Continental Conti Motion Tires

[Fred W]

I'm sure that this is destined for NEPRT-land, but, for some reason or other, I had the impression that there were a lot of negative opinions about the extremely budget priced Continental Conti Motion Z rated tires.

I did a search on Google with the "site:FJRForum.com" filter set, and then did a whirled wyde intarwebs search, and I cannot for the life of me find any such negativity being said about them. In fact I find a lot of the same kind of high praise that we are seeing for the new T30 B-stones.

A few folks say that they will wear out pretty fast, specifically the rears (at who knows what pressures or circumstances) but I am really only interested in using a front paired with a PR2. These things can be had at unheard of prices ($75 each for the fronts?) , and there is no rumor that I am aware of that they are being discontinued.

What am I missing here?

(edit) I should mention that, at that price I have one waiting in the garage to be used next month on a long-ish trip. I was just looking to see if I could get an idea about how long, and how well, the tire would last me

 

[Spud]

If I recall SkooterG was a fan of them and that they grip very well and last about 1/2 as long as the usual tires (PR2, 023/T30, Angel, Storm, etc.)

 

[FJReady]

Fred,

I wore out a rear at NERDS last year. It had a funny internal tear in the rubber too. (I'll look for a photo). Alot of those miles were loaded & two up. I don't think the tire was up to the task.

When new, I did like the feel of the tires. The front lasted approx 8,000 miles and felt good, not too squared off. The back was toast at about 5K. (I usually get 10K from a PR2 rear) And it was noisy- it makes a loud whirring sound.

For $75 I'd be tempted to run a front Conti. I wouldn't put another rear one on if it was free.

 

[Aasland]

I had a front Conti for a couple thousand miles. I did not have it long enough to assess wear or wet performance. It took more weight than the PR2/PR3 I usually use, and it was sort of "numb" feeling. Still, good tire for the money, and a couple of my friends love them.

 

[Allen_C]

I did some research before I bought a pair as spares really cheap at about $145. No real negative comments could be found other than the faster wear characteristics. I put the tires on a used bike I sold shortly thereafter so I still do not have any personal experience other than about 60 miles of scrubbing them in.

 

[RossKean]

I couldn't resist the price and I currently have a set ready to go on the bike. Hoping to be able to wait until just before CFR so I can ride Newfoundland with new tires.

 

[CAJW]

Fred, I ran a new set up to Canada and back, to the tune of about 4,000 miles worth. The last night before heading home the last 350 miles, I noticed my rear was getting fairly thin and made a note to self to go back to the PR2 for better mileage. Don't get me wrong, they were good tires, but 2 up they just didn't give me the mileage I was hoping for although they did get us home without incident. Mileage before changing them out, rear 4441, front 6616, most of that 2 up loaded to the gills.

 

[COGnosticator]

I ran two sets on my '09 C14. I got 3500 miles out of the rear. I ride pretty agressive. After two sets I realized I was changing tires twice as much for the same money and mileage.

 

[Fred W]

Again, I am definitely NOT one who changes tires in sets / pairs, so I do not care a bit how long the rear Conti Motions lasts. I intend to run the front only with a (brandy new) PR2 on the rear.

So, it looks like the 120/70-17 fronts may last as much as ~ 8k miles? Since my PR2 rears also tend to last me about 8k miles when 2-up & loaded with gear (longer with some mixed light weight riding) and my trip next month should fall within that distance, I think that it will be good to go. I'll just keep it inflated a bit high (41-42) for the slab parts of the trip and try to eek out as much miles as possible.

I was just a bit worried that the front Conti would need to be changed out on the road somewhere, and I really did not want to waste valuable vacation time tracking down a tire and getting it swapped. The safe bet would probably be to just get another BT023GT or PR2 for the front, since I know I can get 11-12k miles from them all day long, but the formers seem to be NLA and I really do not like the PR fronts that much.

 

[Intech]

I ran a set and went through the back under 3500 miles. I ran it to the cords(unknowingly!). I know, I know, you don't care about the back. I still have the front tire and will use it again at some point. It has a whole lot of life left in it. It probably has another 3-4K left in it based on how it looks. I took it off at the same time I replaced the rear. I need to change my habit of working in sets. I have too many used tires in the garage! I was pleased with the grip of the Conti and you can't beat the price.

 

[Aasland]

Again, I am definitely NOT one who changes tires in sets / pairs, so I do not care a bit how long the rear Conti Motions lasts. I intend to run the front only with a (brandy new) PR2 on the rear.
So, it looks like the 120/70-17 fronts may last as much as ~ 8k miles? Since my PR2 rears also tend to last me about 8k miles when 2-up & loaded with gear (longer with some mixed light weight riding) and my trip next month should fall within that distance, I think that it will be good to go. I'll just keep it inflated a bit high (41-42) for the slab parts of the trip and try to eek out as much miles as possible.

I was just a bit worried that the front Conti would need to be changed out on the road somewhere, and I really did not want to waste valuable vacation time tracking down a tire and getting it swapped. The safe bet would probably be to just get another BT023GT or PR2 for the front, since I know I can get 11-12k miles from them all day long, but the formers seem to be NLA and I really do not like the PR fronts that much.

That was sort of my thinking too ... I'd use the known-long-life PR2/3/4 for the long trips, and cheaper tires (i.e. Contimotion) for local rides. I don't mind running a tire down to cords locally, as long as it can get me home and I can decide whether to ride or not based on weather.

But on long trips, I don't want to have a bald tire on a saturday afternoon in the middle of nowhere and looking at riding through a storm. I'll gladly pay another $50 for a tire that removes me from having to make that decision.

 

[Spud]

I've been thinking about grabbing a set of these myself. They are the best looking tires I think I've ever seen! Here's a photo, courtesy of an e-bay vendor. Look very closely at the picture--you'll see they are the correct size for the FJR:

 

[fjrchooser]

That is a great looking set !

 

[luvtoride]

I've used these tires over & over again. I've actually had pretty good luck with them... getting around 6,500-7,00 miles out of a rear. On my last trip a little over a month ago. Left out on a trip to Cruso , NC. The tire looked absolutely fine. & only having about 1,500 miles on it, I figured that I was GTG... well, after a spirited ride on rte 28 where we were actually getting it pretty good, I was down to wear bars. By the time that I arrived back @ the Ponderosa I was JUST entering the wear bars. I couldn't of had more than 3,500 miles or so on that rear tire. I think that is the last time that I will be using them. I've had good luck with the tires... altho, I have noticed some head shake with the front. The tires handle extremely well for my style of riding. & I'm not slow... not lightening fast but not slow.

 

[Fred W]

What psi do you suppose those are inflated to?

 

[marcusorelius]

I would say 44 (DD)

 

[leedavis]

They're cheap and tear up fast but also very sticky so I use them for hooligan tires. Similar in wear and performance to Pilot Power for less money.

 

[RossKean]

I was just thinking its a good picture for the front but needs a different camera angle for the rear.