Member Contributer backonabike Posted July 1, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 1, 2007 Ok let me start off by saying that I don't want to start any "my tire is better than your tire thread", But I do have some questions. As you can see by my handle I'm new to riding after a long hiatus (13 years), and I was just looking at a recent thread about tire wear and in the pics of the tires being discussed said tires look absolutely cooked, showing cord and what not. I know this is possible as I have worn out tires in my day as well, But it seems like the mileage claims (3-4.5K) are pretty low for this type of wear. I'm running Battlaxe Bt020's and have put about 3k on them and have not found them to be wearing anywhere near what was in those pics. Now I also know that some of you guys ride much faster than I do so I'm not doubting anyones claims, But to kill a tire like that in 3K or so wouldn't you have to be riding like Nicky Hayden??? Or am I just running a harder compound/ sport touring oriented tire and if so is the difference in grip between the grippy tires and the sport touring skins so great that a middle of the road rider like myself would see a big benefit. I do like to push a bit but as of yet have not dragged anything or slid a tire in a corner. Sorry for the long winded question, But it's Sunday and i had some time to Kill. Keep the Rubber side down Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jeremy556 Posted July 1, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 1, 2007 There are a lot of factors in tire wear. One of the biggest is the type of tire. 020s are a pretty hard ST tire that will last a LOT longer than any sport tire will. Some of the other important factors are, how hard you are using the tire, weight, tire pressure, road temperature, road construction, etc. If you try out a sport tire you will love it. It is not just the higher grip, but the tire profile is much better and you will go faster and have higher confidence. The price, obviously is reduced tread life, but depending on how you ride, it is more than worth it for many people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer backonabike Posted July 1, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 1, 2007 Thanks Jeremy, I'll give them a try on my next change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer backonabike Posted July 1, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 1, 2007 Has anyone made the switch from st tires to ss tires recently, is there a really noticeable difference on the street??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnVFR Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 I got about 7k out of my first BT-020. I was still getting used to the bike and rode pretty easy. Since then, I've gotten about 3.5-4k out of BT-020's and Diablo Stradas. I attribute the difference to riding style (hard acceleration, engine braking, etc). I've also run the BT-010,14, and Diablos. I got about 2.5-3k out of them. I've never had an issue with the grip provided by the ST tires, but I'm not as hardcore as BR. The improved mileage is more important so I'm on BT-021s now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 AuburnVFR, thats good to know, I was wondering how some people got so many miles out of their 020s when my first set is about ready to be changed. The rear may have another 1000miles if Im lucky and the front is cupped and humming pretty good in corners with only 4500 miles on them. And no, I dont consider my riding style very agressive. I like the twisties but I dont ride them very hard, no dragging peg feelers or anything. I have a set of 021s on the way so Ill have them when the time is right. The rear is already here and the front should be here later this week. I wanted to try a 2 compound tire to see if this would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dr.toto Posted July 1, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 1, 2007 I've been through 3 sets of BT020's. I get from 6 yo 7 k out of each rear tire. I change the front at the same time even though it's not worn as much. Most of my miles are spent on the highway but I do ride somewhat aggressive in acceleration habits. For everyday st riding, I've been very pleased with the life. I never run them more than 2 seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BusyLittleShop Posted July 1, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 1, 2007 I've never been accused of riding in moderation and here's my race rubber after 4190 miles on the street... I know it's an old clique but my Metzelers do wear like iron and grip like glue... Metzeler RS2... Metzeler RS3... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed_viffer Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 Has anyone made the switch from st tires to ss tires recently, is there a really noticeable difference on the street??? I've sort of done that. I had BT020s on the VFR when I got it, and switched to an Azaro AV49-SP front and AV46-ST rear, a combination I'd previously run on a VTR1000. Also, when I had my '90 VFR750, I swapped from the older Azaros to a BT012 front, BT-020 rear, which was equivalent to the Azaro combo I'm running now. In both cases, having a sports front tyre made a HUGE difference to the handling, as it made the steering much lighter and quicker. This is because sports front tyres have a more 'pointy' profile, as it isn't as rounded as straight touring tyres. (If you look at Larry's pix, you'll see the one of his front tyre is sort of a rounded triangle profile). I wish I'd actually gone for sports tyres at both ends this time, not because I've lacked grip at the rear, but because the front tyre is slightly more worn than the rear, which isn't quite ready to be replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 Has anyone made the switch from st tires to ss tires recently, is there a really noticeable difference on the street??? Insanely better change if you do twisties at all! Mount some Pilot Powers and you won't believe you ever road it with out them! :thumbsup: I did a 250 mile shake down run today with the 06 which is on stock 020's and with stock air pressure's and trying to run my normal fast PACE, they SUCK. They were sliding all over in the same turns I can just whack the throttle in when running PP. On the return leg I dropped the pressures about 4-5 lbs and it helped a bunch, but didn't like them in the wet either. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer backonabike Posted July 5, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 5, 2007 Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciated! Bailey I will definately try the pp on my next change, with your endorsement I trust they will be great. They may be over my riding ability though as I am not sqirming on the 020's. Nothing a couple of days at Loudon shouldn't fix though. Thanks Again Keep the Rubber Side Down Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I got 8 K miles out of my first set of BT020s, I'm now on my second. At that milage, the rear was worn down quite a bit and the front (which was the real problem) was cupping very badly. The front almost looked like scalloped (sp?) potatoes on the sides and I very nearly lost the front end a couple of times right before putting a new set on. Bottom line, I think the 020s are a very good value. Decent performance when reasonably new, good milage and very competitive pricing...getting a set for $220 delivered is not too hard to find on the web these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer johnmark101 Posted July 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2007 Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciated! Bailey I will definately try the pp on my next change, with your endorsement I trust they will be great. They may be over my riding ability though as I am not sqirming on the 020's. Nothing a couple of days at Loudon shouldn't fix though. Thanks Again Keep the Rubber Side Down Fred You will be surprised at the difference when you switch to the Pilot Powers. Not only do they provide excellent grip, but could save your bacon if you have to make a sudden emergency manuver. The profile of the tire will also make the bike steer much quicker.....will actually make the bike feel lighter when turning. I am not a fan of having to buy new rear tires more often, but the extra traction and improved handling is well worth the price. Can't wait to get a set of the Pilot Powers on my CBR 600. The stock BTO15's provide phenomenal grip, but the profile is less agressive than the Powers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer sirimiri Posted July 14, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2007 I've got nearly 10,000 miles on my stock OEM "Battleaxes". The front tire is cuppin' worse than a drunken boi at a West Hollywood club on Monday night, but the rear has had just a-mazing fortitude. Squared, but good! I can't ride anything like what Larry has on his shots...our surface streets in LA are so poor that I'd be a human frame slider inside a split second. Still, I will change out the front tire within 2k and probably do the rear at the same time, and will NOT use the "Battlecrapxes" again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bent Posted July 14, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2007 Ok let me start off by saying that I don't want to start any "my tire is better than your tire thread", But I do have some questions. As you can see by my handle I'm new to riding after a long hiatus (13 years), and I was just looking at a recent thread about tire wear and in the pics of the tires being discussed said tires look absolutely cooked, showing cord and what not. I know this is possible as I have worn out tires in my day as well, But it seems like the mileage claims (3-4.5K) are pretty low for this type of wear. I'm running Battlaxe Bt020's and have put about 3k on them and have not found them to be wearing anywhere near what was in those pics. Now I also know that some of you guys ride much faster than I do so I'm not doubting anyones claims, But to kill a tire like that in 3K or so wouldn't you have to be riding like Nicky Hayden??? Or am I just running a harder compound/ sport touring oriented tire and if so is the difference in grip between the grippy tires and the sport touring skins so great that a middle of the road rider like myself would see a big benefit. I do like to push a bit but as of yet have not dragged anything or slid a tire in a corner. Sorry for the long winded question, But it's Sunday and i had some time to Kill. Keep the Rubber side down Fred I wear out a rear 020 in slightly less than 3000 miles in the twisties. They aren't good handling for going fast in the twisties and the front cups badly. Nope, I won't have anymore 020's. They just came on two new bikes. Yes, you're being easy on your 020's and yes, some of us ride like Hayden wannabes. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuldogg Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 I've kept track of tire mileage on my VFR and several riding buddies (who also ride VFR's) for years. My reason for doing so was to find which brand and type lasted the longest. Since we generally ride the same roads on the same bikes, I (mistakenly) thought that the only variable would be the kind of tire - WRONG !!! Mileage even with the same tire has varied from as little as 3K to as much as 8K. I'm left to consider other variables such as riding speed, cornering techniques etc. have much more to do with tire mileage than the type of tire. Like they say in the ads "your mileage may vary" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer backonabike Posted July 14, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2007 Yeah I kind of thought it may have a lot to do with style of riding. Thanks for the info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Stéphane Posted July 14, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2007 On the Bridgestone side, there is the new BT002 RS - it's a street version of their race tire. Same triangular shape, but with more silica to help warming up quickly. The best front tire I have ever had on any motorcycles - 10 000km with no cupping nor significant wear and it glued like . . . glue? Stuck like glue? Yeah, stuck like glue. I just finished the first leg of my superbike course and it still held like a new tire. Now, here's another angle. I worked at a tire shop (cars), and every time you put a tire on the balancer, you check if the tire has any significant movement (up and down side to side). Most tires do. When it's really bad, you need to rotate the tire on the rim. 2 brands stand out when it comes to spinning as perfectly as possible: Michelin and Bridgestone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted July 14, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2007 Has anyone made the switch from st tires to ss tires recently, is there a really noticeable difference on the street??? YES.........................went to Pilot Powers(not an aggressive rider)and it is night and day difference. Will never go back. I ride every day and there is even a big difference in rain riding. Try it, you'll like it (IMO).................... :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I've only got about 6K on my stock tires, and they look almost new (if I hadn't put all the miles on myself, I might think they were just changed 1000 miles ago) I'm just waiting to kill these tires so I can justify buying something stickier I'm leaning towards the M3's or Pilot Power's but these stock tires aren't showing any wear for me. as far as my riding style, I ride mostly highway/interstate on the days I ride to work, it's 70 miles each way at about 70mph I do lean into the corners when I get to, but not too agressive (I've still got 1/2" "chicken strips" on both sides of my rear) I really would have thought I'd have a flat center by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlecreek Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I've only got about 6K on my stock tires, and they look almost new (if I hadn't put all the miles on myself, I might think they were just changed 1000 miles ago) I'm just waiting to kill these tires so I can justify buying something stickier I'm leaning towards the M3's or Pilot Power's but these stock tires aren't showing any wear for me. as far as my riding style, I ride mostly highway/interstate on the days I ride to work, it's 70 miles each way at about 70mph I do lean into the corners when I get to, but not too agressive (I've still got 1/2" "chicken strips" on both sides of my rear) I really would have thought I'd have a flat center by now. Kraut, I just finished off a set of M3's on my VFR and track bike. I have/am also run PP's on both. If you really do highway 70-80%, you might want to talk with Vecky5 about the Avon Storms. He really likes the higher mileage and he says they grip well. That being said, just a quick differential on M3 vs PP: Both have AWESOME dry grip Never run PP in wet, but M3 stuck well, others say PP sticks even better M3 is more 'u' shaped. It gives you better stability at higher speeds and in wind/truck draft and more midturn adjustability PP is more 'v' shaped. It gives you quicker turn in while riding the twisties The verdict is still out on the mileage as I have not killed the PPs yet. I am a semi aggressive rider and am large (250lbs). I tend to put too much weight on my bars when shifting my weight for corners. This, coupled with the 'v' shape, tends to make the PP's allow the bike to wobble more on exit. All of this is my OPINION of course, but for me, so far, unless I get use to the quicker profile on the PP, I will stick with M3. I would think that the PP would be better in the right hands for cornering as they really do 'drop' the bike into the lean much quicker and with less effort. I normally need to adjust in the corner on the road and therefore, the 'u' shape allows for a smoother, finer correction for 'ham fists' like me. summary: love both tires, plenty of stick, 3.2k or less mileage at my pace, cant imagine it getting much better for twisties. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jeremy556 Posted August 17, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted August 17, 2007 If you are doing mostly highway you would probably be better suited by one of the good ST tires. They will wear much longer and keep their profile better. Powers, M3s, and other sport tires tend to develop a flat spot when riding highways that kills their handling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer johnmark101 Posted August 17, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted August 17, 2007 On the Bridgestone side, there is the new BT002 RS - it's a street version of their race tire. Same triangular shape, but with more silica to help warming up quickly. The best front tire I have ever had on any motorcycles - 10 000km with no cupping nor significant wear and it glued like . . . glue? Stuck like glue? Yeah, stuck like glue. I just finished the first leg of my superbike course and it still held like a new tire. I have been hearing very good things about the BT002 RS. I just had a new set of Pilot Power mounted and am thinking maybe I should have tried the 002's. Will most likely try those next time. More grip = more safety during spirited riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soichiro Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Ok let me start off by saying that I don't want to start any "my tire is better than your tire thread", But I do have some questions. As you can see by my handle I'm new to riding after a long hiatus (13 years), and I was just looking at a recent thread about tire wear and in the pics of the tires being discussed said tires look absolutely cooked, showing cord and what not. I know this is possible as I have worn out tires in my day as well, But it seems like the mileage claims (3-4.5K) are pretty low for this type of wear. I'm running Battlaxe Bt020's and have put about 3k on them and have not found them to be wearing anywhere near what was in those pics. Now I also know that some of you guys ride much faster than I do so I'm not doubting anyones claims, But to kill a tire like that in 3K or so wouldn't you have to be riding like Nicky Hayden??? Or am I just running a harder compound/ sport touring oriented tire and if so is the difference in grip between the grippy tires and the sport touring skins so great that a middle of the road rider like myself would see a big benefit. I do like to push a bit but as of yet have not dragged anything or slid a tire in a corner. Sorry for the long winded question, But it's Sunday and i had some time to Kill. Keep the Rubber side down Fred I have ran bto-2o's and I really like them. My last set I went for the pilot powers and got the same mileage out of them. A lot of it depends on your right hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Stéphane Posted August 17, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted August 17, 2007 On the Bridgestone side, there is the new BT002 RS - it's a street version of their race tire. Same triangular shape, but with more silica to help warming up quickly. The best front tire I have ever had on any motorcycles - 10 000km with no cupping nor significant wear and it glued like . . . glue? Stuck like glue? Yeah, stuck like glue. I just finished the first leg of my superbike course and it still held like a new tire. I have been hearing very good things about the BT002 RS. I just had a new set of Pilot Power mounted and am thinking maybe I should have tried the 002's. Will most likely try those next time. More grip = more safety during spirited riding. That is probably the best kept secret in the motorcycle world right now. The shape of the tire as a lot to do with its performance - great and quick turn in + wider contact patch at lean angle. The front one come with dual compound - medium in the center and soft on the sides. Quite frankly, it could have been soft everywhere. When spun a balancer, nothing spins straighter than Michelin or Bridgestone :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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