Looking for some guidance....... need to buy a new rear tire for my ZX7R ninja. Tire dimensions are 190/50 R17. Looking for the best valued Sports Touring tire on the market. (not big into racing so a racing tire is not needed, looking more for longevity). Went to the dealer today and he suggested the Bridgestone BT-020's. Any thoughts or suggestions????

Dave

 

Personally, I would stay away from the BT-020. They were stock on my ZRX's and I hated them. Too hard for me. Didn't handle well in curves or in the rain.

I would go for a Dunlop D220, Pilot Road or a Metzler Z6.

 

ive head the pilot roads are good. but heres the way i look at it. the only thing touching the road are those 2 tires. if they loose traction, you hit the ground. im not talking about being at max lean through the twisties. im talking about when you get caught in the rain and you hit a nce size puddle in the road, or when you driving down the road and a deer or something jumps out in the road and you have to make a quick manuver... I only want the best when it comes to those things. michelin pilot power or dunlop qualifer. those are the best of the best. they last longer now to. ive got about 5.5k on mine now and teh front is only half gone, the rear will probably last another 1.5k or so. mostly b.c i ride very hard and used to wheelie alot

 

Welcome to the forums....

I have run the pilot roads on an old cruiser, those are a good 15,000 mile plus tire with good water evac, etc.... But not the best traction tire or lean tire.

Pirelli Diablo Strada has a real good mileage / traction rating.... And I have not found anything bad about them. Except for the price compared to the D220.

The dunlop D220 has good mileage rating, but I was reading somewhere that they liked to cup out.... I am fixing to try this tire out for this Vegas run. Going to put about 2,000 miles in a weekend on them, and will tell you how they do....

For your ZX7, for mileage, I would say the Diablo Strada.

 

At the moment, I am liking the Qualifiers. Maybe not long in wear ie thousands (15) of miles, but they heat up pretty well. Some say that they are not the best for wet weather. I cannot prove that right or wrong.

edit: buy a set to play with, not just a rear. No matter what tire. You will be safer that way.

 

I put the Coni-Road Attacks on my 7 and at 3000 miles I still have no flat spot. Not bad for a $150 tire at the dealer. They have handle well in the rain and twisties, the only slippage I got out of them is when I tried to wheelie and dumped the clutch at 10,000. They spun for a sec and then grabbed.

 

That's not bad at all..... I have actually never run a conti on any one of my rides... Maybe next set???

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I'm gonna dig a little deeper and get some more info on the suggestions you provided. I'll let you know how it turns out.

And I agree with walight01, buying cheap tires would not be a wise decision.

later,