Sprint ST FAQ's - Tyres

MCN Tyre Test - August 2000

Partial reprint of information from MCN's summer tyre test. Below is the introduction and the ST portion of the results. Click on the overall results links below for breakdowns on the individual tyres - Eric.

Introduction:

THERE is a reason a well-ridden sports tourer can whip through bends with a level of excitement close to that of a full-on sports bike - great rubber. Like the tyres for big-bore sports bikes featured in part one of our giant tyre test in last week's MCN, rubber meant for sports tourers is also evolving fast. Tyres are now so good we had to abandon the braking from 100mph test this week - not because the rubber was overstressed but because our test bikes' brake systems were beginning to fade under repeated hard use, giving inconsistent results. It's unlikely things would get pushed this far on the road. We used the sports tourer benchmark Honda VFR800 and the new pretender - the heavier but quicker Triumph Sprint ST. They were fitted with the kind of datalogging equipment race teams use, to help our riders check every detail of the way the tyres performed over lap after hard lap of Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground. We chose Bruntingthorpe because conditions reflect those you find on the road. Check the circuit map below and you'll see what we mean. To get a spread of opinion we used two riders - MCN chief reporter Keith Farr and MCN features editor Marc Potter. Farr weighs 15 stone (210 lbs for us yanks) and Potter 14 and a half.

The test course
riumph Sprint ST
Results at a glance
Marc's scores Keith's scores
1st Avon Azaro II 98% 1st Avon Azaro II 99%
2nd Pirelli Dragon GTS 95% 2nd Pirelli Dragon GTS 95%
3rd Continental ContiForce 92% 3rd Michelin Macadam 92%
4th Michelin Macadam 91% 4th Dunlop D207 89%
5th Dunlop D207 90% 5th Continental ContiForce 88%
6th Metzeler MEZ4 89% 6th Metzeler MEZ4 87%
7th Bridgestone BT020 88% 7th Bridgestone BT020 84%
Overall
(click on tyre for indivual results - in jpg format)
Please note: The tread pattern for each tire is not shown correctly in the article. Click on the "tread" link to see the proper tyre tread pattern
1st Avon Azaro II 98% - - - Tread Pattern - VFR Comments
2nd Pirelli Dragon GTS 95% - Tread Pattern - VFR Comments
3rd Michelin Macadam 91% - Tread Pattern - VFR Comments
4th Continental ContiForce 90% - Tread Pattern - VFR Comments
5th Dunlop D207 89% - Tread Pattern - VFR Comments
6th Metzeler MEZ4 88% - Tread Pattern - VFR Comments
7th Bridgestone BT020 86%  - Tread Pattern - VFR Comments