It is time to replace my 990's rubber and was wondering what brands you guys would recommend to a new SD owner.

I'm currently using a Michelin Pilot Power 3's, but although they are a brilliant tyre I wouldn't really recommend them for an SD unless you've got it in super-stiff track-only mode, as the sidewalls are extremely stiff... too much for a road setup SD, IMHO. I'm currently running them at 29psi to compensate, but obviously this isn't ideal.

Talking to Darren at MCT when they did my suspension, he reckoned that a pair of Pirelli Diablo Rosso's would be a much better match for a sporty tyre. Or if you want something a bit longer lasting the Michelin Pilot Road 4. I'm not sure which I'm going to go with yet. Probably the PR4.

Racetec K3's ....... Awesome on track but a little suspect in the wet!?!

I just ordered a set of Dunlop Q3's. Tossing my Pilot Road 2's as I cant trust the rear one anymore, and have no use for mismatching the front tyre

ill second pirreli diablo and the corsers. mitchelin a shit of a tyre with only cord in the bead u can change a micthelin tyre without irons so can spin on rim and i much perfere the profile of the pirrelis

I'm a cheap bastard and I generally go for the local Cycle Gears discount tyre deals. Many tymes they are last years models or approaching a freshness date expiration. I am sure there are big box motorcycle discount centers in New Guernsey and if money is an object, as in you object to throwing it away, I would look there first.
I spooned on a set of Dunlop Qualifiers for two hundred bucks and last tyme it was Pirelli Diablo's. I myself am partial to Dunlop tyres and in Ca. they seem to be the cheapest. I'd go with the Q2's, you wont be disappointed.

A note on the Q2's, they stick really well but don't last very long. With 2 track days, I'm down to the wear bars on the sides.

K3 rear and K2 or even K1 front is great on sunny days and track.

Dunlop D211s endurance rear and soft front are meant to be even better. I've just ordered a set.

If it's purely for road both those options may be overkill.

I have Dunlop SportSmart 1 on my SDR at the moment and I would recommend them, grip great and a lot of feedback from rear tyre.
That's the reason I bought SportSmarts 2 for my RC8, but didn't ride it much as yet, so can't tell too much about latest version. I think 1290 is originally delivered with SportSmarts 2 also.

I've been loyal to Racetecs for years now K1 on front and K2 on rear. But I have K3 on front and rear this year and they have still been great on track and roads last year. Down side is as stated above by others. In the wet and cold they are truly terrible. I rode this set all the way through winter and lost my confidence in cornering on British public roads. But they have worn well despite a lot of fasthighway miles which would normally have seen a bald center on the softer variants.

Power 3, stiff side walls or not, but then my suspension is set up stiff 'cos I'm no lightweight.

The standard rear Sportsmart 2 is worn out on my 1290.. Only got 3750km on it..
Have ordered Michelin Pilot Power 3, just to compare it With the Dunlop tyre.

I've run Bridgestone BT016 on my SD and they work well on and off track. A little cheaper than S20, but the S20 is supposed to be much better on track. The R10's are supposed to be much better than the S20's. If I was looking to get a new set, the R10's would be at the top of my list.

Dunlop 211 GPA are super grippy, but wear quickly and unevenly. I ran them once at a track day, and was like my god so much grip, go faster. Way more grip than BT016. At the end of the day the tyre was looking ragged and blued along the edges. I ended up selling that bike shortly afterwards with the GPAs on it (03 yamaha r6 track rat). I guess my friend was so impressed that I lapped his ass so many times he just wanted the tyres and took the bike with it.

If you plan on doing track days and don't ride in the rain much, you might as well get DOT race tyre. Who cares if you have buy a new rear tyre after 1 year instead of 1 1/2 years, better to have more grip for those miles while out on the track. Typically front tyres last twice as long, so buy two rears and one front, and you might get a bulk purchase discount. I know plenty people who run DOT race tyres on their daily commute without problems, then take the same bike out on the track and rail around. If DOT race wasn't made for the road, then why did they make it DOT? I wouldn't worry about not getting enough heat into a DOT race tyre for daily commute and all that b.s, not like the extra tackyness will matter going a whopping 60mph.

http://viets-performance.com/Home/Bridg ... 180_3-Pack

A few weeks ago MCN did a tyre test and what was amazing was that the rider set quicker times around a track on touring tyres

I have Diablo Corsa's on the SD and they seem great but I'm not at all surprised to hear somebody going fast on alleged touring tyres.

The truth is that if you put somebody like McWilliams (or any national level racer for that matter) on a bike with touring tyres they could set consistent lap times that most occasional track day riders couldn't get near on slicks. My point being that the tyres for the vast majority of us are not the limiting factor, talent runs out long before the tyres do!!

As a little example I went out for 150 mile ish blast on my ZZR1400 last weekend, first time I have ridden it this year and I only rode it a couple of times briefly after buying it last year. About half the trip was two up and fairly gentle but the last 40 odd miles was solo and amusingly full on. I had zero grip issues at all despite abusing 190HP and serious lean and brake action but when I got home I realised that I had no idea what hoops it had fitted. Turns out they are Maxxis or something like that which I assume are cheap Chinese rubber. Had I known in advance I would probably have taken greater care and imagined little slides and lack of feel all over the place. Assuming the tyres were sticky I rode like they were and interpreted the feel accordingly.

Fit what you have confidence in and I'm sure you will be just fine