Dunlop D220's

As there is only 1 review on here so far... I though I'd add my 2 peneth...

Dunlop D220's are crap They take ages to warm up, don't inspire confidence at all (IMHO of course)...

This might be the reason I've still got 12mm chicken strips on my tyres

Cloggsy is right, and to boot they wear down faster than BT010's which they shouldn't because they are so called super-tourers. Super crap IMHO.

I got one put on the back at last service because I didn't know better. Stay clear of these rubbish tyres.

They don't stick well even when warm, just yesterday I had to stop on a dual carriage way to assist a fellow biker and the back started sliding, even though deacceleration was mild.

Note I said slide. Proper tyres squeal or make a grinding noise when locked, the 220's just glide baby!

I have heard they are quite average, not especially good or especially bad. I for one find other factors in my riding require attention ahead of the tyres. Im not sure Ive had an occassion to think that a situation may have been better had I a better tyre fitted.

Not disrespecting you guys obviously, but theres a lot of anecdotal crap spoken about tyres I think and there's the perception that if they are stock they are rubbish. But as I've no experience of anything else Im just furthering the discussion They may well be crap

Mine wasn't stock, I only found out Suzuki fitted these as stock after I had the rear fitted. I agree with what your saying, all opinions are different after all.

I agree with lee.

I've just done the Llandow track day with the D220's.

Before the event I was really worried after reading how bad these tyres supposed to be. It didn't help noticing I was the only one running the stock tyres

Anyway - after a nervous start, expecting the tyres to sip at every corner I was pleasantly suprised that this just wasn't the case. Using a couple of warm up laps the tyres performed perfectly, no slips or slides and confidence grew throughout the day.

Comparing tyre temps after a few sessions noticed that they didnt get as hot as other makes but seemed to hold onto the heat well between sessions.

As a novice I was nowhere near the fastest on the day but manages to touch down my tucked in boots and the chiken strips have now gone

Originally Posted by leesimons

Shh... I'd keep that to yourself or people will lose all respect for you

I agree

I found the D220's to be a good OE fitted tyre, good levels of predictable grip when warm.
Had decent lean angles in complete confidence solo and with pillion.
These tyres will out perform many so called stickier brands.

Warm them up, be smooth and enjoy!

I have the stock D220 and they're not bad at all. I run them 33psi front and rear so they warm up very well (well, it has been anywhere between 95-100 degrees here lately) and they stick nicely, too. On cooler days they are very fun to slide around in on corners. It's a very predictable drifting type of slide. I like them, but I wouldn't use them for attempting record lap times at the track, that's for sure.

I think the tyres fitted to my bike are ok. D220s were never designed to be track compund.

They do slide a little when cold, but they are quite predictable. And the bike is very stable on them. And I`m guessing they`re quite cheap??

Once warm they`re fine, no surprises at all. They fit the bike well, and anyhow the brakes and suspension aren`t set up for track use either. It`s a package!

I've only had my SV since July, 2004. So I have not been riding in the colder months. But so far the stock Dunlop 220's have been a very complying tyre. Like others have said, they warmup quite fast and seem to hold temperature. In my opinion tyre longevity and tyre cost is a strong point for the 220's. The road performance is actually pretty good. I'm not sure what others are getting for mileage. But I believe its comparable if not better then the 2003 SV stock Metzeler tyres.
If I was a knee dragger and was looking for all out performance on banzai runs. Well obviously there are softer compound tyres that grip much better. But of course softer compounds for the street means more frequent tyre replacement. Cheers, Richard