More on my "dunlop qualifiers" review.....

JINKSTER

I Love my Wife!
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well folks?...it's official...as after yesterdays group ride with H.org members Dakkine & Ride_Or_Fish and ZX14.net member Locoryder on his ZX14 and his wife on a sweet ZX-9R and a GSXR1000 and CBR1000RR?..i finally have a 1,000+ miles on my quali's annnd....

With nary the beginnings of the sterotypical  1 1/2"-2" wide florida straights flatspot starting to wear in the center?...their levels of traction still shock and amaze me as the group ride (which i led for most of the way) was somewhat treacherous as recent hard rains had washed quite a bit of sugar sand and shellgravel (the size of pea stone) into the roadways..and with summertime sprinkler systems going full active duty?...there was no shortage of sandy, wet and/or?...both sandy and wet curves....which in turn?..demanded of me my undivided attention and utmost concentration at almost all times...especially on curve entrances...double especially when i have six other riders right behind me and sorta depending on my lead (so to speak)...and here's what i did...

I stayed kinds slow in the straights...leading into corner entrances at nominal and safe speeds...and then?...I'd stay in it and power through the curve...on keen ultra high alert for any and all slippage....through sand....through wet...and a few times?...through wet sand! LOL! and....as both I and member "Dakkine can attest (as he was right behind me)...the quali's dealt with throttling right through the shid like another day in the park...oh don't get me wrong...i was waaaaay, waaaaay wayyyyy employing and utilizing all my memories past dirt biking experience and skills...right up to and including rising my azz off the seat as O-Ren traversed her way over literally mounds of wet and dry sand and alls that would happen?..is i'd feel the rear stepping out (almost an unoticably) and then?...hooking right back up with nary a wimper and the best i can put it is....as Dakkine said when we got to the breakfast joint...

"Dude!....you should've seen the sand flying off your rear tire!"
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ya think i still like'em?
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L8R, Bill.
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ummm.... i think so...
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Sounds like you need to sign up for the sand drags!
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Hey Jinks aka "Sweet William", I'm so glad you like those Qualifiers. Got you away from those dune buggy tires you were using :-) Big difference, huh?

You'll be happy to know my son's race partner which is undoubtabley the best rider in this county and maybe several counties around, put a set of Qualifiers on his GSXR1000 road bike. We all went on a two day ride a week ago and his comments were very favorable to the Qualifiers. He said they felt as good as his race tires. I'm looking at trying a set myself? Everyone I've talk to on Qualifiers had nothing but praise for them.
 
Hey Jinks aka "Sweet William", I'm so glad you like those Qualifiers. Got you away from those dune buggy tires you were using :-)  Big difference, huh?

You'll be happy to know my son's race partner which is undoubtabley the best rider in this county and maybe several counties around, put a set of Qualifiers on his GSXR1000 road bike. We all went on a two day ride a week ago and his comments were very favorable to the Qualifiers. He said they felt as good as his race tires. I'm looking at trying a set myself? Everyone I've talk to on Qualifiers had nothing but praise for them.
yepper tuf!....I'm luv'in'em man...and one other thing i'd like to mention and do so in a respectful way?...is this...we had another member here do a real good back-too-back comparo/review of the quali's vs the powers and made mention that after 3K mountain miles his quali's were great and handled wonderfully but were down to the cords after 3K mountain miles..and the went on to say that the powers were so different...now?...while it was one of the attributes that i sorta disliked about the powers?..he seemed to like it?...with a commentary of...

"as compared to the quali's?...the powers were like being on skates"

now...he loved the ultra fast turn-in of the powers and so did i but....to me?..the profile on the quali's is so good on my busa that initiating turns invloves just the slightest hand pressure and with a twitch of my azz?..I can "Stop The Fall'in" at just the right line entrance and lean...now...that said?...i could definantly do the same with the powers?...but..i was never confident that when i wanted them to "Stop Falling In" that they actually would....and even though they did?...i just never felt confident that they would...and just like that member stated...

"as compared to the qualis?...the powers were like being on skates"

with the only dif being?...he seemed to like it..and i didn't.
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but that was the only downside to the powers that i "felt"...other than that?...the powers seemed "plusher riding" (and of course they would with those thin azz sidewalls) yet the quali's seem just as smooth...except in a stickier...more predictable...sorta way.
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and yeah...I'm luv'in'em.
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L8R, Bill. (aka "sweet william" )
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I've been through 3 sets of Qualifiers and they do very well on the street as well as the track.
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Have you lowered your front end Bill, or is it still stock? If you find your bike falling into the turns to harshly it could be due to the front being to low? Most of the race bikes we have set up only get about 4mm of lowering in the front. Just a thought?

I'm anxious to try a set of Qualifiers. I really don't have anything against PP's other than Michelin is a French Company and I won't knowingly buy anything made in France. Just a personal choice. I think the PP's are fine for the average rider but once you step up the pace, as you have found, there are better tires out there. There is just no substitute for a steel belted tire that transfers the heat all the way around the casing and gives you that wonderful feel of the road.
 
There is just no substitute for a steel belted tire that transfers the heat all the way around the casing and gives you that wonderful feel of the road.
Hate to break it to ya but the Qualifier is not a steel belted tire.
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Not that it matters much.


The Bridgestone BT014 ,BT015s , Metzeler M1 , M3, Pirelli Diablo are steel belted.

Qualifiers and Pilot Power are not steel belted...both use synthetics.


Anyhow , I am sure the Qualifier is a great tire though id probably not use them on a Busa.

From everything I have read they are indeed a tad stickier then the Pilot Powers but are so at the usual expense...which is tire life.

Honestly if I was running a Busa id probably be wanting the longest lasting SS tire I could get a hold of.

But if money is no object then no doubt it is a sweet tire, everyone ive talked to likes them.... in fact most everyone
ive talked to about the Pilot Powers really like them as well
and some of those guys ride as fast as anybody ive ever
seen on the streets....which is faster then anybody should
be riding.

Personally I am gonna try the Metzeler M3s ...if I get 3000+ with my kind of riding then I found my tire for awhile.

What really sold me on the M3s is the fact that the M1s were loved by most everyone who tried them BUT they wear out really fast.... and the M3 are supposed to be everything the M1 are but even BETTER grip and LAST longer. Wet grip improved as well.



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A guy once told me jokingly that he had Goodyears on his bike when I asked him what kind of tires he was running...
little did he know Dunlop is Goodyear.
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In the automotive world Goodyear has fallen far behind Michelin IMO. You will have to bring your own if you want my shop
to install some Goodyears.
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Tufbusa , on the French thing...Michelin Moto tires might have some french ties but they are pretty much world wide. A large portion of their tires are made in Canada and the USA.

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Hmmm ... I just switched from the Pilot Powers to the Dunlop Q's. I only have 500 miles on them, but that is with two separate trips in some moderate twisties. It does feel like the Q's hold their line better and feel more stable in the curves and I like them for that. My experience so far finds the Power's stickier and for my riding style I like the way they fall easier into a lean. Both are great tires for sure.
 
I'm putting on my first set of pilot powers today. The next set will be the dunlops. Then I can give an unbiased review of both.
 
I'm putting on my first set of pilot powers today.  The next set will be the dunlops.  Then I can give an unbiased review of both.
Yea I thought that too, but I like the tire shape/profile of the Pilot Powers and because the Dunlop Q's are so different, I'm afraid that my reviews are biased towards the Power's.
 
Don't get me wrong here folks...i still firmly believe that the PP's are in fact one he11 of a tire...and imho?...the busa owning curve warrior couldn't go wrong with either...but still?..there are subtle differences...and while they maybe "small difs" to the average casual rider?...they still mean a lot to me....and both have strengths and both have weaknesses...and the run down for me goes like this...

Ride & Handling wise?: I love the powers for their ultra plush ride and instantaneous (if not psychic) levels of steering and agility...yet?...it's that same high level of "ultra quick turn-in & flickability" which causes the powers to not be very quite as forgiving, controllable or as predictable and confidence inspiring as the quali's are....when pushing the curves hard...real hard....annnnnnd...I've persoanally experienced that both the powers and the quali's have the ability to be so neutral in steering that....with either one?..it seemed that as I leaned hard into a turn that i could just "give my busa her head" (so-to-soeak) and the tire profiles (on either) would sorta find their own best steering angle..but triely?...the only way you'd notice this is with rather fast aggressive leaning through long sweeping curves and light hands....but it's a beautiful thing (with either tire) when it happens.
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As far as "Traction" goes?: ain't a doubt in my mind...the quali's have markedly more "stick" to'em than do the powers..and this plays a role in the "Wear Issue" as well when comparing the two tires...as I ride noticably harder with the quali's than i ever did with my pilots...and "Riding Harder & Faster" means and equates too.."Faster Wear"...due to higher confidence levels with the quali's awesome "stick" value...and i know it's true because...with the pilots?...i usta to be able to "spit out my rear" and leave a cute little darky here and there exiting a few of my local curves...and even though i've slowly turned up the heat trying to do the same with my quali's?..it hasn't happened yet...and i've been trying...and "that"...speaks volumes to me concerning the traction values between the quali's and the powers.

Bottom Line?...if i knew i was going to take a long ST adventure ride?...i'd be tempted to go back to powers..however?..wether it's trucking my busa up to the mountains or just enjoying sunday romps here local with the boys?...or track days?...quali's....hands down...not even a maybe.

L8R, Bill.
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Glad to hear that Bill- with six weeks experience on the bike I probably bore my Quals more than abuse them, I'll be a long time working up to the level you ride them at! But it's nice to know that I've got that level of stick waiting for me in case I need it.

Good review! No overbearing brand loyalty, unbiased and detailed reporting. You should put both your posts on the subject into a cohesive package and submit it to Cycle World or some such!
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I just swapped to Qualifiers, I normally use diablos, or PPs both are about the same to me. 1 of the biggest things i noticed right off the bad on the qualifiers was not only did they seem to heat up and hold the road better than both the others, but i get alot less wobble in the rear. The PPs don't seem to do well on hot Florida roads, they feel like the side walls are giving in when pushing hard in the corners. I'm at about 1k miles on my Qualifiers and As of right now I won't buy the PPs or the Diablos again. even if the wear is a little better on both of those (from what i see so far).

I also run the 180/55 versions if that matters to anyone, makes more of a difference in the twistys than you'd ever think
 
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