Kawasaki Z650 banner
1 - 19 of 19 Posts

· Registered
Joined
·
42 Posts
Michelin Pilot Road 4.
I completely agree. I ran the Pilot Road 3's on my last bike. I put 16,000 km (Just about 10,000 miles) on them and they still had some life left in them. I took them off because of a huge trip I was going on and gave them to my friend who ran them on his R6 for a summer. I ended up replacing them with the Pilot Road 4's and was not disappointed at all. They are amazing tires in the rain and great in dry conditions. Still quite sticky after you warm them up. I can't wait to wear out the Dunlops on my Z650 so that I can upgrade to the PR4's. Highly recommend.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
15 Posts
Discussion Starter · #5 ·
Michelin Pilot Road 4.

Hands down one of the best all weather tires you can put on a bike. A little more pricey, but definitely worth it!
Thanks Tremonte ! Followed your youtube channel on the LED headlamp replacement, fantastic upgrade ! Kudos for the great video!

Next up will try the bar end mirrors, how's the rear vision on the mirrors?
 

· Registered
Joined
·
15 Posts
Discussion Starter · #6 ·
I completely agree. I ran the Pilot Road 3's on my last bike. I put 16,000 km (Just about 10,000 miles) on them and they still had some life left in them. I took them off because of a huge trip I was going on and gave them to my friend who ran them on his R6 for a summer. I ended up replacing them with the Pilot Road 4's and was not disappointed at all. They are amazing tires in the rain and great in dry conditions. Still quite sticky after you warm them up. I can't wait to wear out the Dunlops on my Z650 so that I can upgrade to the PR4's. Highly recommend.
How many miles you had with the stock tires?

My odometer reading is just over 11,300 km = 7021 miles.
great! PS4 it is then :) Btw Shamsul how much are the PS4s in Malaysia.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
266 Posts
Changing to a 170cm wide tire will change the final drive ratio by 1.89%. You will see a respective top speed gain of 1.89% and a torque/acceleration loss of 1.89%. Meaining instead of a topspeed of 113.5MPH, you'll have 115.7MPH. It will also change the accuracy of the speedometer by the same percentage. Now for the actual fit, and clearance of the tire, It should fit, but I wouldn't go any wider. As you corner, the tires are designed to flex to create a wider footprint at an angle. If you don't change the rear rim, you will create a pinch, causing the 170 to be taller and more rounded than intended. What this will do is change the contact patch area of the tire. You will be leaning on the harder, center section of the tire at times, instead of the softer, outer edges.

In short. Yes, a 170 will fit, but you are gaining literally nothing other than looks unless you fit the correct rim to gain the added traction and footprint a wider tire provides. And, you will probably pay more for a 170, since it's kind of an odd size to begin with. I would stick with 160's and buy a good dual compond, such as the Michelins.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
15 Posts
Discussion Starter · #12 ·
Changing to a 170cm wide tire will change the final drive ratio by 1.89%. You will see a respective top speed gain of 1.89% and a torque/acceleration loss of 1.89%. Meaining instead of a topspeed of 113.5MPH, you'll have 115.7MPH. It will also change the accuracy of the speedometer by the same percentage. Now for the actual fit, and clearance of the tire, It should fit, but I wouldn't go any wider. As you corner, the tires are designed to flex to create a wider footprint at an angle. If you don't change the rear rim, you will create a pinch, causing the 170 to be taller and more rounded than intended. What this will do is change the contact patch area of the tire. You will be leaning on the harder, center section of the tire at times, instead of the softer, outer edges.

In short. Yes, a 170 will fit, but you are gaining literally nothing other than looks unless you fit the correct rim to gain the added traction and footprint a wider tire provides. And, you will probably pay more for a 170, since it's kind of an odd size to begin with. I would stick with 160's and buy a good dual compond, such as the Michelins.
Thanks Tremonte for the detailed response. I will stick with the 160s for now. On top of the Michelin PR4, are the Bridgestone S21 or the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa any good? i use the bike on the weekends for canyon rides with windy roads, not so much on a rainy day.

Do the PR4 perform well on corners as well?
 

· Registered
Joined
·
266 Posts
I've never tried the Bridgestones or looked into them much. I have heard good things about the Pirelli's as far as performance, but they tend to wear down a bit faster than most other tires. The Michelin's are great tires. I've had several sets through the various iterations of the Pilot, and have never been let down. Great mileage and excellent traction.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
25 Posts
I just got the Dunlop q3 plus put on friday and have put about 500 miles so far on them. Love them. Lean in super quick, grip amazing, heat up quick, brakes better too. The profile is so much steeper I dragged a peg and still had a huge chicken strip.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
13 Posts
When I bought my z650, new, from the dealer, I got him to change, prior to delivery, to Pirelli Angel GT tyres. These have become my favourites for great grip and long life on previous bikes. I also went to 170 profile from new, however I am finding it not quite so easy to scrub the shoulder.
 

· Super Moderator
Joined
·
348 Posts
Hey can the rear tires be changed to 170/xx/xx tired ?
So I needed tires asap because I got a flat tire and had a long ride the next day. They didn't have the stock size so went ahead and purchased a 170/60 17 tire. I ventured out on brand spanking new tires. Took it easy for about 100 miles then started leaning more in the twisties tires felt great and grippy. I did notice that the rear feels a bit taller (maybe its my imagination) which is great for a six foot tall guy. The total ride was 277 miles lots of twisties. Never felt a difference in performance. Looks nice too.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
50 Posts
If you aim the stock mirrors inward, so you see a good portion of each shoulder, the view of the road behind the bike is excellent. There seems to be a slight curvature to the stock mirrors, which helps when the mirror are set as I describe.
 
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top