dunlops for the street

[SVRACER01]

Ive always been a dunlop guy. when i lived in AZ i used them both on the street and track. i learned that even in AZ if the pavement temps were "chilly", the tires would slide for at least a few miles. just meant i could leave cool little darkies exiting my neighborhood on my little SV. as a point of reference the dunlops then were 207/208s.
when i moved back here i switched to michelins for the street. they seemed to grip well no matter the temp. so ive been running michelins on the SV1k, GSXR750 and now the KTM.
i started with some PP 2cts on the KTM and got about 5k out of the rear and not much more out of the front. i then switched to Road 2s (2ct) front and rear. they work very well but again, only marginally better out of the rear (maybe 6k) and the wear bars are starting to show. the front is much better and i think i can another season out of it if i wanted.
ive been told that dunlops are much better now with colder temps and dont slide like they used to. my tire vendor is having a huge sale on dunlops right now and im thinking about snagging a pair of something to have come springtime. ive got the Q2, Q3 and roadsmart on my radar. my concern is getting something that is gonna move around unpredictably on colder pavement. if dunlops still do what they used to then i may either do another road 2 or try a road 3

[Tricky Mike]

I ran Q2s on the 848 for both street and track and really liked them. I tend to take it easy in the cold and never had any issues. Hard to talk mileage since they always saw trackdays too...
I've mounted tons of Roadsmarts for peeps, some on the 2nd and 3rd sets. Lots of great reviews there too.

[Lucas]

I've been happy with the Q2s on my monster. Plus, if you look around, you can get some really good deals on them.

[SVRACER01]

I've been happy with the Q2s on my monster. Plus, if you look around, you can get some really good deals on them.

no need to look too far. my tire vendor is offering quite the deal right now. tough to pass up.
it would be nice if i could get more than 1 season out of a rear tire.

[Falko]

Hmmm, wanna pass that "vendor" information along? Baby needs some new shoes...

[Pigman]

Buy some colored shiko's.................DOPE

[SVRACER01]

parts unlimited. youre gonna need an "in" with someone at a shop though to get you the deal. the sale is on dealer cost, which in turn would mean a higher profit margin for the dealer. since i work at a dealer i obviously get the discount

[SVRACER01]

Buy some colored shiko's.................DOPE

maybe i can get tomahawk to make me some half orange half black ones to match my wheels lol

[xsiliconkid]

It would be interesting to know the manufacture date stamp on the tires (usually 4 digits- first two=week of manufacturer, last two=year)... I heard a rumor Dunlop is off loading a lot of quite old(er) inventory at discounted prices...

Would it be an issue? -
- probably not for the street
- fast track-days/racing - maybe to yes.
Would be nice to confirm of deny that rumor.

[SVRACER01]

i wouldnt know until they showed up. PU is discounting just about every brand. dunlop just has the highest discount

[TheIglu]

I might want a set for the jiksor. Let me know the pricing on a set of Q3's.....

[nhbubba]

I do not have a lot of experience with a lot of different tire makes and models. But thus far I have not been impressed with my Q2's on my track toy. Meanwhile I have run Pilot Road 2's and 3's on my street bike and am happy as can be.

[Tricky Mike]

What didn't you like? Just curious...

[SVRACER01]

I might want a set for the jiksor. Let me know the pricing on a set of Q3's.....

like i said, its a dealer discount so i cant really help anyone out one here though i wish i could. apparently the deal has been going all month. ends on the 30th. so if anyone has a parts manager that likes them and is willing to extend a really good discount, go see them soon.

[CBR929RE]

I hated 207/208s. actually got rid of a 208 that came nearly new on a bike within a few hundred miles. Rode an RC30 with Roadsmarts and damn if I wasn't impressed. sure it was the end of June at a track day but no tire warmers. knee down, scraping pegs within a lap. I'd think about them if I had a street bike.

[nhbubba]

What didn't you like? Just curious...

Not as confident as I am accustomed to in the wet and very abrupt traction loss when cold.*

* Footnote this by saying I am far from a super experienced track rider. Both of my crashes while riding Q2's were likely largely due to rider error. And comparing to my street bike at street pace is a real apples to oranges ordeal. But I've never had these problems on my Road 2's and 3's. I have to believe I'm making similar mistakes on the street. In my opinion the Roads are superb in the rain and predictable when cold. They simply don't give me much reason to look elsewhere.

I'm strongly considering some Pilot Powers for my next set for the track-toy.

[maxim_X]

Pilot powers are on a completely different level than q2s. Not in a good way. Q2/3s are known to be hands down the best track/street tire available. Pirrelli has some close though.

[nhbubba]

Interesting. It's possible the tires really are the bees knees and my issues are entirely rider related. ... I am working on that.

I wouldn't put them on my street bike though, even if they made the right size. (They don't.)

[sdog30]

Hey Ox,

Your going to be screwed on the rear tire no matter what you get. I was told the torque on the 690 just eats them. I blew through a pilot road 2 like it was a regular pilot power (3k miles?) on my Duke when I had it.

I know they were promoting the q3s like crazy, so if the price is close or the same, I would go with them. Since they came out this year, you'll know the date stamp is newer. The good thing about Dunlops is the slide is more consistent than Michelin, too.

[sdog30]

Interesting. It's possible the tires really are the bees knees and my issues are entirely rider related. ... I am working on that.

I wouldn't put them on my street bike though, even if they made the right size. (They don't.)

Pilot powers suck... bad on the track.

Like really bad. That's what I used when I first started off riding on the track. They have a tenancy of getting greezy when you push them a little and will just let go with no warning when you hit there threshold.

At least go with a Pure if your going that direction or even a power one. Although I noticed a huge improvement in grip when I switched to the N- Tec