I just bought a set of Pilots for my '05 Hawk. The front tire is labeled with the size 120/70 ZR 17 C, the tire dealer said is was made for Yamaha for the R1. Can anyone tell me more about this designation?

 

Can you ask your dealer to either:

1) Give you a specific "generic" 120/70-17 tire, or
2) Give you an R1 specific for that tire??

 

I asked for a 120/70-17(generic), he said he had one but it was the last Pilot(front) that he had until Tuesday next week, but he said that he had to tell me about the designation. The reason was because of all the sue happy people out there. ???? He didn't know why it was different, he speculated that it was so that Yamaha could sell it as a OEM tire at their dealerships.

 

I know for my Integra, when I first bought it, it had Michelin MXX4 tires. At that time, they were "specific" for the Integra. Replacement tires with this specific designation were more expensive than their "generic" counterparts. And from what I had tested, there was no appreciable difference between the two. I suspect that the same applies in this case, except if they tried to charge you more.

 

Same price. Already on the bike and it still doesn't feel like a R1. I'm glad cause I really like my Hawkster.

 

Ahh...I see. So you have a Frankenhawk on your hands now...

 

I feel like I have to brake the bike off the rim before I can brake the traction from the road. Only thing is they dont last long. especially when you corner hard.

 

Pilot Powers are awesome. I have them on the Duke, and I had them on the Ducati I owned before. Incredible cornering angles, and they warm up really fast. Well worth the slightly extra $$. When the nearly new Dunlop Qualifiers on my Hawk are done, the Michelin Man will be making an appearance.

 

Thumbs up on Pilot Powers. My Super Hawk has always had a tendency to "fall into" corners. Put them on and couldn't believe how much more neutral the handling was. It was almost like a different bike.

 

Hey, a comparison!! I've been running Pilot Powers, and love them. I have wondered about the Qualifiers, and would love to hear how they compare, especially on another SuperHawk. I assume you like the PPs better, as you plan to use them again.

 

Any reports about how Pilot Powers perform in the wet and cold?

Being in the UK, we don't enjoy so many lovely long hot sunny days as many others here do.

Being only recenlty back to biking after many years, I have zero confidence cornering in the wet, and a few slips and slides on a bad wet tyre would blow any confidence I do have.

 

Also would like a Qualifier vs Pilot Power comparison on the Hawk if someone gets around to it...

 

Rode in the rain this weekend, I didn't have any problems with traction. I rode through the moutains in Northern Arizona. It has been raining a lot up there.

 

The Duke (and the Ducati that preceded it) both came into my life with mismatched tires front and rear, and I had heard that PPs were the hot ticket and so I bought them and never looked back.

Now I'm hearing that Qualifiers are the current hot ticket so who knows.

I'm still just getting used to horsepower again. No chicken strips on the Duke, big chicken strips on the Superchicken. Gotta get some West Marin backroad miles under me to decide.

 

Both these tires are what you call "high silica content" compounds. They don't take very long to heat up and have excellent wet weather traction. I have run them both on the 1000RR and I think I like the DQ better than the PP. I had some issues with the front PP in that it wore really quick (~4500 miles) and the bike didn't want to turn in well. I've not yet put a lot of miles on the DQs, but they seem to be wearing quicker than the PPs.

 

Maybe it's just me,,,,, but uhhhh, what? 'm sure I'm just reading this wrong.. LOL.. But what tire are you suggesting? which one do you like better?

 

To clarify, the DQ REAR is wearing evenly, but a little more quickly than others I've seen. I have the DQ on both the RR and the VTR.

I've only run the PP on the 1000RR, and I got about 4000 usable miles from them. I replaced the rear first but should have replaced both at the same time.

 

Just been down to small local bike shop.

Very nice biker/manager runs the place.

Had a ZX12R for about 5 years and now an R1

He says the Pilot Powers are the best tyre he's ever used. Feel totally stuck to the ground.

I'm deff going with some of these when my current tyres wear out.

 

Another cool thing about the Qualifiers is that they are made with a "Dual Compound Rubber" which means they center of the tire is made with a harder compoud rubber, sort of like what the Dunlop 208 was made out of, and the sidewalls are made of a softer rubber. When you are riding in straight lines like on the highway you are on the harder rubber so it doesn't wear as fast as the tires that are all soft rubber, and when you lay it over around corners you get on the soft rubber that sticks good and heats up fast.

 

Just put the PP's on and now have about 600 miles on them, all I can say is WOW....talk about cornering like your on rails....sticky, sticky, and sticky...I thought I was going over the side of the mountain 2 weeks ago, and the tires whispered back, no sir not today....lol...They rock...

Buddy of mine got the PP C2, which like the Q's has the dual compound, the only neg thing he says is every now and then there is a bad feeling when going from center to side and back...he says it is a noticable difference...I say forget the dual compound unless you are stuck doing a lot of flat tracking...otherwise just get the regular ones....I doubt you will get that many more miles out of the dual comp....but then again, what do I know...LOL