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I have been a Dunlop guy now for over ten years.  In between my Dunlop loyalties I have ridden Metzeler, Micheln Pilot Power (street compound), Bridgestones (old school Battlax “OE” compound), and Pirelli Dragons.  To be honest, all of today’s major brand tires are excellent and getting better every year.

I had the chance to evaluate the Dunlop Qualifier on my SV650.  The tire sizes I put on that bike were the 120/70/17 & 160/60/17 for the front and rear respectively.  These were brand spankin’ new tires with zero miles on them.  The usage was for a track day at Firebird West in Phoenix (area), Arizona with early morning temps around 45F and warming up to about 80F by 3PM or so.  I am also too cheap to use tire warmers, so each session started with ‘cold’ tires.

I tried to find online what other people were running for pressure on the track with these tires to give me a baseline, but did not succeed.  I was lucky enough that the local Dunlop guy was there early and parked close by.  I gave him my info (bike, etc.) and he instructed me to use 34psi in both tires.  The only other tire I have known to run that high was the Michelin Pilot Powers.  I thought that number was too high, but was smart enough to stay with the pro’s recommendation.

After each session, I checked the tire temp by hand and inspected the front and rear tires for lean angle and wear.  The first session was pretty cold.  It should be noted that I have never ridden this track or this bike.  The reason that matters is that they first few sessions were spent getting acclimated with the two.  In the later sessions, I was able to push things harder.

As the temperature of the air and the track surface increased, so did the tire ‘boogering’.  I define boogers as the balls of rubber that accumulate on the tire surfaces.  There were none in the first two sessions, only small ripples.  As I gained some confidence in the track and in the bike, I was able to get around the track quicker.  Overall, here is what I noted throughout the day:

• Grip was for the most part excellent in all of the conditions from a hot to cold surface, and fast to slow corners.  I only spun up the rear once while cranked over , but it felt predictable and was easily corrected without blowing my momentum.
• Straight line braking grip at the end of the straightaway was excellent and left me confident enough to experiment with shorter braking points.
• Front tire profile gave a very predictable turn-in and left me with a lot of conficence while leaned over.
• Easy to get the knee down on a flat (read: unbanked) track.
• Tire wear was minimal until later in the day when temps were around 80F, then they boogered a lot.  They did have the typical sipe wear/feathering (?) that Dunlops are known for (see pics).  My guess is that these tires will be good on that bike for 3-4 track days.
• The last two sessions with the highest track temps did have the tires feel a little ‘greasy’ towards the end of those sessions.  I never lost confidence, but noticed a small difference.
• My opinion is that it took only one lap to heat up enough to abuse.
• Post tire temps ranged from warm (first session) to pretty damn hot (last session).
• 34psi worked very well for me as far as I am concerned, and will continue with that pressure.

Front tire after seven sessions (note the wear on the leading edge of the sipe closest to the rim):

Rear tire after seven sessions (note the same front edge sipe wear as the front tire)

Overall Rating:

Based on my experience with Dunlops, the things I have always liked (predictable sliding, easy to heat up, and good feedback) remained.  The big difference is that they improved grip a lot over the 208 street compound IMO.  I don’t know how to quantify “a lot”, but I am not sure there is a need for race compound + tire warmers for me given the grin factor that was had.

If you’re going out to do a track day and are in need of a new set of rubber, consider these if you do not want race compound + tire warmers.  I had not been on a track since 2001, never ridden this bike and have never been to this track.  These tires helped keep my confidence level high and, more importantly, have a crash-free day.  I would highly recommend them based on my experience.