Kawasaki Motorcycle Forums banner

Just put dunlop qualifiers on my 06 zx6r and am concerned

2K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  vandelden21 
#1 ·
About a week ago someone slashed my rear tire so the bikes been down for awhile now I was looking all over for a decent rear tire that wouldnt break the bank and would last. Than i noticed my front is about toast which was weird the stock tires only lasted 4500 miles :confused: So i found edr performance they told me they had a few used tires laying around the shop and could hook me up so I figured i'd go look. They had some mix and match ones that i wasnt to thrilled about since I couldnt recall hearing anything about them. So i picked out a set of dunlop qualifiers 100$ for the set felt like i was getting a steal.

Drove back to vancouver dropped my bike off at pro caliber and had them do the work. Went back to pick it up a few hours ago and idk if its because I rode it for a mile to get it home with a flat back tire and got the feel for it or if these tires are just garbage.

After crusing a bit i started to lean a little it felt like the front tire was trying to wash out on me? Never actually skided or anything it just felt wrong.

Same goes for the rear.

Is this a normal feeling or should I pay a close eye on how hard I ride with these tires till after the holidays and can afford new tires.

Also please put knowledgeable .02 down I dont want a huge debate between tire brands I just want to know if i'm being paranoid
Thanks

Joe
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Aren't the qualifiers their race tires?

You're going to want to heat those up hot before you start doing silly things. Hard accelerate and hard brake, like WOT and max for a bit before you start tipping it in for real and see what happens.

If you aren't picking up rocks and gravel at parking lot speeds you're not hot enough.
 
#4 ·
Qualifiers ARE garbage, but the average rider won't really be using them to anywhere near their limits so that's not a real concern. The Qualifiers are Dunlops old model re-released to better compete price wise with Shinko

(Dunlop's current DOT race tires are D211GP and GP-A)

OP, I would wager your problem is caused by a few things;
-You're not used to the tire yet
-Over inflation
-Not enough heat in the tire
-Not enough experience to truly feel what's going on at the contact patch.
 
#5 · (Edited)
The qualifiers are also Oem tires on a few bikes. I know my 07 cbr came stock with qualifiers. They weren't very good, but they weren't all that bad either. The rear tended to get greasy when it was hot, and in the rain they sucked, but I didn't care.

Idk how much BS is it is. But I have been told and read that the if you were to buy a set of the same tires that came as oe on your bike, you would feel a difference and they would last longer. Idk if I believe it at all, kind of like everyone says the stuff companies make for walmart is cheaper than the stuff they sell to other distributors. Some things that is true but most it is not.
 
#6 ·
Have run the NON OEM Qualifiers before like 4 years ago on my 636 on track and not any real issues but they were brand new, i am guessing the tires you picked up were OEM and have been sitting for some time.
So you are very possibly feeling a hard as shit tire, also check air pressure... Wish i knew you needed some tires i have at least one spare set (800-1000 miles left in them super corsa Pro SP's) won't be using them, and would of gave them to you for free...

BUt anytime you plan on being around Portland, hit me up i am down in salem and looking for track & riding buddies.
 
#10 · (Edited)
They were on the bike when I bought it brand new in 07 so probably a little over a year old, as I bought the bike in November of 07. Just sold it about 6months ago.... shouldn't have done that, but so is life. Now I got another Kawi. So its all good.
I live in Florida by the way so you won't be seeing me anytime soon. If you were talking to me. Maybe one day, when I can afford to travel.

I've been a Michelin man ever since. I'm slow so the pilot road 1,2,3's are favorite, long lasting and GREAT for rain.
 
#8 ·
So when I first posted this I went and checked the tire pressure pro caliber put them at 35 front and 48 rear. I dropped them down to 30 each and it tracks much better. But the front still feels like it wants to drop now not so much as slide out but it seems like it wants to lean farther than it used to while doing the exact same thing. Which i'm not complaining about it just freaked me out at first.

thanks for all the replys!

Joe

If anyone is in the vancouver/portland area and wants to ride let me know i'm always looking for more people to ride with!
 
#9 ·
So when I first posted this I went and checked the tire pressure pro caliber put them at 35 front and 48 rear. I dropped them down to 30 each and it tracks much better. But the front still feels like it wants to drop now not so much as slide out but it seems like it wants to lean farther than it used to while doing the exact same thing. Which i'm not complaining about it just freaked me out at first.

thanks for all the replys!

Joe

If anyone is in the vancouver/portland area and wants to ride let me know i'm always looking for more people to ride with!
That's a new vs old tire for you.
 
#12 ·
Hey JOE, will be up there more than enough in the coming months... trackdays start up again in APRIL and i will be at every motocorsa trackday as well as the euro days.

But for sure looking to hit up MT ST Helens, and if you want we can run down to Grants pass and some of the other amazing Oregon roads...
Be sure ot have some tires you feel comfortable on though, as being in the middle of nowhere is not someplace you want to be crashing due to shit tires.
 
#13 ·
Im glad you said that I've been looking for someone to ride down to grants pass with almost went down there for thanks giving if the pass wasn't so close to freezing.
Let me know when you want to go ride.

Sent from my LG-E739 using Motorcycle.com Free App
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top