1st time on new tires

[1chance4chances]

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?

[SVS]

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

[1chance4chances]

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.

[ronaldo9]

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.

[1chance4chances]

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.