i know this is a sport tire and a heavy bike like the C14 will chew it up quick, still wondering if anyone has tried the Dunlop Sportmax Q3 plus tires out on a C14. I would sacrifice longevity for traction.

 

I’m no tire guru but I’ll assume that the tire you mentioned as a lower load rating than something than a pr4gt or similar.
I think it is possible that you might find less traction. Along with maybe stickier rubber, you get a weaker sidewall. Throw the 800lb c14 into curve and what will happen? The sidewall will flex, the tread
will then have less than ideal contact .
I now have a worn out pr4 ( not gt). I was on a trip in AZ, someone knifed my tire and the only tire the shop had was a non gt pr4. What I noticed was it had more flex; the gt has a real nice stiffer sidewall that compliments the tread. It gives a slighter stiffer ride but really feels good in the mountains.
In a nutshell , I’m saying if you want better traction, look for a tire with high load rating that has stickier compound. A tire is a complete package, look at it as such.

I had pilot power 3s on my 08 when i bought it. I ran the mountains in AR 3 days after i got it and had a blast with no traction issues at all. I put a new pp3 on the rear the day i bought the bike. I got 5k out of it....prolly could have run it to 7k.
I used to run qualifier q3s on my ZRX. They were good for about 3k on the rear, 6k on the front.

This review:https://ridermagazine.com/2014/05/02/michelin-pilot-road-4-sport-touring-tires-review/
says that the GT version on the pr4 uses a different architecture , a cross of bias ply and radial for more stability .
Hey, who doesn’t want more stability in a tire, right?

I just looked at my 2019 Dunlop brochure, and the Q3+ tires have the same load/speed ratings as the Road Smart 3 for the same size tire.  Dunlop does not offer GT tires, they claim their tires' sidewalls are stiff enough (they're quite proud of that), to not only improve cornering steering response, but can also handle heavier sport touring bikes without a problem. 

The biggest challenge is in mounting them with something like a No-Mar system.  You can guess how I know. 

I just looked at my 2019 Dunlop brochure, and the Q3+ tires have the same load/speed ratings as the Road Smart 3 for the same size tire.  Dunlop does not offer GT tires, they claim their tires' sidewalls are stiff enough (they're quite proud of that), to not only improve cornering steering response, but can also handle heavier sport touring bikes without a problem. 

The biggest challenge is in mounting them with something like a No-Mar system.  You can guess how I know.

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Just what I didnt want to hear. I struggle with my HF mounter and mojo bar the way it is.
Wayne

No pain, no gain, right? When I first saw the pr4gt, it was next to a regular pr4 and pushing on the sidewall was enough to tell you that it would be a pain to mount.
But, in the name of C14 science , buy that Dunlap, mount and give a review.

The biggest challenge is in mounting them with something like a No-Mar system.  You can guess how I know.

We had no end of trouble trying to get a Bridgestone on and off. If we have difficulty with anything else we'll throw that 'stone on the machine just so anything after will seem like a piece of cake. Even a Dunlop.

No pain, no gain, right? When I first saw the pr4gt, it was next to a regular pr4 and pushing on the sidewall was enough to tell you that it would be a pain to mount.
But, in the name of C14 science , buy that Dunlap, mount and give a review.

I have the Roadsmart 3's sitting here. They are have to do really good to top the BS23's . They are lasting better than expected and are relatively inexpensive.

Some great info here about the Dunlap sidewall, I will give them a try when I need tires later this Summer. I have used the PR2,PR3, PR4 GT, Pirelli ST, GT. I really like the Pirelli GT which is the tire I have on now.
thanks
C44

I have them on my bike now, they are wearing great and stick like glue. I had Angel GT's before and I will probably never go back to them.
I only have about 1000 miles on them so far but no worse wear than the Pirelli's.
Keep them at 42PSI, they don't peel as planted after they loose about 3PSI

I’m no tire guru but I’ll assume that the tire you mentioned as a lower load rating than something than a pr4gt or similar.
I think it is possible that you might find less traction. Along with maybe stickier rubber, you get a weaker sidewall. Throw the 800lb c14 into curve and what will happen? The sidewall will flex, the tread
will then have less than ideal contact .
I now have a worn out pr4 ( not gt). I was on a trip in AZ, someone knifed my tire and the only tire the shop had was a non gt pr4. What I noticed was it had more flex; the gt has a real nice stiffer sidewall that compliments the tread. It gives a slighter stiffer ride but really feels good in the mountains.
In a nutshell , I’m saying if you want better traction, look for a tire with high load rating that has stickier compound. A tire is a complete package, look at it as such.

800lbs???I dont think so... i thought it was 678#(2008) with ABS...sans rider and gear...Kawasaki says the 2019 is 690#

690+200# rider+ 140# passenger + 50# gear = 1080# real world weight.

I have them on my bike now, they are wearing great and stick like glue. I had Angel GT's before and I will probably never go back to them.
I only have about 1000 miles on them so far but no worse wear than the Pirelli's.
Keep them at 42PSI, they don't peel as planted after they loose about 3PSI

I have 5500 miles on them now, they are just above the wear bars. I only got 6000 miles from the Angel GT and they squared off very quickly. The Q3+ stayed much rounder for the entire life of the tire. My new favorite tire!

Great tires!!I ran about 8,500 miles on a set. Great feel all around. A sport bike shop that installs my tires suggested them. They weren't as long lasting as my old PR2s that made it almost 17,000 miles. Even PR4 GTs Have gone 10,000 miles with me. But the traction, silica in the rubber and carbon fiber sidewalls, make these tires stand out from many. I will run them again.
Currently running Roadsmart 2s, because I found a set for about $170.

Comparing a standard Dunlop to a Michelin is just crazy. The profiles and sidewalls on both tires are completely different in my experience. The Michelin’s even in the GT mount like butter compared to a Dunlop.

The Q3+ is a great tire, but I feel you'll get better life and use out of the Road series Michelin offers. The Pilot Road 5 GT is a newer version of the PR4, and is engineered to offer great, if not better, grip as the tire wears. I've got Roadsmart 3s (or maybe they're the 2s, I can't remember) on my 2017 atm and I've been a Dunlop guy with my M109R and C14 but I am definitely looking to try out the PR5GT.

I tried the Pirelli Angel GT after the OEM front stone cupped really badly. I love the traction and transition of the Angel GT - like a different bike. However, at under 4000 miles, there's plenty of tread left but it's cupped again and the sides are worn more than the center (lots of hard twisties here in the Carolinas!  ) I could get more miles out of it but I've got an 1100 mile 3-day ride coming up and the low-speed wobble in the front is unnerving, so I just purchased a Michelin Road 5 GT.  Gonna get it mounted soon and will report back on handling. I also changed the front and rear suspension settings (tightened them both up a bit) to see if that helps.
Important to note that I considered the Pirelli Angel GT 2 (upgrade to the GT) because I liked the wet and dry grip of the Angel GT  so much, but reviews said that changes in the center tread made it track concrete grooves something fierce. Didn't want to deal with that.

I started using the Q2 in 2012 then the Q3 and Q3+ when they came out. 42psi on the street and 35psi on the track. Average milage 5500-6000 miles rear, 6500-6700 front. Worst milage 3100 but had two full track days. If you don’t mind giving up a few miles these are great tires for the C14. I also went through timing lights with Q3+ tires at El Mirage Dry Lakes, 182 mph. You can see my time slip on the Shoodaben Engineering web site.  I use the 190-55 rear.

Track day with a Q3.