there's loads of miles in a tyre after they start to "square off".
Tourance exp mileage question
- Thread starter thumperbob2002
- Start date
Arr but there wibbly wobbly miles an dnot good when back end is twitching all time...IMHO
that's not the case IME though.
got one on the back of my GSA right now. it's got just over a mm left in the middle & it rides just fine.
new one on order
got one on the back of my GSA right now. it's got just over a mm left in the middle & it rides just fine.
new one on order
Nowhere near as much as I would like. Only just beginning to square off so I reckon a good few thousand miles left in them and like I said earlier I have a new tyre in the loft to replace as and when necessary. No tours this year due to starting a new job ( no holiday left ) so just my IAM practice/test plus riding for pleasure.
I get through a rear tyre roughly every 18 months at a guess, so I suppose about 6000 miles each.
Sooty09
Registered user
Getting a new rear old style Tourance tomorrow from Bike Tyres Leeds.
Very happy with these, 14000 on the rear and just starting to square off.
Three continental tours, frequent weekend two up touring and lots of B roads,
Never slipped or skidded wet or dry, why get anything else?
Very happy with these, 14000 on the rear and just starting to square off.
Three continental tours, frequent weekend two up touring and lots of B roads,
Never slipped or skidded wet or dry, why get anything else?
Sooty09
Registered user
Very sympathetic, most riding in the dales is gentle brake in, bend, gentle power out. So full of pot holes and beds of gravel full power is rarely used.
On all my R 11 series bikes I have had vey good mileage from the rear, and oddly I get much less from the front, and I'm light on the brakes.
One thing I find odd on BMWs is the blurb about electronic suspension (I have it on mine) it adjusts the damping etc depending on load yet if you read the manual you should also adjust the tyre pressures. One without the other??? really makes so little difference its a waste of time. I'm also wary about adjusting pressure because my valve caps with the pressure monitors are so fragile.
On all my R 11 series bikes I have had vey good mileage from the rear, and oddly I get much less from the front, and I'm light on the brakes.
One thing I find odd on BMWs is the blurb about electronic suspension (I have it on mine) it adjusts the damping etc depending on load yet if you read the manual you should also adjust the tyre pressures. One without the other??? really makes so little difference its a waste of time. I'm also wary about adjusting pressure because my valve caps with the pressure monitors are so fragile.
Sooty09
Registered user
Yes over 14000, I picked the bike up at 4600 miles old last April and the dealer fitted a new rear tyre. Its now done 18800 miles, this is one very good motorcycle and the tyres just seem to compliment the bike. Only complaint is the tyre noise on certain types of road.
Its probably still got a few thousand left in it but it picks up a lot of thistles and glass so I'm wary about getting punctures.
Its probably still got a few thousand left in it but it picks up a lot of thistles and glass so I'm wary about getting punctures.
Yes over 14000, I picked the bike up at 4600 miles old last April and the dealer fitted a new rear tyre. Its now done 18800 miles, this is one very good motorcycle and the tyres just seem to compliment the bike. Only complaint is the tyre noise on certain types of road.
Its probably still got a few thousand left in it but it picks up a lot of thistles and glass so I'm wary about getting punctures.
Mmm well i have had many sets of old Tourance tyres and never got above 8k and my new GSA 90 yr came with EXP's and my rear tyre is far worse than yours and i have only covered 3250 miles!
maybe it different on the GSA from the GS riding modes i too use ESA all the time.I will see how my new EXP (M) wears fitting Monday then off on a 3k round trip to Croatia .....
Squared off
Well looking at the picture you posted, your view of 'squared off' and mine are a little different. There looks to be 1mm left in the centre and the outside edge looks unworn, so the only way it could get more square is to take it down to the canvass. I would have changed that tyre sometime ago, certainly when it was down to 2mm in the centre, god help you if you venture out in the rain!
Well looking at the picture you posted, your view of 'squared off' and mine are a little different. There looks to be 1mm left in the centre and the outside edge looks unworn, so the only way it could get more square is to take it down to the canvass. I would have changed that tyre sometime ago, certainly when it was down to 2mm in the centre, god help you if you venture out in the rain!
Tyres.
I Bought a well looked after 2012 12GSA wearing Tourance Exp - 1,400 miles showing.
Riding style progressive, smooth, short fun blasts, exploring easy off road/bye ways in N.Wales NB: mostly two up.
Got to 4,750 took into dealer for service prior to Euro tour, service completed + note :- Not road tested re front tyre. Service manager said "You obviously like right handers, Sir!" He pointed out a small section on an edge (front tyre) which was a little low, too low. It looked OK to me, so fast forward 2,600ish miles later all sorts of roads and weather conditions! Arrive back in the UK. Now not wanting to impart my concerns to the wife have been secretly checking the tyre every evening for the last three days, until every stop on the last day. Had a new front Texp put on en route home (Buckley Tyres recommended) at about 7,760 warned to ride with care for first 100 miles, so rode off in the rain with the same head worm I went in with. I have digressed, a usual. However, I would say
unless really strapped change the tyre sooner rather than later, the worm is not nice. I prefer the Exp to standard Tourance, and the old ones do better mileage, but I don't think I could get 14,000 on one for a bet. Amen
14K Sure you don't mean 4k? maybe you should have gone to Specsavers
I Bought a well looked after 2012 12GSA wearing Tourance Exp - 1,400 miles showing.
Riding style progressive, smooth, short fun blasts, exploring easy off road/bye ways in N.Wales NB: mostly two up.
Got to 4,750 took into dealer for service prior to Euro tour, service completed + note :- Not road tested re front tyre. Service manager said "You obviously like right handers, Sir!" He pointed out a small section on an edge (front tyre) which was a little low, too low. It looked OK to me, so fast forward 2,600ish miles later all sorts of roads and weather conditions! Arrive back in the UK. Now not wanting to impart my concerns to the wife have been secretly checking the tyre every evening for the last three days, until every stop on the last day. Had a new front Texp put on en route home (Buckley Tyres recommended) at about 7,760 warned to ride with care for first 100 miles, so rode off in the rain with the same head worm I went in with. I have digressed, a usual. However, I would say
unless really strapped change the tyre sooner rather than later, the worm is not nice. I prefer the Exp to standard Tourance, and the old ones do better mileage, but I don't think I could get 14,000 on one for a bet. Amen
Sooty09
Registered user
Rain, snow (provided there is tarmac showing), sun, whatever, ride every Sat and Sunday 52 weeks per year Motorways, B & C roads gravel tracks, two up with no problems.
Bike MOTd three weeks ago with no cautionary note. over 2mm of tread at the worst point.
The legal minimum is
For motorcycles of 50cc and over, the minimum legal tyre tread depth must be:
•a continuous band of 1 mm tread depth
•1 mm across a minimum of 75% width of the tyre and around the entire circumference
No part of my tyre was close to the legal min.
thumperbob2002
Registered user
Tyre looks ok but have decided to swap from at 5800 and keep the old one just in case. Exp m on the back. Still compared to a sports bike am happy with mileage.
Sooty09
Registered user
These squared off comments has got me wondering if its an age thing not worrying about a great big flat across the profile.
I'm 56 and been a regular rider for 40 years riding all sorts of bikes. I have seen all sorts of fads and ideas come and go, I must say everything is so much easier now (except passing your test). When I started riding the tyres fitted to new British bikes were TT100s or Roadrunners if you bought a top of the range bike, the Tiger 650 I bought had whats called a SM11 rear tyre and a round profile ribbed front,
You could almost park without the stand it was so flat across the rear. Some bikes such as the Laverda SF2 came with these SM11 front and rear, handling was often very odd but we just got on with it.
I'm 56 and been a regular rider for 40 years riding all sorts of bikes. I have seen all sorts of fads and ideas come and go, I must say everything is so much easier now (except passing your test). When I started riding the tyres fitted to new British bikes were TT100s or Roadrunners if you bought a top of the range bike, the Tiger 650 I bought had whats called a SM11 rear tyre and a round profile ribbed front,
You could almost park without the stand it was so flat across the rear. Some bikes such as the Laverda SF2 came with these SM11 front and rear, handling was often very odd but we just got on with it.
my first proper motorbike, Suzuki T200 Invader, came to me with Avon SM Safety Mileage AKA Skid Master tyres. they actually worked a lot better than they look.
nippers today eh? they don't know they're born
nippers today eh? they don't know they're born
I'm with Sooty09 on this one. I do find all this about changing tyres because it's starting to get a flat a bit tedious. It's reinforced by MCN, as if everyone is a Moto GP star
Squaring off might not be the end of the world. But having less tread when new at the centre of a tyre compared to the outside of it is a massive waste. And its infuriating.
Surely the centre should always be really hard wearing with the softer compound on the outside. Then tyres would last longer. Show me a car owner that would be happy changing tyres every 5000 miles or so.
I am looking forward to seeing wear rates for the Exp m. But in the absence of that its back to normal Tourances for me. The Exp just wears too fast to have any other sorts of benefits.
Surely the centre should always be really hard wearing with the softer compound on the outside. Then tyres would last longer. Show me a car owner that would be happy changing tyres every 5000 miles or so.
I am looking forward to seeing wear rates for the Exp m. But in the absence of that its back to normal Tourances for me. The Exp just wears too fast to have any other sorts of benefits.
I'm happy to ride on squared off tyres, but when the centre tread gets heavily worn I change them well before the 1mm legal limit. At £155 for a pair of Tourances versus increased risk of punctures and dodgy poor weather handling there's no point trying to squeeze every last mile out of them.
Bendy toy
Registered user
Im quite happy to run a REAR tyre down to visible tread in the middle even in the wet. The front clears the road so the back hardly "sees" any water. The only issue is a slight risk of wheelspin if its seriously wet. As a @B4andit says its infuriating how often we have to change tyres, and always because of uneven wear.
Cornering grip is my priority, but a tyre worn down the middle still has loads on the sides so if it leans in ok, I'll keep using it. I dont get anal about tread depth numbers down the middle.
Conti Road Attack were terrible for that. Fantastic when new but quickly went square. The ridge was dangerous in the wet with at least 1000 miles of legally usable centre tread.
Some tyres claim to be dual compound but IME they dont last much longer in the real world. I really dont see why we cant have a car tyre type compound in the centre section (at least for touring tyres) with soft grippy sides. They would probably spin up more easily in the wet but I could live with that. It might look odd with small car style tread down the middle and bike tyre style down the sides. but so what if it wears more evenly.
Front tyres - I generally take the sides off more than the middle. They are usually pretty much had it when there is 2mm remaining at any point.
I dont push for minimum tread on the fronts but still use 2 rear tyres for one front.
Cornering grip is my priority, but a tyre worn down the middle still has loads on the sides so if it leans in ok, I'll keep using it. I dont get anal about tread depth numbers down the middle.
Conti Road Attack were terrible for that. Fantastic when new but quickly went square. The ridge was dangerous in the wet with at least 1000 miles of legally usable centre tread.
Some tyres claim to be dual compound but IME they dont last much longer in the real world. I really dont see why we cant have a car tyre type compound in the centre section (at least for touring tyres) with soft grippy sides. They would probably spin up more easily in the wet but I could live with that. It might look odd with small car style tread down the middle and bike tyre style down the sides. but so what if it wears more evenly.
Front tyres - I generally take the sides off more than the middle. They are usually pretty much had it when there is 2mm remaining at any point.
I dont push for minimum tread on the fronts but still use 2 rear tyres for one front.
Similar threads
