Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

whats a good tyre to buy for my zz600
any imput would be a great help in my decision

the tyres i have on the bike now are Bridgestone Battlax BT-020

one tyre im looking at is the Bridgestone Battlax BT-014

thanx.

I had the BT-020s on my ZZR600, they weren't a bad tyre...lasted a while, and finally squared off on the bottom.

I had a set of Dunlops at the end when I sold the bike, they weren't bad either (but I can't remember what they were). FWIW I think the BT-014s are a softer tyre, so they won't last as long as the 020s, I got nearly 15k out of my 020s (but by then they looked like a car tyre).

Mick

I had BT-020's on my 1100. Switched to Mich Pilot Road 2's and just love 'em. So much stickier in the twisties and they're not squaring off as quick, either.

Give dunlop roadsmarts a go,i never liked dunlops even the 208rrs which are a pretty soft tyre so i went to metzler and had run 5 sets of metzler M3s on my zx9,as well as pilot powers,pilot roads but the road smarts were sugested to me by marti and as most of my ks are done in the twisties these tyres have been very good.I scrbbed the sides out of the front in about 6000 ks plenty left in the middle and i got 8,500 out of the rear.They are a very predictable tyre and have never given me any ass puckering moments.I have never got more than 7000 ks out of any rear tyre

I did try M3 on the ZX9, then tried out Pilot Road 2 on the zx10 and now i got Pilot Powers on the Z1000 and my advice is,

If you do fast riding, twisties and use your bike as more of of a weekend hack, then got for Pilot Powers.

If you do more road cruising, go for the pilot road 2's, they are still pretty good for the fast stuff, just take a bit longer to heat up.
Plus they have 2 compounds, hard in the middle so they wont square off as quick and soft on the outside like a pilot power so good and sticky on the corners and good for cruising with the hard bits in the middle

Michelin Pilot Road 2's

Traditionally HATE Dunlops - Now running Roadsmart's on the Fairy and the GSF. Put a set on a mates BB and pretty bloody happy with them so far and seem to be pretty much on par with PR2's but perhaps not as predictable in the wet maybe?!

I take it you are changing the rear? worn out in the middle or sides?? [ be honest now LOL!!] .

Dunlop Roadsmarts - very stable on the ER-6 - no dramas in the wet (or hail )

Saki wrote:...hard in the middle so they wont square off as quick and soft on the outside like a pilot power so good and sticky on the corners...

Which is exactly why I got them. Great for daily riding to work, yet sticky enough for spirited weekend rides.

IsleofNinja wrote:Traditionally HATE Dunlops - Now running Roadsmart's on the Fairy and the GSF. Put a set on a mates BB and pretty bloody happy with them so far and seem to be pretty much on par with PR2's but perhaps not as predictable in the wet maybe?!

I take it you are changing the rear? worn out in the middle or sides?? [ be honest now LOL!!] .

well i bought the bike in early may and the tyres were already slightly squared in the middle
and since ive had the bike the tread through the center has completely warn away , so the rear is a bit on the illegal side
Im trying real hard to wear out the sides of the rear even to the point that my chicken strips are nearly gone but i'v run out of time
so a tyre changes is immanent.

and to be honest i have never riden my bike with brand new tyres so im really looking forward to it.

In reponse to 2 other posts ^^^

That is why i have them too, i only have a bike so my daily is my weekender and the PR2 are SWEEEET as!

My ZZR600 needs new shoes soon, too. I'll be getting either Pilot Road 2s or RoadSmarts, whichever is cheaper at the time.

i got priced up for a set. rear which is 190 = $303, front which is 120 = $200
That is for PR2. I think pilot powers are about $40 more for each.

Saki wrote:i got priced up for a set. rear which is 190 = $303, front which is 120 = $200
That is for PR2. I think pilot powers are about $40 more for each.

The powers are softer in the middle and will square-off quicker. Are you doing more upright commuting or twisties?

cookeetree wrote:

Saki wrote:i got priced up for a set. rear which is 190 = $303, front which is 120 = $200
That is for PR2. I think pilot powers are about $40 more for each.

The powers are softer in the middle and will square-off quicker. Are you doing more upright commuting or twisties?

Well heres the thing you see! It didnt go completely how i wanted but am whilling to live with it.

I bought my Z the other day and it needed a RWC, so basically it failed cause of the tyre! So he rang me and asked wat to do, so i said get a PR2 on it for me and i will cover it.
So anyway i goto check the tyre and find i have a PP!
Thats no problem seeing as i only paid him $200 for the PR2 and ended up with a more expensive tyre! Sweeeet!

But yes the PP is soft all over where as PR2 is hard in middle and soft on outer edge.
I personally use my bike as my daily cause i dont have a car so thats why i wanted PR2, but i do both really, seeing as i work from home i dont commute often and most of the time if i go riding its to goto the twisties.
But you are correct if you do more commuting/touring/upright i would stick with the PR2.

Another erason why i love PR2 is, i found thought it was hard centred its still quite good on grip, the zx10 used to get some bad arse wheel spin on some flat bits of road but the PR2 with some heat usually stopped those problems!