fit it about January when the scorpion trail hits the wear bars (maybe 2 mm or 1,5 mm left)

The metz should not last that long but should offer better road grip

I've got Metz Roadtec 01's on my Thruxton R. Awesome tyres!