961 commando tyre recommendation?

Spike Davies · Apr 29, 2021

Anyone got suggestions for rear tyre for my 961- the current Dunlop sports max qualifier 180/55 zr17 doesn’t seem to be in stock anywhere Mike

Portofino Norton's Garage · Apr 29, 2021

absolutely the new Metzeler Me9 RR

ntst8 · Apr 29, 2021

I've been using Pilot Road 5's.
I don't do track days, on the road the tyres have more ability than i do - in wet and dry.

TonyA · Apr 29, 2021

ntst8 said:
I've been using Pilot Road 5's.
I don't do track days, on the road the tyres have more ability than i do - in wet and dry.

Hello , Are those Pilot 5's good for high mileage ? I tend to ride the rears flat on mine .

Beefiddler · Apr 29, 2021

Spike Davies said:
Anyone got suggestions for rear tyre for my 961- the current Dunlop sports max qualifier 180/55 zr17 doesn’t seem to be in stock anywhere Mike

Qualifier been superseded by Qualifier2, not sure if that helps..?

ntst8 · Apr 29, 2021

Hi Tony,
current state with about 7000 miles on it, a bit squared off in the middle but not bad. Not much life left though.
Our roads are largely chip seal, quite rough compared to Asphalt, so i never get any where near the mileage i see some people reporting.

Stephen_Spencer · Apr 29, 2021

If you are looking for max confidence in the twisties, my tip is Michelin Power RS. Not concerned about mileage although it seems pretty good, much more concerned about grip on the CR

! I’d be very interested if anyone has found a tyre with more grip?

Gazz · Apr 30, 2021

I like the Qualifier, there appears to be a couple available on EBay UK reasonably priced

Spike Davies · May 1, 2021

I went with dunlop sportsmart 3 in the end - next tyre towards track use from qualifier 2 in Dunlop‘s range so quite sticky

Stephen_Spencer · May 1, 2021

These look interesting for my usage - quick blast (200 km ave) Sunday rides, only good weather, where grip is way more important than longevity! May give these a go next. I don’t do track days but chasing mates around the hinterland can get ‘interesting‘! Sticky tyres are just a different type of insurance right!

BLIGHTYBRIT/SF · May 2, 2021

Dunlop Roadsmart 3 last time for me , more confidence in wet , not an issue for some owners though

Al's#5 · May 2, 2021

BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:
Dunlop Roadsmart 3 last time for me , more confidence in wet , not an issue for some owners though View attachment 79525

A few high bobbles there, sidestand gets in the way though, at least on the lefties .

Stephen_Spencer · May 3, 2021

BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:
Dunlop Roadsmart 3 last time for me , more confidence in wet , not an issue for some owners though View attachment 79525{

They call it the Sunshine Coast for a reason! Done my time freezing my ass off in the UK and a short stint of 14 years in Northern Germany - never been without a bike. Always ridden through winter. I chose the sun

!

Britfan60 · May 3, 2021

My first set were Dunlop Qualifers that the bike came with. Handling was dead on. Nice sticky tire. Semi aggressive riding, got 7500 miles and could have gotten much more on the front. Second set was the Bridgestone Battlemax Hypersport...either S20 or S21 that a Kaw dealer said will save me 100 bucks and for street riding, I will not notice the difference. Well I did. They would skip out of tight curves, rode harder, didn't handle as well and were completely shot at 4500 miles. The center had complete flat spots and the belts warped badly. Back to the Q3 and am a happy camper. 1500 miles and wearing beautifully.

TonyA · May 3, 2021

I wish

Stephen_Spencer said:
They call it the Sunshine Coast for a reason! Done my time freezing my ass off in the UK and a short stint of 14 years in Northern Germany - never been without a bike. Always ridden through winter. I chose the sun !

I wish I was you neighbor !

Stephen_Spencer · May 3, 2021

Britfan60 said:
My first set were Dunlop Qualifers that the bike came with. Handling was dead on. Nice sticky tire. Semi aggressive riding, got 7500 miles and could have gotten much more on the front. Second set was the Bridgestone Battlemax Hypersport...either S20 or S21 that a Kaw dealer said will save me 100 bucks and for street riding, I will not notice the difference. Well I did. They would skip out of tight curves, rode harder, didn't handle as well and were completely shot at 4500 miles. The center had complete flat spots and the belts warped badly. Back to the Q3 and am a happy camper. 1500 miles and wearing beautifully.

Just had a look at the Dunlop site, where you can select your model/year of Norton and see which tyres Dunlop recommend. They recommend the Q3 for sports riding on all 961 models with the Sportsmart Roadsmart 3 for sports touring. 36/40 PSI recommended. Q3 tread pattern looks pretty aggressive.

Stephen_Spencer · May 3, 2021

TonyA said:
I wish

I wish I was you neighbor !

I wish you were too Tony! I’d have another riding buddy and my very own 961 mechanic, who I would pay directly from my beer fridge of course! I’ll send you a link to the migration application

!

Britfan60 · May 4, 2021

Stephen_Spencer said:
Just had a look at the Dunlop site, where you can select your model/year of Norton and see which tyres Dunlop recommend. They recommend the Q3 for sports riding on all 961 models with the Sportsmart Roadsmart 3 for sports touring. 36/40 PSI recommended. Q3 tread pattern looks pretty aggressive.

View attachment 79569

Gottem and lovem!!!

Stephen_Spencer · May 4, 2021

Britfan60 said:
Gottem and lovem!!!

Gonna try the Q3’s next! I rate the Michelin Power RS but am always looking for more grip. For some completely unknown reason I settled on 38 PSI front and back.

Clive · May 5, 2021

Have been using Dunlop Sportsmart 3 and found them to be a lot better than the original qualifiers. They are supposed to be 90% road 10% track biased but I have used them twice for quite fast track sessions including rain and a blizzard and so far they are great. The only issue is that they are designed to self-warm and on the track the the pressure varies a lot so you have to start with quite a low pressure. I would highly recommend a tire pressure monitor. The Michelin one is good but also used an ebay cheap thing which seems ok. Have heard great things about the Metzeler m9rr but no experience.

961 commando tyre recommendation?

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