Well folks...my bud and h.org member Dakkine turned me onto a real reasonable and mechanically trustworthy local businessman "Doctor Dons Cycle Designs"..I had heard of the guy from others at bike nights and rides and such but never knew his number or location which is about 20-25 miles north of me..last week Dakkine gave me his number as my Pilot Powers (which I loved) had right at 5,000 miles on'em and down to the wear bars on the front and 1/2 way through the wear bars on the rear..and last week I decided that my silver beast needed new shoes...so I called Don and he claimed he had a power front but not a rear but that he had "Dunlop Qualifiers" in stock for my busa however?..if I wanted to wait a few days that he'd order up the power rear for me..i said.."okay...I'll wait"...well..as it turned out?..by this past wednesday?...the powers (I loved so much) still didn't come in as Don expected and I anticipated..as Don confided to me that he had been experiencing some delays in getting powers in a timely fashion recently..and I ride to work daily and been holding off on sunday morning rides due to "LackaRubba"..so by today?..friday..I asked Don if he wouldn't be too terribly pi$$ed if we just went ahead and mounted up a set of the Qualifiers he had in stock, on hand and immediately available...which we did just this evening after work..and here's my first impressions of compromising my beloved powers in exchange for my busas new dunlop qualifiers..
Now first lemme update by saying..I ran out of the stock oem BT056 rear by 3,000 miles...then mounted up a BT014 (which I liked but caught a nail in by 3,400 miles and plugged till at 3,600 miles I took the $400 plunge for Michelin Pilot Powers...which were waaaay better than the stones...by a long shot...and ran those Pilot Powers for 5,100 miles but hafta point out that by 4,000 miles the powers were begining to "Feel A Bit Wooden"..no biggy...to be expected and I never dreamed I'd get such great milage out of the Pilot Powers..but up to that 4K milage mark?...they handled and stuck real well...I loved'em...to the point that I had a sense of remorse by "Setteling" for accepting the new dunlop qualfiers...and my only complaont with the pilot powers was that when pushed ultra hard?..like at the peak of my skills?..they did start feeling a tad "squirmy"..and today?...I got to see annnnnnd...feel "why"....as once the powers were off my rims?..I compared the sidewall stffness (by feel of hand) with that of the dunlop qualifiers and was shocked..as instantly I knew (and felt) why the powers were "so plush riding"..which was the same reason why "they felt squirmy when pushed hard" as the sidewalls on the new dunlop qualifiers were at least 2 times....maybe even 3 times STIFFER than the sidewalls of my pilot powers...and I'm not a fan of dunlops...always favored metzlers or michelins...and historically hate stones (will bridgestone ever design a front tire "that doesn't cup out" in less than 1,500 miles?) and never cared for dunlops...now here's my initial impressions of my new dunlop qualifiers...
The Qualifiers are STABLE as he11...awsomely so...at all speeds....and?...
The compound must be soft and/or they warm up quick as hell cause I had'em "scuffed'em in" in no time..and in short order was right back to carving corners in standard fashion with utter confidence and without incident.
"The Ride" isn't quite as "plush" as my recall my powers being (when new) but there's good reason for that...as the dunlop qualifiers do have the far stiffer sidewalls which trades off just a tad of plush ride for gobs of additional "Stability"...and that's not to say the ride of the qualifiers is anywhere's near harsh either because it isn't...and actually?...it more in the form of "Far Better Feedback"...feedback which I now feel the powers sacraficed for their awesomely plush ride...with their ultra soft, borderline flimsy azz sidewalls...and not that the pwoers can't be pushed hard as they can...but be prepared for some squirm out of the powers where....the same dosen't hold true with the qualifiers...again...they are rock stable and wreak of feedback...like your hardwired to the road...yet smoothly because...
"Traction"...with a capitol "T"....like your glued to the freaking road...much like my powers usta feel....but with the sound stability of the BT014...as in....the Qualifiers feel like the best of both.
"Steering"...ya know this is a toughy...as it always seems that new tires are always awesome as they are..well?.."New Tires"...but even with that taken into consideration?...when it comes to "Steering"...the qualifiers are as nuetral a feeling tire as I've ever experienced...and new for new?..(and I never thought I'd say this..but..)...after doing some slalom exercises scuffing in the qualifiers?..they do in fact flick a bit quicker and easier than what I recall of my pilot powers when new...and they steer like "Right Now"..."just think it and twitch yer azz and your headed that way"...kinda neutral steering...and i like that.
"Wear"...there's not a doubt in my mind that these new Dunlop Qualifiers aren't gonna wear out about twice as fast as my Pilot Powers did...I think i'll be fortunate if I get 2,500 out of these tires based on traction and feel as I know I'll be riding quite a bit harder as well...due to the higher confidence levels they yeild over the powers...but for fun like that?...with all that traction and stability?...at $280 a set mounted and balanced?...I like'em amd well worth the short milage and price of admission..besides for hard riders?..regarding both "Insurance" annnd "Safety"?.."Sticky Tires" are always a bargain as opposed to the alternatives.
I like the qualifiers so far folks...and after seeing the difs in the Qualifiers sidewall thickness/stiffness as compared to the powers?...I'm not certain I'll ever purchase another set of Pilot Powers ever again...no matter how many miles I can get out of'em and...
L8R, Bill.
Now first lemme update by saying..I ran out of the stock oem BT056 rear by 3,000 miles...then mounted up a BT014 (which I liked but caught a nail in by 3,400 miles and plugged till at 3,600 miles I took the $400 plunge for Michelin Pilot Powers...which were waaaay better than the stones...by a long shot...and ran those Pilot Powers for 5,100 miles but hafta point out that by 4,000 miles the powers were begining to "Feel A Bit Wooden"..no biggy...to be expected and I never dreamed I'd get such great milage out of the Pilot Powers..but up to that 4K milage mark?...they handled and stuck real well...I loved'em...to the point that I had a sense of remorse by "Setteling" for accepting the new dunlop qualfiers...and my only complaont with the pilot powers was that when pushed ultra hard?..like at the peak of my skills?..they did start feeling a tad "squirmy"..and today?...I got to see annnnnnd...feel "why"....as once the powers were off my rims?..I compared the sidewall stffness (by feel of hand) with that of the dunlop qualifiers and was shocked..as instantly I knew (and felt) why the powers were "so plush riding"..which was the same reason why "they felt squirmy when pushed hard" as the sidewalls on the new dunlop qualifiers were at least 2 times....maybe even 3 times STIFFER than the sidewalls of my pilot powers...and I'm not a fan of dunlops...always favored metzlers or michelins...and historically hate stones (will bridgestone ever design a front tire "that doesn't cup out" in less than 1,500 miles?) and never cared for dunlops...now here's my initial impressions of my new dunlop qualifiers...
The Qualifiers are STABLE as he11...awsomely so...at all speeds....and?...
The compound must be soft and/or they warm up quick as hell cause I had'em "scuffed'em in" in no time..and in short order was right back to carving corners in standard fashion with utter confidence and without incident.
"The Ride" isn't quite as "plush" as my recall my powers being (when new) but there's good reason for that...as the dunlop qualifiers do have the far stiffer sidewalls which trades off just a tad of plush ride for gobs of additional "Stability"...and that's not to say the ride of the qualifiers is anywhere's near harsh either because it isn't...and actually?...it more in the form of "Far Better Feedback"...feedback which I now feel the powers sacraficed for their awesomely plush ride...with their ultra soft, borderline flimsy azz sidewalls...and not that the pwoers can't be pushed hard as they can...but be prepared for some squirm out of the powers where....the same dosen't hold true with the qualifiers...again...they are rock stable and wreak of feedback...like your hardwired to the road...yet smoothly because...
"Traction"...with a capitol "T"....like your glued to the freaking road...much like my powers usta feel....but with the sound stability of the BT014...as in....the Qualifiers feel like the best of both.
"Steering"...ya know this is a toughy...as it always seems that new tires are always awesome as they are..well?.."New Tires"...but even with that taken into consideration?...when it comes to "Steering"...the qualifiers are as nuetral a feeling tire as I've ever experienced...and new for new?..(and I never thought I'd say this..but..)...after doing some slalom exercises scuffing in the qualifiers?..they do in fact flick a bit quicker and easier than what I recall of my pilot powers when new...and they steer like "Right Now"..."just think it and twitch yer azz and your headed that way"...kinda neutral steering...and i like that.
"Wear"...there's not a doubt in my mind that these new Dunlop Qualifiers aren't gonna wear out about twice as fast as my Pilot Powers did...I think i'll be fortunate if I get 2,500 out of these tires based on traction and feel as I know I'll be riding quite a bit harder as well...due to the higher confidence levels they yeild over the powers...but for fun like that?...with all that traction and stability?...at $280 a set mounted and balanced?...I like'em amd well worth the short milage and price of admission..besides for hard riders?..regarding both "Insurance" annnd "Safety"?.."Sticky Tires" are always a bargain as opposed to the alternatives.
I like the qualifiers so far folks...and after seeing the difs in the Qualifiers sidewall thickness/stiffness as compared to the powers?...I'm not certain I'll ever purchase another set of Pilot Powers ever again...no matter how many miles I can get out of'em and...
L8R, Bill.
) once tires are warm, fahgeddaboutit!
