Tire type and wear

[cardno7]

Tire wear on my 2002 1150 RT:

Brdgestone 6,600 miles
Pilot Road 6,797 miles
Conti Road Attack 4,500 miles-latest tire

I hear others say they have 9,000, 11,000 on tires from similar bikes. How do you do that?
Would like to see more opinions from others with similar bike.

To compare apples to apples;

Riding stye: fast, but not racing, do move along at a good clip
Roads: mostly country backraods in Kentucky and Indiana; hills and curves
Temp: it does get hot here in KY during summer and know hot pavement with fast riding has to wear on the rubber.

Thanks

[grossjohann]

I ride a 2004 R1150RS (very similar to your RT but slightly more "sporty") and I'm usually happy if I get 7K out of my tires. I have been running Metzlers.

More info: http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27136&highlight=metzler

[kitze2]

I hear others say they have 9,000, 11,000 on tires from similar bikes. How do you do that?
Would like to see more opinions from others with similar bike.

Thanks


I've also wondered how these guys are getting 10K, 12K and more miles on their tires.
I'd describe my riding still pretty much like you. Fairly fast mostly back roads. I suppose 12K is possible if most of your riding is on the freeway.
Best I've managed is around 7500.
Perhaps I change my tires earlier than really necessary. But since tires are the only thing between my butt and the road...Better safe than sorry.
Personally I feel that a bike with bald tires is ridden by a fool. But certainly no one here is that dumb. I've seen a lot of postings from members who seem pretty on the ball who claim really long lives from their buns.
Let's see what the masses say.

[jduke]

Someone once told me, "tires are cheap". It took me awhile to understand what he meant.
I ride an R1100S pretty hard and I have no problem getting 9,000 miles out of a set up Pilot Roads, or over 8,000 miles out of Continental RoadAttacks.
I like the RoadAttacks and don't pay attention to the miles, just replace as needed.

[Mr. Frank]

I get 14K out of a PR or Avon rear. The secret is easy on the acceleration and braking.

[Philby9]

I ride a R1100 RT, mostly backroads, spirited riding. An occasional couple thousand on the super-slab. I'm on my third set of Avons, getting 10,000 per set. Before that, I was getting 6-7 on 2 sets of Metzlers. I am not real happy with the Avon front- seems like it's out of balance. All three sets have a thumping to them. At first I thought it was the mount/balance. But, I mounted and balanced the 2nd set with a static balancer. I used the dyna-beads in my third set, but I still go bump, bump,bump. Not severe, but noticeable. Therefore I'm going to try a different tire next. Oh, and this is my first post! You guys are great. Thanks to all of you for your contributions to my sanity, or lack thereof.

[knary]

Temperature
Type of road surface
Riding Style
Loaded weight of bike
Tire pressure
Engine Power

:D

[bikerfish1100]

i'm consistent with jduke on mileage, tires to miles, bike, etc.

whatcha running for pressure? i believe that is the single biggest determining factor, other than tire type itself for improving tire life.

[Mr. Frank]

I've had two defective Avon front tires in a row. The first (Azaro) had a vibration, and the second (Storm) had a headshake. The back tires were fine. Avon stood behind the tires, but it was inconvenient dealing with swapping them out. I'm convinced that Avon has some quality control problems.

[cardno7]

Someone once told me, "tires are cheap". It took me awhile to understand what he meant.
I ride an R1100S pretty hard and I have no problem getting 9,000 miles out of a set up Pilot Roads, or over 8,000 miles out of Continental RoadAttacks.
I like the RoadAttacks and don't pay attention to the miles, just replace as needed.

If you ride a beemer it's not about the cost of service or parts, but it is curious to have other bikes of the same model get twice the tire life as mine does. The miliage I listed is down to very worn tires, probably ride them longer than I should.

[cardno7]

i'm consistent with jduke on mileage, tires to miles, bike, etc.

whatcha running for pressure? i believe that is the single biggest determining factor, other than tire type itself for improving tire life.

I run 40psi front and back, Very close to what I see from others. When I load up the bike for longer trips the back is bumped up to 42psi.

[cardno7]

Temperature
Type of road surface
Riding Style
Loaded weight of bike
Tire pressure
Engine Power

:D

What is your point? From my original email, everything in your list can be surmised except loaded wieght and tire pressure; tire pressure 40psi; loaded wieght, I am 195lbs.

This still should not be a difference of 7,000 miles in tire wear.