After my near miss yesterday with a front end wash out, I know now the road was greasy being under trees but one thing thats always in the back of my mind are the tyres the bike was supplied with, Dunlop Qualies. I seem to remember reading in a mag that these tyres weren't up to much but what is the general feeling/experiences on here of these particular tyres?
Had them on my Speed triple and was the thing that put me off trying Dunlops for years. hated them. SO they don't even get a 4 out of 10 from me
But if you want tyres that are very good all year around, and give very good life then the Dunlops Sportsmarts have been the reason why i changed my mind after a few years
ive got the qualifiers on too.....AND THEY SUK ARSE! cant wait to put some bridgestones on (money willing)
Had a few pairs of Qualifiers an not had any problems doing fast road an trackdays , Tyres did not last long .
I had em on my Big Bang R1 and it ripped em to bits, did nowt but spin back wheel up, think they were standard on that, replaced em with Pirelli BSB's, and im running same on the Blade, great in dry but poor in the wet, i love em but tyres are a personal thing, you'll get a different answer from most people you speak to. If longevity is important then give Bridgestone S20's a go, good grip and good all rounder. Pernonall, i like the 50 profile of the Pirelli, slightly taller so a greater contact patch in corners. I've also run K'tecs but keep going back to BSB's, what ever gives you the most confidence?
I love the Michelin 2CT power pures i've got on my bike at the moment but I think I'll give the Dunlop sportsmarts a go next as they seem to be the most popular tyre around for litre fast road/track tyres and I've not heard anyone have bad word to say about them.
Thought the sportsmarts were awesome but a little unstable when taking liberties on the road? Maybe just me but rear was a little unstable cranked over and winding the power on? Front no real issues and great life and wear rate.... But that's my only gripe.
I don't mind the rear moving a little, I think it comes from years of enduro riding on beat up old Army Harley Davidson's.
I found the limit of the sport smarts at Anglesey and almost high sided. both front and rear slid BUT I was cracked right over and put too much power on when lent right over. other than that found them to be great, and may I again the only reason I have gone to GP211's is that I intend more trackdays and less touring in 2013. So more interested in grip and I'm happy if I get through a rear in a weekend
Qualifiers are pure shite, new ones were fitted to the 1098 when i bought it they have been removed for the interacts after the ride home ! Front is dangerous, back lasted me 800 miles on the blade worst tyre I have used ever
Go for Dunlop Sportsmarts have them on mine and they are awesome. Had Bridgestones on my last bike and they were crap had them on other bikes in the past and always changed for Dunlops. You will find that tyres are a personal choice so it is what ever you feel more confident with.
What bridgestones you have, had bt016 pros and they are decent, bt23's are meant to be epic in all conditions(and used at Ron haslam race school) Just had s20's fitted to mine but not used the bike yet so jury is out. I've tried most brands, some good some bad by all manufacturers. Qualifiers are shocking, sportsmarts are great.... More often than not you get what ££££ for! Have to try them and see how you get on with them as its personal as said. Personally though if you go for a flagship hypersport tyre from any manufacturer you can't go far wrong IMO....
They were BT014's on my GSXR750 K5 I had before the blade. I forgot to mention I have Dunlop Qualifiers on my track YZF750 and they are really good. Maybe they don't get hot enough on the road to work properly.
Would love to know how you rate the S20 after you've tried them, I Loved bridgestones BT016 on my last blade, but find my funds tight so am toying with a longer lasting tyre (S20?)
Thanks for the info guys. I've decided, based on feedback here and elsewhere to ditch and switch. The most likely candidate to replace with will be the Sportmax Sportsmart. Anyone know of any bargains out there at the moment?
went out the other day - 1st ride so took it easy!! was wet in the morning and damp on way home, in wet had no issues and was playing with the power to see if the rear had any give in them - didnt move at all. in the damp they were brilliant once i was more confident i had at least 50 miles in them, couldnt fault at all (was in a rush too as had to get home). cant wait to try next now scrubbed in and on dry roads. i'll keep you posted. dont think you will get much more life in them compared to the 16's.... if it's life you want, try the bt023's - my mate swears by them, was getting 7k from a rear (he dont hang around) awesome wet weather and dry performance, done track days on them and all sorts. they have gone back to these on the Ron Haslam race school also as the s20's were brilliant in dry but not as good in wet but they were gettign through too many of them and they felt the 23's were good enough??
