got a nail in my rear tire

[neek]

I guess, at least, now I don't have to go back and forth in my head about swapping out the stock tire.

I have an '02 ZX6R with a 180 on it and I'm planning on staying with that size. I was just wondering what brands you guys like as I haven't heard a ton on the subject. My buddy at the shop had mentioned a dunlop qualifier. Any suggestions from the crew here on what I should go with?


Thanks in advance...

[Billy]

I was thinking about upgrading the stock tires on my bike as well. I've seen/read a lot of awesome reviews on the qualifers. But for some reason a lot of people on this forum seem to like the Pilot Powers from reading previous posts.

I'm guessing its because the Pilot Powers have been around longer so it's been proven to be a worthy tire where as the qualifer hasnt been around that long.

[neek]

i hear ya. what should i be looking to get (ballpark) out of a new tire as far as miles go? someone said i'd get about 3k out of this tire and i was thinking i s/b getting more?

[Billy]

I'm not too sure what the accepted range is for tires. All I know is when you put new tires on your bike you want to take it very easy on the first couple hundred miles because the tires can be slippery.

[neek]

cool... thanks for the info, bud.

i'll post once i'm on the new one for awhile and let everyone know what i think of it...

[OreoGaborio]

i've got an '00 zx6r, pretty much the same exact bike as yours. At the moment i've got some DOT race tires on there, but only cuz i had it down at VIR and have been doing some serious trackdays w/ it.

Prior to that, for street and track, I had the original Dunlop 207's. then the Metzler sportec M1's and finally the Pilot Powers, .... the 207's SUCKED, the M1's were a huge improvment but got kinda greasy on the track on hot days and the Powers were even tons better than the M1's.

Of the tires i've ridden on the street, i'd definitely go w/ the Powers, however i've heard good things about the Dunlop qualifiers as well as the Pirrelli Diablo Corsas

[LiononaLeash]

+1 on Pilot Power. I got 6500 miles out of a set(inclding 1 trackday). They still had a little bit left to them, but I replaced tehm anyway.

I'm interested in the durability of the qualifiers since from what I read they deleiver on grip in varying conditions.

They are a little cheaper than the PP's. But I don't care about that, especially if they don't hold up as good.

I think the Powers have been around long enough to where people have a good idea of what they are now. Probably by this fall we'll have a good idea about these new qualifiers too.

[richw]

Well I ordered Qualifiers

tirexpress pair deal 120/190 puls shipping $261

Gixer eats rears on my 2nd bt014 190 at 5K.

Will not last another month, front is cupped some. I really don't expect to notice much difference and they were like 30 over replacing the bt014 set.

BUt I do think that Dunlop has sucked Michellins exhaust for too long not to come up with a competitive / better tire. Pilot Powers are on the end of their product cycle so a new round will appear as soon as they lose some volume to others.

Psst I don't think you can buy a bad tire from the top manufacturers

[LiononaLeash]

How long is a product cycle for these things anyway? a couple of years?

[Karaya One]

Originally posted by richw
Well I ordered Qualifiers

tirexpress pair deal 120/190 puls shipping $261

Gixer eats rears on my 2nd bt014 190 at 5K.

Will not last another month, front is cupped some. I really don't expect to notice much difference and they were like 30 over replacing the bt014 set.

BUt I do think that Dunlop has sucked Michellins exhaust for too long not to come up with a competitive / better tire. Pilot Powers are on the end of their product cycle so a new round will appear as soon as they lose some volume to others.

Psst I don't think you can buy a bad tire from the top manufacturers

You will see the Pilot Power 2CT by Spring 2007.

[ZX-12R]

Originally posted by OreoGaborio
Of the tires i've ridden on the street, i'd definitely go w/ the Powers, however i've heard good things about the Dunlop qualifiers as well as the Pirrelli Diablo Corsas

Can't comment on the qualifiers but both the Pilot Power and the Diablo Corsas are outstanding tires. I've used Corsas for the past 3 sets of tires and just recently decided to try out Pilot Powers. Both have great grip and an excellent profile.

The one thing that unsettled me a bit about the Powers is I have managed to break them loose twice while exiting a corner under power. It is hard to say if I am pushing them harder than the Corsas but the Perellis never broke loose unless I did it on purpose. On the plus side, the Powers slid in a very controlled manner and once I got past the "whoa shit" initial reaction, it was pretty easy to recover.

[black]

Want to sell the stock tires?? i'll give you a few bucks for them

[Jenks]

+1 more for PP I got 190/50 for 150 shipped, I think the 180 is going for 130

[Awesome]

What kind of tire was on it that got a nail in it? Does it still have good tread on it? Where can I pick it up?

KB

[Awesome]

Hmmm Jay stayed logged in again!!!!

KB

[neek]

the tire that's got the nail has plenty of tread. it's a dunlop tire, but the name escapes me right now. i can check when i get home.

[Jenks]

haha oh and welcome to the nail club. Thank god my thread is gone so I needed a new tire anyway... still sucks though

[Rye]

I've got a Michelin Pilot Race DOT for sale. 2 Gen. old but has been stored properly. 180/55 and 95% tread <500 miles. Taken off a 916 that the guy wanted to have street DOT's. $40 and you pick it up. I'll mount and balance it for $10 with wheel off the bike. $15 on.

[mikem317]

Ouch.

If you're keeping the front tire, I'd get the matching rear. I've heard weird things might happen if different brands and compounds are used.

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by mikem317
I've heard weird things might happen if different brands and compounds are used.

I haven't... i've only heard of people who have heard of things that might happen. I used to say the same thing though.

Obviously doing things right would entail getting matching front & rear... but if you're just street riding i don't think it's too much of a risk.

[mikem317]

Originally posted by OreoGaborio

Obviously doing things right would entail getting matching front & rear... but if you're just street riding i don't think it's too much of a risk.

Unless you ride on the street as if it were a track.

[OreoGaborio]

no one here does that.... we're all responsible riders

[mikem317]

This thread reminds me. I need to get some new shoes for my bike. Damnit!