babyBlade needs new boots

[robboh]

My 06 CBR600RR needs some new hooves.

Its presently got Dunlop Sportmax Qualifiers (D-209) on it, which were on the bike (and near worn out) when I got it. I have been happy-ish with them, but Im not sure where they fall in the spectrum of dry-grip v's wear v's wet-grip v's handling.

Anyway, the time has come to send them to the re-tread graveyard, and put some new shoes on the baby. So Im after some suggestions as to the current thinking for good tyres.

My uses;
* Daily commuting (about 20km total)
* A bit of weekend back-road fanging
* Probably a track day or two (Im guessing Im slow-group these days), and/or CSBKS

My Needs / Wants;
* Good wet-weather grip
* Reasonable milage. Id like to get 5-8k out of them if thats not asking too much of sports tyres these days. The Qualifiers have 8k on them. Front is still warrantable, but rear is giving up the ghost in the centre.
* Im happy to give up a bit of ultimate dry grip for a better wet tyre, plus a bit more longevity. But I dont want them turning to grease-balls at the first sniff of a hard fang or a few laps at the track.

Ive heard mention of;
* Pirelli Corsas
* Michelin 2CT's
* Bridgestone BT-016's

The bridgestones seem to be getting some good mentions these days, so dont know if they are a good option for the CBR?

Id also be curious as to tyre pressures people are running. The manual says 36/42, which seems awful high. Ive been running 34/38, which seems ok, but they never really warm up during a commute either (wouldnt really expect them to, and 32 at the front doesnt seem any better, so I went back to 34).

[Hitcher]

I had OEM Qualifiers on my Shiver when bought new. I now have Avon Storms, which handle superbly, and way better than the Qualifiers did in the wet. Based on the riding needs you've outlined, most sports touring tyres would work well for you, giving performance, wet weather security and, most importantly, good wear life. If you have a preference for Dunlops, you could always try a Roadsmart rear and a Qualifier front.

[robboh]

I had OEM Qualifiers on my Shiver when bought new. I now have Avon Storms, which handle superbly, and way better than the Qualifiers did in the wet. Based on the riding needs you've outlined, most sports touring tyres would work well for you, giving performance, wet weather security and, most importantly, good wear life. If you have a preference for Dunlops, you could always try a Roadsmart rear and a Qualifier front.

Thanks Hitcher. No preference for any brand. I dont tend to hold any allegiances for brands until Ive had an exceptionally good experience with a brand. I have with Shoei, so I do stick with Shoei. But tyres are such a rapidly changing scene, that it doesnt pay to have any real 'preference' for brand IMHO.

Interesting re: the Avon's and your thoughts on the Qualifiers in the wet. Ive never found them particularly confidence inspiring in the wet. Plus I have had them spin up in the wet several times. But I am a returning rider (after ~10 years) and so I wasnt sure if it was me or the tyres, or the fact that the current ones are getting somewhat worn :-)

[robboh]

Hi Guys,

Wandered into Cycletreads today, and after having a good chat with them, went with the Michelin Pilot Road 2 CT's.

They reckoned the best option for track days, if I get serious there, is to stick a 2ndhand pair of race tyres, but that the PR2's would be fine as long as I wasnt trying to go majorly hard.

Bike certainly feels a lot nicer with the new boots. The bike is a lot more stable in a straight line, and doesnt seem to tram-track or wander over road irregularities anywhere as bad as it did. But even though it feels nice and stable straightline, it still seems to drop nicely (and very progressively) into the corner as well. And once in a corner, and release the steering pressure, it just sits there nicely and holds the line, which it didnt use to do.

But I suspect a lot of that will be just the "new tyres" aspect of things, with correct profiles, as opposed to the squared-off Qualifiers I had on there.

Will let you know how we go once they are run in properly, and I have a few miles, and wet commutes on them.

[mouldy]

Should be ok for the odd track day but do bear in mind it is a sports tourer and they can overheat in racetrack conditions but if you are in the slow group you'll probably be ok . what did they cost you ?

[robboh]

Should be ok for the odd track day but do bear in mind it is a sports tourer and they can overheat in racetrack conditions but if you are in the slow group you'll probably be ok . what did they cost you ?

Yup, definitely a concern of mine, as to how they will behave once they get hot. I guess we will find out :-)

Who knows re: what group. I havent been on a track in 15 years, and Ive never done a track day, so I dont know what my riding and corner speeds are like compared to the various groups :-)

The guy doing the changes (Andrew?? Wish I could remember his name, really nice guy!!) did say that the wear patterns on the old tyre suggest that I tend to drive quite hard off the side of the tyre and that potentially a ST might not be the best option. But as Im not the only one who's ridden those tyres, its hard to gauge who caused what wear where.

I decided at the end of the day that since its predominantly used for commuting, that the ST is the better option for me for day-to-day stuff (grip from cold, wet performance, keeping profile longer etc). I can always pull them off and sell them if it turns out they arent quite right for me, but certainly loving them around town so far!!

Any thoughts on pressures?? Manual stated pressures for the OE tyres in the manual are 36/42.

$550 inc fitting. Dont know whether thats good, bad or indifferent. I didnt really shop around for these I must admit as the fit-while-you-wait on a Sunday is what suited me.