Tire conundrum

I recently bought a whole front wheel assembly,tire,rim,discs. It came with a dunlop d616f radial which had next to no miles on it, which was perfect since the angle gt I had in the front needed to be replaced. So I did the switch, it's still in great shape and handles great, now my angle in the back is losing air and I need to get something new back there, but it seems that the tire I have in the front was discontinued, any recommendationson something that would go well with the one I have in the front.

You might check the date on that 616 if you haven't done so.

Believe it or not, it doesn't really matter. You might want to look at another Dunlop because the profiles might be similar, but you can put anything from a major manufacturer on the back and it will ride just fine.

Yeah they got disco in 2014 i think, so it at least that old, but it is in great shape, no cracking or anything like that, still had the little frills that new tires had, and they where soft and nimble. Should i still be concerned?

And yeah, these tires have a pretty aggressive tread pattern, which the current dunlops do not. But ill keep looking.

I'll go counter to Jim and say it does matter. Nothing feels sketchier than a bike where the front washes before the rear. The 616 was what the Buell Ulysses ran, right - lots of voids, fairly sticky, looks sort of like a supermoto tread? Older tread compound probably not up to snuff with current top end sport touring rubber at low temps or in the wet...

I'm going to head off a limb and say you are on an R1100RT from your photo and are looking for a 160/60-18. Unfortunately, that size limits our choices.

I'd probably pair it with a Metzeler Z6 if were my bike.

I recently bought a whole front wheel assembly,tire,rim,discs. It came with a dunlop d616f radial which had next to no miles on it, which was perfect since the angle gt I had in the front needed to be replaced. So I did the switch, it's still in great shape and handles great, now my angle in the back is losing air and I need to get something new back there, but it seems that the tire I have in the front was discontinued, any recommendationson something that would go well with the one I have in the front.

Morning McDuugle

That Dunlop d616 f/r was/is a VERY WELL liked tire in the stunt bike community as it has lots of grip. (they just loved it).

So you might sniff around the stunt riders web sites to see what they are replacing their d616 tires with.

Did they stop making the z6?

Did they stop making the z6?

 

Morning McDuugle

As far as I know the Z-6 is no longer in production. The Z-6 has always

been my (personal) favorite tire but they are getting difficult to find anymore.

I bought 3 sets a while back just to have a stock to draw from but I'm down

to my last set.

I tried PR 4's hoping to find a Z-6 replacement but those darn things cupped

& feathered so bad at very early mileage that they just don't fit my riding

style.

I also tried the Z-8 & those wore more even for me than the PR4 but I just

don't like the tracking under extreme lean & don't like the rather dull feeling

during most aggressive maneuvers. (I guess I'm just not a fan of multi durometer

rubber compounds across the tread surface)

Yeah thats what I thought, I had Pirelli Angle GT's as my first set of tires and they lasted a while a where really nice, but then again I have no reference. I will get a "outdated" Z6 rear to kind of go with my outdated D616F. Lets see how it goes...

Yeah thats what I thought, I had Pirelli Angle GT's as my first set of tires and they lasted a while a where really nice, but then again I have no reference. I will get a "outdated" Z6 rear to kind of go with my outdated D616F. Lets see how it goes...

Then you have the Angel GT as a reference against the D616. How does front grip compare between the two, especially in the wet and cold? If you think they are equivalent, you could put an Angel GT on the back as well.

The Z-6 has always been my (personal) favorite tire...

 

I tried PR 4's...

 

I also tried the Z-8...

Have you tried the Pirelli Angel GT yet? (Not the ST) I've been really happy with them on my R1100RSL at 40 / 42 PSI, riding solo.