Hey guys just put on a set of Dunlop qualifiers on my K3 1000 first time on new tires. When I got the bike it had Michellen PPs. I was wondering if new tires are as slippery as made out to be. I have only found one post where someone went down due to new tires and it sounds like that guy just opened the throttle too much. I have not seen a post of anyone going down in a turn.

Also I keep hearing a 100 mile breakin period. Can I assume that if I ride 100 miles straight up that the sides of the tires will be as slippery as when they were new?

Obviously 100 miles of straight line riding won't do shit. You need two things: To warm the tires up and rough up the surface.

The way I'd recommend it done: Make sure you have proper tire pressure. 32-34 PSI, the manual recommended pressure is too high for optimal grip. Clean the tires with alcohol to get mould release compound, tire grease, chain lube, etc. off. Just put it on a rag and wipe. Then do a couple of warm-up miles, alternating acceleration and braking - that flexes the carcass which produces heat. Take it to the twisties - start out slow, then keep increasing lean angle. Don't overdo acceleration, especially with a 1K. 50-ish miles this way should be plenty.


Or you can do it my way - wipe off, tire warmers on and drag knee in the first corner :biggrin

I did no wiping road to work 8 mi noticed a little slippery, road home noticed nothing. Got up this morning went about 12mi through some familiar long curves got gas noticed that the rubber looked a lot like the pilots I took off then went to the hills I don't think those roads count as twisties but it is the best I know of in the area. Once in the hills I noticed no difference.

Just to through this out there it seems that the Qualifiers heat up more and get stickier than the Pilots do. When I came to rest area the Qualifiers seemed to pick up a lot more sand and small gravel than the pilots ever did. Or maybe I just felt better about having a round front tire and road alittle harder.

Having ridden the PP's and the Qualifiers I find the Dunlops heat up faster and are stickier than the Pilot Powers. I run through Qualifiers in 4,000 miles but Pilots have 4,000 miles with alot of life left. I feel the PP's are more confidence inspiring though especially at more extreme lean angles.

I gotta say I love these tires. When I got the bike the front was ready to be replaced and having a new set makes a world of difference.