bmart

Well, I pulled off the BT-023 pair and installed a set of RS2s today. The rear was done at under 3k miles, which just makes me sad. The front has a ton of life left, but I wanted a match pair. One test drive later and ayep, I made the right decision. They are better in every way. They last longer, provide way more feedback, make tar snakes disappear, and work better in the wet. I now have a less than ½ worn BT-23 front left over which I may keep for later, or sell along with my track day takeoffs. I wish Dunlop made these in CB-1 size…

I can see all of that. I've already had the front resprung and valved properly, so I'm sticking with it. I was weary of the linked brakes, but they've been brilliant wet and dry, so no point in changing them. You're right about Yamaha brakes. They're the best out there for stock. I swapped them onto my Suzuki track bike so that the lever would have some effect. :)

Tell am amateur, what is that front end going to do for you?

That is my current plan.

Update: Under 3k miles. The rear BT-023 is D-U-N done. The front has about 2/3 life left, which is impressive. $/mile BT-023 front (est) $100/7.5k-$.013/mile (hard for me to believe if I didn't ride the miles myself) RS2 front $130/5k-$.026/mile BT-23 rear $135/3k=$.045/mile (not much of a deal, despite lower pricepoint) RS2 rear $180/5k=$.036/mile (and better in rain)

May I suggest running all tires at 0 PSI so as to avoid any gasket blowing? :) For street riding, I think it is up to the rider to set to whatever they wish. I usually hang around the manufacturer's because it has never been a problem on ST tires while scraping knees or hard parts. Why change?

No one said you can't! :) My experience on and off the track is that a rider will notice changes in tire pressure, and that the bike will work differently, but under most circumstances, a pound or three here and there isn't go make an earth-shattering difference. There are far too many variables for anyone to provide the "perfect" numbers. Rider weight. Gear/equipment. Outside temps. Hot or cool roads. Suspension. Braking style. It is a fool's errand until you get into a somewhat controlled environment.

I didn't want to say anything, but you are right. 36/42 or you're probably doing more harm than good.

Spiffy mounting. I did something similar, but with velcro and off to one side, so that I could see it past my tankbag.

What you describe sounds perfectly normal. That BT-23 front is a very round profile (small circumference) tire. If you get to the edge of it on a VFR, you're probably inside of an ambulance. Don't worry about them "matching." I highly recommend that you get the front sprung and valved for you and your riding style. You won't believe the difference.

Over 2500 miles on the BT-023 GT pair now, mostly in the mountains. In the dry they work great. In the wet, not so much. The rear scalloping/cupping has gotten worse in the rear. The front appears to be wearing like iron. Front tread depth is at just under 3.5mm, new was 4.5mm. Over 72% left, so I expect maybe 5500-7500 usable miles total. Rear tread depth is at or under 2mm, new was 4.5 mm sides and 6.0 mm center. 33% center to 45% side left, so I expect maybe 3500 usable miles. I've been debating whether to go back to the full Dunlop RS2 set, which I loved or to put on only an RS2 rear (in 1000 more miles) until the BT-023 front is done. That's it!

The BT023 (GT) set now has just over 1600 miles on it, most of that in the twisties. So, the short report is: Initially, they did turn in faster and sooner than the RS2 pair they replaced. Both tires also slid with some ease when leaned, which reminded me of the Avons I tried on the CB-1. I set them to the stock 36/42 PSI, the same as I ran the RS2s, when I installed them. Whether it is the mythical mold release, or simply needing to scuff in the tires, they continued to slide as I leaned the bike more and more until the whole tire was scuffed in. Once scuffed in, they worked flawlessly in the dry. Feedback is definitely low in comparison to the RS2. Riding them hard required a lot of trust. I spent much of the last six days on one knee or the other without issue. Admittedly, I have very long legs, so I was certainly not at full lean. Going through standing water at any reasonable lean caused both tires to slide slightly. Nothing dramatic, but nothing that made me want to ride hard on a wet surface. Alan and I swapped bikes and came away feeling that the heavier duty GT tire model made no difference at all in how the tires worked or felt. So all in all, they worked “mostly fine.” They were about 75% of the cost of the Dunlops. I’ll have to wait to see how many miles they go to see if I would buy them again. The current 1600 miles is nearly 1/3 of the 5k I put on the RS2 pair before I took them off, so they’d have to go nearly 3800 miles total to provide an equal value, assuming equal performance. More miles would sway my vote. The front is looking pretty good at 3.5mm, but the rear is already below ½ tread depth and majorly scalloped (2mm on low side of scallop) like the Dunlop was. Right now, I’d buy probably buy the Dunlops to get that wonderful feedback back. That isn’t to say that the tires weren’t brilliant. As some of us have said many times, modern ST rubber is quite incredible. There is no reason I should have been able to ride these tires so hard without a single dry slip, even when cold.

I am just over 5k miles into a pair of Dunlop Roadsmart2 (Despite being the list favorites, I've never met a Michelin I liked). That includes a track day, where they both performed as mediocre as expected, and many mountain miles. Until I checked my maintenance log, I thought they had 3k miles on them. My discovery of 5k miles makes more sense for teh amount of wear. The front has 2-3mm left. The rear has 1-3mm left and has some significant cupping/scallopping. I have been running them at 36PSI front cold and 40-42PSI rear cold. Cold pressures for the track day were 32F/32R which went up to 36F/39R when hot off the track. I'm not sure if I am going to replace them with some combination of Q/Q2/Q3/RS2 or try a set of Bridgestone BT-003/016/023 combo. A friend has the 023s on his VFR and they are fantastic but without the wonderful feedback I love about the Dunlops (my main complaint about most non-Dunlops I've used on and off the track). I never wanted for more grip from the RS2 pair, wet or dry. There is some old info on here. Any updates from anyone?

That is the cheapest I could find for you too.

My notes say: "Pilot Road 2. Date codes, F1508, R0108."

Well, after removing the PR2s last week and mounting the Roadsmart IIs, I finally got out for a couple hundred miles of mountains on Sunday. It was a mix of fast sweepers and 1st gear corners, and everything in between. I even commuted back and forth on the slab for a full and balanced test. I tried hard braking. I tried braking at significant lean. I tried a lot fo throttle at full lean. There is no comparison. Grip is better. Feedback is MUCH better. Turn in is much improved. I can't get over the difference, and moreso can't believe that the PR2s are the most loved tires. After reading so much positive feedback, I figured that my VFR behaved as well as it could. You Michelin lovers can keep 'em! Before the swap, my VFR was ready to go on the block. After...I'm keeping it for sure! Honestly, it was a lot like riding my 748...but slightly more comfortable; certainly more red.

Will do. I'm pretty sure they were PRs, build date in 2008. They provided what could only be described as absolutly no feedback on what the front end was doing. I am hoping for rthe normal fabulous feedback that Dunlops usually give. I loved the D205 and D220s. They never moved a mm, rain or dry.

I recently spooned on the Dunlop Roadsmart II set and plan to test them this weekend on a full day mountain ride. I promise to report back. I never liked the Michelins PRs, but in all fairness, there weren't "round" anymore. At $272 to my door, I couldn't go wrong.

I bought the bike about 900 miles ago and kept the used PRs set with 2008 date codes. They were down to 2.5mm of tread then. The previous owner just putted around. Once I started riding it at any speed with the dreadfully soft stock front end, odd tire wear ensued. I will surely need tires in 2011, likely before summer. There seem to be plenty of options. My short list is: Dunlop: Q2, Roadsmart, Roadsmart II, Michelin: PR2, PR3 Bridgestone BT-023 I'm a diehard Dunlop fan but am open to trying others. The PR2s on the VFR now work fine, but others can be had cheaper, and will probably work and wear about the same. This bike will see some track time, now that the suspension is done. I have the option of leaving the street sport touring tires on, or spooning on a set of /track/race tires. I enjoy reading about everyone's experiences and opinions on tires, suspension, etc!