Dunlop Bike Tyre Tops Test

The new Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier scored a decisive victory in its first major international comparative tyre test, being declared as “awesome” by top test riders. The test, carried out by US magazine, Sport Rider, compared the top road tyres on the market in a gruelling assessment of traction, braking, steering response and general handling qualities.

The testers used Suzuki GSX-R 1000 and Honda CBR600RR test bikes, ranking the tyres as follows:

Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier 91.4%
Michelin Pilot Power 89.3%
Bridgestone BT-014 89.0%
Metzler Sportec M-1 87.3%
Pirelli Diablo 86.0%
Avon Viper Sport 83.7%
Continental Contisport Attack 80.7%
Maxxis Supermaxx M6029 79.0%

Sport Rider enthused about the tyres, commenting: “Overall traction was excellent at all lean angles. This tyre felt like it was putting down a big footprint, and feedback was superb, communicating what was happening at the contact patch at all times”.

Dunlop motorcycle sales and marketing manager Lisa Faulkner stated: “This is a convincing victory for the Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier. Our engineers have focused on delivering the best traction, handling and shortest warm-up times in the market and this test result is evidence of that

“Dunlop use knowledge gained from racetrack success, such as Gregorio Lavilla’s stunning 2005 British Superbike Championship victory, in developing the latest road and track tyres” she added.