Tyres for SV650S

[slofox]

Hope this is not a repost but I can't find much with the search engine....

SV650S owners - what is your preferred brand of tyre for your SV650S? What did you think of the originals (if you bought new) and what do you like about your preferred brand? Muchos Gracias.........

[breakaway]

Pirelli Diablos. Had em on my 650, sticky as hell, even with my not-so-smooth riding style.

[Ivan]

By Far the COnti Attack Range heapsa grip and they can slide when you want them to but wont if you dont want em to great tires by far

[Pussy]

Gassit Girl ran Sportec M1s on her K5 SV650S for road riding... she loved them

[GSVR]

The brand of tyre (if you are buying a quality brand) doesn't matter that much as they are all good.

What you have to decide is if you want to go with a tyre similar to what you took off and get the same sort of distance out of them or put on something really sticky and have to buy another set much sooner.

So in a nutshell if you do lots of highway miles get a more touring orientated tyre. If you just go out for short fangs in the twistys or trackdays then get something more sticky.The dual compound tyres may help a litle if you do both. Or if you are rich just buy a new set every week and change brands until you find something you like.

On my SV I liked the Pilot Powers on the road as they are good in the wet and wear reasonable. At the moment I have some near new Dunlop 208s that I brought off trademe for $135 for the set that some person took off becuase they didn't have enough grip for them. At $135 I don't give a shit as they are a good tyre and are wearing really well.

Metzler Pirelli Continental Michelin Dunlop Bridgestone all make quality tyres that will be OK on the SV.

I'm surprised Pussy hasn't told you that the biggest gain you could make would be to get the suspension sorted.

[Devil]

The brand of tyre (if you are buying a quality brand) doesn't matter that much as they are all good.

Apart from the profile of the tyre of course...

Standard Diablo's being fairly square and tend to slow turn in, with a trade off of pretty good stability mid corner.
Pilot powers being fairly tall with a quick transition to full lean, which on a nimble twitchy bike like my Speed Four just made it feel dodgy, particularly in the wet. Or the Metzeler M3 which has a very progressive feeling profile on turning. Making it my preference, which suits the bike...

[Pussy]

I'm surprised Pussy hasn't told you that the biggest gain you could make would be to get the suspension sorted.

Haha...touche, Gary!
The stock Dunlop 220s on the 03 onwards SV650s aren't that flash.
The biggest improvement we made to Gassit girl's SV was the suspension mods. Quite honestly, you can make an SV really primo by doing the emulator/spring mods in the front, and fitting an Ohlins shock on the rear. The stock components let down the potential of the SV.
When modified, you end up with a great handling and comfortable bike, and your tyres will last better. If you're going to keep the bike, I recommend it

[Number One]

Quite honestly, you can make an SV really primo by doing the emulator/spring mods in the front, and fitting an Ohlins shock on the rear. The stock components let down the potential of the SV.
When modified, you end up with a great handling and comfortable bike, and your tyres will last better. If you're going to keep the bike, I recommend it

+1

My bike was improved beyond belief when we swapped hubbies suspension set up onto mine.....lurve it lurve it lurve it! BTW - he ain't getting those bits back now!!!

[GSVR]

Apart from the profile of the tyre of course...

Standard Diablo's being fairly square and tend to slow turn in, with a trade off of pretty good stability mid corner.
Pilot powers being fairly tall with a quick transition to full lean, which on a nimble twitchy bike like my Speed Four just made it feel dodgy, particularly in the wet. Or the Metzeler M3 which has a very progressive feeling profile on turning. Making it my preference, which suits the bike...

I was only talking about brand in the quote you took why introduce profile? You could just as easily have said compound, construction,or thread pattern

Well as far as the Pilot powers go you have a choice of fitting a 70 or 60 profile tyre to the SV and the 60 is not steep at all IMO. Only thing I don't like about the Powers is they didn't feel that stable under heavy braking but this is not the sort of braking I'd do on the road.

Of course the speed at which you tip in is just just as much down to the rider and the way the bike is set up as the tyre you use.

[GSVR]

Haha...touche, Gary!
The stock Dunlop 220s on the 03 onwards SV650s aren't that flash.
The biggest improvement we made to Gassit girl's SV was the suspension mods. Quite honestly, you can make an SV really primo by doing the emulator/spring mods in the front, and fitting an Ohlins shock on the rear. The stock components let down the potential of the SV.
When modified, you end up with a great handling and comfortable bike, and your tyres will last better. If you're going to keep the bike, I recommend it

Stock Dunlops are quite ok if you stick to the speed limit and use the bike to commute with the occasional ride on weekends to visit your Gran.

I'm sure by the time this threads been going for a while every good brand of tyre will be recommended as they all make a reasonable tyre for this bike and everyone thinks what they like to use is the bees knees.

[Number One]

I'm sure by the time this threads been going for a while every good brand of tyre will be recommended as they all make a reasonable tyre for this bike and everyone thinks what they like to use is the bees knees.

Indeed - how long is a piece of string kinda thread eh. Anyone mention slicks yet

[Devil]

I was only talking about brand in the quote you took why introduce profile? You could just as easily have said compound, construction,or thread pattern

Well as far as the Pilot powers go you have a choice of fitting a 70 or 60 profile tyre to the SV and the 60 is not steep at all IMO. Only thing I don't like about the Powers is they didn't feel that stable under heavy braking but this is not the sort of braking I'd do on the road.

Of course the speed at which you tip in is just just as much down to the rider and the way the bike is set up as the tyre you use.

Dont mean the profile on the side, I mean the actual shape of the thing, particularly the front. Can make huge differences in the way a bike handles.

A lot of people dont realise this and just put it down to "brand X is shit"

[Pussy]

From my personal experience..... the Sportec M1s in stock sizes/profiles felt bloody good on the SV, nice tip in and very stable

[svr]

Because of the dodgy forks they dont like big rounded / squarish or worn/ scalloped front tyres (harsh high speed compression damping + leverage = bump steer at moderate lean angles).
The trouble with 60 profile fronts is that they have bugger-all sidewall to help out the suspension, and not enough contact patch for grip. I used to use the old Metzler Rennsports (RS0 or 1 front, RS2 rear) - quality tyres on the track with a nice soft feel and lots of feedback, and despite all the crap you hear about race tyres not working on the road they were good there too.
For the price of emulators / springs / setup you could probably just about get a decent front end with brakes off ebay - a much better solution.

[GSVR]

Because of the dodgy forks they dont like big rounded / squarish or worn/ scalloped front tyres (harsh high speed compression damping + leverage = bump steer at moderate lean angles).
The trouble with 60 profile fronts is that they have bugger-all sidewall to help out the suspension, and not enough contact patch for grip. .

Makes you sort of wonder why Suzuki put 60 profiles on this bike in first place. And most dealers will tell you you will ruin the handling if you mention changing the tyre to a 70 profile. Wonder what they would say if you ordered a 190 to go on the back!

I used to use the old Metzler Rennsports (RS0 or 1 front, RS2 rear) - quality tyres on the track with a nice soft feel and lots of feedback, and despite all the crap you hear about race tyres not working on the road they were good there too. .

X race tyres are great on the road they are cheap and arent squared off . And because they are cheap you can afford to keep changing them.

For the price of emulators / springs / setup you could probably just about get a decent front end with brakes off ebay - a much better solution.

For the price of making an SV great you can buy a GSXR which is already great. But even then you will have people saying you need to spend over 10 grand on aftermarket stuff to get it right.