Can we add in info about tire compounds, or are all of these track specific tires? I love me a good dual compound tire since I commute 1000s of miles a year.. But I like to have my fun to

 

None of these are track-specific. They are considered performance street tires. I will continue to research the tires and add more information. I will also look into good sport tires that fit these bikes, but have longer life that may not be as good, so people don't need to frantically figure out what tires to buy.

Any possibility of getting this thread stickified for now? I may end up just creating one large thread with links to various threads about modifications (brakes, tires, track fairings, suspension..etc) as a 1-stop user guide area.. but for now, this'll do.

How will putting the 150 rear tire affect performance
i have heard it will make it more difficult to lean you will have to
lean harder which is perfectly fine with me
esp if the straight line handling (ie freeway) is a little more stable

Yes, the larger the tire, technically the more input you'd have to give for it to lean. Wheels are designed for a specific width tire, so technically, wider isn't always better for a specific bike. Someone like Peanut who has experience racing and going hard on these smaller tires could probably chime in and tell you how the feel is, but with my bigger bikes, I've ridden both 180 and 190 tires and can't say I really felt a whole lot of difference. Because the 300 is so simple to throw around anyways as it is, I personally don't think you'd notice any negative effects, but don't quote me on that.

I will say, I am pretty sure I'll be getting the Battlax S20's in the 110/150 combo before Spring hits. It's one of Bridgestone's newest tires, a very good street tire but also good for track days. Their BT-003 has a more extreme tread pattern on it that wouldn't fair as well in wet conditions.

 

How will putting the 150 rear tire affect performance
i have heard it will make it more difficult to lean you will have to
lean harder which is perfectly fine with me
esp if the straight line handling (ie freeway) is a little more stable

 

How about wet riding tires as well? I ride year round and will be in the twisties this weekend.

 

Your right hand will be the deciding factor on the success of that.

Smooth throttle and only brake when the bike is upright...etc will truly be the factors to successfully navigate in the wet.

A tire like the BT-003 will probably be out of the question for you. While people have used that tire in rain, there are few sipes in that tire to direct water away.

Also note - be sure to use the same brand front tire as the rear. The sipes are designed to work together to displace water.

I've ridden in torrential downpours (Not intentional) at highway speeds for 20+ minutes at a time. It sucks, and one false move will signify disaster. Don't chop the throttle, make sure everything is smooth, try to keep the bike as upright as you possibly can, and navigate your way to your destination.

 

I have used a few different tires for racing and track days. A good tire for track days and daily riding is the Bridgestone BT-003RS in 110/140 combo. They are ok for racing, but when they go off they give little warning.

I liked the Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's for racing they are nice and sticky and give you plenty of warning before they go off. The ones I used were 110/140.

The tires I mainly race on are Pirelli Super Corsa SC2 in 120/150. These are DOT legal tires in race compounds. I love these for racing. I can push them as hard as I want and they take it and ask for more. They are very predictable when they start to go off. Since I race in the 250 Production class I have to use DOT legal tires.

When I add my 300 to my race stable it will be getting Pirelli slicks in 90/125 since it won't be racing in any Production classes.

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I liked the Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's for racing they are nice and sticky and give you plenty of warning before they go off. The ones I used were 110/140.
I have also ran a wet race on the Rosso II's and they held just fine and had a very predictable slide.

I guess this question is specifically for you Peanut, can you describe what it feels like when you say the tire is "giving you plenty of warning before they go off"? I've read a lot of interview's with MotoGP and Superbike riders and they talk about "the front end going away" and when a tire is worn out at the end of a race and loosing grip they describe it as "pushing the front end". I just put on a set of Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's on my Ninja 300 (110/140) and I ride in the canyons all the time, and I'm at the point where I'm comfortable hanging off the side of the bike in corners and while going through the corner, I can feel when I need to either lean more (to turn tighter) or when to roll on the throttle more (to turn wider) but I'd like to have an idea what it feels like if I'm about to loose grip on the tires. I appreciate any info you can give me.

 

I will sticky it if someone seconds your request

But really what it looks like we need is a tire section haha, there are so many tires of tires for different styles of riding.. I am not able to do that, Stew would have to, and not sure what is going on with him, he has been logging on but not posting or answering PMs

 

So Peanut, I assume that 120's fit the front tire with no issues? Is there a certain setup you recommend? 110/140 .. 110/150 .. 120/150? Are they all legitimate combo choices?

 

The 120's fit fine on the front and the 150's fit fine on the rear. They just leave a bit of tire on the edge unused. The reason we use them is for the race compound. As far as the difference between the 110/140 120/150 combos. The bike is so light there is really minimal sluggishness.

I personally like when the bike gets twitchy. I throw it around like I'm date raping it and I like the fatter tires just fine. I can't wait to try those skinny little slicks though. More reviews to come.

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I really have very little I can add to conversations like this one, including race suspension setups, fairings, etc. But I've been watching a learning thats for sure. Love reading this stuff!

 

Hey Peanut_EOD, or anyone else.
I run Pirelli on everything I drive. Is there a set for winter and a set for summer that you can recomend? I dont ride track due to no med ins but do ride the hills and street.

 

Hey Peanut_EOD, or anyone else.
I run Pirelli on everything I drive. Is there a set for winter and a set for summer that you can recomend? I dont ride track due to no med ins but do ride the hills and street.

I would go with the Diablo Rosso II. They are a nice sticky tire. I tried the Super Corsa's on the street for a few rides and I just couldn't get them up to temp.

 

awesome thread. you guys are a great contributor.

 

130 vs 168 MPH sustained speeds, I think either will be just fine on a 300.

 

Lol well I am sure that won't be a worry for me then. I won't take it past 110. I have never thought about it before but how much will the 60 or 70 affect the bike?

 

I don't even think the 300 will reach 110, so you have nothing to worry about.

I've heard good things about the Diablo Rosso II's, so I as well would recommend them if you're going with Pirelli.

Glad this thread is helping some of you guys.

 

Don't know. I've never used the 60 aspect ratio tires. I'd imagine it would make the profile of the tire more rounded.

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Got mine to 173 km/h which is about 109mph so it's pretty close. The bike had a little more to go but my balls gave up.

Oh and I had a few scary moments with the rubbish IRC's they came with. I have Pirelli sport demons now and they are amazing. Was going to go for the Diablo Rosso II's but they don't last very long.

 

Anyone wanna second this thread to be stickied? Don't want it lost in the sands of time.

 

I will second it.

 

I dont own a ninja 300, but i can highly recommend the BT-016 tires, they are incredible!

I have used them on my DRZ400 Supermoto, on street and track, and they stuck like glue and i scraped pegs on the track with no issues. This bike used the 120/150 sizes so same as the ninja300, tire size wise.

I now have BT-016 on my SV650 and also use it on street and track, and love them, they last a good while, and stick like glue. (120/160 size)

My current Husqvarna 510 supermoto is running Pilot powers, which came with the bike, as i would otherwise have BT-016 on it. The pilots are also a good choice, but i feel that the BT16 tires stick better, as these powers seem to not stick as well when hard on the gas, while coming out of a corner.

I also had Dunlop Qualifiers on my CBR600F4i and they were also good for street and track.

 

Just to contribute a bit... Yesterday I was riding along fresh paved road that was extremely slick on the stock rubber. Now it's gotten me wanting better rubber too, but I've no idea where to turn just yet. Those diablo Corsos sound sweet, but do they handle the wet? keep in mind I live in Florida so at some point I'm going to catch the wet...

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From my experience I would get the Diablo Rosso II's over the Super Corsa's for daily street riding. I wasn't able to get the Super Corsa's up to temp on the street. They are DOT tires, but they are also a race compound and need to be warm to be sticky. I have also ran a wet race on the Rosso II's and they held just fine and had a very predictable slide.

 

thanks. everyone i've heard from complains about the price of bike tires. makes me wonder if theyve never bought a set of high performance car tires before...

 

Yeah it's silly that people complain about the one thing that is very vital to properly handling a motorcycle on the street.

Tires are the last thing you want to skimp out on with a motorcycle.

 

I've bought both. I love buying tires for my motorcycles.

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lol that 'new tire smell'?

 

Idk when I can get around to it, maybe the same time as my six hundred mile service, but after my experience yesterday I fully intend to get new rubber

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Better tires not only improve lap times, but safety on the road as well. Better tires means faster stop times and better high speed stability

 

No. This would be true if you could lock the front tire. Most sportbikes have plenty of front tire grip and the bike will start to endo making the tire not a limiting factor in braking distance.

 

Well, better stop times to a point. As soon as the back end starts to lift up under braking, you have reached your maximum stopping potential. It's all about your center of gravity relative to your wheel base. After that it doesn't matter how great your rolling coefficient of friction is with the road.

With that said, having tires that can hit that level of performance in a variety of wet and cold conditions is a bonus.

Contrary to popular belief, cruisers with longer wheelbases, and a longer rake for their forks can stop faster than a sport bike. Sport bikes generally have shorter while bases and a steeper fork rake, so we can handle the twisties better. However that makes us more prone to stoppies and wheelies.

As for better high speed stability, that has more to do with the centripetal forces generated by your spinning wheels, and the rotating components of your engine than the rubber on your tires.