tires!!

[yamahansolo]

i can't beleive my bike eats tires lie it does!

maybe it's the brand???

i had a spitfire last about 1 year and 6-7k miles and my new bought in september for the ralley battle axe is toast. i rode a few times last week and the week before to work and home and it handles ok but the inner section is almost gone!

on the contrary my spitfire front is from last season bought the same time as the other s11 and it is just showing sighns of wear on the sides the inner has tons left. i guess all the weight of this bike wears out the edges on the front much faster than the middle!

i think i might try the harley look alikes the d 401's or 404's whatever they are. harleys are heavier bikes usually and mine is lighter than a stock 79 due to the kerker and pods. and slotted rotors. they are on ale here at cycle worlf for 70 on the front and 80 on the rear. i giuess it won't hurt to experiment.

i ride all winter so i hope they are good cold weather. the bridgestons heat up quick in the cold! though if these don't then i may take too long to get to work. oh well..

[bikerphil]

You are sooo lucky you have those good roads to wear those tires out up there. I've been running Spitfires only for the last 6 yrs, and they do well, even up in N Georgia. The roads around here leave you with chicken strips.

[trbig]

Looks like you got about as good of service out of the Bridgestone Battleaxe as I did. That was.. hands down.. the worst performing, thinnest walled, lowest mileage tire I have ever used. I only got 2800 miles from the rear one I had. The Dunlop 404s aren't a whole lot better.

Many tires now are dual compound.. meaning tougher harder rubber down the center and softer stickier stuff on the edges. Instead of starting yet ANOTHER tire preference thread, it's possible to do a tire search and have hours of reading enjoyment. People have posted their favorites and usually mileage gotten out of them.


Try this one that some jerk I know saterted...


http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ighlight=tires


Tod

[XSokieSPECIAL]

OH NO!!!! NOT ANOTHER TIRE TREAD............oops THREAD!!!!!!!!

[yamahansolo]

dude i can't tell you how many hours i have wasted looking over those tire threads over the last 4 years!!!

[trbig]

And you still went with the BattleAxe huh?? lol.

Yeah, a tire should, in my opinion, at LEAST get you from one oil change to the next..


Tod

[XSokieSPECIAL]

yamahansolo,

What air pressure are tou running in your tires?

That can make a lot of difference how they wear.

[fredintoon]

i can't believe my bike eats tires like it does!
maybe it's the brand??? - - - my spitfire front is from last season bought the same time as the other s11 and it is just showing signs of wear on the sides the inner has tons left. i guess all the weight of this bike wears out the edges on the front much faster than the middle!
i think i might try the harley look alikes the d 401's or 404's whatever they are. they are on sale here at cycle world for 70 on the front and 80 on the rear. - - -

Hi 'solo,
fronts do tend to outlast rears by ~ 3 to 1. The rear has to drive the bike along all the time while the front is only working when the brakes are on, the rest of the time it's just rolling. The tread edges wearing more than the tread centre means that either you are cornering like a madman or you are running the tire too soft.
$70 & $80 for Dunlops is a steal compared to Saskatoon prices so go for it!

[yamahansolo]

i have 36 in the front and 38-40 in the back and yes i scrape parts on the roads i am familiar with. i didn't know alot of theroads on our last rally so i didn't ride wild but i right alot of twity back roads to work everyday so the front really gets a workout. the center groove still looks as deep as it did the first day i got it!
so the front s11 lasted longer than a rear s11 and a bt45 put together!!! i'll stick with them i guess... also i think the s11 rear would have lasted longer but the damn innertube kept leaking out. it would go from the 30's to 22 lbs in about a month and i didn't realize it until it was too late i am afraid.
we checked the tube when i took the wheel in for the battle axe swap and the tube would not leake. but it looks like the nut was too high on the stem maybe causing some sort of issue. unfortuanitly the battle axe is doing the same thing with a new tube it drops to 22 or so and stops leaking. looking at the valve stem i think this guy made the same mistake and didn't allow enough of the stem to stick out of the wheel. even after i bitched about it...???

[DiverRay]

unfortuanitly the battle axe is doing the same thing with a new tube it drops to 22 or so and stops leaking. looking at the valve stem i think this guy made the same mistake and didn't allow enough of the stem to stick out of the wheel. even after i bitched about it...???

Some of the idiot young kids do not know about tubes!! You need to have them pull ALL of the nuts off the stem BEFORE YOU INSTALL THE TUBE!! The tube should then be good, as it will NOT be sticking into the tire space, and crimping the tube around the valve stem.

[bikerphil]

I've always installed the tubes with one nut tightened all the way down on the stem, on the inside. Then the other nut tightened on the outside to lock the stem in place to keep it from shifting. Never had a problem. I've seen cases of the stem shifting and leaking when both nuts are on the outside. Without the nut on the inside, many people tend to overtighten the outer nut(s) and cause a valve stem failure. For the tubeless stem, I use the double nut on the outside to lock her down. For sure most of those young kids don't know how to do tubes. They shoulda learned on their own bicycles when they were 8. WUWT?

[yamahansolo]

yep.. that is the problem then!!! the old tube had the nut halfway up the valve stem and imentioned to the guy whoe did the battleaxe to make sure he does it right because the last one leaked all the time. and the new stem sticks out as much as the last one did! bastards!!!

[DiverRay]

and the new stem sticks out as much as the last one did! bastards!!!

You PAID MONEY to have someone install the tire and tube. If they didn't do what YOU asked for, take it back and have them fix it!!! If they don't want to, you CAN go to court, and get back the money you paid them for the install! in Can'taffordya, small claims court works wonders! You also tell them that the shop name WILL be placed on the internet as a shop to AVOID at all costs.

[Larrym]

A Game of Chicken??

I second DiverRay's "take it back and have them fix it." It's being an assertive customer. If you insist properly that it be done right and they refuse to comply then they are the ones who are taking the big risk that you will just roll over and play dead.

This is one of my pet peeves with businesses which provide bad service. My SOP is to not rant about it to the business because they just don't care. I do "vent" about it but to the people who can and will do something about it: The BBB and the state attorney general.

Myth and misconception about what these agencies do means that most folks just don't bother. Fact is that by just filling out a complaint form on the internet is all it takes. While the business won't respond to any letters from you, they will have to respond to the BBB and the AG as part of a formal process and try to explain their position on the matter.

By that time most businesses realize they've made a big mistake in shining you on and will therefore do what they should have done in the first place.

It's one of those situations where the business can do what it wants to. But you can take the steps to make sure that they wish they didn't.....

[Jerry]

Well. I had been running Dunlop Elite 3s on the XJ, but on the Connie I was running Pilot GTs, now discontinued. One of my other groups seems to be hot on the Avon Venom in the 140/90-16 rear tire. (AM42) They have a matching front 100/90 - 19 (AM41).

These are a stickier tire than the Dunlops, but many still reporting 8 ~ 10K on rear tires, more on fronts. Motorcycle supersotre shows the rear at about $150.00, front at about $103.00, about the same price as the Dunlop Elite 3 series.

Link to the Venom spec sheet is
http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/sites/de...0Datasheet.pdf