Why are the stock dunlops not liked?

So far this is my first bike so i have little baisis for comparison.

But so far the tires seem good to me, i have gotten a good tire life out of them and have not had traction issues?

With a focus towards tread life what tires do ppl suggest? that are as good or better than the stock.

 

When time comes to replace them, go with a different brand and compare. Dunlops cup badly on the front and the grip sucks. I've tried many different brands and for all around use, the avon storms fit me well. I get great wet/dry traction plus great mileage.

 

there are alot of arguments and long threads here on which tire is the best

my stock tires lasted about 6500 miles, I tried to buy new ones that were the stock dunlops and the shop said I couldn't. I dont really know why, just remember when they replace your tires to ride on the side of caution for a couple hundred miles. your tires have wax on them from the mold that they come out of and it can be pretty slippery.

Michelin makes a tire/tyre called pilot power road 2CT gives you a soft compound on the edges and a hard compound in the center. so If you do alot of commuting, its good for the freeways.

i wanted them, but my shop said that they had to order them and I was too impatient to wait

Right now I have Pirelli Diablo's I like them alot Ive put close to 4000 miles on them they handle fine, they slipped once when I went through a long puddle but hey water is slippery right?

 

thanks, one further question, i replaced my rear with another stock and it is time to replace the front.
can i miss match tires?
I have no idea what to go with, may have to make a call based on availability

 

some people say now way on mixing brands due to differences that can affect handling-different treads follow different lines and corner differently.

The dunlops are known for cupping as stated above and the rear tires do not wear well. I had many miles on mine, but did not realize how crappy they were until I replaced them.

read old threads on tire reviews-new tire/oil threads are the thorn in our sides

 

My stock tires are the Metzlers so I can't give an opinion on the Dunlops but it is true that they do catch alot of bad reviews.

 

double checked and mine are Metzlers not dunlope sorry when people said dunlope stock tires suck i started to worry.

 

Dunlop is making a new dual compound tire called the Roadsmart. So far it's getting pretty good reviews. The local Honda shop has them for 217 a pair which seems good for a dual compound tire.

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Metzlers in general seem to have a good reputation. Interesting that you have 'em Molsan...
I think ours (M4's or Z4's I think) are not nearly as cool-o-neat-o as their other tires. My hunch is that VFR owners like the stock Metzlers more than the stock Dunlops but I think you'd feel a big difference with some premium rubber...
and yes, check the historic threads for all those other tire threads...lots of opinions!

 

My OEM Dunlop D204k's had all the feel & feedback of bricks being rubbed on the road surface. When turning, it actually felt like I was wrestling the bike over a hump & then the bike fell abruptly into the turn. The front started looked like snake scales after about 5K. Because of those tires, I am almost unwilling to even consider Dunlop tires.

Having endured this far to long, I made the single best move I've ever made involving two wheel other than actually buying my VFR. I switched to Continental Road Attacks. To say I was impressed would have been an understatement. The RA's improved the feel of the bike so much that I wrote a letter of appreciation to Continental thanking them. I am not exaggerating, the RA's actually made me a better rider since I now have 1000% more confidence in my bike.

I've written this before & here it is again. Continental Road Attack's should be the OEM tire for the Honda VFR.

Metzeler makes great tires. I have M1's on the Hawk GT & they stick like fly paper. They don't wear as long as I would like & I'm debating whether to use RA's on the Hawk next or try Metzeler M3's.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Stock tyres on Bikes & cars are usally look like the premier tyres of the same brands, but often are a discounted old on the shelf quality.

That being said, the Current Dunlop Qualifiers & RoadSmarts have had the top reviews in "ALL" magazines with other top names close to them.

I've had Pirelli's, Metzlers, Dunlops, that came on bikes that cupped & gave back shi_ty feedback.

So in the last 5 years when purchasing new bikes, I replace the tyres when dealer prep is happening & B-4 I p/u the bike.

I then put the stock tyres on craigslist & sell them to stunters that it doesn't matter what tyre it is, because they destroy them in a short time period.

Oh & Metzler is owned by Pirelli :wink:

For a VFR all around tyre you just can't go wrong with the Dunlop RoadSmart or the Conti Road Attacks eace:

 

That's how I felt too when I switched from the original "Dunflops" to the Road Attacks. Wow, what a difference! You can call it one of the best performance upgrades you can do for the VFR.

But you're just going to have to try a new tire so you can see for yourself what the big deal is. Think of it like getting wine-in-a-box from wal-mart. After a while you'll think it's pretty damn good but if you go to a real liquor store and buy wine in a real bottle you'll wonder why you wasted all that money with the wine-in-a-box.

You can get Road Attacks at a real good price from www.ridedirect.com

Go ahead, do it. It'll feel good trust me :biggrin:

 

alright i'm convinced, Road attacks!
now do i do both at once or can i do the front then the rear?

 

Both! Keep the good tire for a spare or sell it on e-bay.

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The OEM D204's on my previous Gen 6 were ok but went off after riding with meaning through my favourite Alpine twisites, by off the compound felt like I was riding on butter even though only had 2500 miles on them...Pilot Powers fixed that and never cooked them no matter how hard they were thrashed, have been impressed with my current Pilot Road 2's so far.

 

Do more research. Tires like everything else are a opinion based purchase Item. I looked at the road attacks and the Avon Storm. The issue was the availabilty. I had the Metz on my bike at OEM and had trouble with them. Lots of tire mfgs deal with wear life with compounds the Avon Stoms do it via belt design and flexbility. Dunlop and Mich do it via a two or multi compound recipe.

Different tires have different shapes and they are built for different riding conditions. If you commute and occasionally hit twities I would look at the various sport touring tires such as the Pilot roads. If you like to test every corner on your commute and hit the twisties when you get a chance you should look at the more sport based tires like the michelin Pilot power 2ct avon viper or Pirelli diablos. Tires affect the handling of your bike and they all carry different traits. most of them are good for day to day stuff but be aware that longer lasting usually means harder compound which equals less grip. I know that his is a bit of over simplification but.....
Touring tires have a more rounded contour and are made for just that touring. Sport tires have a subtle cone shape that makes for a quicker turn in can add to the agility of the bike.

So after all that Im not recommenting a tire but research of tires. Understanding of what role tires play on your bike and what they add or subtract from your ride.

 

And thats what makes it hard to reasearch many reviews focus on the stickyness and how they feel...but i do mostly your and commute(wish i rode hard more often.

 

Well stickyness is a virtue. Also they contribute so much to handling and your confidence as a rider. Rain, cornering, life cylce, riding style, etc... Remember your contact patch is only a little bigger than a quater. Again most of these tieres will work fine for you once you move up and off of the OEM models. I had always liked the metz until at 50% of the tread live they started letting go in the corners.

Since I was always a michelin guy for my ars and trucks I like to company and the reputation for quality. I went with the power pilot 2ct. It is like night and day compaied to the OEM metz. The power roads might be what you are lookign for though.

The reason I suggest this is that most honda shops are going to have these in stock.

 

Things other than opinions and tire ratings went into my tire purchase. For example after all of my research I wanted the AVON Storm ST tires I liked the technology / theory behind the tire. I also had interest in the new michelin 2CTs and the Conti road attacks. The issue I found when going to purchase tires is that AVON tires are not really available as stock items form most shops in my area. Neither were the Contis. Looks like most stores carry Dunlop and Michelin as stock items. I could find tires online all over the place but since I don't change my tires often enough to purchase the tire tools (bead breaker, tire irons and alignment rack) I am going to rely on my shop to swich tires for me. Knowing how widely available teh dunlop and Michelins were as far as stock was concerend I settled for the Mich 2CTs. I figured that if I go out on a trip I am more likely to find a replacement of the sam manufacture where ever I am.
Also Dunlop is making a new Roadsmart tire that is pretty much a direct competitor of the 2CT.

Now. That said I don't think I could have purchased a much better tire that the 2ct for the type of riding I do so all in all I am happy. I commute much of the time but make everything out of each and every corner.

Good Luck with your purchase enjoy your riding.