New Tire for '09 Busa?

J

JuKi8

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I'm new to the forum and am in need of opinions along with experiences on tires. My rear tire is worn pretty well after a few trips to the drag strip. I live in West Texas and the roads are pretty much all asphalt except for the main highways which are concrete, obviously. There is a ton of construction going on, so loose gravel and dirt is pretty much everywhere; there are only a few turns I know I can take without fearing for my life. We don't got sewers so any rain leaves the "trash" all over the roads after it floods from a 1/2" of rain.

From now on, I don't plan on taking it out to the drag strip without getting a tire specifically for the drag strip. The tire that is on there currently is the stock one from the original purchase in '09 (Dunlop).

It might be a no-no, but I plan to keep the front tire and not replace it. It is perfectly fine. The rear is mainly gone from the drag strip. If this is a major no-no, please state your opinions on that issue. I know I might have two different brands on it, but I could care less unless there is some actual functional issue with it.

Thanks ahead for all the assistance and recommendations.
 
Welcome to the oRg. Tires are a matter of personal preference. Alot of guys run 2 rears to 1 front. I have heard Shinko's are great for the track and street use. I am not sure which model would be best because I have never used them. Personally I use the Avon Storms, and just installed a set of Dunlop Q-2's, but that is for a road track and not a drag strip. I have heard good things about the BT-16's, Pirelli Angels, the list goes on. Tire brands are like oil brands, it what you like and works best for you and your bike. I would not hesitate to replace the rear tire and leave the front alone. But with that said, I will not mix brands or compounds. Some guys do, I do not. I always run matching tire brands and compounds. Good luck, and again, welcome! :welcome:
 
 
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I searched minimally, but then realized some comments about specific use and road conditions. I figured my situation explained might give me better feedback. I appreciate the feedback so far. Additional recommendations are greatly appreciated.
 
It really comes donw to your ridding style. Since you plan on having a seperate drag tire in the future you're actually looking for opinions for two different style/type of tires. For some drag fun the shinko is an easy choice. It's cheap and it'll take alot of abuse. It may not hook at the same level as some others but it's a great all around choice.
For street ridding, you have to consider a personas ridding style. Do you do alot of two-up, touring, aggressive, twisties, all weather, all season, commuting, etc ridding? If I had a long boring daily highway commute I wold go with a harder good all season tire where as if I were hitting backroads at the crack of down on weekends my choice would be a softer compound. With so many tires now coming in multi-compound designs it opens the door for a tire to do more than one job well.

Sorry this wasn't more of a "I like this or that tire" or a "this one is what I like" type of answer. :beerchug:
 
Shinko 003 stealth is a super sticky tire that we normally run. I've found them on Ebay shipped for $110 a tire for a 200/50/17. If you run through pea gravel it'll throw a rooster tail its so sticky.
 
The original tires that came stock on the new bike should have been Bridgestone BT 015's. If you have Dunlops, then the dealer must have made a switch before you bought it. Stick with a Dunlop on the rear if that's what you are still going to have on the front or change them both to what ever you want.
 
If you still have Dunlop up front, (say perhaps a Roadsmart perhaps?) stay with it. They are a great alternative to the OEM. Much better all round. Nothing wrong with Dunlops!
 
Now that I think about it, my question should have been: what is a good "all-around" tire that wears well on asphalt? I think asphalt is the biggest variable. I assume asphalt would eat up the tires a lot more than a concrete road. I could be way wrong, but that is just a logical deduction.
 
Michelin Pilot Road 2 ($266 shipped) or Pirelli Angels ($218 shipped).

I was researching about tires recently (searched and read almost all threads/posts here) and narrowed my choices down to these two (my preference was a high mileage tire that can perform decently when riding twisties). Most of my riding is street/freeways (read ASPHALT), will never see a track, and occasional canyons on weekends.

Being the cheapskate that I am, I bought the Angels.
 
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No issues mix/matching fronts and rears. I'm running a Michelin 2CT front and Dunlop Q2 rear at the moment. Remeber that racers are always running different compounds front and rear depending on what they need out of the bike that day.

To get the most mileage out of your tires make sure your running recomended tire pressures.
 
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