D220's - what the Dunlop Man said!!!
 

Whilst at Ally Pally on Sunday, got chatting with one of the senior guys from Dunlop. Was discussing types of Tyre and asked why I didn't get any feedback from D220 OEM tyres! His answer was that Suzuki just stick on a D220 that is made in JAPAN and that it is crap for European roads! He states that D220's that are good for Europe and UK are made in FRANCE and apparently have different characteristics!?!? :o

He also said that he felt the D208 is a good tyre and would be a vast improvement on the OEM's!!!

yes but are you prepared to buy another set on just his recomendation :?:

after all their are better tyres out there and he does have a vested interest in selling his brand.

Just an observation.

Cheers Mark.

Yes, I agree, but he was also saying that other brands were good also! He wasn't totally biased. He was just explaining why the OEM D220's were like they are!

Well, then Suzuki ruined the case for Dunlop for me. I don't risk spending hard earned ££ on another possibly crappy D220.

I know Dunlop make somegood tyres, but the D220 isn't one of them. The D208 and D207 are fine sports tyres. I'm very happy with the D207GP's on my Aprilia

I am surprised that is true.

True or not the D220 is awful, IMHO. 207's and 208's are fine, although my preference is not for Dunlop's

My only complaint about the D207 is the warmup time.

That's because you live somewhere cold and wet! Do you use the RR or normal 207's? The RR's are supposed to take longer to warm up but on a wet and chilly Silverstone track they warmed quicker than my Diablo's.

Sounds about right!

OEM tyres are just fit for purpose and made to meet the minimum requirements and price imposed by the manufacturer.
Most of the new replacement tyres out there far exceed the spec the OEM tyres had to all those years ago when the bike was designed.

Every year Avon, Dunlop, Michelin, Pirelli and Bridgstone test in Spain with all the bike manufacturers and their new machines to approve the tyres to TUV spec, believe it or not most of the OE stuff doesn't set the world on fire.

At the risk of repeating myself again :P

I was advised to try the Metzeler Z6 by a tyre rep, No surprise there then!

Except this bloke worked for Bridgestone :shock:

There are some honest folks around, this was at an open day at a tyre dealer. Every manufacturer had a presence and there were no shortage of tyres in stock.

Tyres are tested by the manufacturer, by the bike maker and by racing!

If you want a triple compound Moto GP tyre you may have more difficulty but for road and occasional track use the Euro Spec tyres should be ok.

A couple of points, most Japanese riders weigh 7 stone wet through and Metzeler only make motorcycle tyres