How bad are standard tyres.

[Jackie_Black]

Evening ladies and gents

I have done some thorough searching and i'm just wondering. How bad are the standard tyres?

My new SV650 has Dunlop Sportmax D220s i believe.
Are they really a bad tyre?

I've covered 1000 miles so far on the bike and the tyres seem ok, there seems to be a good deal of feel from both ends (in the dry at least). I'm just wondering if I start using my bike a lot in the inevitably wet winter will all of my journeys be pure slippy terror?

If they are truly lethal I'm thinking about swapping for Avon Azaros or Metzeler Z6's as these seem to be very popular. I need a tyre that warms up fast wet or dry, lasts at least 3000 miles and grips well. Is this asking too much?

Cheers in advance :p

[fizzwheel]

Theres alot of guff IMHO been written about the D220. I've ridden three pointies with those tyres on in various road conditions and IMHO they are'tn that bad, they dont set the world on fire, but they are adequate.

Yes the Z6's etc work better, but I see no good reason not to use those tyres and then chuck them away once you've worn them out.

The D220's dont heat particularly quickly, but that means you just have to take it easier for longer on a cold day thats all.

[rictus01]

The D220 are Ok"ish", I'd never fit them myself as there's so many better ones out there, caution is needed now the weather has turned a bit as best operating temperature is quite a while in coming, if you're prepared to take it easy, money's tight then they should be fine for commuting and alike as long as you don't put to many demands on them and are aware on short journeys they aren't going to get up to temp.

Given the choice (and your critiria) I'd change them and if they have lots left in them perhaps save them for the spring next year swapping to something better for the summer once they were shot, but then I'm expecting a few more good days yet, the Z6/Azaro's and road attacks are all better tyres and heatup significantly quicker as well as providing a better grip level and should last far in excess of your mileage requirements.
Just be thankful you don't have the Z4's of the original curvy they were truly awful.


Cheers Mark.

[Jackie_Black]

Cheers for that. Maybe i'll swap them over in the spring then. I commuted to work this morning and they did feel a bit funny for the first 3 miles or so in the damp. Z6's are starting to sound like the way forward.

[wheelnut]

From memory, the MEZ4 were like riding on marbles, but it was character building, :)although the ride back from the tyre house with a pair of Z6 was like someone had taught me to ride properly.

I cant comment on the Sportmax but it seems as though original tyres are never as good as the next set. It's probably all in our heads though and it is certainly pointless throwing a perfectly good set of tyres in the skip.

[G]

5000 miles on mine when I had a pointy, nothing wrong with them at all in my opinion. Plenty of grip.

[willy]

I have a K7 with the original D220s fitted and I'm finding that when out on a ride the first 50 or so miles are fine but then the back end starts getting twitchy, is this normal? The pressure is fine so it isn't that...

[sinbad]

If you mean twitchy as in slippery, and in "normal" riding as you did for the first 50, then no, it's not normal, but I don't have an answer for you if the tyre is okay and pressure correct :)

On the other hand, I imagine it's perfectly possible to overheat a D220 rear if you're really "on it" hard for 20+ miles of the right kind of roads.

Touch it with your hand when it begins to happen, if it's genuinely overheated, it will feel too hot to keep your hand on for long.

I had D220s for a few thousand, replaced because of wear (second hand bike), and I noticed with the replacement "RoadAttacks" that they gave me a bit more confidence in the first few miles, especially if it's wet or damp. I reckon this higher general confidence level is the reason I am able to use the whole tyre, D220s had strips, but in retrospect I don't think this was due to lack of grip, just lack of confidence. The D220 is a perfectly usable tyre, switching to something else won't transform the bike (imo), which is what posts/threads might lead you to believe.
RAs aren't the best tyre either mind you, but they are cheap.

[Dappa D]

ive just replaced the d220's that my bike came with (2nd hand)...because they were a bit squared and also i do a lot of riding in the wet (dont we all in england?!)..and they used to slip a lot ive had some near misses and also spin when accelerating hard in the wet...in the dry they were fine...good infact...

but the dunlop roadsmarts ive just put on (yesterday)...although not scrubbed in yet...feel much better and planted imo

[G]

On the other hand, I imagine it's perfectly possible to overheat a D220 rear if you're really "on it" hard for 20+ miles of the right kind of roads.


You could never over heat D220s on the road, I have used them on the track for 15 - 20 minutes of harder riding than your ever likely to do on the road and they performed very well



I had D220s for a few thousand, replaced because of wear (second hand bike), and I noticed with the replacement "RoadAttacks" that they gave me a bit more confidence in the first few miles, especially if it's wet or damp. I reckon this higher general confidence level is the reason I am able to use the whole tyre, D220s had strips, but in retrospect I don't think this was due to lack of grip, just lack of confidence. The D220 is a perfectly usable tyre, switching to something else won't transform the bike (imo), which is what posts/threads might lead you to believe.
RAs aren't the best tyre either mind you, but they are cheap.

I never got to the edge of my D220, even when scraping the pegs accidently on the track before I learnt to get my knee down. They still had about 0.5mm - 1cm of chicken strip left, it mean nothing, different tyres just have different profiles.

Sorry to post this picture again :rolleyes:

There is NOTHING wrong with D220's they are more than capable.

http://img35.picoodle.com/img/img35/9/9/7/f_BIKEm_e9f01ed.jpg

[RichT]

I had Bridgestone 021's on my old Bandit and in the wet I had much more confidence than on my D220's. i find them much the same in the dry though.

[Dangerous Dave]

Dunlop Sportmax D220s
They aren't bad but the aren't great either...

I wouldn't say they are terrible and you would need to change them straight away...

I wouldn't recommend them to be fitted as a second set simply because there are so many better tyres out there...

[thor]

They aren't bad but the aren't great either...

I wouldn't say they are terrible and you would need to change them straight away...

I wouldn't recommend them to be fitted as a second set simply because there are so many better tyres out there...

+1

[thor]

I should say, I squared mine off before getting new ones.

[Jackie_Black]

Mine did 4000 miles and as the bike was getting a full service I bought it some 021s. The dunlops weren't that badly worn but rubbish in the wet. The bridgestones are better although the front tryes isn't as grippy as i'd like and you can feel it understeering almost in hard corners (if thats possible on a bike!) or at least that is how i'd describe it.

[Dappa D]

I should say, I squared mine off before getting new ones.

+1

[Zokambaa]

I'm going to revive a semi dead thread.... but I hate these stock D220 tires!!!

on my first SV, a 99 SV650s
I had some bridgestone battleaxe BT011 fronts The rear sort of looked like the BT56 but was a match for the BT011 front at the time whatever the rear was, it has been discontinued... it was well worn when I got the bike but worked OK still... not too bad for being low on tread

I swapped to my favourites so far... the conti road attacks... those things did everything so well... they warmed up pretty well, rarely slipped unless I hit dirt/sand/gravel or really hammered on the gas in a tight corner exit... but great tire all around...

I rode an 08 with a stock dunflop D220 rear and I think it had a BT014 on the front... my god that was horrible... unless the owner of the bike really screwed with something on the suspension, geometry, or went with a different profile tire... it felt like I had to stand up on the bike and jump up and down on it just to get it to tuck into a corner... it had a horrible habbit of standing up...

I bought an 06 SV650s with the stock tires.. and while I have them matched and it handles way better than the mix-n-matched ones.. it still is not even close to the conti road attacks... those things were awesome...

I've found the stock tire works.. but it is not great... on the roads here which are more smooth stone gravel pavement instead of the jagged shards like some places have... these tires are slick as hell untill they warm up... then they are just OK... the contis warmed up real quick by comparison... these things are also slick on wet and paint strips on the road... and again the road attacks were way better...

These stock things don't like a hard corner as much as some but there is no way in hell you could pay me to put them on again... NEVER...

I'll try the new dunlop roadsmarts... I hear they have great reviews and are a bit better than the road attacks.... but I am tempted to just go with the road attacks again anyway.... I'll have to see how people like the Dunlop Roadsmart tires on the snd gen SV....

I just don't feel the stock tires on the 06+ SV to be very good and I hate how slick they are on colder roads (I've only had the chance to ride them in 15c down to -5 C but the road attacks still were waaaay better even at -10c yeah that is below freezing temps)

I rode another SV with the stock tires... average riding 5000km on it and the crappy stock tire was already getting square... it stands the bike right up.. I put 4000km on my road attacks and they were still very round and I didn't get to even hit the real twisty roads with it either...

From what I experienced the Conti Road Attack is on my short list... but many say the Dunlop Roadsmart tire is better in the wet, a touch better in the dry... and looks to get a bit better mileage out of it due to a harder compound in the middle of the tread... but the Road Attacks and the RoadSmart tires are supposed to get better mileage than the Z6... with the added benefit of the tread crossing the centerline so you know for sure when the middle is too low...

some say they were far from the wear bars on their Z6 Tire.. then 250 miles later the threads were showing in the center... not a good thing...

The Roadsmarts and the Conti road attacks have deep center tread, great grip, good handling wet dry, cold or hot (well perhaps not the best choice for the track but great on hard road riding) it'll come down to availability and pricing when I choose my next tire.... now how am I going to kill off these D220s so I can get a good tire on rather than a mediocre one

It'll do I guess but for the price there are many better tires that could have been used

[Lozzo]

.... now how am I going to kill off these D220s so I can get a good tire on rather than a mediocre one



Just put a new pair on, the fact that they don't give you any confidence is all the justification you need.

[SoulKiss]

I have Pilot Road 2's on the SV and Storm ST's on my Z750.

Both are good.

Had the 220's on the SV for 6k miles (dead/squared) so only swapped them because they needed doing.

There are very few "bad" tyres out there, it would perhaps be silly to swap the 220's for new 220's because there ARE better tyres for not much more money out there.

Oh the Z750 came with some stupidly sticky (but excellent) tyres that lasted 3k miles (only 1 trackday in that)

[Zokambaa]

Just put a new pair on, the fact that they don't give you any confidence is all the justification you need.

Yeah I hate them... but they will do in a pinch.. I just dropped a load on the full M4 exhaust for it.. so the tires will have to wait... I don't think I will be doing any real hard riding for a while anyway... perhaps I'll do a couple long highway cruises in the spring to wear it down a bit... tires are insanely expensive in canada... often close to twice the price as the USA... and since the bike only has 2000km on it now there isn't much sense doing them untill the rear squares off a bit more..

They are bad but I know their weak points now.. so I can make do.... perhaps a pre-ride burnout each time would help (warm up the tire and wear some of it off... then again it might not make the neighbours happy when I get the new exhaust on though :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:)

Oh and in North America the D220 was discontinued.. it's replacement is the new RoadSmart tire... they seem to like them on the SVrider.com board... and a few review sites too...

[SoulKiss]

Oh and in North America the D220 was discontinued.. it's replacement is the new RoadSmart tire... they seem to like them on the SVrider.com board... and a few review sites too...

A rose is a rose................

[Dave20046]

If anyone wants a good cond. standard (I think) tyre for nowt pm me. Pay for postage and maybe include a pint and it's yours - get yer bike through an mot or ready for sale.

[Dangerous Dave]

If anyone wants a good cond. standard (I think) tyre for nowt pm me. Pay for postage and maybe include a pint and it's yours - get yer bike through an mot or ready for sale.
You got a Curvy Dave, your OEM tyres are MEZ4's.