Got an 18 plate Street Twin (4k miles) handling was pretty poor especially the front end and those awful stock tyres. So I bit the bullet, Conti Road attacks, TEC gas shocks and fork upgrade kit. Well worth it, what a difference. Did 130+ miles on it yesterday it handled like a dream, enjoyed every minute, money well spent!
Nice. It doesn't matter what you are riding or driving, if the handling isn't great, the ride is that much less enjoyable.
It’s amazing how much difference just tyres make, always best to go for something on the sporty side I think, touring tyres are fine but the sharper profile of say a Pirelli Diablo can really help the bike to drop in on corners .
I dumped the vague steering oems on my Street Twin after 600 unhappy miles and fitted Avon Street Riders. Transformed from a barge to a sweet steering bike immediately. So much happier now, I bunged out for a set of Fox rear shocks, and now it feels sooo much smoother at the back - more like a mono shock. I have gone from wanting to get my money back a week after buying it new, to loving it - it's unbelievable just how Triumph ever decided to fit those terrible tyres. The front was stamped Brazil, with 3mm tread, and the rear is stamped China. I have emailed Triumph with my thoughts...
Which Conti Road Attacks did you get? I have a 2019 ST, and am considering whether I should upgrade shocks or tires first.
I got Avon Road Riders in fact. I see the front tyre has 5mm of tread. The Pirellis were 3.3mm. (Pirelli's own figure) So if you are sensible and change your front tyre when it gets down to 2mm, whilst still safe on wet roads, you'd have had just 1.3mm of use before you had to replace it. With the 5mm tread depth on the Avon (and most other tyres) you will have 3mm to use. How did Triumph think that a quality bike should be sold with such a cheap tyre tread depth...?
Conti road attack 3s they work well for me and other forum members seem to agree. The progr5essive fork upgrade kit from TEC makes a big difference to the front.
After several emails to Triumph customer service they finally admitted that the new tread depth of the stock Pirelli Phantom front tyre is a tiny 3.3mm. I might expect to be given only a half tank of fuel, but tyres already half worn? How penny-pinching can you get?
They were road attack 3s, I would do the tyres first and then upgrade the forks with progressive springs and adjusters they make an immediate difference lastly do the rear units TEC ones are entirely suitable for what the bike is designed for in my opinion and very good value.
I fitted Hagon 2810 progressive shocks to the rear of mine. Much improved the ride and I'm hoping the Hagon progressive fork springs, I subsequently bought make a similar improvement to the front end once I fit them.
Anything has to be better than those OE tyres. Triumph are fobbing us off with budget Chinese and Brazilian seconds.
After going through this thread it appears that just about any other tyres than the OEM will improve handling. I went for the Scorpion Trail 2's and like everyone else the handling went from needing to apply massive counter steering input to get around corners, to simply leaning in and holding a line with no effort at all. I have to admit that before fitting new tyres I was a little skeptical that Triumph would fit such utter shite that ruins the handling. It just didn't seem possible. But there you go.
My feelings exactly. Join the throng of owners trying to flog off the removed tyres ...they are also OE on other makes, and looking at how many 'slightly used' ones are on Ebay, other owners have had similar experiences to us....