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[Manzanita]

I was in love with the Dunlop GPR300s on my Ninja 400 after 2 trackdays, they stick like glue. However, using the Ninja as my commute vehicle quickly wore a flat spot into the rear within 2k miles. But about six weeks ago I got my Zero S back into action (bought the $600 delta-Q, my onboard is still toast), which had a brand new Michelin Street Radial on the rear. So I have about 1500 miles on it now (50 mile round trip daily commute), and the tire look brand new, no flat spot at all. Sounds like a rave review, however....

So last night coming home I get on the freeway cloverleaf from a stop light, it's a 90 degree turn to get onto the ramp. It's my regular way home so I know the turn pretty well. I braked hard, leaned over, rolled on the throttle as I straightened up and had my rear break loose a few inches! This is on a Zero S (54 horsepower) on dry pavement!!! Wow! It recovered fine and no problem, but I've never had that happen to me. No gravel, no bumps.

Okay, so I have reached the conclusion that I reached the performance limit of the long-wearing Street Radials. Feeling the Street Radial tire by hand vs. the GPR300 is like night and day. The Michelin feels (and looks) like plastic whereas the GPR300 feels like rubber. I also was keeping my rear tire at 38 PSI, hoping it would increase my range (didn't notice a difference). I just lowered it back down.

So yeah. I feel like these two tires are on opposite extremes of long-wearing versus high grip. I was ready to rave about the Street Radials, because before yesterday the grip seemed fine. I guess it's fine until it isn't!

Strangely, the GPR300 lasted longer on twisty roads and track days versus on my flat freeway commute. The flat spot is pronounced and I don't have much more than 2k miles on the rear.

Any suggestions for a tire that is somewhere in the middle of these extremes of wear and grip? 

How many miles can you get out of a Diablo Rosso II doing mostly flat commuter miles?

[JaimeC]

I got less than 9,000 miles out of my OEM Diablo Rossos on my 2018 S.  I replaced them with the GPR300s because I liked the idea of using American made tires on my American made bike.  I can't tell you how long the GPR300 will last me because after just a couple thousand miles I took a nail in the rear tire and replaced it.  It appears as though the Dunlop will last about as long as the Pirellii but right now it's an "Apples to Oranges" comparison.

With the OEM tires, I was commuting to work 34 miles round trip every day on the freeway.  Thanks to COVID19 I haven't gone into the office since March and I've been riding just back roads and local roads.  I can say I haven't notice ANY flat spots developing.

[Kappi]

The first set of OEM Diabolos lasted 3000 miles on my SR, then they were worn flat in the center and the thread was at the legal limit on the sides as well, front and back.
JaimeC, how did you get 9k miles out of those?
Currently running Non-OEM Diabolos, but the next set will be something with more cold temperature grip.

[Richard230]

The original Diablo Rosso II on my front wheel wore out at 6K miles and I replaced it with a Street Radial. After 2K miles it seems to be performing well and I have had no problems with traction. The rear Rosso II still looks fine after almost 8K miles. I would estimate that it will last at least another 2K miles and there is not a hint of "flat-spotting". I have a Street Radial rear tire in my tire closet as a replacement. The GPR300 might be a little weak for a heavier bike like the Zero as they seem to be mounted at OEM tires on light bikes like Japanese 300cc models, which usually weigh around 380 pounds. I follow Zero's air pressure recommendations of 34 psi, for both the front and rear tires.

Don't go by just one experience on a freeway on-ramp. Those things can be nasty and may have slippery coatings on them that are not all that visible, such as coolant or oil mist. This is especially true at stop signals where cars may sit for a while before moving on. Judge your tire's traction on a back road that is not heavily traveled, not in a urban setting and especially not on a freeway cloverleaf.

[JaimeC]

The first set of OEM Diabolos lasted 3000 miles on my SR, then they were worn flat in the center and the thread was at the legal limit on the sides as well, front and back.
JaimeC, how did you get 9k miles out of those?
Currently running Non-OEM Diabolos, but the next set will be something with more cold temperature grip.

I have an "S", not an "SR" and I never just LAUNCH it when I get moving so my tires tend to last longer.  I'm relatively "gentle" on the throttle unless I'm trying to avoid a tight situation where acceleration would work better than braking.

When riding back roads I tend to slow by just using the motor's regen, so my front tire doesn't get stressed a lot either.  I have about 6,000 miles on the GPR300 front tire now and it still looks fine.