dunlop sportmax d252, feels like rear wants to slip

mrphotoman

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My 2008 fz6 with a little over 2000 miles on it feels like the rear end of the bike is slipping sometimes in the curves. i am riding 2 up and the rear spring was set to 3, the bike did not feel balanced. I set the spring to 6 and it feels much better but the rear tire still feels like it slips sometimes when going around a corner. when it happens it is just a quick small slip which is not very confidence inspiring when riding. I am driving the speed limit to a little faster, nothing crazy. My old bike (1996 katana 600) had continental road attack tires and they felt so much better. do these tires just not grip well or do i maybe have something on my rear tire that is making it feel like it is slipping? tire pressure is 34psi front, 37psi rear.
 

champion221elite

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Get rid of those Sportmax D-252's as soon as possible... they suck!

My bikes handling improved significantly by fitting a set of Bridgestone BT-021's. Truthfully, there's plenty of tires on the market that are better than the D-252's, they're just that bad.
 

mrphotoman

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lol they are seriously that bad? i thought it was me and that i was crazy thinking that my old 500lb katana i just sold handled well with the road attacks compared to what i am experiencing right now. this really sucks to have to get new tires on a "new" bike.

anyone else with experiences with the sportmax d252 care to comment?
 

Wolfman

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lol they are seriously that bad? i thought it was me and that i was crazy thinking that my old 500lb katana i just sold handled well with the road attacks compared to what i am experiencing right now. this really sucks to have to get new tires on a "new" bike.

anyone else with experiences with the sportmax d252 care to comment?

i think these were the tryes that were on my bike when i got it....OEM fitment to a price....Fred Flinstone had better rubber on his wheels! :D
 

mrphotoman

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Thanks for the info guys, i appreciate it.

I will run these a little while then switch back to the road attacks, i really liked them.
 

Evitzee

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Stock tires are usually not the top of the line, but the ones that come on the FZ6 aren't that bad. Unless you are a real street squid I wouldn't run out and change them. Don't know why you are having problems unless you are packing a lot of weight with your passenger. How does it feel when you are riding solo?
 

mrphotoman

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I am 160lbs, she is 100lbs. I would hope that the fz6 could handle that much weight. yeah you guessed it, you are the man. I am a "real street squid" :rolleyes: Thanks for your helpful post

Stock tires are usually not the top of the line, but the ones that come on the FZ6 aren't that bad. Unless you are a real street squid I wouldn't run out and change them. Don't know why you are having problems unless you are packing a lot of weight with your passenger. How does it feel when you are riding solo?
 

jbwaterman84

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Those are the tires that came on my bike. I didn't mind them until I got a nail in the rear, swapped for a different style (dunlop quailifiers) and realized how much I didn't like the 252's :)
 

mrphotoman

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Those are the tires that came on my bike. I didn't mind them until I got a nail in the rear, swapped for a different style (dunlop quailifiers) and realized how much I didn't like the 252's :)

thanks, i spent all night researching on here and on sportbikes.net and that seems to be the consensus on those tires. I think I am going to tough it out until the road attack 2 tires come out here and pick those up. If those do not make it to the US I may get some z6 tires even though that slick strip down the middle makes me a little nervous about how they do in the rain lol.
 

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If you are riding for a lot of the time 2 up then a dual compound "sport touring" tyre would be a good choice . . . (there are a lot to choose from - see the attached)

D252's were the OEM tyre on my fazer and at 4000 miles they were really squared off. Turning into a corner was strange, start to lean and everthing was good then as you get to the square edge of the tyre the bike kinda felt like it was falling . . . .

I changed to the Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart . . . such a vast improvement ! I've only riden the 2 different Dunlops (so have nothing else to compare) and the Roadsmart is so much more suited to my riding style (communting, motorway, fast flowing roads, no knee down - big chicken strips) . . . having now put near 3000 miles on them there are no signs of wear . . :thumbup:
 

Dennis in NH

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Ditto on the Sportmax Roadsmarts -- great touring tire. I had them for about 6K miles on my FZ6 and I kept them after changing to BT-016. I'm planning to mount them on my R6 when it gets cold during Winter -- they still have plenty of tread.

Unfortunately, when you get new tires that aren't that great, you have to tolerate it until the day that you can get real tires that allow you to really enjoy the ride. Otherwise, you feel like you're wasting cash. My R6 came with new Dunlop Qualifiers and they were only ok. I couldn't wait to ditch them and changed to BT-016 after about 3K miles; the center tread on both tires looked nice and worn anyway.

In your situation, I'd just dump the tires and get something good right away. It's cost maybe $300 or so but you will feel better about your bike. If it's not the right time financially, just deal with it and look forward to the day when you got really good tires -- you'll appreciate it more.

At 160 lbs and 100 lbs passenger -- sounds fun.

Dennis
 

mrphotoman

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Well after spending the morning adding a 12v power source, fixing a signal light that was not flashing and sticking back on the stock fender (need a lisc plate light) until my led light bolts show up I decided to take a scotch brite pad and scrub the rear tire just in case something was on the tread. I had detailed the bike the day before and thought maybe i had got some of the spray detailer on the tires or something.

I just got back from a 400+ mile ride in the mountains and either the scotch brite pad lol or adjusting the suspension last night or a little of both seems to have made a big difference. I am not getting the sudden slip feeling like I was yesterday so I am assuming i may have had something on the rear tire making it feel like that. I had also adjusted the tire pressure as well. Regardless, the bike feels a lot better now. :)

I do hope to wear through these tires quickly and upgrade them.

Thanks for all the help.
 

Mergetroid

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A few years late on the reply but why not, maybe others are still dealing with this issue.

I'm on a 2009 FZ6, when I bought it from the dealer last year and these new Dunlops d252's were fitted on and every single time you try to dive in a corner and about to extend your knee, you get this random slip, grip feeling, instantly destabilizing the bike, your focus is now on the rear tire and your confidence in leaning is shot. Turn after turn they keep letting me down. At first I thought it may have been me diving in too hot, or the suspension, or even the tire pressure but after setting everything and checking it all, it's the only thing left.

At least I know I'm not the only one dealing with this issue. If your not going to ride it as the bike wants you to, then what's the point? These are definitely coming off next season and will probably try a Metzeler set or go back to those insanely sticky Battleaxe hypersport S20's though they wear out a little fast and if of course they are available in 180/55ZR-17. First Dunlops and last ones as they allow a product like this to go on the street.

Hope to see you all on the road or the track,
Thanks
 
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