Cycle News

Cycle News 2022 Issue 49 December 6

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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feedback and the front/rear grip was very enticing. Next, I repeated the scenario on a few Kawasaki ZX-10Rs, each fitted with the different Q5s. The liter-bikes are fast and put a lot of stress into the tires. Under hard braking entering the corners, the front Q5 was well com- posed. The tire kept its shape, allow- ing me to really go deep on the brakes with plenty of confidence. The feel it provides is precise and controlled, never folding under or getting out of shape. Bump compliance is also very well-sorted. Whether you're navigat- ing sharp or dull bumps, the Q5 soaks them up and immediately returns you to your happy place. On the corner exits, both the Q5 and Q5S rears were very predict- able, providing plenty of grip. Once again, it was a very similar feel to that of the racing slicks. I rode a variety of bikes, including a Yamaha YZF-R1, BMW S 1000 R, Honda CBR1000RR-R SP, and a Kawasaki Ninja 400. Sometimes tires can up- set a bike's handling characteristics. P100 PRODUCT REVIEW I •FAST WARM-UP TIME •NO TIRE WARMERS NEEDED •TWO DIFFERENT MODELS: Q5 AND Q5S •A BIT ON THE PRICEY SIDE WHEN COMPARED TO THE COMPETITION No tire warmers mean just set your pressures cold and off you go. The one thing that stood out was how adaptable the Q5 and Q5S are to varying types of motorcycle. Each bike had a positive feel at corner en- try and exit. The connection between the throttle and pavement was also very universal. I did get out of shape a few times, but the predictably of the Q5 made it easy to modulate the slides with the throttle. Other than that, I had no problem driving the bikes out of the corners under power. Eventually, I encountered some front-wheel chatter but on stock bikes that is to be expected. I'm sure it could be solved with perhaps a tire pressure increase or some suspen- sion adjustments. And of course, there was some performance drop- off in terms of rear grip. The Q5 is no different to any other track-day tire when it comes to usage consistency. Depending on how long and hard your initial few runs are, the tire will vary in its longevity and grip levels. Tire life for the Q5s was excep- tional considering all the abuse they took throughout the day. The new Q5 and Q5S are pretty much racing slicks with grooves cut in them to make them street legal. But that's what true track-day enthu- siasts want. The Dunlop USA crew did a very good job with its new Q5 and Q5S. Tom Montano

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