d220 v battlax bt014?

[kwak zzr]

ive been having trouble with my standard d220 rubber(lack of feel) so i took my cousins bandit out for a ride today which has the bridgestone battlax bt014 on the rear, whats this tyre like compared to others on the market? because i found myself running it right to the edges with ease and confidence and had loads of feel.

[andyaikido]

OE fitment on a lot of jap sportsbikes. Far, far better grip and feel wise than D220 but probably won't last as long.

[steveg]

Replaced my Original Dunlop D220 today , which I could not get to the edge with , Replaced with Pirelli Diablos & on way back from garage was decking pegs with loads of confidence .
Ditch the D220's now , have used BT014 & Diablos on previous bikes however prefer the diablos as can get about 4k out of the rear , where as I got 3k out of the BT014'S .

Both are good tyres just prefer the Diablos

Cheers Steve

[kwak zzr]

if my sv stay's for another year then the tyres will be changed.

[tj2]

Replaced my Original Dunlop D220 today , which I could not get to the edge with , Replaced with Pirelli Diablos & on way back from garage was decking pegs with loads of confidence .
Ditch the D220's now , have used BT014 & Diablos on previous bikes however prefer the diablos as can get about 4k out of the rear , where as I got 3k out of the BT014'S .

Both are good tyres just prefer the Diablos

Cheers Steve

Dunno why you all fear the 220's... I found that on my SV 650 they were fine, and ran off the edges front and rear. OK after 2 rears and the original front, I changed to 020 rear and 012 front, was a nice combination, but bought on price not reputation. My SV 1000 had original fitment Michellin Pilot Roads ( I think) I thought they were crap, but only because they took a while to warm up. (still ran off the edges :twisted: ) They were replaced with a set of dunlop 207's warmed up quick and were fun while they lasted well till I sold the SV........

Now I have a honda CB 1300... guess what tyres were standard fitment?????














Everyones nightmare D220's.............. They are superb........ sticky enough to grind the pegs and the sliders on my boots. Ok they are not the latest gimicky thing, but they work. Maybe a lack of confidence is the problem with some riders??

It's easy to follow the fashion, but I am sure that some people change them for changes sake. Use super-soft compounds on the track, I am positive that there are very few on this forum that will EVER exceed the capabilities of the OE Dunlops on the road. Not a rant, just my opinion after quite a few years of 2 wheeled travel....................................
Some of the older members of the forum will remember the skinny rock hard rubber that used to be fitted to motorcycles a few years ago :shock: :shock: :roll: :roll:


FWIW
Terry

[21QUEST]

tj2 , brilliant post =D> .

Exactly what I think when peeps moan about OE tyres being utter ****e/crap. Only I couldn't have put it down like you have :lol: .

Once you got it in your head that the tyres no good then straight away you have a problem. Some tyres I just don't like but that does necessarily mean they are rubbish.

Cheers
Ben

ps: not aimed at anyone in particular, just tyre p**fs in general :lol: .

[Razor]

I think the problem could be that the D220's work better on heavier bikes/riders.
If you're a tad on the chunky side they might be the right tyre for you...

[21QUEST]

I think the problem could be that the D220's work better on heavier bikes/riders.
If you're a tad on the chunky side they might be the right tyre for you...

Nah , can't go with that. It's a head thing IMO. I've got a Mez what ever it was that came with the curvy on my bike at the moment and it's more or less used up to the edge , trail braking , stoppies.

I couldn't be accused of having delicate throttle control either :lol: and that's one reason why I can't understand all the worries. Maybe I'm smoother than I think :roll:

Cheers
Ben

[lukemillar]

Ok, my 2p

I never found the d220 had a lack of grip (at least for my riding abilities anyway). What I found mad the biggest difference between them and my current Z6 is the profile. D220's seemed very rounded, with the edges being rather steep. I couldn't wear them up to the edges. Different story with the Z6's! As Ben says it is probably is a placebo effect, but so what? If it gives you more confidence then does it matter?

Final note, and this goes for any of the mods I have done. You mostly notice the difference immediately after you have made the change - massive. After the second or third ride, it becomes normal. Now, I can't remember what the bike was like to ride with the old tyres/shock/fork setup etc! So it always will seem an improvement! Would be interesting to hop back on a stock bike and see what I think.

[kwak zzr]

ive been having trouble with my standard d220 rubber(lack of feel) so i took my cousins bandit out for a ride today which has the bridgestone battlax bt014 on the rear, whats this tyre like compared to others on the market? because i found myself running it right to the edges with ease and confidence and had loads of feel.

yea but i noticed an improvment straight away so thats got to be good? i dont think i'm easy on my stock 220 rubber i mean theres nothing left on the front.

[steveg]

Tyres are a very personal thing on bikes .

Depends a lot on what bike the tyre is on , how you ride & what you weigh.
My problem with the D220's is the lack of feel when pushed hard , I like tyres that let me know when they are going to slide . For most uses the 220's are fine , remembering that they are a sport touring tyre . However other tyres in the same class that I have tried eg Mez Z6 are a lot better in my opinion.

The most important thing for me is confidence in the tyres on my bike , which I lacked in the D220's

If other people love D220's that fine with me , however have tried lots of tyres in 20 years of ridding bikes and I recon there are a lot better tyres out there .

Just my thoughts

Cheers Steve

[northwind]

My beef with the 220s is roundabouts... They don't like really fast changes of direction. I, on the other hand, really do. As far as total grip goes, they're fine, but flicking a bike round a small roundabout at speed, you're never sure which way they're going to go. That's the only time I've found them drastically lacking, but then it's much the same forces when you want to suddenly avoid, say, a small child.