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  #1  
Unread 01-16-2008, 10:50 PM
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I was pretty dumb riding around on worn out Metzeler tires for the past 400 miles. I decided it was a matter of national security that I find a new set QUICK. I got the hook up through Sport Tire Services Inc. that happens to be in my back yard here in Paso Robles. Schweeet. They were even nice enough to let me borrow one of their Pit Bull stands for the front end while I brought my wheels in.

The nice thing about keeping your motorcycle clean is that you don't get dirty when you work on it.


The bad news? I got to hang out and chit-chat with them while they balanced my wheels and the quickly pointed out that I had a bent front rim. It's not so bad that it's an emergency but I have been noticing some vibration when I hit the brakes. I assumed that it's my brake rotors but now it could be coming from the rotors AND the wheel. GREAAAT, just great. Oh well I'll keep riding on my bent rim for a while. :lol: I bid the Sport Tire Services crew farewell and threw my new Dunlop Tires in the back of my truck.
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Unread 01-16-2008, 10:54 PM
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I had a hard time putting on my wheels without cleaning things even more. I'm not really a clean freak but it's easy to do and the bike just looks better and better the more I do it. B) I can't wait to give these a run through some twisty corners. Its just a good thing to see new rubber on the back of your streetbike. I was a fool to be riding on those worn out tires for the past couple weeks. New tires are the best insurance you can have. Go out and buy the stickiest Dunlops you can find. They will save your life.



Don't bash me for not having the Ohlins shocks on yet! I'm getting around to it soon. Oh and if anyone wants to send me a pair of rear brake pads please do. I just found out why my rear brakes weren't working... the pads are non-existent. Boy the previous owner was sure a piece of work. When I picked it up the tires were dangerously low on air which didn't help that front rim. Plus the brakes are trash... I got a cherry of a bike! At least the bodywork is near flawless. That is where you get the real kick in the nuts if you have to replace any of that.
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Unread 09-23-2008, 08:24 AM
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SO I had a great Sunday yesterday out ridin around with the guys. We had a very good ride with no problems other than my bike not wanting to start one time when it was hot. The Aprilia doesn't want to start, stop, start too much when it's hot. I've been warned that the relays go out BUT one time I actually noticed that my battery cable had vibrated loose! MAKE SURE YOUR BATTERY CABLES are nice and tight and I'm actually putting some lock-tite on mine! Anyhow life is good.

You might have read elsewhere on my forum of the lowside wreck that I had while whipping into a turn. I have hit that turn just as fast on other bikes with GP tires so I really had to sit and think about what caused the slip. I remember everything to the exact detail as my adrenaline was pumping overtime. The suspension was basically too soft and I bottomed out the front end. I'm here today to mention once again that my crash was in no way related to the Dunlop Qualifier tires I was running. After yesterdays very spirited ride I am totally confident in these Dunlop Qualifier tires that I have been running. Here is a picture of the finishing blow that I put to these tires over the weekend. I was really surprised at how well they worked even when I wore them down to nothing! I went into a corner SUPER hot while I was following a friend on his Triumph Speed Triple as I thought (as well as he thought) that he knew the road up ahead over a blind crest in the road. Well we both stuck our feet out like we were both about to do some flat tracking! And we almost did but we just whipped it through the turn and soldiered on. I absolutely love these tires but I'm moving on to some GP skins as extra insurance.

I had NO room left on this tire to push any harder through that turn! Walking a tight line indeed. =o Thank goodness for the Aprilia's super fine handling and these Dunlop Qualifier tires holding in there for me!


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Unread 09-25-2008, 10:03 PM
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Now for the fun stuff. :lol: I got some new sticky tires finally. The Dunlop Qualifiers were just fine and they did me very well. Now it's time for a bump up in performance and here we bring in the Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier GP tires. They are sticky as ever and I'm sure they will do anything I ask them to.



I got them mounted the day after I had Danny Hull bring my suspension back to a good neutral point for me to start working with it. Before it was all out of whack with the dampening completely backed all the way out. I was lucky not to have binned it a second time as it was rocking back and forth through the turns like a seahorse. I can say that I got a lot of practice being smooth on and off the power in the turns. Any movement I made on the power or on the brakes would cause the front to dive or the rear to squat. It was ridiculous. So now Danny Hull got a chance to dial in the Ohlins suspension I'll be much better off all over the chart.



Here is a fun shot from underneath the swingarm. My Qualifier rear tire was a 180 in the back and now I'm back up to a 190 which is the factory spec size tire for the back.

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Unread 11-22-2008, 10:06 AM
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Cycle Gear stores came through on the tire deals last month. Me and a friend drove there during their super sale to grab a couple sets of tires. They were $180 a pair for Pirellis or Bridgstone BT-016's. I really should have got the Bridgestones but I have always wanted to try the Pirellis... and that's what they had in the store so we just grabbed em.

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Unread 11-25-2008, 10:48 AM
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My Dunlop GP tire received a stern beating last Sunday on an all day ride. It performed great. I did feel it sliding a bit under extreme cornering but it's not like I can say it was the tires doing since the road surfaces were so inconsistent. The wear on this tire is far beyond optimal as well. Great tires and I'm just out there using them up. I wouldn't mind running another set... hell the street version Qualifier was a fantastic tire also. I don't have a preference between the two as I'm out on the street and they both are performers. I also make damn sure that any tire I have on is warmed for a few minutes in the turns before I use em hard. When people slip up it's almost always on cold tires it seems lately.

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Unread 11-25-2008, 07:26 PM
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Just for fun here is what the tire looked like when I got it.. pretty good shape.

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Unread 01-03-2009, 12:00 AM
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And now my tires are trashed. I got back from a longer days worth of riding and thought I could pull off one last ride... then I turned the wheel on the stand to inspect it and found a strip missing out of the center. Not cool. :`(

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Unread 04-09-2009, 08:27 PM
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Can you tell we like the Dunlop Qualifiers? These triple compound tires are extraordinary in all street conditions and top magazines proved that on the track the race tires turned slightly faster track times... barely. The street tires lasted a lot longer, heated up faster and absorbed bumps better.



People seem to preach less about Pirelli nowadays. There is hardly a performance gap between the top tires anymore if there ever was any. If you are on the program and racing the series then you might want to worry between which tire works better on each track. But that's where the necessity for a tire advantage stops for me. No I don't race. Just IMO. I just am not a fan of preaching which brand is better when the people who talk the loudest don't even try or test out different tire pressures. They don't run more than one track day a year and they only have one motorcycle in their garage. I'm just playing around with the subject because I know people talk tires brands like they talk religion. I just think it's funny because the racers buy the tires that are the cheapest out of the leading brands.
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