You must be bad as hell if you are taking the turns at the Gap in 3rd. Especially if you have stock gearing.

Only if he likes sitting at 2800 rpms

Re: Best tires for a SuperHawk?
 

I was thinking the same thing, but I didn't want to be rude...since I usually read, not post..

Uh, no, not really.
I manage OK. Faster than some. Slower than others.

Most all of The Dragon I run in second gear. My gearing is not stock (one tooth down on the front and it does make a difference)
RPM range: 4500-redline.

There are some sections just south of the overlook that will see 3rd on occasion.

I see you're from the area and have ridden Deal's Gap. Stop me if you ever see me. We can ride together. I don't see a lot of Superhawks there.

Back to the subject of tires:
I was just trying to give an idea as to what the tires will do when ridden hard in lower gears. I don't imagine most bikes/tires are likely to see much harsher conditions outside The Gap and similar roads, unless you are on the track.
The Pilot Powers do a fine job.

here's a pic: (second gear turn)

That is a hella cool pic!

Re: Best tires for a SuperHawk?
 

+1
That is what I use, although, I have never been on the track, and I am kinda slow on the street.

I don't know if anybody has tried them, but I've got a buddy that swears by the Avon Azaro AV45/AV46 combo. He's not a track day junkie and uses his F4i for daily commuting. His last set went 15k on the front and 20k on the rear. He is pretty conservative as far as I know and hasn't been doing a lot of running in the twisties lately, but used to on the same tires. By the mileage and grip he claims I'm considering them. Still haven't totally made up my mind though.

I have the Avon azaro av49/50sp pros and I'd have to say they're pretty damn good tires. I won't get that kind of milege out of them but they stick really well and last well for a sport tire.

I am not at all sure what to buy..most of my riding is wearing the center down and hardly using the sides (according to the rear tires wear) I do some aggresive cornering, however it seems the thing gets unstable when pushed. This is on dunlops, I don't think I will buy another set of them as they also tend to follow those tiny squiggly line patches in the road. I do want something a little better on the middle wear thus. so any suggestions? right now the front tire is still new so will be replacing only the rear.

Old thread. Sure there is lots of good info in there just dated.
For the money I really like the Q2 from dunlop. Great tire. Sidewall is supposed to be on the stiffer side. I do lots of commuting on them keep them pumped up and you should get at least 7,000 miles out of them (commuting only) BT-016 way softer sidewall. I can get all the way to the edge of the rear just commuting. And the wear is not as good as the Q2's. Michelin pilot powers 2ct's are also pretty descent the front wears real funny (gets cupped aggressively) with the way the tread pattern lays. Makes the front end almost twitchy.
So recap Q2's are my favorite. However a good tire for the hawk is preference and one that has tread.

I am about 6k into my El Cheapo Conti motion tires. They seem to have allot of life left in them. I am a 60 mile a day commuter so they match my needs fairly well. Rated for only 136 MPH tho.

Love my Pirelli Diablo Corsa tires. Great stick and good life span. And I ride pretty damn hard. But mt next set will be TKC80's.

Don't ask! :eek:

Miguel

I'll have to look into those geek....As for the 135 rating (what the heck , I have only had mine at 157 1 time and dont feel the need, its meat grinding scarry lol even though it did get there smoothly). I think longer lasting would be good for me as I cannot in this economy afford to buy tires every 2000 miles.
sometimes guys on here get options and find great deals on tires so was looking to see if anyone has :)

dang!!! local shop here wants $250. for dunlop q2 rear tire installed.. sound fairly high any oppinions guys?

yeah, esp when you can get front and rear for the same price includ shipp/tax from Sportbike Track Gear. Find a friend with a tire changer(less than a hundred at Harbor Freight), and buy him a case of beer to change yours. If you like to lean, I would replace the front with the rear unless it's new.

Ouch! quite high, but not unusual for a local shop. they tend to price "retail" instead of discount. Consider buying online, removing the wheel yourself, and just have them do a mount/balance. Even if they charge you 50 bucks, you'd be ahead of the game.

yeah the front is new (about 3 weeks old) and its a dunlop q2, that was the reason I decided to get the q2 rear.

as for changing the rear tire myself (inexperienced) wasn't wanting to fug up the alignment or anything else. ( I know I should but....considering cornering at speeds etc, I am leary of the oops facter that might happen lol). And I have no riding buddy's around or much of anything else here. Ride solo always :(

well, in that case, you really have little choice. Too bad you're not around me because I'd be glad to assist you.

I commute daily about 100 miles round trip as well as do some very spirited weekend riding. Diablos are my first choice. Just put another rear tire on last week after 7800 miles. Front still looks good. Proly will have to replace in about 2 months. That's just my $.02 tho. Everyone has their own opinion on whats best for their bike.

its nice to hear, and appreciate that Nath :) trying to savbe up the money now to get it.

love how my rear diablo feels handles and accelerates.. too bad i dont do 100 mile commutes.. i do corner to corner redlights daily.. 0-80-45 ... redlight 0-70-35.. redlight/stopsign.. rinse & repeat

my rear lasted less than 3000 miles.

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR HUNGRY THROTTLES? on hot, rubber burning florida streets?
;)

I agree,,,,, mostly :D

Tires within a design group are on the same level and it's about preference, brand name you want price and availability.

Track but street legal.
Street, but track worthy.
Aggressive street.
Mild street, longer life
Touring

Tires pretty much fall in one of those groups, and within those groups, you can pick any tire and ride about the same. I ride with a tire from the first two groups so they don't last all that long, as such I get to try um all :D

Many people i see riding uber sport bikes,, could ride on a set from ANY group and never out ride the tire.

Some folks i see ride in a way that may not be Fast, but they break hard, lay the bike over hard and break or acceleration hard,, and could benefit from a tire in the first two groups, even though they are only riding OVERALL at a moderate pace.

So, to the OP.. there are non OEM tires that will perform as good or in most cases better then the OEM set, tell us the bike mods, and an honest assessment of how you ride, where you ride, how often and on what surfaces. You'll get some informed opinions on what group your most likely to fit in, and then pick a set and go ride.

In your middle three categories there is a lot of blurring of what is offered.

I ride a 80ish mile commute, all secondaries and "fun" roads - 46 minutes for the 41 mile ride in. Never been to a track day.
My current tire mix has suited me well - Pilot road in the rear, pilot sport on the front. I put these on the end of last season and have about 4500miles on them. It would seem there is another 4k on the rear and probably a bit less left on the front. I have about 1/2" chicken strips if that indicates my level of "aggression".
I'm thinking I may try Road 2 on back and Pilot Sport CT2 on the front next time around but that won't be till next August

you guys do know that even a shinko 005 is good enough to scrape your knees in corners, right? I know cause I've done it on a track.

Bottom line is, pick a tire you like and trust. current tire quality far outpaces rider ability. it's mostly in your mind.

yeah I take advantage of the quickness of takeoff probably more than anything and ride aggressive in corners. however its the center of the tire that wears out while the sides look decent yet (this is of course only on the back wheel). the front wheel is almost the opposite lol.

Try a pilot road

Yeah, I've always been a fan of Michelin. The dual compound of either the Pilot Power or Pilot Road is always a good choice for street riding. the Pilot Power will even serve well for track days as long as you're novice or light intermediate.

diabo rosso's I like them LOTS......

usaabn

never tried a shinko 005, but have been using the e705s on my xr650l which i use 99% road as a wannabe supermoto. At $45 and with the nice rounded profile, it seemed worth a shot. The tread on the rear developed a couple little cracks on the meat of two lugs shortly after install and of course this had me a bit concerned. However, these cracks never expanded to other lugs nor got bigger. None occurred on the front. Got 3600 miles on the rear to bare threads showing on rear. I love these tires because they are sticky and predictable and hold good with light debris on the road. A little slippery on wet surface roads, but this is normal. Just installed a new one on rear.


Got 4400 miles out of Power Pures on the superhawk @ 30psi. I like the feel and grip. Installed new set of PPs, but went to a 190x55 on a 5.5"rim. The sides are a little steep on the rear(as noted by tweety)which is to be expected when you squeeze a bigger tire on, however this doesn't seem to be the case with the Q2 190 which i just installed on a friend's crb600. It's profile is similar to the 180x55 Power Pure This may be the reason dunlop 190s are preferred for track on the 5.5"rim.

Relative to which tires are best for the superhawk, a better question might be which tires suit your purposes the best. For highway touring with some spirited canyon carving, the pilot road 3 would be my guess, or with more bias toward leaning hard, the new pirelli rosso II could be the right choice. Choices are very subjective, but there are tires suited to fit most preferences.

So true!

"Relative to which tires are best for the superhawk, a better question might be which tires suit your purposes the best." ...and which you prefer.

Tire use is like oil discussions. :)