The Great Tyre Snapshot, Mt Baw Baw Ride, 23rd September 2001

 

Every now and then I like to take a snapshot of what tyres people have on their bikes. It seems that most people run matched sets of tyres. Michelin and Dunlop seem the most popular. On this ride there is a mixture of road and race oriented tyres and even some slicks! Quite a few tyres are ex-race ie second hand. The fine, hot weather certainly brought out all sorts.

 

Danny and Ken were still on original fitment tyres. Craig was wearing a very old (at least 4 years, predating the 207 series) Dunlop 364 ex-race soft compound tyre. These were in very limited supply and snapped up by the racers of the time. They actually wear really well on the road. You’ll notice Ron Johnston now has one on the front. His Michelin HiSport noted below has been replaced – very worn  in the middle indicating low pressure (previous owner) over a long period.

 

A Pilot Sport is a road oriented tyre, a Pilot Race is a (really) soft compound tyre. Interestingly a Dunlop 207 (road) will wear out quicker than a Dunlop 207 GP (soft compound). The GP has more tread and possibly runs cooler due to the construction. A Dunlop 207 RR is a road carcass with a race compound, supposedly the best of both worlds, providing excellent grip and long(er) wear. A 208 replaces the 207 GP series ie soft compound, race tyres.

 

Tyre wear is a function of many things. High speed kills tyres without doubt. I have had three Battlax 010s on the front of my Fireblade and got 6, 8 and 10 thousand kilometers out of them. The 10 kay was during winter and the speeds were lower, the carcass cooler. The 6 kay was in the peak of summer with lots of high speed riding – Club Camp, Australia Day Weekend, Club rides.

 

I missed one of the TLs. Sorry about that.

 

The table makes interesting reading if you are into tyres.

 

Cheers,

 

Ben Warden

 

Name

Bike

Front Tyre

Rear Tyre

Danny Vits

VFR800

Battlax BT57

Battlax BT020R

Ken Wright

RSV1000

Pirelli MTR21

Pirelli Dragon EVO

Shane Rickett

YZF600

Michelin Pilot Sport

Michelin Pilot Sport

Peter Weyermayr

GSXR750M

Dunlop 207

Dunlop 207

Liz Oliver

1998 Fireblade (16” front)

Dunlop 207

Dunlop 207

Ron Johnston

Bandit 1200

Michelin HiSport

Michelin Pilot Race

Tim Walker

ZX7

Michelin Pilot Sport

Michelin Pilot Sport

Ben Warden

2001 Fireblade

Dunlop 207 GP

Dunlop 207RR (road)

Trevor Harris

YZF1000

Battlax BT57

Battlax BT020R

Paul Tallents

1997 Fireblade (16” front)

Dunlop 207

Michelin HiSport

Ian Payne

1999 Fireblade (16” front)

Michelin Pilot Sport

Michelin Pilot Sport

Neville Maggs

VTR-SP1

Metzler MEZ3

Metzler MEZ3

Mark Knight

TZR250

Michelin cut slick

Michelin cut slick

Dave Hives

ZX9

Dunlop 207

Dunlop 207

Lee O’Mahoney

GPz500S

Battlax BT45

Battlax BT45

Ray Walker

GSXR600

Dunlop 208 GP

Dunlop 208 GP

Dianne Welsford

CBR600

Metzler Z1

Metzler Z3

Dave Skitt

TL100S

Metzler Z1A

Dunlop 207

Rhys Williams

ZX9

Dunlop 208 GP

Dunlpop 208 GP

Craig Morley

YZF750

Dunlop 207 GP ?

Dunlop 364 (race)