[aargee]

Sheel, phamilyman, black12rr, Moddy n_aditya, naveenroy, akshay4587, rk_sans - Thank you all of you.

This post of mine might disappoint you for the fact I'm not going by what you're suggesting; but, that's how I like to approach with anything & everything unless I run out of time!!! Reason being...
1. All requirements are not alike
2. Education

So, I'm sorry if I'm not taking your suggestions & instead asking too much questions; but for sure, I'm listening (not just reading) your to your posts & might go with your suggestions, but, with education.

Once again, Thank you for putting up the pics & providing your suggestion; OTOH, I'd like to understand the basics & then go for it. So that's the reason I'd put my questions in the first place

For last 2 days, I've been getting so much of information that its hard for me to streamline them & put up; so pls give me sometime, I'll share them here in my forth coming posts.

For a few of them, I was able to get the answers, hope it helps others...

- How can I identify whether the tire is soft/medium/hard compound even if the dealer can't make out the difference?

Its just by the look & feel; if any doubt, compare the PSD (still a hard compound but the best quality available) with any of the other tire shown & anything softer to it is soft compound

- Can I down size to 130/70 R17 (Yes Ninja 250R's)? Would could possibly improve or degrade anything significantly on CBR 250R? Consider the fact that I'm not a person who loves cornering on roads

Yes, 130/70 R17 is perfectly compatible; additionally 130/80 R17 is also compatible, just that the height of CBR goes additionally by 10mm + the weight of PSD 130/80 R17 is really heavier compared to 140/70 R17 Conti-Go. So the sprockets might take the brunt in long run. Its like fitting 3.25 X 16" to Yamaha Rx.

- I personally like to buy medium compound as I believe its the best balance of providing excellent grip & long life. How far this is true?

There's almost no soft compound available in the market (exception grey market); forget alone medium compound tires!!!

- Is the MRF Zapper Q's tread pattern a good selection? How to identify a good tire for good life & grip on both dry & rain based on pattern?

Pattern is fine, but its rated one of the horrible tire than the existing Conti-Go; so it looks like in terms of quality PSD>Conti-Go>MRF

- How far is my assumption true about the Dunlop tires above?

It's fine, but is not available anymore in the market; check the dates before you buy. Tire is good & rated as good as PSD

Tit bits

Heard from Nikhil(madhu enterprises) that Michellin would be out, this month end or early april. Would suggest check on it

Had a chance to check the Michelin 100/90; its tard bad quality compared to MRF; Dealer (who's a reputed & very knowledgeable person) tells me that, Michelin is in India to compete with MRF & take some of their share in the market.

More to come in forth coming days...

BTW, anyone has reviews/used Bridgestone Battlax? My primary question will be...is CBR 250R worthy enough to fit a tire like that (assume if I'm able to get hold of one)?

[ebonho]

Don't know about others here, but the Zapper Q's I had fitted to my Bullet (did a couple of track days at Chennai with them as well) were really good tyres. Both wet and dry.

And I actually off-roaded with them a couple of times as well - those from Pune-Mumbai would appreciate any tyre doing Rajmachi and Slopes of Hell competently.

So sorry, but further confusion for you.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by ebonho

So sorry, but further confusion for you.

No, no, nothing to confuse me & I'm sure nothing will

ZapperQ, IMHO, is more suited for motorcycles like RE, Avenger & not for sports bike. From what I understand, there're almost no ideal sports motorcycle tire available for us. Its hard to digest, but that's the fact, we're only compromising.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by aargee

No, no, nothing to confuse me & I'm sure nothing will

ZapperQ, IMHO, is more suited for motorcycles like RE, Avenger & not for sports bike. From what I understand, there're almost no ideal sports motorcycle tire available for us. Its hard to digest, but that's the fact, we're only compromising.

AFAIK, Zapper Q's were made for Pulsars, Karizmas etc. RE's never came with 18 inch rims when they were launched. Zapper Qs do brilliantly on the track. Ask those who've used them.

They are also reliable tough as nails tourers. I used them for many thousand highway kms without issue for over two years before moving to more off-road biased button treads.

[aargee]

Ebonho - Agreed point by point; they're good for all the reason you sited, especially with long touring. Track I'm not sure, they're hard compound & they're not as best as what a soft can do, or may be, take a few spin around the track before they can get acclimatized; but then PSD are far superior on track than ZapperQ.

Anyway, ZapperQ is not for my CBR Do you've any inputs for Battlax?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by aargee

Ebonho - Agreed point by point; they're good for all the reason you sited, especially with long touring. Track I'm not sure, they're hard compound & they're not as best as what a soft can do, or may be, take a few spin around the track before they can get acclimatized; but then PSD are far superior on track than ZapperQ.

Anyway, ZapperQ is not for my CBR Do you've any inputs for Battlax?

Zapper Qs were one of the first "import compound" tyres made by MRF - initially only for export. Some of the softer compounds amongst Indian manufactured tyres. A little harder than the R15 and Duke OE tyres though.

No inputs on the Battlax or Sport Demons as I have never personally used them.

Dig your nail into the edge of the tread of both and see which is softer. That said, softer is not always = stickier. There is a whole lot else that goes into tyre tech than that.

I'm still not clear from your posts what exactly you are looking for? I know you do not want to re-size.

But if you want grip as well as life - not happening. Soft, medium, hard are mainly words that mean nothing in real life.

Then you go on to say you want something medium or soft with the best all weather grip that money can buy. But you still want it to last 10K kms and off-road with it too!

You also say that you do not like cornering. Then what's the confusion? Staying fairly upright, any Indian tyre will do man. Even TVS ....

Simply buy the tyre with the largest straight line contact path with minimal shoulders. And enough tread to channel water away from the center. Something like the ones on the FZ15s.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by aargee

BTW, anyone has reviews/used Bridgestone Battlax? My primary question will be...is CBR 250R worthy enough to fit a tire like that (assume if I'm able to get hold of one)?

Bridgestone Battalax tires are quite popular on ninjette.org. They swear by the BT003. That said, IIRC the Ninja 650R sold here comes with Batallax tires as OE fitment right from the factory.

You might want to contact the 650R owners and seek their feedback.

[motionfreak]

If you are game for 130/70-R17, then MRF Revz-S is the best. R15 V2.0 rear tyre.

Pros
Radial
Medium to Soft compound
10-12K KM mileage
Looks good
Straight line stability under heavy braking

Cons
not so good at off road, but people have done Leh ladakh on 100/80 tyre with similar tread pattern
Soft compound means prone to punctures ( same as PSD)


shouldn't cost more than 2500/- (my guess)

[aargee]

ebonho - Zapper Qs might've been imported at the beginning, but no one can assure that I get the 1st lot; regarding medium & soft...I don't know what to say, there's no soft compound in the Indian market nor anyone manufactures it; I'd a chat with one of city's pioneer tire dealer & there's bitter reality that we all have to accept. Let me get on to the tire tech in few days as there's whole lot of information to put on it & need to streamline it; there's a vast difference between the theory on internet & reality on the market here, that's what I understand from what the dealer says.

Originally Posted by motionfreak

If you are game for 130/70-R17, then MRF Revz-S is the best. R15 V2.0 rear tyre

Nice suggestion; I'll consider it; the dealer says, that's not a soft compound, but he showed me the one in PSD though.

Originally Posted by motionfreak

Radial

Whaat I never thought it was radial. Let me check on that point. May be its time to think on different lines than what the dealer says.

Originally Posted by motionfreak

not so good at off road, but people have done Leh ladakh on 100/80 tyre with similar tread pattern

No, that's OK with me as CBR's suspension setup is quite different from R15.

Originally Posted by motionfreak

shouldn't cost more than 2500/- (my guess)

No no; they're all in the same league, mostly around 3 grands.

I'm considering the possibility of fitting a Battlax kind of tire in the front (though front is not worn out yet & is good for another few 1000 Kms & I'm really embarrassed to say that) & fitting OE Conti-Go in the rear.; would that combi work?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by aargee

ebonho - Zapper Qs might've been imported at the beginning, but no one can assure that I get the 1st lot

I think you misunderstood bro.

I never said the Zapper Qs (first lot or otherwise) were imported. I said that they were the first to get imported (Malay I think) rubber in the MRF stable, and that initially they were meant only for export and one had to pull strings to get them.

I'm also not advocating the Zapper Qs for you. Merely stating my experience of what I felt were a good set of tyres I used.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by aargee

I'm considering the possibility of fitting a Battlax kind of tire in the front (though front is not worn out yet & is good for another few 1000 Kms & I'm really embarrassed to say that) & fitting OE Conti-Go in the rear.; would that combi work?

From a purist's point of view its always better to stick with the same type of tire and brand/compound or the recommended alternatives if mentioned in the owners manual for safety sake.

But that said, I still have the OE IRC in the front and the PSD at the rear and had no issues inspite of riding pretty aggressively on the track. But please ensure at least the compounds are matching as much as possible or you could have a serious handling/cornering issue.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I'm still not clear from your posts what exactly you are looking for?

I myself can't understand as to what he is looking for...

You also say that you do not like cornering. Then what's the confusion? Staying fairly upright, any Indian tyre will do man. Even TVS ....

Precisely.

Ganesh, there is no need to sweat so much over a tire if you would be street riding, most tires sporting that profile are safe for street use

Even the Contis were good enough. After looking at Doc Arnob's absence of strips, I can safely say that it is the rider than the tire etc.

@ebonho - I remember scouring for MRF Zapper FV's for my Karizma. Bought it with much enthusiasm, but there weren't much better than the regular zappers, or, maybe they were, but I couldn't exploit it.

[balenopower]

+1 on what sheel says. I'd say stick to the stock Conti's if they gave you no trouble. I have used the PSD's on my karizma before but thanks to hard riding i wore them off in just 11k km. The Sports demons are the softest compound from all the tyres mentioned here and by far the grippiest and the heaviest. but since you aren't too much into cornering they dont make too much sense for you. If you want a change from stock try the MRF revz. they work fabulously well on the new R15 and on the Duke 200(albeit with a 150 section at the rear). A downgrade to a 130 section will not to any damage at all, infact you could end up getting more km to the litre!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Sheel

@ebonho - I remember scouring for MRF Zapper FV's for my Karizma. Bought it with much enthusiasm, but there weren't much better than the regular zappers, or, maybe they were, but I couldn't exploit it.

I personally did not like the FV too much. Bought it for the Bullet front (rear was a 90/90 Zapper Q)as it looked nice (hybrid tread, fancy sidewall), soft, and had that blingy shiny glow in the dark strip

The tyre just did not grip well, was poor under braking, scary into leans, and I changed it within a week of use (Nav took it from me and used it with great success both on hhis Fiero as well as CBZ so alls well that ends well).

The rear 90/90 came up front (direction reversed) and a new slightly wider 100/90 Zapper Q went on to the rear. Brilliant combination (still have both lying in my garage, amongst a mini bazaar of other tyres LOL)!

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by balenopower

softest compound from all the tyres mentioned here and by far the grippiest and the heaviest.

I too couldn't understand as to why it was so heavy when it was soft. I used the same spec on my P-180.

Originally Posted by ebonho

I personally did not like the FV too much. Bought it for the Bullet front (rear was a 90/90 Zapper Q)as it looked nice (hybrid tread, fancy sidewall), soft, and had that blingy shiny glow in the dark strip

The tyre just did not grip well, was poor under braking, scary into leans, and I changed it within a week of use

Relived & shall die a happy man. And all along I thought it was me.

The tire is still doing duty @ Karizma. Had fitted it at 10,000 odd kms & it might have done close to 50K now. Still on FV's front & Q's at rear. The bloke to whom I sold wants the Q's back but isn't adamant on FV's (not surprisingly)

IMHO, anything over 100 section is over-kill for Karizma as well.