Best tyres for a CCM FT35

Q. I have a CCM FT35-S, the 400cc Suzuki-engined supermoto with a 120/70 x 17 front tyre and a 150/70 x 17 rear. What choices do I have in replacement rubber?
Nick Scarr, email

A. First off, the correct size on the back is a 150/60 x 17, and there are several good choices for lighter bikes in these sizes, but as ever it depends on the kind of tyre you’re looking for.

There are three distinct types: sports road tyres, increased mileage tyres and tyres with a wet race/off-road look. These are basically road tyres but the designs suit the flat tracker image of the FT35.

Sports road tyres
Bridgestone BT-090: Ubiquitous and a safe choice.
Continental Attack SM: A new one from Conti, developed as the name suggests just for lightweight supermotos. It has a very ‘slick’ tread so is popular with riders who are looking for that sort of design.
Dunlop Qualifier HR: Newish H-speed rated version of the Qualifier which uses a different compound developed for lightweight bikes.
Pirelli Diablo H: H-speed rated version of the popular Diablo. It’s been around a while but it’s a sound performer and it’s cheapest of the bunch.

Increased mileage tyres
Bridgestone BT92: This rubber used to have the small bike ‘mileage’ market to itself until Michelin reduced the price of its Pilot Power a couple of years ago.
Michelin Pilot Power: It’s not the 2CT version but it’s still a very good all-rounder as it has very good wet road grip and good durability.

‘Wets’
Dunlop Mutant: This was the OE tyre on the bike. It looks like a race wet and really shifts water when it’s raining. Unlike a wet race tyre its road compound gives good durability.
Avon Distanzia: Not so much a race wet lookalike but more of an adventure-style tyre. A good performer but mileage wouldn’t be as good as the Mutant.