Continental Replaces ContiMotion With New EVO Sport-Touring Tire

Continental has a replacement for its ContiMotion sport-touring tire. The ContiMotion EVO, announced on September 10, 2026, keeps the same job, everyday street riding with some sporty days mixed in, but uses a new carcass, a new rubber compound and Continental’s steel-belt construction.

If you ride a mid-size sport, naked or sport-touring bike on 17-inch wheels, here’s what changed, which sizes come first and what to check before you order.

The short version

• What it is: the successor to the ContiMotion, Continental’s sport-touring tire for street bikes.
• What’s new, per Continental: new carcass materials, a hybrid silica compound, Continental’s EasyHandling approach and a ZeroDegree steel belt.
• Sizes first: a 120/70 ZR17 front and 160/60 ZR17 and 180/55 ZR17 rears from September 2026.
• Later: a 190/50 ZR17 rear from November 2026.
• Mixing: Continental says the EVO can be combined with the original ContiMotion.
• U.S. availability: Continental’s U.S. site has a ContiMotion EVO page, but it showed no sizes, prices or dates when we checked on October 7.

What Continental changed

Continental lists four main changes:

1. New carcass materials. The carcass is the tire’s internal structure, and it shapes how the tire feels when you lean into a turn or brake hard.
2. A hybrid silica compound. Silica is common in street tires because it helps grip in cool and wet conditions. Continental hasn’t published grip or mileage figures for the new mix.
3. EasyHandling. Continental’s term for the handling character it designs its tires around.
4. ZeroDegree steel belt. A steel belt wound around the tire at close to zero degrees, which helps the tire keep its shape at speed.

Those are Continental’s descriptions of what it built and what it aimed for. We haven’t seen independent test results, and Continental didn’t publish braking, wear or grip numbers comparing the EVO with the original ContiMotion.

Sizes and timing

Position	Size	Load/speed	Available from (per Continental)
Front	120/70 ZR17	58W	September 2026
Rear	160/60 ZR17	69W	September 2026
Rear	180/55 ZR17	73W	September 2026
Rear	190/50 ZR17	73W	November 2026

Those dates are Continental’s global rollout. They don’t guarantee a specific U.S. shop has stock, especially in the first weeks.

Bikes Continental names

Continental gives these as examples of the kinds of motorcycles the EVO is meant for:

• BMW R12 nineT
• Triumph Daytona 660
• Ducati Supersport 950
• Honda CB650R
• Suzuki GSX-8TT
• Yamaha MT-09

That’s a list of examples, not an official fitment approval for each bike. Your bike’s owner’s manual and the tire placard set the sizes and load and speed ratings you need.

Can you mix it with an old ContiMotion?

Continental says the EVO can be combined with the original ContiMotion, so you could replace a worn rear first and the front later. As a general rule, keep the same size, load index and speed rating your bike calls for, and follow your owner’s manual on mixing tires.

If you’re due for new tires

1. Check your sizes against your owner’s manual, not just what’s on the bike now.
2. Ask your shop about timing. The September sizes are the first ones out; the 190/50 rear comes later.
3. Set pressures from your owner’s manual or the bike’s placard, then check them cold.
4. Expect a break-in period. New tires can feel slippery until the surface is scrubbed in, so take the first few rides easy.

What we don’t know yet

• U.S. prices and stock dates.
• Independent test results on grip, wet braking or wear.
• How long the EVO lasts compared with the original ContiMotion.

Bottom line

The ContiMotion EVO updates Continental’s sport-touring tire with a new carcass, a hybrid silica compound and a ZeroDegree steel belt, starting with three sizes in September and a 190/50 rear in November. If your bike uses one of those sizes, it’s worth asking your shop about, but U.S. prices and stock dates still need to come from your dealer.