Need new tires for 2002 ZX600E. For regular riding; same size as are on now (120/60ZR17 front; 160/60ZR17 rear). Any suggestions as to brands?

 

Welcome to the forum. All depends on what kind of riding; hard sport, weekend or commuting. For hard riding go with the Dunlop Q's or Michelin PP's or even the Bridgestone BT014's (As you can tell, I really like the 05-06 stock BT's.). For Weekend or commuting stuff get somesport touringtype tires like. Unless you do track days, I wouldn't recommend thereally sticky stuff for commuting or occasional canyon carving because you'll just wear them out soon on the street.

 

Lets see...what kind of riding do I do...I guess, commuting...no, wait; I forgot; I'm retired, and don't gotta go to work no mo' !!!! So, I guess it would be just aimless riding around, and touring. So, I'm looking for sport-touring tires. I don't like the Bridgestones I have now, and didn't like them on another bike I had, either. Are Dunlops anygood? I just got done researching tires for hubby's cruiser, and the Dunlops were way cheap, so we stayed away from them. Anyone use Metzelers?

 

i have one on the rear. no problems with it yet.

 

Sorry if I offended you:

What model Bridgestonetires did you have? The new BT014 Bridgestones are great. I haveused themfor a trackday and was very impressed. They warmed up quickly and stuck as good as the slicks I used to raceon. And I got over 5000 miles (mainly commuting so only the center wore) out of them.The Dunlop Qualifiers are Cheap and have even better grip than the Bridgestones and are better than the Metzlers but may not last as long. The Dunlop Sportmax's are also a good tire. Pirelli Diablo's too.

 

When I had my 91 Ninja ZX-6D I always ran Dunlop D-208's and got a good 4000-5000 miles out of them with more than enough grip for as much as I pushed it (which was a lot). With the high power and handling of the new Ninja (05 636), I will go with a stickier/softer tire for better grip and sacrifice the mileage.

In your case, the Dunlop would be a great tire for you and it looks like they have replaced the D-208's with D-220. Plenty of grip and good long tread life.

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tire...tire.asp?id=74

 

No, the 208's were replaced by the Qualifiers. The 220 are a Sport touring tire. More wear, little less sticky.

I ran 208's for a long time and got 5k from a rear. Now I'm running Metzler M3's and they are great

 

Not at all !
Battlax BT50

I may be giving the Bridgestones a bad rap needlessly - I just notice I have over 12000 miles on them, which may explain the unexpected loss of traction in certain situations. Same loss on a previous bike (tires not so worn), which I thought was just ME, until I saw someone else on the same bike, same tires,go down on the same exact stretch of roadway. [sm=outcold.gif]Anyway, I am looking for longevity more than high performance, and after checking prices, I see the Dunlop D220's are similarily priced to the Metzlers, so I will consider both of those.Thanks for all the info !!

 

Notice I located my glasses, and didn't have to use the annoying giant print.......

 

12,000 miles on the set? daum! And you are just now starting to slip around with them?