Pirrelli or Dunlop ?

[tmaker]

ok..maybe there is a thread already... but maybe also to start a HOT discussion.hopefully not. lol...

my Steed is SUPPOSEDLY ready - ( thai style - i no sure when can pinish... lol )

well, based on schedule - it is TODAY. but i been following up , guess it'll take another 10 yr ?

cos the whole engine and the frame is still untouched. only the tank and those paint/chrome job are removed.

ok ok... back to the question ..

have not ordered the tyres yet.

Pirrelli or Dunlop ?

thks !!!

( this thread is to at least cheer me up ... dang ...)

[ll2]

pirelli.

[rambling]

Michelin ;-)

[greg71]

Pirelli

[macknife]

Pirelli

[ktm jeff]

Dunlop road smart - quick riding, street smart - higher mileage.

[Beardog]

Pirelli by a long shot. Having had the stock Dunlop road smart on my Kawasaki 650 It was the most hateful tire I ever owned They just do not adhere to the road well & whats worse they last forever so you get a long lasting shit tire that may kill you when you are on it hard.

Ktm Jeff try popping a wheelie on those tires your ass end slides back & forth & you almost dump the ride. Worthless tire. Pirelli all the way!

[ktm jeff]

Sorry my mistake - the SPORT Smart are the softer ones , the ROAD Smart the more touring ones . The "Street" name was my mistake. Beardog , i go on your word as i havent used these tires myself , but have heard some very good (secondhand) reports on them. That was the Sport Smart though , not the harder/higher milage RoadSmart. On my RSV i use Pirelli super corsa pro , but they dont last too long and i use a harder tire for touring.

[maamoot]

Had the stock Dunlop on my ER-6N , nasty tire , switched to Pirelli . Would never go back to Dunlop again .

[Beardog]

Sorry my mistake - the SPORT Smart are the softer ones , the ROAD Smart the more touring ones . The "Street" name was my mistake. Beardog , i go on your word as i havent used these tires myself , but have heard some very good (secondhand) reports on them. That was the Sport Smart though , not the harder/higher milage RoadSmart. On my RSV i use Pirelli super corsa pro , but they dont last too long and i use a harder tire for touring.

Dunlop in the world of bike & auto tires is nearly non existent. Pirelli Angels are wonderful sticky ass tires that get high mileage. They could have stripped all the dunlops off of the Kawis & burned them up in the 2010 minor coop in BKK. If they were just a little heavier they would be a great tire barrier on any race track!

After having the road smarts they lost my business forever. I doubt you can find anyone that will vouch for Dunlops. A waste of good money. Michelin makes some great tires on their top end also. Save your money for another brand. The Dunlop line is a dog with fleas for sure.

[Nickymaster]

[JonnyF]

[MAZ3]

Em,which rubber to use?

[Poppy Dave]

Michelin ;-)

Been riding for 50 years and in that time I've just about tried them all. In the last few years I've discovered the Michelin PR (Pilot Road) range.

I live in Western Australia and the roads can get very hot and also very wet, not unlike Thailand. I'm currently running PR3's on a Honda ST1300 and they are, without doubt the best tyre I've EVER used for grip in wet and dry conditions and for longevity. I've heard from other riders that the PR4's are even better.

Highly recommended.

[Beardog]

Thats one thing you never find at a Dunlop shop Pirellis always throw down the race babes.

[ttakata]

Based on the photos Pirelli of course.

I had Pirelli knobbies for dual sport before and even those stuck to the road very well.

I did have the Dunlop TT900 on my scooter and it was impossible to skid them.

Both top tier tires are probably great but you may as well support the company with the favorable marketing.

[ktm jeff]

Come on Beardog , give us an opinion !!! LOL. Im supprised you and others had problems with the Dunlops as your 650 isnt the most powerfull bike out there - please no offence meant , its a great bike and far better than the Honda 650 , but hardly has 180 BHP to trouble the tires. Maybe the OE ones are different as the reports i read were good. Just goes to show even a journalists opinion may not match your experience. With good choice of brands now theres no need to accept poor quality.Michelin is very good - AC 10 my choice for road legal (England) enduro tires. ttakata , love the PC correct expression "favorable marketing". Lady (of the 4)on the right gets my vote.

Edited November 6, 2014 by ktm jeff

[ll2]

Come on Beardog , give us an opinion !!! LOL. Im supprised you and others had problems with the Dunlops as your 650 isnt the most powerfull bike out there - please no offence meant , its a great bike and far better than the Honda 650 , but hardly has 180 BHP to trouble the tires. Maybe the OE ones are different as the reports i read were good. Just goes to show even a journalists opinion may not match your experience. With good choice of brands now theres no need to accept poor quality.Michelin is very good - AC 10 my choice for road legal (England) enduro tires. ttakata , love the PC correct expression "favorable marketing". Lady (of the 4)on the right gets my vote.

Stock dunlops road smarts and street smarts whatever are s.....hite. 30 hp or 300 hp. It is not about hp. They slide and does not give any confidence during cornering, WOT and braking as much as pirellis of course.

Pirelli is a far better tire brand than dunlop. Both r&d and tech.

Edited November 6, 2014 by ll2

[ktm jeff]

It seems many dislike the Dunlops. There are Sport smart and Road smart - the Street name was my mistake. Plenty of choice nowadays. As with bikes. No need to buy anything you hear poor reports about.

[Loptr]

Depends on the type of riding you are going to do, performance vs daily riding

Pirelli = softer tire compound, shorter lifespan, more performance, great tire

Dunlop = harder compound, lasts longer, less performance, good tire

[rambling]

Here are some tire tests for you to consider from the German Motorrad magazine.

Sport/Track day tires: http://www.motorradonline.de/motorradreifen/sportreifen-im-reifentest-2013-die-endwertung/459008?seite=13

Touring/Commuting tires: http://www.motorradonline.de/motorradreifen/motorrad-tourenreifen-12070-zr-17-und-18055-zr-17-im-test-endwertung/553628?seite=12

The Dunlops generally did not score as well as the Pirelli but surprisingly not that far off behind them.

Edited November 6, 2014 by rambling

[liddelljohn]

A lot of anti Dunlop info on here , stock Contract roadsmarts are not the same as aftermarket roadsmarts , I run Dunlop Q2 on my ducati monster 900 and 750ss they are excellent ,, i also used pirelli diablo corsa 2s on my Ducati S4r

but due to some issues with grip on bumby thai roads switched to Michelin pilot road 3s which are so far excellent ,

My track bike a Gsxr 600 has Prelli diablo rosso corsa 2 on and they are excellent

Edited November 6, 2014 by liddelljohn

[krbkk]

for my Harley Davidson, Pirelli is the better one

and

from Pirelli Dealer you get a waranty of 5 years

[powdermonkey]

Tyres are a funny thing, can behave differently depending on rider style and also on type of bike. Different brands also have a different profile so even the same size tyre/compund from one brand can feel completely different from the next.

For example: my previous 955i had Michelin PR2 front/rear and performed quite well across dry and wet conditons although steering was a little slow. Changed to Michelin Power ones and the steering quickened up a lot to the point that the you only had to think about the turn and the bike tipped in. For me personally, I didn't really like the sudden tipping but a mate who raced bikes loved the feeling. After the Power ones I tried Pirellis and they suited the bike/my riding style the best.

FWIW - You really can't go wrong if you get a top tier trye from any of the brands (including Dunlop, Pirelli, Michelin, Metzler etc). Comes down to what purpose (sticky not good for wet conditions or more touring harder wearing) you want them for and personal preferance.

[Beardog]

I have owned quite a few bikes from Haybusa's to Indian ,Harley's, Ducati's Vmax Honda Vtx Voyager, Goldwings & a 1/2 dozen 1000+liter Kawi's, 750 Honda's some 900's I used continentals for a while. They were pretty decent in the 2000's . I have not had them up here & they are not to popular now. It is just the fact that you ask 100 riders here & 90 will be using Pirelli's .They just are the hot ticket now.The Michelin top end tires are great. Battle axes also rate but are not to popular in Thailand.I have had metlers & they preformed well. Just personal preference. Like Powdermonkey just posted, it also depends on the type of bike & how you intend to ride it.

I like a tire that sticks like glue to the road. With the harder compound used as 112 has said it just does not give you the confidence of the Pirreli's.At 170 KPH I almost flew off the road & down the embankment with the Dunlops. The same speed both my Pirelli Diablo 2 's & Angels never walked an inch & hung to the road with no sliding issues. When it comes to bikes & bike safety the Manufacturers only get 1 chance with me. If they don't hang they don't ever get a second chance. At the price of the road smarts (pretty much the same as the Pirelli Diablo 2's they should be somewhere around equal. In My opinion & it is only my opinion Dunlops line either needs to be 1/2 the price or they need to only produce auto & truck tires where 4 wheels are not anywhere near as critical as 2 tires on a bike.

And as for Kawi being better than Honda...... I do like both. They are both very nice rides & both have their differences & both are wonderful to own & ride. Neither require lots of maintenance in the newer rides. Now if I was into drifting with a set of Dunlops they may be better as they love to slide out instead of hold the line. But trust me I am far the expert on tires. I just know what I do like & dislike. On a scooter it would not be critical but at over 130 KPH I want to feel confident & that is my main concern.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Beardog

[tmaker]

sigh.....................................

thai style....................

actual finished date , 28th of last month....cannot finish... OR RATHER NOTHING STARTED.

then PROMISED 5th this month..

then, again PROMISED 10 TH.

went there just now...

almost fainted.

same as usual.. NOTHING STARTED.

STILL GOT THE CHEEK TO SAY ...SURE...SURE CAN !!!

[robblok]

That is the problem with buying a chopper that is not made in Thailand. I made the same mistake when i first came here. Now i drive a ninja 650 and never look back. The problems i had with the chopper.. . They always said they could fix it always said they could get the parts but int he end it was never done properly.

Just buy a bike that is made here and has parts available and you will feel a lot better.

[tmaker]

FINALLY !!!!!!!!!!!!

got it. last Sunday. went for a spin...with new Pirelli tyres.

can't feel much, cos the shocks are in bad shape.need to fix the shocks up before i can feel the tires ...also added in the tube sealant from Slime.

at least i do not have to worry about pushing the bike with a flat ( touch wood !! ) 555

what i liked about this bik compared to others i saw, at least the engine is , in my term GOOD for a 19 yr old bike .

others i saw, the 1st thing i checked is the sound of the engine. pretty bad... clunking sound and so on.

--so i considered i got a 19 yr old chic - or the other way around ? 555

pics will be up this Sunday only after wash !!....rained so,my bike is dirty....