pencuse Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Hi all, (and Steve) I couldn't tell how much I delighted to read almost all posts of Steve and all the other contributors, at once, as I'm in search for a replacing my tires. Kudos to y'all. I'm (6ft, and 200lb.) riding C-ABS, '08, 600, Honda Hornet, mainly on weekend blast, spirited mountain riding, a little less commuting. I haven't yet been on track, but it's in my short term plans, though should not be exceeding 1 or 2 times a season. I've been running OEM PP2CT so far. I was indeed looking for a set of Sportsmarts, but the dealer here in Istanbul, couldn't import them somehow. So, I'm in a need of deciding if I should go with Qualifier II ( NOT Q2 which is not avaliable here), or GP Racer D211. You see, both these tires are different than Q2's and GPA's respectively. It also pops in my mind that going from 180/55R to 190/55R would be of any good in terms of the pleasure of cornering? I could have consulted to my local dealer. But believe me, they are nowhere near knowledgeable like you are, or have experience like y'all do. So, I would be more than happy if you could shed some light to my dilemmas. Best to you, P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bond_yzf Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 hi mate, shame you cant get sportsmarts as it is the best all-round tyre ive used ie, track days,commuting and sunday morning hoons... i have ktm rc8 which eats tyres (900 mile to a supercorsa pro) the sportsmart rear i got near on 4000 miles out of amazing tyres !!! i run sportmax qualifiers on my supermot which i use for commuting/sunday morning back road shannagins and they offer pretty good grip combined with mileage only thing i would say about em is i had to play around with the pressures quite a bit to get them to handle pretty good, but i suppose thats most tyres not had any experience with gp racers but have heard lots of good feed back about them. as for going from a 180 to a 190 the only difference i found when i have done that is the bike turned in a little slower im no expert in tyres these are just my own experiences im sure one of the more experienced guys will be a long soon cheers jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradvanhorn Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 I am confused over your reference to Qualifier II and Q2, and them apparently not being the same tire. Looking at the Dunlop website, there is only Sportmax Qualifier or or Sportmax Q2; I cannot find a Qualifier II. Anyway, are import rules such that you cannot order via the internet and have them delivered directly to you? Perhaps this method is not an option in Turkey, but it is extremely common in the U.S. If Dunlop is your only option, then I think you would be better served by the Qualifier II, Q2, or Qualifier (whichever it is your dealer can get). Given the discussions I've seen regarding the D211, and including your statement you are mostly leisure riding (spirited or not) and not track riding, I think you would not be well served with the D211. You are unlikely to ever get the tire up to proper operating temperature, and are therefore likely to have less available traction than with a proper street tire. If your OEM tire is a 180, then I would stick to that size unless you have a well planned reason to change. Going from a 180 to a 190 can be unpredictable. I went from a 180 to a 190 Q2 on my R6, and it effectively quickened the steering because it slightly raised the rear of the bike, and this apparently had more influence over steering than the wider tire profile. (I went to the 190 Q2 because the D211 is a similar profile 190, and next year I may go to a DOT race tire, so I wanted to get adjusted to the 190 profile.) Michelin Pilot Power is a good performance tire as well, if Michelin is an option. I've not tried the 2CT version, but have heard good comments about it also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pencuse Posted July 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Thank you all, for your invaluable feedback. It is possible to order the rubber from the Net, however, I would have needed to deal with excessive customs fees. It is not feasible per say. On the other hand, Dunlop is far from being an lonely option for me. Since they are not very popular here in Turkey. As you already figured out, that's why they are hard to find. I was just conjured up with all the talk on Sportsmart and wanted to try them. On the other hand, Michelin is well established market here. And I ended up fitting a set of Power Pure's, same size with original 180, anyway. Couldn't ride yet, to get some feeling though, except being so smooth after previous rubber which literally turned to rock. Anyways, I'm gonna have to explore a good tire pressure for myself. Have been, and am currently running stock 36F/42R. But I'm to try different pressures to see which one would suit my riding. I appreciated to your comments again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comptonchinee Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Can I ask what the differences are, and which would be a better all round tyre between Q2 and Sportsmart Sportmax?? Road riding incl. wet roads, and track days as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNLOP-RTS Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Can I ask what the differences are, and which would be a better all round tyre between Q2 and Sportsmart Sportmax?? Road riding incl. wet roads, and track days as well... Q2 and SportSmart are both great options. It would depend on what is available for your area. I think SportSmarts are available in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.