California Tyres (or Tires As We Like To Say)

Or, as my Texas and more Southern-based compatriots would say, tars!

This is sort of an FYI along with a query. Here in Santa Clara, California (south of San Francisco, home of Alice's Restaurant, the Isle of Nine, Skyline, and other fabulous twisty roads) almost all Triumph street bikes are sold with Pirelli Phantoms. I have seen zero mention of them on the Triumph forum here, so was curious who else has them out there. I have a 2018 Bonneville with a number of mods, and at 4,500 miles my front Phantom is burred off such that I have tread in middle and on the edges, but not in the "meat" of the tire contact point - it is pretty much gone. I have to admit to being a late-braking fool who enjoys sailing into a corner and scrubbing speed off naturally, so that could account for the wear.

Anybody else have the Phantoms on their bike? They are definitely an older design, but I do like them: soft feel, decent turn-in, hold the line well, and no issues with traction. I was thinking of replacing the front with another, since the rear is holding up really well. But all I have seen on the Forum has been Avon, Metzeler, and maybe Michelin. Anybody moved from Phantoms to anything else?

Thanks, guys!

 

Thank you, Steve. I also note that the Avon tires are only $100 versus $120 for the Phantoms. I guess I can always try the Avons and see if I like them or not. The one thing I *immediately* noticed about the Phantoms after coming off an Indian Scout with bias-ply tires is that I really love radials!

 

The Scout was a hit, though eventually (for me) a miss.

Hits are: Terrific motor, ultra-rigid chassis, very good looking. Everyone loved the tan seat. I put Bassani slip-ons on mine and they were gorgeous.

Misses: The stock tires were horrible. I understand they have changed to Pirelli Night Dragons which I retro-fitted to mine, and they are a good tire. Suspension way too soft. The seating position locks you into place - my ass barely lasted an hour. Not much fuel range, which given the ass problem was probably good. Bassani pipes are LOUD!

I found myself trying to turn the Scout into a sport bike, albeit a very low-slung sport bike. I changed the rear shocks to JRI units which added an additional inch of travel and very superior control/bump absorbing. I also reworked the front end with Race Tech Gold Valves and much stronger (0.90 versus 0.70) springs. I also tried the Trask handlebars. They were lower and wider than stock by a wide margin and I felt totally bad-ass riding with them, but their width turned to a detriment since my late-age Essential Tremor translated every twitch directly to the front wheel. I settled on a set of lower and narrower bars from Renthal.

Pretty much everyone that sat on it loved it, and it does have nice styling. Fueling was decent, although the Bonnie's is far better coming off idle in the middle of a turn. Not as much torque as a Harley, but tons more horsepower!

Hope that helps?