07 Ninja 650R
I'll be replacing both tires soon, and for many years have been using the pilot Road 2's. The price was increasing, so I saved a few dollars on the Pirelli version, but didn't hold up as well. I'm considering to go back to the R4's now. I've had the Shinko 009 Ravens, and rears wore fast, and the front's tread pattern was awful esp. on metal bridges. I'm not sure if there's anything else I should try. I don't do track days, Just street riding, but like to semi aggressive corner well and like the way 2 compound tire ware. The PR's are getting expensive. Any suggestions?
I have experience with Dunlop's SportSmart I and II and I totally recommend them.
They are suited for sport and track riding of course but if you ever had traction related issues with the tires you mentioned above, they absolutely worth the extra $$$.
I have had Pilot powers on my old ZX6R and Pilot Road 4 on my ZX10R. I feel like Pilot Road 4 are a lot more reliable and have awesome wet traction. Pilot powers also wear more much faster. Can't say much about cornering hard, but mid part of Pilot Powers wears much faster than Pilot Roads.
Well. I ordered the Dunlop Roadsmart 2 rear tire. The fronts are on backorder @ most warehouses till early April. Hopefully this a great tire and will order the front when available.
You already pulled the trigger on the rear, but next time around, when it is time for a new set ........ have you tried the Dunlop Q3's? I used a few sets for track days last year on my ZX-6R and was amazed at the amount of grip that they provided. I could run within 1.5 seconds of the following day's novice race winners, and I am old and fat. I do not use tire warmers either.
I bought the Roadsmart 2 rear to get some of the tributes to a track tire w/ longer life according to the specs and reviews. I was recommended to use a Dunlop Q3 in front to compensate for faster rear wear and change both at same time. I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I change and balance tires myself. HR...
Hi there, I said it before and I will say it again, mixing and matching different tires doesn't make sense to me nowadays.
A huge part of the money we pay for tires today compensates for research and development. Look at all the tire presentations, no matter which category the tires are always conceived, researched and developed as pairs working together in unison.
By not using them in the way they were developed we throw all the R&D part away and we end up paying more and getting less out of our purchase.
I 've never had assymetrical wear problems and I don't think I should ever worry about it on a featherweight 72hp bike despite always using supersoft track oriented sport tires. So stop experimenting and instead get the full benefits of a properly developed set of tires next time!
I have heard nothing but good things about the PR4's, but I am interested in trying the Q3's out myself. Does anyone have comparisons in wear rate between Q3's, PP3 and PR4's? Those would be my top 3 choices for a street or street & track bike.
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