[Daniel Teng]

I'm currently looking for replacement tires for my 2019 R3. I got a nail in the rear and since the tires have about 3K on them, I decided to just swap both tires out for upcoming trackdays.

I was hoping to get the Michelin Pilot Powers (2CT, or 3), but saw that they don't have the right sizes for front and back of the R3. The next sport/track tire I saw was the Dunlop Q3+ SportMax. Looks like they have those in the correct size.

Anyone have feedback on the Dunlops? Any other recommendations for tires that work decently for road and track?

Oh, if you happen to also know what the torque values for the wheel nuts are when I put the tires back on, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

 

[xorbe]

Bump

 

[bennyrides]

Torque Specs

Because most design & mechanics are similar (minus the 2019+ fairings & instrument panel and 2018+ ABS) between all years & models of the MT-03 & YZF-R3, I suggest downloading the 2015-2018 Enhanced Service Manual.

Get your Enhanced Service Manual (MediaFire link, 160MB) for 2015-2018 and refer to Chassis (section 4, p 141) for Front Wheel (Section 4-21, p164) & Rear Wheel (Section 4-27, p170).

The nice thing with the Enhanced Service Manual, is that the page numbers match what the actual section pages are; so 4-27 correlates with page 170. I always wondered why Yamaha didn't do this with the original Service Manual.

Find all Service Manuals here.

I'm not giving you the torque specs outright, because you should become more resourceful in finding these things on your own - the answers you're looking for are easy to find, as long as you ask the right questions. In a way, you got what you were looking for, because my response is the answer you can use to get more information!

And undoubtedly, this will help others who are wondering the same things as you, so thank you for asking!

Tires
As for tires / tyres, use the Search Function to find what other people recommend.

Search something along the lines of, "racing track tyres tires -street" or "tires for street -track". If you don't find a good recommendation that way, then use the Multi-Quote System and paste in solutions you've come across that closely correlates to your preferences; doing so helps the rest of us guide you in your decision.

You may find all radial tires are suitable for the track; it may end up depending on your riding skill & how hard you ride. Obviously, you can spend hundreds of dollars, but if your skill doesn't match the performance of the tire, then it's a waste of money.

 

[Daniel Teng]

I'm not giving you the torque specs outright, because you should become more resourceful in finding these things on your own - the answers you're looking for are easy to find, as long as you ask the right questions.

Thanks, Benny. You are absolutely right...I'll admit I was just being lazy and looking for a quick answer. I already have the official 2019 Service Manual ordered but Yamaha delayed it until March 9th. In any case, I appreciate the feedback and tips for better searching here. The internet is a wonderful place, but can be unforgiving at times

 

[bennyrides]

Thanks, Benny. You are absolutely right...I'll admit I was just being lazy and looking for a quick answer. I already have the official 2019 Service Manual ordered but Yamaha delayed it until March 9th. In any case, I appreciate the feedback and tips for better searching here. The internet is a wonderful place, but can be unforgiving at times

Yeah - I'm that guy most of the time. Unfortunately.
It's really about raising awareness.

I am apologetic for being that unforgiving part of the internet, but it's all well-intentioned; I promise! I want the best for everyone.
Many (in my life and online) have said I lack tact. I'm passionate about easily accessible information, but also about being resourceful to attain it. Both things are fantastic.

Others will come here to read this conversation - perhaps there's a chance to inform everyone that there are these Search Functions made readily available for us by the VerticalScope gods. I'm well-intentioned, it just comes out so rigid and managerial-sounding.

I get lazy too - sometimes when I'm answering questions, instead of offering quality help, I go on tangents, I don't cite sources of information - no one is perfect, but we can strive to be better.

Ride on, @Daniel Teng, ride on!

You've inspired me to write a thread on how to find feedback on tyres online.
[I will paste the link here after I've written it]

 

[GoFaster]

The Dunlop Q3+ tires are excellent. They have been the "spec" race tire for Canadian Superbike for the last few years in the Lightweight class. I've raced on them.

 

[Daniel Teng]

I am apologetic for being that unforgiving part of the internet, but it's all well-intentioned; I promise! I want the best for everyone.

No worries! I'm on board with the "teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" school of thought. I do appreciate the search tips. I very rarely come on this forum as my primary ride is a 750GS so I haunt some other boards, all with different search capabilities.

Thanks for the feedback on the Q3+. I heard the same from an acquaintance (a B+ Group rider) from my first track day last year (I'm a complete noob to this with only 2 track days under my belt, and registered for two more over the next couple months). He just happened to reach out to me for some other stuff and we ended up chatting about tires and he runs Q3+ and likes them. I put in the order for a set to be installed when they arrive.

I'll come back and check out your updated link when it's up.

Have a great weekend.

 

[bennyrides]

Yeah, I just realized how much of a dick I sound.
It's okay - @bennyrides.
Don't doubt yourself; learn by your mistakes and ride on!

What I wanted to write turned into a list of things I need to cover, so it's going to take many hours of reading to compile all the information I want to fill the thread with...I will just @ you after I have it all online.

 

[Dreadwil]

I spent a lot of time researching which tyres to replace my factory pair with and ended up going with Bridgestone S22's. They certainly a huge step up from the factory set and give you way more confidence in corners. You sacrifice a bit of longevity for grip but if you're going to be doing track days and ride on the rode, these are great for that.

Most instructors I've dealt with rave on about Michelin Pilot tyres so I'll most likely have a look at them for my next set.

 

[airhead83]

I spent a lot of time researching which tyres to replace my factory pair with and ended up going with Bridgestone S22's. They certainly a huge step up from the factory set and give you way more confidence in corners. You sacrifice a bit of longevity for grip but if you're going to be doing track days and ride on the rode, these are great for that.

Most instructors I've dealt with rave on about Michelin Pilot tyres so I'll most likely have a look at them for my next set.

When you get around to that, how about sharing which Michelin "Pilot" tire the instructors are talking about. There are several branded with that name, and they seem to vary greatly in price and function.

 

[Dreadwil]

When you get around to that, how about sharing which Michelin "Pilot" tire the instructors are talking about. There are several branded with that name, and they seem to vary greatly in price and function.

Good point!

"Michelin pilot streets" are what they were raving about, if that narrows it down. I should note that they were instructors for road safety/skills courses that they provide here in NZ, not racing instructors (although they do race, and ride trials).

 

[bennyrides]

Good point!

"Michelin pilot streets" are what they were raving about, if that narrows it down. I should note that they were instructors for road safety/skills courses that they provide here in NZ, not racing instructors (although they do race, and ride trials).

I wrote about this very product. It's confusing, because there's a "Pilot Street" and there's a "Pilot Street Radial". The first was the stock tire for the 2015-2018 YZF-R3, the second (must've been) released as "Pilot Street Radial" sometime later.

Here's the perfect example of what causes the unnecessary confusion: a Pilot Street (a Bias-Ply) on Amazon.com sold by yours truly (here's a link to the Pilot Street on BikeBandit.com). The listing has a picture of a Michelin Pilot Street Radial. The Pilot Street Radial and the Pilot Street are two different tires.


Source: Tyre Thread

 

[Paulie.online]

I've used Street radials before on a couple of bikes. (Most recently a CBR250 and my 2015 R3 in combination with a Road 3 on the front.) They're okay for their price point. But, now that Road 5s are available in the OEM tyre sizes, I wouldn't consider anything else for all weather street riding (and probably the occasional track day). From my experience, the only area where the Pilot Streets might outperform the Road 5s is longevity, but probably not by much, if at all. In all other areas (wet and dry grip, feedback etc.) the Road 5s are a far superior tyre.

The original poster indicated that they planned to use the tyres for an occasional track day. Road 5s MIGHT do okay on an R3 on the track (they've got a nice treadless section for maximising corner grip which seems to work well on my Street Triple). I'm not sure I'd want to try Pilot Streets in that same environment. I'm not sure how much feedback they'd give when they're getting near the limits of traction.

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