| Author | Message | ||
     Mstarbird |
I have a 2004 XB12R with stock tires and it has about 2100 miles on them. Today while riding I was coming to a stop at a light and while breaking I noticed the rear tire starting to slide around a bit. I was not breaking real hard ( or I did not think so ). My question is what is the normal tire life for the stock tires, what is a good replacement tire and will I need to replace both the front and rear if I am changing to a different tire make? | ||
| Rocketsprink  |
You're at about the mark now. The stock Dunlops stink in my opinion. M-1's, Power Sports, just about any other high performance tire will work better than the 207's. Yes, both need to be replaced. It isn't recommended to mix and match tires. Do a search on this site,as this topic has been covered to death. | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise)  |
Some people will mix & match different brands of tires & they havent had any problems. I personally wouldnt do it & never have. On sportbikes where handling is critical due to the manner in which we ride the bikes I stick with matched tires. | ||
| Unibear12r |
On the second half of the Octoberfast ride I was running a Dunlap front and a new Metzler Z6 on the rear. Some of the hardest riding I've ever done and everything went great. However I don't believe in mixing tires either. Other mixes might be quite dangerous. I might have just been lucky this time. Soon as I got home a Metzler went on the front too. If you want full value for the front throw another Dunlap on then change both in another 2k miles. If you get that far as mine was always totally toast at 2k. | ||
| Buellj79  |
IMO the bridgestone 014's have been awesome, finding it difficult to break them in corners. My comparison being the stock dunlops slip or break traction at a certain point where as the bridgestones keep on gripping so far.  . ride safe J  | ||
| Xb9er  |
The rear brakes on the XB are NOT designed to stop the bike or even to help stop the bike in my opinion.  When I come to a stop light, I use only the front brake 99.9% of the time. That's all you really need. Mike. | ||
| Buellj79 |
i'll second that mike the rear brakes suck J | ||
| Husker4life |
well everyone has there opinion. but everyone also has an a$$H@&*. I think the dunlops 208s are a great tire for normal riding with a little bit of fun. ( some of us a little more than a little bit). BUT I have heard the MICH. power pilots are doing really good with tire wear and performance. A friend of mine has them on his bike and he loves them. he did use the super corsas. but it is your choice, just don't listen to all the negative feedback. | ||
| Mstarbird |
Thanks for all of the responses. I will be looking into replacing the tires real soon. As far as the rear break is concerned I do not use it solely for stopping at a light, but in conjunction with the front. I have really noticed that the rear does have a tendency to get real light when stopping. Guess it is just getting used to the bike as I have not ridden a sport bike in a number of years. I am coming from riding touring bikes and big Harleys.  | ||
| Fullpower  |
yes with a 52 inch wheelbase, a lot of weight is transferred forward under any amount of braking. i have run a metzeler Z6 on rear with the stock front dunlop, no problems. the Z6 is a very durable AND grippy tire. In my experience they are good for more than double the tread life over the stock D207. | ||
| Midknyte |
Just to note, if you find the read tire skipping out on a stop and you are not up for new tires yet - you need to stiffen up the front end suspension a little. | ||
| Reepicheep  |
Or it means you were unfortunate enough to put on a Dunlop D220 rear  |
