I have been spoiled by my 2001 Concours (may she rest in peace after 77,000+ miles) running Metzler ME880's and getting 15,000-18,000+ miles on a set of tires. I commute 80 miles a day, and need long wearing tires more than I need every possible degree of lean.
I've tried to search the threads, but folks seem more obsessed with grip than miles and those that mention miles seem to think 3500 is "good". Let's here some numbers for those of us that lean more to the "tour" side than the "sport" side and what kind of tires last longer.
Hearing good things about the BT023's lasting long, but no numbers quoted. I'd like to go 10k between changes
I'm probably not the best to brag about high numbers. I commute on my bike, but also ride the mountains on the weekends. Most of the time 2-up. I've gotten 2,800 miles out of Pirelli Corsa III's and 3,000 - 3,200 out of Pirelli Diablo's. I have also tried Strada's and most recently BT-023GT's. I still can't seem to get more than 3,500-4k miles out of a rear tires. Normally about double that for a front. I'm not small, ride 2-up a lot, and it is hot in Georgia. All contribute to higher tire wear. I'd love to be able to get 8k-10k miles out of a set. It just doesn't happen for me, even with the harder ST tires.
I've got about 4000 miles on a set of BT021's - maybe another 5 or 6 hundred miles in the back tire if I take it easy. It's all slab riding here, so the center tread is nearly to the wear bars. The front tire looks like it'll do at least twice the mileage before it needs to be replaced.
A friend of mine is just now replacing his non-GT version BT-023 rear on his ST1300 after about 10.5k miles - probably 50% slab. Also have a guy running the GT version on his FJR1300 and he's at about 7500 and it still looks good.
I've got about 5k on my Michelin PR2 and no signs of wearing out soon. This is the first "brand new" tire I've had on the back so my experience is limited with ST-type tires.
I get 9 to10k on my front tyre, and 8 to 9000k on the rear.
Roads are mediums(grain), my rides are a balance between s's and straight.... easy on 1st/2nd acceleration.
I use PR2's from mich
Here's my mileage with my last set of Dunlop Roadsmarts.
I put the front on 07/12/10 with 39,600 miles on the odometer.
I out the rear on 10/20/10 with 44,625 miles on the odometer.
I put new tires (f and r) on 06/27/11 with 58,650 miles on the odo.
That gives me 19,050 on the front and 14,025 on the rear.
My commute is 56 miles round trip. The tires got squared off from so much straight up riding, but were never a danger due to tread wear. I replaced them before our monsoon season here in southern Arizona so I'd have good tires in the rain.
I'd have to change tires with every oil change with some of these soft tires.
I have Continental Motions on my 5th gen and they have been wonderful so far. We're at 5k miles already and after checking the tread just now I won't be surprised if I can get another 3-5k from them :)
This is one of those things that you need to consider carefully.
You may want mileage, but riding a VFR you are likely to at some point require some decent grip.
I put Michelin Pilot Road 2s on my '04 June 1 of this year.
Having accumulated almost 6,000 miles on them, I couldn't be happier with the ride and performance.
I have read where the rear has 6 mm of tread in the center to start with and I still have about 4 mm left.
Based on the wear rate so far, I expect to get 10,000 plus out of them before replacing them. I do replace tires when they reach the wear bars so I don't squeeze the last couple of thousand miles out of them.
They are pricey, but what part of motorcycling isn't?
I don't consider myself to be an aggressive rider and my "chicken strips" are about 10 mm. I would rather have chicken strips on my tires rather than idiot strips on my body work. :biggrin:
I run the Honda manual recommended 36 front and 42 rear and am very careful to maintain proper inflation.
Iowa doesn't have a lot of twisty roads, but we do have some stretches with 20 to 45 mph posted suggested speeds. 20 mph over those speeds is pretty standard, 30 over is still comfortable and 40 over makes my heart beat a little faster. I'm sure the fast guys are well over that, but my abilities are limited and I ride within them.
Most road surfaces here are not too abrasive. I avoid interstates and speeds vary from 55 to low triple digits. The IHP is fairly lenient and will usually give you 10 over. Even if you are 15+ over and aren't creating a traffic hazard, they will often drop the speed violation to 5 over. That still goes on your license and is reported to your insurance company.
It will also cost you $87.50.
Sheesh! I wrote a book just to recommend the Pilot Road 2. :blush:
I also commute 90 miles a day and the best tire I have found is the Shinko 009. Not only does this tire deliver high mileage, it does well in the twistiies and in the wet. I have run through several sets; just ordered my next set yesterday from Chaparral for $168 delivered. On my 4th gen I get 12,000 miles from a rear and about 15,000 from the front. For the money you can't beat them.
I also commute 90 miles a day and the best tire I have found is the Shinko 009. Not only does this tire deliver high mileage, it does well in the twistiies and in the wet. I have run through several sets; just ordered my next set yesterday from Chaparral for $168 delivered. On my 4th gen I get 12,000 miles from a rear and about 15,000 from the front. For the money you can't beat them.
I agree completely. Just got back from an 800 mile trip on my new Shinko 009's and they still look brank new. Don't let the price of these tires fool you!!
I also commute 90 miles a day and the best tire I have found is the Shinko 009. Not only does this tire deliver high mileage, it does well in the twistiies and in the wet. I have run through several sets; just ordered my next set yesterday from Chaparral for $168 delivered. On my 4th gen I get 12,000 miles from a rear and about 15,000 from the front. For the money you can't beat them.
I agree completely. Just got back from an 800 mile trip on my new Shinko 009's and they still look brank new. Don't let the price of these tires fool you!!
Please compare the mileage to other tires you have run? I find most folks get different mileage out of tires (throttle, temp, load etc). I have had my best mileage out of Roadsmart at 7K but only get 4-5K out of most rears.
I replaced my Roadsmarts after 9000 miles (with another set of Roadsmarts). I bet they still had another couple thou in them though, I just didn't want to be out on a 3k trip and have to change tires. I'm totally happy with the grip (plenty) and wear of them.
The following is my mileage chart the 1st 2nd & third were Pirelli Diablo's Good tire for our Northwest weather. This year I changed to the Shinko Raven 009 & I must say so far a great tire... & only 160 for the set :biggrin: & since I change my own they are a great deal I also put a set of there 712's on my commuter 80 CX 500 with no issues the reason the front was changed at 11,639 was due to an issue after I got backed into...otherwise it would have went a lot further, same with the last rear...I just wanted to change them at the same time. Hope to see you out & about some time :fing02:
TIRES
1st SET 16,220 10/14/06 10/06/07
2ND FRONT 11,639 10/06/07 06/13/09
2ND REAR 17,869 10/06/07 10/31/09
Front 16,779 06/13/09 04/30/11
Rear 10,549 10/31/09 04/30/11
Shinko's 2,979 04/30/11
Running the 2 model on my 02, I got 11K out of the rear and the next one I did over 12K!
The front did over 16K !!!!
Mostly commuting and touring, but plenty of twisties, and they still grip there too!
I have ran the Shinko 009 Raven's as well, very hard, they might wear just as long, but you sacrifice a lot of grip!
I took them off before they wore out because I hated them.
The Michelin's have them beat hands down.
[image: View Post]YellowFuzz, on 13 August 2011 - 11:11 AM, said:
[image: View Post]mello dude, on 12 August 2011 - 08:08 PM, said:
[image: View Post]YellowFuzz, on 12 August 2011 - 03:11 PM, said:
Hi Lonerider,
Here's my mileage with my last set of Dunlop Roadsmarts.
That gives me 19,050 on the front and 14,025 on the rear.
YellowFuzz
:blink: Holy xxxx! :blink: You sure you didnt have little nomes sneaking into your garage a few times and levering on new tires while you sleep?
I do! They also do my oil changes...
Are they for hire?
:biggrin: :biggrin:
Really you high mile tire guys blow me away..... Over multiple bikes and tires I get 5500 tops in the front and 3800 tops in the rear. I'm running a Roadsmart in the rear now, well see how it goes.
Its gotta be a riding style thing for the diiference.
[image: View Post]mello dude, on 13 August 2011 - 12:08 PM, said:
[image: View Post]YellowFuzz, on 13 August 2011 - 11:11 AM, said:
[image: View Post]mello dude, on 12 August 2011 - 08:08 PM, said:
[image: View Post]YellowFuzz, on 12 August 2011 - 03:11 PM, said:
Hi Lonerider,
Here's my mileage with my last set of Dunlop Roadsmarts.
That gives me 19,050 on the front and 14,025 on the rear.
YellowFuzz
:blink: Holy xxxx! :blink: You sure you didnt have little nomes sneaking into your garage a few times and levering on new tires while you sleep?
I do! They also do my oil changes...
Are they for hire?
:biggrin: :biggrin:
Really you high mile tire guys blow me away..... Over multiple bikes and tires I get 5500 tops in the front and 3800 tops in the rear. I'm running a Roadsmart in the rear now, well see how it goes.
Its gotta be a riding style thing for the diiference.
Two things, I think. Riding style (throttle/brake/downshifting, speed, bike loading) and climate (hot, cold)
I used to get 15,000km (easily) out of touring tires (Dunlop, Bridgestone, etc) when I started riding my VFR. As the years went by I got less and less and then switched to super long lasting PR and PR2. Now (6 summers and 115,000km later), by the time I reach 9000km on my PR2's they look and feel like sh!t. Same bike, better more aggressive rider! Bloody expensive though! :pissed: I think if I had PR2 when I just got my bike, I probably would have hit 20,000km.
There is no reason why you can not put an ME880 on the bike.
The ME880 170/60-17 is what I used on my BMW K1200LT. It will fit on a VFR Wheel. It is rated for a 1000 pound bike.
If you could pick up a 94-97 VFR wheel for commuting and leave a 180 on the original wheel for weekends or touring, that would be ideal.
I also really like the older Michelin Pilot Road. You should be able to find a set for around 200.00.
The PR2 are not very affordable and will not last as long as you would hope them to.
The BT023 came on my Concours 14... Terrrible tire..... Terrrrrrrrrrrible!
The Shinko 009 Raven is a good long lasting tire.
Not the best for twisty roads, but if you are slabbing it, the Shinko will be the most affordable with great traction and good wet weather capabilities...
Please note all tires I have listed have been used by me in extreme curvey conditions.
Unless I'm mistaken the recommended rear tire size for a K1200LT is 160/70-17. I know that Dunlop (D205), Bridgestone (BT020) & Metzeler (ME880) and perhaps others produce bias-belted, v-rated, higher-weight capacity rear tires in this size to fill the need a tire suitable for BMW's rather heavy LT1200.
Bridgestone's version is listed as the BT020M and I know this because my '94 ST1100 uses same rear tire size as BMW's K1200LT and I currently have a BT020M mounted. So far I have been very pleased with my ST's handling with this tire mounted and I'm hoping to see greater mileage before this tire will need to be replaced. Note: with Z-rated rear tires I've rarely gotten more than 8k miles from a rear tire vs. ~11k miles out of the o.e. v-rated Dunlop bias ply tires that was mounted on my the ST originally)
I'll also mention that I currently have a Z-rated radial mounted on the front wheel (Dunlop D205) of my ST and have noted no handling quirks due to mixing a Z-rated radial front tire & a V-rated bias-ply rear tire.
I have a set of Michelin Pilot Roads on my VFR now and they appear to have plenty of tread left after ~ 3.6k miles. I really like the way my VFR 800fi handles w/them. I purchased the pair from Competition Accessories in February on clearance for ~$220 w/free shipping. I just checked their website and failed to find the original Pilot Powers listed for sale there now (only a set of Pilot Power II's are advertised @ $266-$292 for the pair. The higher price is associated w/th the "B model" which (I'm assuming) may have a higher weight rating).
Some riders indicate Shinko tires last long and handle well, while others have said the quality, grip and/or handling is sub-par with these tires. I'll be interested in seeing how you may feel about them down the road. They're clearly available for significantly less $$ vs. similar offerings from Michelin, Dunlop, Pirelli, etc. and if I was using my motorcycles to commute between home and my office regularly I'd seriously consider giving them a try. However, since I own a car that can average 40+ mpg during my 55 mile commutes it doesn't make much sense for me to ride a motorcycle that may get 50 mpg and 10k miles from a set of tires vs. driving my car which averages 40 mpg and gets 70-80k miles from a set of tires.
Edited by smoothsailin, 16 August 2011 - 04:02 PM.
Good luck with the tires, I have had great service & pricing through where to buy I have purchased about 3 or 4 sets of tires through them, they also have an installer program where they send the tires to them....Best thing is free shipping! No sales tax normal ship from Oregon 1 day ups ground....
Gary
slightly north west of you, in Smokey Point
Thanks Gary, I'm looking go get a new set of tires this week and this is by far the best deal I've found so far.
If your getting the 009 ravens? You can get them from chapparal for $158 shipped
Geez... I only have about 3500-4k on my PR2 rear and it is shot. And I'm not fast by any stretch of the imagination (just ask Seb, Timmy & Burns...)
What do you mean "shot"?
Center tread worn out?
Side tread worn out?
Carcass no longer stable?
Cupping?
Uneven wear?
Just curious what "shot" means.
I have run Pilot Road 2s a little over 5500 miles since June of this year and they appear to have a little over 1/2 the tread left in the center.
[quote name='smoothsailin' timestamp='1313528235' post='796361']
[quote name='gr8vfr' timestamp='1313520513' post='796343']
There is no reason why you can not put an ME880 on the bike.
The ME880 170/60-17 is what I used on my BMW K1200LT. It will fit on a VFR Wheel. It is rated for a 1000 pound bike.
If you could pick up a 94-97 VFR wheel for commuting and leave a 180 on the original wheel for weekends or touring, that would be ideal.
I also really like the older Michelin Pilot Road. You should be able to find a set for around 200.00.
The PR2 are not very affordable and will not last as long as you would hope them to.
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An Me880 is a high classed cruiser tire , i agree on the BT23 (avoid) unless you understand what your buying, inclement wet condtions, and twisty road, this tire can put you in the ditch.
As far as the original pilot road, those tires are super vaque(id never recommend , the road 2's have no problemo getting the same life and a better performance tire to boot. Ive run more than half dosen road two rears,
Edited by spud786, 16 August 2011 - 09:12 PM.
Thanks all for the info. I think I will go with the Ravens.
As to riding style, I am relatively a sedate commuter for the most part, but I do like to go fast when the spirit hits me. I managed to grind down the feelers on the Connie as well as a bit os the center stand. While lots of folks don't like the ME880's for the Connie, I never had a problem in the dry and they performed ok in the wet as long as you are smart. I even did a track day on them.
My VFR currently has Pilot Road 2's on it and they are down to about 2-3mm of tread left in the center, pretty flat, with quite a bit more on the sides. They seem to feel good in the corners, overall handling is certainly better than the Connie (of course that might be because of the better suspension or the 130 odd fewer pounds as much as it is the tires... :laughing6-hehe: )
I'll order up the Ravens to have on standby since I am not sure how much longer the PR2 will last, sounds like folks are regularly getting 12000 miles or more and that would be good. Once I get them on I will report back with how they compare wear and ride wise vs. the Connie and the ME880's.
Good luck with the tires, I have had great service & pricing through where to buy I have purchased about 3 or 4 sets of tires through them, they also have an installer program where they send the tires to them....Best thing is free shipping! No sales tax normal ship from Oregon 1 day ups ground....
[image: View Post]V-FORE, on 16 August 2011 - 11:04 AM, said:
Lonerider,
Good luck with the tires, I have had great service & pricing through where to buy I have purchased about 3 or 4 sets of tires through them, they also have an installer program where they send the tires to them....Best thing is free shipping! No sales tax normal ship from Oregon 1 day ups ground....
Gary
slightly north west of you, in Smokey Point
Thanks Gary, I'm looking go get a new set of tires this week and this is by far the best deal I've found so far.
[image: View Post]V-FORE, on 16 August 2011 - 11:04 AM, said:
Lonerider,
Good luck with the tires, I have had great service & pricing through where to buy I have purchased about 3 or 4 sets of tires through them, they also have an installer program where they send the tires to them....Best thing is free shipping! No sales tax normal ship from Oregon 1 day ups ground....
Gary
slightly north west of you, in Smokey Point
www.jakewilson.com almost always beats Motorcycle Superstore for prices, and they undoubtedly have faster shipping, and better customer service.
There is no reason why you can not put an ME880 on the bike.
The ME880 170/60-17 is what I used on my BMW K1200LT. It will fit on a VFR Wheel. It is rated for a 1000 pound bike.
If you could pick up a 94-97 VFR wheel for commuting and leave a 180 on the original wheel for weekends or touring, that would be ideal.
I also really like the older Michelin Pilot Road. You should be able to find a set for around 200.00.
The PR2 are not very affordable and will not last as long as you would hope them to.
The BT023 came on my Concours 14... Terrrible tire..... Terrrrrrrrrrrible!
The Shinko 009 Raven is a good long lasting tire.
Not the best for twisty roads, but if you are slabbing it, the Shinko will be the most affordable with great traction and good wet weather capabilities...
Please note all tires I have listed have been used by me in extreme curvey conditions.
ive been out of the loop for awhile but i put pirelli angel st on mine and i easily got 12,000 out of mine with 50/50 highway/offhighway riding. i dont take it easy but im also not trying to set a new lap record either.
When I was using BT021 the rear would do about 25,000km on the commute, but the front was crap. BT022s fronts were far better, I get about 15,000km average out of a front (yes, my rears last way longer than my fronts). I have just had a Pilot Road 3 rear but so far have only put about 6,000km on it. It should last another 10,000 I think. Also had a Metzler but for the life of me I can't remember which one. It did about 25,000km on the rear as well.
So my current setup has a BT022 front with 11,500km on it and a Road3 rear with 6,000km on it. Neither look like needing a change urgently. I expect the front to expire at about the 15 or 16,000 and I'll try the Road3 front.
Last five years or so this has been about 20mins of freeway and up to 20 mins of straight major feeder roads each way. With a few "rides" as well. But not many.
Edited by Frogfoot, 14 March 2012 - 01:53 PM.
I'm running the BT23 GT. the GT is ment for heaver bikes like the VFR. And have had no problems in the rain the cold or running in the twisties. I'm no road racer but was dragging the pegs at T-Mac last year with no worries. Yes they are a hard tire and take time to warm up and I'm sure if your out pushing it you might feel some give. But the topic was best distance/commuting tire. My rear has 18,000km on it, of which 90% is slab riding to work and the flat spot down the middle is maybe an inch wide at the most, with still lots of tread left. I might change it once I get down to T-Mac this year.
My first set (came with the bike,bought with 4,000 miles) were Metzler M1 and lasted 12,000. Second set M1, 12,500. Third set Met. M3, 7000 (went through the cord on rear and went flat on the freeway on the way home from 2008 T-mac in Misourii) Since then two sets of Dunlop RoadSmarts, first got 13,000 but second set, with many miles on western U.S. roads, 9,000 on the rear, 11,000 on the front. Still have my third rear of RoadSmarts on: 10,000 on rear (nearly worn out), replaced front on a western trip last year with only available tire at the dealer with Pirelli Diablo (had 8,000 miles on it - had bent rim.) At 4,000 miles the Diablo is barely worn.
Best grip: Metzler M3 - T-mac worthy
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