Just like Mic, I was not impressed with the original Pirelli tyres because of their premature decay signs of squaring, the pirelli are only really great in perfect riding conditions such as clean tarmac and hot surface where they do stick very well once heated, however those conditions are not found 24/7 and in the wet and on gravel the Pirelli fail big time, not to mention that they are bloody dangerous on cold frosty mornings.

Knowing that I wanted something with more grip I started searching for the perfect tyre and I found out about the Maxxis through a Supermoto weblink, the Maxxis are indeed excellent tyres for this bike, though you have to fiddle a lot with the inflation to get them not to wobble at high speed with pressures as low as 26 to 28 psi. Yet the downside of the Maxxis is their life expectancy as they wear out before your eyes at around 1600 to 1800 miles. After 2 set of Maxxis I then opted for the Avons, trying first the wet Pro-Xtreme Rain (Azaro)

Now the Azaro are the grippiest tyres for this bike, bar none, you can ride up the ****ing wall with these tyres like geko's and I mean you can lean your bike confidently on waterlogged roads!!

But as soon as it is a dry day the back tyre will wear like a pencil rubber, so once again excellent tyres but lowest life expectancy ever.
Strangely this is not the same for the front Avon Pro-Xtreme which last and last and last. As a result I was forced to fit a rear Distanzia and keep the front Pro-Xtreme as it would have been a waste of money to bin it, my finding were that I managed to wear out 2 rear Distanzia with that same front Pro-Xtreme on!! To be honest with you all that combination of a rear Distanzia and a front Pro-Xtreme has been the best ever for me. Even after it finally wore out and I have replaced the front with a proper Distanzia, the feel of the bike is slighlty different but as I always say tyre choice is strictly personal and some people might feel more confident with a set up when others wouldn't.

I think when my front Distanzia is worn I will re-fit another Pro-Xtreme and stick with the Distanzia for the rear.

Provided you look after the Distanzia properly you can expect anything from 3500 to 3800 miles for the rear and more or less the same with the front ones but the front Azaro Pro-Xtreme will last you well over 7000 miles while the back one you are lucky if you get 800 miles out of them. I believe these are designed only for track use.

Good luck in your tyre choice.