Which Tires???

[FISHGUY]

What Is Everyone Thinking About Tires? I'm Looking At Michelin And Dunlop But Curious What Everyone Else Thinks. I know that it's a Touchy Subject....Thanks Eric

[SB1]

Uh, I vote Michelin.
Completely unbiased opinion!

SB Motorsports (Your friendly Michelin race tire distributor!)

[Steve]

Uh, I vote Michelin.
Completely unbiased opinion!

SB Motorsports (Your friendly Michelin race tire distributor!)

+1. I love the Michelin's...

[FISHGUY]

Thanks guys and very funny SB...Lets keep the comments coming. I love to here opinions about bike stuff and I'm sure other people will to..Thanks again
Eric

[justintime2]

I will be trying the Metzeler Racetec K2's as I run the M1 Sportec on my Busa and am impressed.

[bikerscum]

I like the Supercorsas cuz SB doesn't sell them anymore. And I like to feel fast by sliding all over the place. w00t! :cool:

[skidmarx]

Eric - what bike you running?

We run Dunlops (slicks) - I like the feel, and when they slide, I like the way they hook back up.

[FISHGUY]

Eric - what bike you running?

We run Dunlops (slicks) - I like the feel, and when they slide, I like the way they hook back up.


Bike for this year and hopfully next will be an 04 Gix 6.....Why? Better tires for different bikes...??? E-Rock

[skidmarx]

I was mainly just curious about whether or not it was a mainstream SS or something like an SV. If you're still a novice, it's a good time to play with tires to figure out what you like - even try out some slicks. Like I said earlier, we use slicks on our SV because it's an edurance bike. I tried some 209 GPs (soft front, med rear) on my street R1 for a Spokane track day, and really liked them. But I didn't push them near as hard as if I was in a race...

[FISHGUY]

I was mainly just curious about whether or not it was a mainstream SS or something like an SV. If you're still a novice, it's a good time to play with tires to figure out what you like - even try out some slicks. Like I said earlier, we use slicks on our SV because it's an edurance bike. I tried some 209 GPs (soft front, med rear) on my street R1 for a Spokane track day, and really liked them. But I didn't push them near as hard as if I was in a race...

SM
Arent slicks only usable in certain classes, such as 600 SB? I guess that they could be used for practice, but why for practice if you cant run them for the races? And what's the cost difference from dot to slicks? Thanks E-rock

[FISHGUY]

So apparently there's only about 16 people useing tires this coming season, everyone else must be so good that they just use bare rims....Would love to see more responces to the poll...Thanks Eric

[timk]

Well then, since you're begging for replies I will go ahead and share my rather useless opinion. ;)

I started on Dunlops on my SV because that's what all my friends were using.
I liked 'em ok.

When I switched from the SV to my 1991 Bimota Dieci in 2004, I switched to Michelins for two reasons:
1) Dunlop had stopped supplying 180 slicks, and even though the 190 (or were they 195?) superbike slicks fit great on the Dieci's 6" wide rear rim, they were too big to fit in the narrow-and-short-by-modern-standards swingarm. (This issue went away when Dunlop started supplying 180 slicks again.)
2) When my bike was originally raced by Dale Quarterly and the Human Race Team in 1991 they used Michelins, and I wanted the bike to look as much as possible like it had back then -- right down to the sponsor stickers. (Switched from DID to RK chain for the same reason, but drew the line at Bieffe helmets. :rolleyes: )
I liked 'em ok, although they did scare me a couple times by stepping out rather abruptly on the rare occasion that I got on the gas too hard too early.

Finding myself near the front of the class semi-regularly, I decided to switch to Pirelli for 2005 because they offered contingency money in my cherrypicker class while Michelin didn't.
I liked 'em ok. They broke loose more progressively than the Michelins and so weren't quite as scary.

This year I'm going to race my Bimota SB8R instead of my Dieci, and I don't expect to be anywhere near the podium in the classes where that bike runs, so contingency money is no longer a factor.

I'll probably give the new Michelin slicks a try because I've heard that they use a whole new technology which is supposed to be a huge improvement over what they used to build -- quicker to warm up and more progressive when breaking loose. We'll see when (or if?) I twist the throttle hard enough on the SB8 to actually break them loose...

I guess the bottom line is that I'm just too slow to really notice much difference between various tire brands. :o

See, I told you it would be a rather useless opinion...

[FISHGUY]

Skid, see last post on page 1...Thanks

E-rock

[FISHGUY]

Tim, thanks for the info. It's all good and opinion is always good to hear..

Thanks again
E-

[kaneohekid]

SM
Arent slicks only usable in certain classes, such as 600 SB? I guess that they could be used for practice, but why for practice if you cant run them for the races? And what's the cost difference from dot to slicks? Thanks E-rock


If you race novice you can use slicks or DOT's, but skidmarx is right... novice is the time to develop a taste for a tire you like so try differnt brands. As far as cost, it don't matter, they're all expensive :)

[skidmarx]

As far as cost, it don't matter, they're all expensive :)
DOT racing tires and slicks actually are about the same price. When you graduate, and start running expert SuperSport classes, you'll need to run DOT tires. The Dunlop 209GPs are awesome, but so is most of the premium rubber - that's why I say try 'em all out. ;)

[AGWIN]

Tires A Very Subjective, I Can Say That The Pirelli's Worked Best On My '04 Gsxr600. Find What Works Best For You And Your Bike. They Are All Good. As You Get Faster You Also Have To Think About Contingency $, Some Pay More $, More Classes, And More Places. Every Little Bit Helps. Also Track Service, I Have So Say Josh With Pirelli Has Been Most Helpful The Last Couple Of Years.

Aaron Gwin#204

[xlsr954]

Uh, I vote Michelin.
Completely unbiased opinion!

SB Motorsports (Your friendly Michelin race tire distributor!)

I see the poll now shows Michelin with the most votes.
OK Rick.........only one vote per person!

Rich

[FISHGUY]

As You Get Faster You Also Have To Think About Contingency $, Some Pay More $, More Classes, And More Places. Every Little Bit Helps. Also Track Service!

Aaron Gwin#204

Hay guys, thanks for all the feedback....I love it...Is everyone more concerned about tire feedback,ride and feel or the contingency that they're getting back from the companies? Just curious if someone has stepped away from a tire they liked more to go with a tire company that pays out more????????????????????????

E-rock

[gazman]

I just bought quliafers, the new dunlo tire. Sinice this is my first year racing, I went with some tires that would last me longer

[bikerscum]

Hmm - regarding the Qs - while a nice combo for street/track day guys, I'd suggest a DOT race. I'm slow, so mine have lasted me plenty. Cheap insurance.

I'll be on the green ZX-10R for novice this year. If you are running the Qs come race time, please con't come underneath me. :)

//bikerscum

[Darkside]

Problem with running Race Dots is that if you aren't getting enough heat into them, IE running fast hard laps then they are actually worse then running a trackday/street tire. I know I did my first 4 races on Pilot Powers with a best time of 1:41 with no issues with them. Of couse this is just my opnion and I reserve he right to change it at any time.

[Blew-Smoke]

I would agree with Darkside, I ran Pilot Powers on my R1 in my novice season and thought they were a great tire, make a pretty good intermediate in damp conditons as well. I am not sure about DOT race rubber these days as the last ones I used were the Pilot Race which have been superceded by the Power Race. However slicks definately need heat in them before they work properly, and I would go as far as recommending warmers if your running them.

[FISHGUY]

Well maybe I'll just start with the 3 sets of Dunlop 208 DOT streets that I already have and then go from there? Who knows???

[gazman]

look at the new quilaifer. I just bought some for my race bike. I read that they wear just as fast as using them on the street and they use all the qualities of a race tire into a street tire. The sound good so I'll let u know how well they perform at the track