Supplied with a front tyre which shook and vibrated by BMW K1600gt at speeds over 60mph. Went through the warranty process and Avon (Goodyear) rejected my claim and could find nothing wrong with it. Initially fitted and balanced by a reputable dealer and the refitted and rebalanced by a second garage with the same dangerous results. Clearly not suitable for a BMW K1600gt despite their claims. Avoid at all costs.
120/70 R17 Tyres
Everything we know about the 120/70 R17 tyre size: 34 owner reviews covering 114,168 miles of driving, and EU label data for the tyres you can actually buy in it.
- 34owner reviews
- 114,168 milescovered on them
- 71tyres made in this size
The quick answer
| Season | Owners' pick | Owner rating | Latest test winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Michelin Pilot Road 2 7.7 Current version: Michelin Road 6 | 77% from 3 reviews | - |
Owner picks are the highest weighted owner score in 120/70 R17; test winners come from the most recent independent test conducted in this size. The full evidence is below.
The best rated 120/70 R17 tyres
Rated only by drivers running this size. Each tyre needs at least 3 reviews in 120/70 R17 to be ranked; the order weights a tyre's score by how many reviews back it, so one glowing review cannot top a table.
Summer tyres
The highest rated Summer tyre in 120/70 R17 is the Michelin Pilot Road 2 - 77% from 3 owner reviews in this size. The current tyre in that line is now the Michelin Road 6.
| # | Tyre | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed | TR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Michelin Pilot Road 2
Replaced by Michelin Road 6
|
77% | 3 | 14,500 miles | 7.7 |
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Summer Tyres →
TR Score is the tyre's overall Tyre Reviews rating out of 10, built from independent test results and every owner review of that tyre - not just the reviews from this car. The owner rating column is this car only.
What does 120/70 R17 mean?
A 120/70 R17 tyre is 120 mm wide, its sidewall is 70% of that width (84 mm) tall, and it fits a 17 inch wheel. That gives an overall diameter of roughly 600 mm.
| Section width | 120 mm |
|---|---|
| Sidewall height | 84 mm |
| Rim diameter | 17" (432 mm) |
| Overall diameter | ≈ 600 mm |
| Circumference | ≈ 1,884 mm |
| Revolutions per km | ≈ 531 |
| Revolutions per mile | ≈ 854 |
Also written as
120/70R17 120/70 ZR17 120-70-17 120 70 17
Figures are calculated from the nominal size. A loaded, rolling tyre runs a few percent smaller, and true widths vary slightly between makes.
What cars use 120/70 R17 tyres?
The cars most often running this size in our owner reviews. Each links to the best rated tyres for that exact car.
Honda VFR 800
3 reviews in this size
Triumph Tiger 1050
2 reviews in this size
Yamaha FZ6
2 reviews in this size
Yamaha FJR1300A
2 reviews in this size
Ducati St4s
1 reviews in this size
BMW K1600gt
1 reviews in this size
Ducati S2R1000
1 reviews in this size
Honda CB400SF
1 reviews in this size
Yamaha XJ6
1 reviews in this size
Yamaha FZ150i
1 reviews in this size
Every tyre reviewed in 120/70 R17
The complete record, including discontinued tyres and tyres with too few reviews to rank, ordered by the amount of evidence. A further 21 tyres have a single review each; they count toward the totals but are not listed.
| Tyre | Season | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelin Pilot Road 2 Replaced by Michelin Road 6 | Summer | 77% | 3 | 14,500 miles |
| Bridgestone Battlax BT 015 | Summer | 86% | 2 | 6,500 miles |
| Pirelli Angel GT Replaced by Pirelli Angel GT II | Summer | 84% | 2 | 10,500 miles |
| Pirelli Angel ST | Summer | 82% | 2 | 13,230 miles |
| Metzeler Sportec M5 Interact | Summer | 51% | 2 | 2,500 miles |
| Michelin Pilot Street | Summer | 48% | 2 | 5,050 miles |
Reviews only cover part of the market: 71 tyres are made in 120/70 R17. Browse every 120/70 R17 tyre →
What drivers say about their 120/70 R17 tyres
The most recent owner reviews fitted in this size, in their own words.
Diablo Corsa Rosso 111 front tyre delaminated. Not a happy chappie.
Fitted to a Honda NT 650 - fine if not brilliant in the dry but slightest hint of moisture on the road and they squirm around like a snake - utterly deadly in the wet. Lasted 4000miles on the rear and 5500 on the front - not impressive at all and I'm pleased to be rid of them.
They seem to absorb road deviations pretty well but are particularly noisy on all surfaces.
I have been using Pirelli Angel St's on my Yamaha FJR1300 for the last six years and I wouldn't use any other tyre. I find it gives me so much confidence going into and out of corners and it's brilliant in the wet. As for tyre pressures I have increased them by an extra 4 psi higher than book specifications. So, 44 psi in the rear and 42 psi in the front and it stops the cupping. It also makes them so much more responsive.
Region: South-east Asia (Singapore/Malaysia)
Weather: All year summer or rain
Riding area: City
Front: Pirelli Angel ST 120/70/R17 (Pressure refill: 34 PSI/235kPa)
Rear: Pirelli Angel ST 160/60/R17 (Pressure refill: 39 PSI/270kPa)
Use for commuting. No race track involved.
Very light and manoeuvreable in warm and dry conditions, but overrated considering these are claiming to be designed with wet weather in mind, these are by far the most unpredictable and slippery tyres I've owned. I can't wait to get these off.
Replacing a set of T31s on my VFR800F the T32 has proved even better especially providing real confidence during biblical rain last weekend when conditions were so bad they pretty much cancelled the Formula One Grand Prix race being held just down the road in Spa. A spirited blast on the unrestricted German autobahn confirmed they were superbly stable at serious speed despite the bike carrying full luggage. If you want a race focused tyre look elsewhere but if touring is more your bag the T32s look like they will at least match the 12,000miles I got from my T31s.
When the road is hot the grip is indeed the best, but when it rains it is a bit dangerous
Drive on 120/70 R17 tyres?
Review your tyres and help the next driver choose. It takes about five minutes, and every review on this page came from a driver who took them.
Where this data comes from
Owner ratings are submitted through the review form on this site, naming the tyre, the size and the distance covered, and are checked by hand before publication. Test results come from independent published tyre tests indexed by size, and label values from the EU EPREL database.
About the TR Score
The Tyre Reviews Score rates each tyre out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.
Who does the testing
Every test published as a Tyre Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tyres independently since 2007.