how many miles did your tires last?

[sportrider]

am I just hard on tires or what? I see posts with people getting 8000+ miles on a set of tires, how are you doing it I've got 8200 miles on my FZ6 and I'm on my 4th set of tires. if you get high mileage out of a set of tires please explain how!!! I know were I live might have some effect due to temperatures but a 4000 mile difference? I ride the bike hard, pushing it on the twistys. I can't be the only one, I'm sure there are riders here that are faster. my normal freeway pace is around 90 MPH (speedo indicated)

do you guys run your tires til there showing cord or what? the best I've ever got was 3200miles and that was on the stock D252s. so post up your riding style and your mileage, I'm interested to see what the average is and the riding habits that go with it.

off hand I think "VEGASRIDER" is the only one with the same average temp as I do so will see if that is the deciding factor or what.

[wrightme43]

I have over 8000 on mine and they are still ok. I thought I would get to the tread wear indicators today, but I cant even see that 250 miles changed anything.
I have the BT020. I check my air pressure frequently. I have not ever spun the rear, but I do take off hard alot.

I did notice that when it was 95, in the blazing sun, on the interstate, and I had lower than normal airpressure, that I was getting lots of rubber beading (marbles) I had been riding for almost two hours straight though, I think the tires were very hot. I had forgot to adjust for the saddle bags and they were heavily loaded.

Are you a big guy Danny? Like say over 200 lbs?
Do you ride on concrete or asphalt? I know some road mixes are much more abrasive than others.

Also I have to say, I dont like dunlop tires.
I think dunlop tires make the baby jesus cry.

[wrightme43]

Here are some pics of the bridgestones

[wrightme43]

and just a few more.

You can really see the cupping on the front in the picture. Its not as bad as it looks. It can be felt though.

[sportrider]

I weigh around 225 give or take a little. the roads out here are a mixture of concrete and asphalt, the expressway is concrete and pretty harsh, the roads right around my house are "desert mix" asphalt which is extremely coarse. but the mountains have a nice 3/8 rock cap on them and are really smooth. I've played with the air psi running the front from 33psi to 38psi, and the rear from 36psi to 42 psi ( normally the higher for commuting the lower for canyon riding) I just can't imagine getting 8000 miles out of a tire and it still look good. I did get 8000 miles on the sportster and they still looked good but they never even dreamed of seeing the speeds the yamaha sees daily.

[wrightme43]

Well lets see, I wieght around 150 lbs. I dont know how much a extra 75lbs is going to effect a tire. I cant imagine it would be that much.
Are you buying sport touring tires or sport tires.
I know the Shinko are not going to last. I was worried you were going to have real problems from them. I am kind of a tire snob. I really really like Michelin, and Avon tires.
Did you get the Pilot roads or the Pilot sports?

Also there is a book that will help you to make your tires last longer. Its a racing book for cars but it applies. My tires last a very long time on my cars and trucks too. I believe part of it is the line taken to minimize tire loading, the decel, and accel points.
Its called Think to Win by Carrol Smith. He also wrote Engineer to win, which is like a mechanical bible of how, why, what, and when to use which material and for how long it can be used before inspection or replacement.
It might be a combination of roads, wieght, loading, and heat. I will bet that a good high quality sport touring tire will last longer.
Do you think there is anything you could change about your lines thru turns that would let your tires do the same job easier?

[sportrider]

I like the pilot power sport tires, I do suppose the 75lbs does have an effect on tire wear. I could work on my lines some, but I find the roads I know well I am very smooth threw and obviously faster, the more I ride a road the less mid corner corrections I find myself making. the new roads I've been riding a lot lately I can do better on but that is normal for not knowing a road yet, of course on the new roads my pace is a lot slower so my line choice is not as critical (even though I know I could have been smoother) when I'm riding aggressive I tend to favor 2nd gear in the tighter stuff and I'm either hard on the gas or hard on the brakes not a lot of neutral throttle or coasting. for me to use 3rd gear speeds are normally reaching 100MPH and accelerating and fourth gear is for long straights. but riding around town or commuting I normally short shift and accelerate slower (unless I'm doing a speed run or passing) I guess I'm a little hard on rubber, but I ride for enjoyment more than necessity. that being said it still would be nice to get more miles on a set of tires, next time I'm going to try the michelin pilot power 2ct.

[jamesfz6]

Any extra weight will definatley affect the wear on the tire. The stock tires usually last a while because they are a sport touring tire that is hard in the middle and soft on the sides. That way you get more straight riding out of it. I will change my stock tires after the break-in period, i just like the sport tires better. That way i know if i have to ride aggressive the tires can take it. Those sport touring tires tend to break loose around twisties. I'm not sliding all over the place but the tires tend to drift to the ouside of the turn more often and that can be kinda scary. So i just stick to a good sport tire and usually get 3,500 miles out of a set.

[bcityroller]

I got just under 4k on the OEM dunlops rear between myself and the original owner. Switched to Pilot roads and have about 2500 miles on them and they still look pretty good so far. Based on others who have them I'm shooting for 6 - 8k which is a pretty sizeable improvement.

[VEGASRIDER]

Danny, I can't really answer your poll at the moment since I'm still on my original set of tires, which are the Dunlops. I've also included pics. I know you ride much harder than I do since I'm in constant traffic most of the time, so I pretty much keep my riding in check. Plus it hasn't rained in months, so the roads are really slick with all of the oil and grease that has accumulated so I have to be careful not to ride too aggressively. I just saw on the news that we only had 3/10 of an inch of rain since the Jan 1. But I think we are expecting some rain this week.