Bye bye Road Riders Hello Sport Demons

[CruisinFj60]

Between my dad and I we have 7 motorcycles.
78 GS750 all original (cept for turn signals and a starter cover and airbox I re painted while I had access to a paint booth) with a complete Vance & Hines sidewinder exhaust dads

80 GS1100 dad got from a life long friend's father after the friend had passed away with a complete Supertrap 4-1 exhaust

82 GS1100E now with a big bore kit on it working on getting a set of carbs set up for it and a header and Kirker pipe with no baffle

83 GS850L I picked up for not much, Just gonna part this one out I think

83 GS1100E all stock and my daily for the most part and so much fun to ride with a header to a Supertrap pipe (different style than the 80 and sounds much better)

86-87 GSXR 750 (I think) parts bike old man picked up for cheap no fairings but mostly complete

07 GSXR 1300 Hayabusa ported and polished head, set of cams that have been degreed in place with adjustable cam gears, nitrous, power commander, air shifter, stutter box / launch control whatever you wanna call it, and many MANY hours of time on a dyno puts down OVER 250HP to the rear wheel and during tuning it shut down the dyno cause they had it up over 200mph. This is dads toy thing that he supposedly wasnt gonna keep.

ok well now you have some background and I can get to the topic!

On the 82 1100E we have the continental Conti GO's and they werent to terrible for traction but we found there was better, so we but the Avon Road Riders on the 83 1100E and I have been pretty happy with them and have been able to run them down nearly to the sidewall so much so that I have drug the pegs on this thing once or twice. But yet still felt like there was something better so after a couple of recommendations I was told about the Pireli Sport Demons and they are supposed to be the best apparently so I needed an excuse to order them since the Avons still looked good... Well the 80 1100E just got running and driving well but needs tires so the Avons will go on it and my Sport Demons should be here tomorrow or Friday for the 83 1100E Im exited to see how they handle and feel on the bike. with the new rubber it will also be getting a much needed fork rebuild with a set of progressive springs and 15w fork oil.

To be fair to the Conti's, I wasnt as comfortable with that bike as I am with the 83 for whatever reason (been a while since I have riden it so dont really remember honestly), the Go's look great and I think are pretty good I'm sure but I just wasnt as aggressive riding on them.

 

[UncleMike]

I was running Metzler Lasertecs previously and went to the Sport Demons this spring.

After the first 600 miles, there was already a big flat spot down the middle of the rear tire. This was after a trip down to NYC and back through the Finger Lakes and the Catskills, ripping through the Palisades Parkway. This was not superslab time at all.

Now I'm over 2000 miles into the tires and the flat spot has only gotten bigger. The only superslab riding I've done on these is about an hour last week on my way up to the 1000 Islands. Other than that it's all been back roads.

Great tires, just a bit soft.

 

[DCrippa]

I had the sport demons on my secaII while I had her and they were great, they are softer so less longevity, can't have your cake and eat it too. Ironically I had also been running the Metzler lasertecs - they were good in the rain.

 

[CruisinFj60]

I have no illusions of them lasting beyond 6k in the rear (if that). I figure if I get a full riding season out of the rear I am doing well and I figure 2 seasons up front. I ride with throttle and like to pick it up from time to time. The road riders have actually lasted much longer than I thought, rear is about half tread after 2 seasons of wheelies and smoking the tire off at 20mph here and there, front easily has two more season of life left in it.

 

[CruisinFj60]

Tires finally showed up the other day and MAN they are soft compound! I cant wait to get em in some turns and see how well they stick the the 140-160*F pavement we have here in Texas right now (I really wish I was kidding but I checked my driveway with an IR thermometer and thats what I got.). I will have em put on Tuesday and report back on how they feel!

 

[bwringer]

Yep, the Demons are ssssssssoooooooffffffttt.

They also aren't as quick-steering as the RoadRiders, so you'll have to get adjusted to that. Not worse or better, just different. You might prefer their feel.

The biggest difference for me is that the RoadRiders are FAR more consistent as they wear -- they don't develop any nasty habits all the way down to the wear bars. When it's time to replace the Sport Demons, they turn evil...

If tread life/expense isn't a big concern for you, you'll probably love 'em. Let us know how it goes!

 

[bwringer]

I have no illusions of them lasting beyond 6k in the rear (if that). I figure if I get a full riding season out of the rear I am doing well and I figure 2 seasons up front. I ride with throttle and like to pick it up from time to time. The road riders have actually lasted much longer than I thought, rear is about half tread after 2 seasons of wheelies and smoking the tire off at 20mph here and there, front easily has two more season of life left in it.

As a point of reference, I got 4K out of Demons on a GS850G, and the last 1K they felt awful.

I get a consistent 6K out of RoadRider rears, and 12K from each front -- the first tires I've ever been able to go 2:1 on the front.

 

[UncleMike]

As a point of reference, I got 4K out of Demons on a GS850G, and the last 1K they felt awful.

I get a consistent 6K out of RoadRider rears, and 12K from each front -- the first tires I've ever been able to go 2:1 on the front.

I've got a little over 2K on my Sport Demons, and they're already feeling a little squirrely.

If the Road Rider cracking is resolved, I'll go with those for a replacement. Otherwise, it's back to the Metzler Lasertecs.

 

[Griffin]

I put Lasertecs on Muttley because of the cracking issue with Avon RRs, and Sport Demons on Mama for the same reason.

Betty has a set of Spitfires that are ok for riding around town and on the open road, but they do have their limits for aggressive riding. I'll probably need to replace them in the next 2,000 miles or so.

If there are no further reports of RR sidewall failures, I'll probably give them a shot.

I really like the Sport Demons so far, but I've only got aobut 1,100 miles on them, 90% of it back road riding.