Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » Continental Road Attack 3

Just installed a new set of these on my RS.

They are the bees' knees. And yes, I punctuated that properly.

FWIW and YMMV.

Ok, I will try. I've put about five or six hundred miles on the tires, enough to form an opinion I think.

A couple of disclaimers:

I haven't ridden these in rain yet so no wet road performance data.
I'm not an extremely aggressive rider so I can't comment on the tires' performance at the very limits of traction.

Aside from grip, what I want from tires is neutral cornering. Everything is so much simpler if I can relax my arms when leaned over. I never liked how the original PR4s handled and as they wore it became progressively more difficult to hold the bike in a turn. I wore the tires down to the tread bars (12,000 miles) and by the end it was a battle to get the bike to corner. It had been that way for thousands of miles.

Of course, new tires will always be a revelation compared to the worn tires they replace. But I think the RA3s are better than the PR4s were when new. They turn in easily and hold a line once leaned over. Road feedback is very good. Mid-corner bumps are no problem.

Continental tires come with a textured finish they claim gives good traction out of the box. I took the picture above after my first ride on the new tires. I'm not a tire shredder but you can see I felt confident enough to work the tires close to the edges of the tread.

Let me sum up with the following. Good tires clarify the riding experience. It's like, "Yeah, I finally understand what's going on here." For the first time since I bought this bike I feel the handling makes sense. The tires get out of the way and give me a more direct feel for the road. I know a lot of people love the PR4s. I had PR3s on my R1100S and thought they were great. For some reason my PR4 experience wasn't so awesome. Evidently I'm pleased with the switch to Continentals.

Zitat von op48no1 im Beitrag #1

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Just installed a new set of these on my RS.

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Zitat von op48no1 im Beitrag #1

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They are the bees' knees. And yes, I punctuated that properly. FWIW and YMMV.

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I'm older than I used to be, not as old as I am likely to become. I did read "A Twist of the Wrist" when it first came out, for what it's worth.

On account of how much salt they put on the roads I try to avoid the wet until it's all washed away. I was out riding last weekend and was surprised to see piles of salt still around in spite of the rain we've had recently. Rust makes me sad.

Zitat von op48no1 im Beitrag #6

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Rust makes me sad.

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Zitat von Ray B im Beitrag #5

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Zitat von op48no1 im Beitrag #1

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Just installed a new set of these on my RS.

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Been wanting to try them (the tires, not the knees.) About to polish off what will likely be my only pair of Dunlop RS3s, unless they start giving them away. (Though, I hear they have occasionally done that.)
You're in New England - I assume you've had a chance to play with them in the rain, if not snow.

Zitat von op48no1 im Beitrag #1

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They are the bees' knees. And yes, I punctuated that properly. FWIW and YMMV.

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(A favorite phrase of Keith Code. Are you that old?)

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Zitat von midlife crisis im Beitrag #8

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Ray
why will you not use the dunlop rs3s again
thanks

graham

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Hi Grump - hope you are healed from accident, I too have had some fun, hit a deer at 70mph, did not go down.

I purchased a set of Conti RA3's just about 1 yr. ago and have a bit over 3000 miles on them. Best tires I have used so far, no front cupping or irritating noise (Metzler Roadtec 01), better life and handling vrs OEM. I cannot offer any comments about rain performance as my location is in a dry part of Calif. I get a good feel of confidence when pushing the envelope on both fast and slow mountain roads.

I give the Conti's a big "thumbs up" and my next set of tires will be a new set of Conti's RA3's.

There currently is a $60 rebate available for the Road Attack III which I think runs through June 30th.

Zitat von Olgry1 im Beitrag #12

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There currently is a $60 rebate available for the Road Attack III which I think runs through June 30th.

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Follow-up on the Road Attack 3s at 4,000 miles.

There is only a small amount of flattening of the rear tire.



The front looks basically brand new. Even the embossed lettering is still visible.



There is no cupping or weird tread wear on the front.



Some reviews have commented that after a ride the tires are sticky and rough to the touch. They have questioned if that might translate to poor tread life. I can confirm the sticky/rough part but the tires seem to be wearing really well.



Handling is still great and hasn't degraded as far as I can tell. I've been caught out in the rain a few times and had no wet grip issues.

I'll get back to you with another report at 8,000 miles.

My attack3's have 6250 miles and hope to make 7000. Conti recommended the heavy duty but I only weigh 10st and talking to my tyre dealer he agreed with my suggestion to go with the standard tyres and not the heavy duty. I never have a pillion and luggage-its is either one or the other. Conti had not tested my choice so could not approve their use but thought it was worth a try. Very comfortable tyre and no wet grip issues even on a wet track training day.
At recent 30,000 service BMW informed me that Conti's are not an approved tyre for the RS.