I have been wondering about tyres for a while, so i sent off an e mail to MCN, got the following reply from Bryn Phillips of Cambrian Tyres via MCN and have their permission to post on here, thought it might be useful.
<Radials for the big VF1000F are not made by anyone these days, so it has to be crossplies. As you’ve found out, the Avon Roadrider suffers with poorer tread life than all of the other tyres in this sector largely because it has higher grip levels. I always recommend it to those who are looking for a more high-grip orientated tyre, but never to riders who are looking for more of an all-rounder with greater mileage potential.
Of the all-rounders there’s not much to choose between any of them when you look at the usual performance criteria, so the Bridgestone BT45, Continental ContiGo, Michelin Pilot Activ and Metzler Lasertec would all be good choices with the nod going to the Lasertec for durability.
But earlier this year Dunlop launched their StreetSmart, which is basically a revision of their old GT501 tyre with a new compound. If I sound cynical I don’t mean to. The GT501 was already a good tyre with performance somewhere between the Roadrider and the rest and durability at least as good as the likes of the BT45 and ContiGo. And although it’s too soon to say how the StreetSmart will stack up against the Lasertec on mileage I can imagine that with the compound improvements it will be knocking on its door. However we do have some feedback on the wet weather performance of the Dunlop and it’s all positive, so looking at the time of year and knowing how well its predecessor performed I’d be tempted by the Street Smart,