Tire ratings

[stevebussard]

I can see I've joined this party very late.  Just figured I'd put my two cents in.  I have Metzler Z6's on my bike now.  I like them, they handle great.  One thing I don't care for is how quickly they react.  I will probably go with a slightly wider rear next time around.  I have also run the Pirelli Diablos (sport I think? definately not the corsas), and the Metzler M1 Sportec's.  I am switching back to the M1's next time.  For my money, they make my bike feel like it's on rails.  Mileage isn't quite as good as some, but I can at least get one good season of riding in (5,000 - 7,000 miles).

[ducpainter]

I can see I've joined this party very late.  Just figured I'd put my two cents in.  I have Metzler Z6's on my bike now.  I like them, they handle great.  One thing I don't care for is how quickly they react.  I will probably go with a slightly wider rear next time around.  I have also run the Pirelli Diablos (sport I think? definately not the corsas), and the Metzler M1 Sportec's.  I am switching back to the M1's next time.  For my money, they make my bike feel like it's on rails.  Mileage isn't quite as good as some, but I can at least get one good season of riding in (5,000 - 7,000 miles).

You might consider looking at a rounder profile front instead.

[Meerkat]

So I'm in the market to get my 620 some new shoes. The front was worn pretty unevenly when I bought it a couple months ago and I'm thinking I might as well get a matching rear (they don't match currently). Live in downtown DC and have been commuting about 10-12 miles each way every day that it's not raining with as much afternoon fun riding as I can manage through suburbia, which seems to extend for miles and miles and miles, and into the (slightly) less populated parts of MD. Although I'm a relatively new rider, I'm interested in getting some cornering experience at a track school/day (probably next spring). So of course, I want everything...and this is what I was thinking.

Diablo Rosso Corsa vs Sportmax Q2:

The reviews seem to indicate that either of these tires is an ideal candidate for street riding with the occasional track day thrown in to spice it up. The reviews I have found seem to be those "infomercial" type reviews supported by the manufacturer (i.e. likely biased). Anyone have FHE with either/both of these tires? I don't mind spending good money on tires, but I also don't want to have to replace them every 3-4 months. I teach at a university so I couldn't afford a habit like that. Am I way off base? Is there another tire I should be looking at as well? Thanks for your input/feedback.

[Jimmy Ducati]

2009 696. I have 12,150 miles approx. I swapped the rear Battlax at just under 3K and switched it to a Dunlop Roadsmart. I just replaced front and rear with new Roadsmarts and I will report back at some point to see how I like the front. The rear tire has been great though. How can one complain about a tire that really hooks up especially if wet, and gets about 9K? Granted 2-3k was highway, but who cares. Great Tires.

[bdub]

I have a set of angel st's that replaced my corsa 3's. I'm not very aggressive at riding and spend most of my miles running around the back roads and the Skyline Drive area in Va. I've only got about 600 miles on my st's and no rain but so far I don't notice a huge differance from the Corsa III's.  Two and 1/2 miles from work and they grip just fine cold. (don't really push them). They won the world endurance race according to the sidewalls. I really miss the orange lettering that was on my Corsa III though

[onederer]

Can anyone comment on Continental Conti Motions? I am replacing a set of BT-021 that have lasted me all of 4k. The rear still has a few thousand left in it, but the front is knackered.

The Motions are all that I can afford at the moment.

[topangster]

Just put on a set of Dunlop Sportmax Q2s.  Been running Pilot Power 2CTs pretty consistently prior to this, which I like.  But I kept hearing the Dunlops were good, so decided to give them a shot.  And the price was right - ($210 for front and rear, no shipping, from Competition Accessories  )

I've only got about 120 miles on them, but I gotta say, so far I like them a lot.  They have a "slower" turn-in than the 2 CTs, or maybe a better term would be more neutral.  The 2CTs tend to "fall in" to turns, which I'd gotten used to, so at first the Q2s felt strange.  But now that I'm

[koko64]

I just put a new Q2 on the back and like it. The Q2 feels good back there. Nice feel and neutral turn in. The tire guy said that the Q2 lasts longer than the Pure and since they were the same price I got it. He said the center compound was good for wear.

It's a 180/55. Funny thing, it's a big 180, it fills the swingarm/hugger like a 190/55 Pilot Power I had on previously. I reckon there's only 3-5mm in it.

[topangster]

(Looks like my earlier post got truncated for some reason - here's the re-post):

Just put on a set of Dunlop Sportmax Q2s.  Been running Pilot Power 2CTs pretty consistently prior to this, which I like.  But I kept hearing the Dunlops were good, so decided to give them a shot.  And the price was right - ($210 for front and rear, no shipping, from Competition Accessories  )

I've only got about 120 miles on them, but I gotta say, so far I like them a lot.  They have a "slower" turn-in than the 2 CTs, or maybe a better term would be more neutral.  The 2CTs tend to "fall in" to turns, which I'd gotten used to, so at first the Q2s felt strange.  But now that I'm getting more used to them, I think I prefer the Dunlops.  They feel really, really planted in corners, very stable. 

I haven't pushed them too hard yet, but they are definitely confidence inspiring, and am looking forward to doing a more spirited canyon carve this weekend.  Can do another report after some real time on them.  But so far...daddy likey!   

[GraGra]

So I'm in the market to get my 620 some new shoes. The front was worn pretty unevenly when I bought it a couple months ago and I'm thinking I might as well get a matching rear (they don't match currently). Live in downtown DC and have been commuting about 10-12 miles each way every day that it's not raining with as much afternoon fun riding as I can manage through suburbia, which seems to extend for miles and miles and miles, and into the (slightly) less populated parts of MD. Although I'm a relatively new rider, I'm interested in getting some cornering experience at a track school/day (probably next spring). So of course, I want everything...and this is what I was thinking.

Diablo Rosso Corsa vs Sportmax Q2:

The reviews seem to indicate that either of these tires is an ideal candidate for street riding with the occasional track day thrown in to spice it up. The reviews I have found seem to be those "infomercial" type reviews supported by the manufacturer (i.e. likely biased). Anyone have FHE with either/both of these tires? I don't mind spending good money on tires, but I also don't want to have to replace them every 3-4 months. I teach at a university so I couldn't afford a habit like that. Am I way off base? Is there another tire I should be looking at as well? Thanks for your input/feedback.

I think you might want to look at the Pirelli Diablo Rosso as well - I have Angel ST and like them a lot.
I also have two frineds that I would say are more aggressive than me - one has Diablo Rosso's on his GSX1K - he does a lot of track days and touring, the other guy has the Rosso Corsa - and just completed a Track day on them - but no real touring miles yet.
He's also on a GSX.
The second guy wants all out grip - which won't freak him out if it rains, the first guy wanted more ability to cover miles - with enough grip for track days.

Both are happy with their choices.

Me? I like something that won't square prematurely, and can handle some stick when it get's to the twisties - so far happy with the Angels - I can see that they warm and grip nicely when I get a little lean on.

[duc_fan]

I've run a couple sets of Michelin Pilot Powers on a 2001 900SS.  Not the 2CT dual-compound version... I was running the stock 170-series rear, and the 2CT doesn't come in that size.

I loved them.  Confidence-inspiring in the dry or wet, good ultimate grip, breakaway was progressive.  These tires stuck like glue when warm, and even when they were cold they never unpleasantly surprised me.

Only issue I ran into was that the rear started to show signs of flatspotting at 4k miles this last time around, but that's because I had moved, and every ride had at least 25 miles of superslab.  I was also riding with a passenger a LOT more often, again on the superslab.  Not the kind of use the Pilot Power was designed for.  I was going to switch to the Pilot Road 2's next time around, probably in ~2000 miles.

My family has experience with stock Dunlops on two Honda CBR 600RRs... they absolutely sucked.  Both bikes went sliding out from under their riders.  I also had a set of Dunlops on one of my cars, and they would never hook up, even on hot, dry pavement.  After these experiences, I refuse to run Dunlops.

One of my brothers has a Daytona 675 with the stock Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa Pro (OEM compound, not the SC1 or SC2 race compounds), and those stick like glue in the dry, but they're less than confidence-inspiring in the wet.  I'd have no problem using those on a sportbike, on the condition that I avoided wet roads.

So anyway... I'd run Michelins or Pirellis.  Never Dunlops.  Michelins are expensive, sure, but they're awesome tires.  When you only have two little tiny contact patches between your bike and the ground, in my opinion, money spent on quality tires is money well spent.

Just my $0.02...

[sisca77]

I ride 2009 696 Duc Monster. I ride to work about 50 miles, 3-4 times/week plus on my days off on twist and turn roads. I'd say mostly 95% dry road since I live in AZ. I will need to change my tires, esp. the rear. The tires are still original tires and so far the bike has 6200 miles. If I'm not mistaken, from what I gathered, looks like a lot of ppl like the Pilot Road 2 CT?? Correct me if I'm wrong. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! [moto]

[DarkMonster620]

My family has experience with stock Dunlops on two Honda CBR 600RRs... they absolutely sucked.  Both bikes went sliding out from under their riders.  I also had a set of Dunlops on one of my cars, and they would never hook up, even on hot, dry pavement.  After these experiences, I refuse to run Dunlops.

One of my brothers has a Daytona 675 with the stock Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa Pro (OEM compound, not the SC1 or SC2 race compounds), and those stick like glue in the dry, but they're less than confidence-inspiring in the wet.  I'd have no problem using those on a sportbike, on the condition that I avoided wet roads.

So anyway... I'd run Michelins or Pirellis.  Never Dunlops.  Michelins are expensive, sure, but they're awesome tires.  When you only have two little tiny contact patches between your bike and the ground, in my opinion, money spent on quality tires is money well spent.

Just my $0.02...

I agree with you on the Michelins being expensive; but, I currently run Dunlop D220 in OEM size 120/60R17 and 160/60R17 on my M620D, these are great, where I live rains for 10 months in a row and they're holding up after about 5500kms or 3500mls ... Nothing bad to say from them either wet or dry.

The OEM Pirelli Diablo, dry road, OK[depending on surface] on the wet ... me stays home and walks ...

Due to money issues, will be installing a pair of Continental, too many names to remember, sorry .. will post once they're installed and broken in ...

my 0.02 ...

[Dirty Duc]

S2R800 - 90% commuting

My tires always seem to wear out or get holes in them, so I've tried a few different ones (and I can't afford a new set of Michelins every 3 months).  The stock battlax (BT-016?) squared off pretty quick.  I switched to the Shinko 009 Ravens, and was pretty happy with them for about 10 or 15k miles (2 fronts and 4 rears).  When the last set of Ravens fell prey to a nail, I switched to the Conti-motions, and was well pleased with them (turn-in was quicker and felt better than the Ravens, seemed to wear better).  I got a screw in the rear tire recently, and couldn't find the Conti-motions anywhere, so I went back to Shinko for the 006 Podiums.  They seem to "wander" in the ruts and are a bit twitchier in the cross-winds (straight-line) but work well in the corners.  I haven't ridden these in the rain yet, but they seem to do well over sand/gravel/dirt so I expect their rain performance to be acceptable.

[DarkMonster620]

S2R800 - 90% commuting

My tires always seem to wear out or get holes in them, so I've tried a few different ones (and I can't afford a new set of Michelins every 3 months).  The stock battlax (BT-016?) squared off pretty quick.  I switched to the Shinko 009 Ravens, and was pretty happy with them for about 10 or 15k miles (2 fronts and 4 rears).  When the last set of Ravens fell prey to a nail, I switched to the Conti-motions, and was well pleased with them (turn-in was quicker and felt better than the Ravens, seemed to wear better).  I got a screw in the rear tire recently, and couldn't find the Conti-motions anywhere, so I went back to Shinko for the 006 Podiums.  They seem to "wander" in the ruts and are a bit twitchier in the cross-winds (straight-line) but work well in the corners.  I haven't ridden these in the rain yet, but they seem to do well over sand/gravel/dirt so I expect their rain performance to be acceptable.

mergatroyd,

thanks for the comments on Shinko ... was thinking on trying them on as for extrange reason, one guy sales them here in my OEM size 1260/60+160/60R17...