I have a matching set of tyres Pirelli Dragon Evo's (MTR21 & 22). I know they are not the latest technology but then neither is my 97 1200 Bandit.

Anyhow I have gradually been leaning the bike further in the corners as I get used to it and am now at the edge of the tread on the rear tyre but the front tyre is knowhere near the edge.

Is this normal or is it down to the bike or suspension set-up?

Tyres pressures are 36 front and rear as recommended and sizes are 120/70 and 185/55.

Fit Conti Road Attacks they do

My fronts never wear as far round as the backs, and that's not very far either

Funny you should say that... I very nearly fitted a set this time but as only the rear needed replacing I decided to stick with the same type so it matched the front tyre.

So sounds like its fairly normal then. This is my first experience of wider modern tyres so I was not so sure. Thinking about it I suppose it makes sense that the rear gets to the edge before the front as the rear should then start to lose grip first which is probably safer than the other way round.

Anyhow edge of the rear is far enough on the Bandit as footpegs and boots start to change shape.

i've nearly taken the strip off the rear now, i must have about 1cm left on it, i've got about the same on the front but it just looks bigger cuz the tyre is smaller. BTW i have conti road attacks.........

Don't worry too much about taking the strips off, better riders start to hang off the bike more so that you don't need to lean the bike over as far. It's taken me a long time to gain the confidence to really crank it over, i learnt that the faster i go the more grip i get cuz there's more pressure on the contact patch of the tyre, however there is a threshold and if you lean it over too far without the speed you'll come off. You just need experience to know where that critical point is. If the rear lets go you can usually save it but if you loose the front the window of opportunity is very tight.

I'd say a bandit 12 isn't really the sort of bike you wanna be exploring the edges of your tyres on, due to the weight of the bike and the road biased chassis and suspension you're probably best to start hanging off a bit more, you'll find you can get higher cornering speeds and much more confidence.........

My experience, for what it's worth, is that you'll be off the edge of the rear tyre before your properly scrubbing the outer edges of the front tyre on most tyres.

Different tyres definitely have different profiles though.

One fairly important question: have you serviced the shocks & springs on that ten year old bike? If your going to be enjoying it exactly as it was intended, I would.

I'd say for most tyres it's normal. I've only managed to get to the edge of the fireblade's front on a trackday, but getting to the edge of the rear usually happens on the road in normal riding.

My bike was in pretty good standard condition when I bought it and despite its age had done less than 25k. However this spring the front and rear suspension was all taken apart, inspected an put back together with a used Ohlins rear shock and new Ohlins front springs and oil.

This made a big difference to the feel and gave me confidence to push the bike further. Did the front and rear brakes, lines and wheel bearings too for good measure.

That will now be one serious street machine there NewTon....

Should surprise quite a few people with a weapon like that

There is no reason if a bike is kept maintained well, ungraded with the correct parts that it won't be better than new 10 or 20 years old makes no difference

my forks are starting to feel a bit soft, i don't know whether it's because it actually needs replacing or that i've gotten used to the bike and am finding the limit of it's capability.

I just got back from oxford, came up the M40 and i'm pretty sure now that my suspension has gone soft on both ends, I'm gonna price up some new springs/oil for the front and a replacement for the rear (maybe hagon? Any good?). Those race cans will have to wait by the looks of it!

I've got Hagon...not maybe the plushest of rides but it does it's job where it counts and when puching on I don't really have to worry about it, it just does it's job. For street riding I would buy another...if I was loaded then maybe I'd get some of the big names but this suits me fine right now