What do you recommend for the rear tyre

[Gipsy]

You mention getting a new tyre tomorrow. If you are only replacing the one tyre you will need to fit the same as is on the front. Tyres are meant to be used in matched pairs.

 

[terayon]

Thats tyre manufacturers spiel and urban myth. Even bridgestone don't try that one as they often recommend mixing their tyres. Had a GSXR once and they recommended an 020 (longer life) on the back but an 010 (faster turn in) on the front. A lot of this matched pairs stuff goes back to cross ply and radial tyres. Do you change both your tyres when the rear has run out, I know I don't if the front still has 6000 miles left on it

 

[Shep]

I'm glad that others are finding the edge of the Battle Wings, I thought it was just me

I was beginning to doubt their grip, untill i realised i was occasionally riding on the sharp edge at the back which explained alot

They seem to wear very well and after 5000mls (winter) still have 3mm in the ctr at the rear and 2.3mm ctr at the front

Edges of the front tread seem to be rounding off and generally the front look a bit more tyredrolleyes: ) than the rear, which for me is unusual.

Good tyre though and i'll probably replace with the same when the time comes.

Shep

 

[Gipsy]

Thats tyre manufacturers spiel and urban myth. Even bridgestone don't try that one as they often recommend mixing their tyres. Had a GSXR once and they recommended an 020 (longer life) on the back but an 010 (faster turn in) on the front. A lot of this matched pairs stuff goes back to cross ply and radial tyres. Do you change both your tyres when the rear has run out, I know I don't if the front still has 6000 miles left on it

It can be made to work if the tyre has the same profile, perhaps from same manufacturer. If not one or other tyre may hit it's edge amd loose grip before the other. Good example in this thread re the battlewings reaching the edge more easily. As for changing tyres at the same time, I generally get 3500 out of a rear before it needs changing, and normally change fronts every other time ie at about 7000 miles. Punctures used to upset the timings but since running ultrseal this has been less of a problem. Doing it this way I tend to be able to avoid one or other tyre going off profile and spoiling the handling.

 

[Eastriding2002]

Thats tyre manufacturers spiel and urban myth. Even bridgestone don't try that one as they often recommend mixing their tyres. Had a GSXR once and they recommended an 020 (longer life) on the back but an 010 (faster turn in) on the front. A lot of this matched pairs stuff goes back to cross ply and radial tyres. Do you change both your tyres when the rear has run out, I know I don't if the front still has 6000 miles left on it

Bridgestone as far as I know never recommended mixing their tyres. This was debated to death on the Fazer site as many fitted 010's to the front for added grip. Bridgestones head honcho penned a long letter explaining why it wasn't recommended. Basically for example, the front 020 is stickier than the rear 020 so mixing them was a no no and in fact not needed.

EDIT: Found it: Here's the bit from Bridgestone on mixing tyres:

Mixing tyres:

There is absolutely no point in mixing tyres on the same bike. e.g. BT-010 front with BT-020 rear.

In the case of FZS600 owners, many did it because the 110/70ZR17 BT-020 was not available until early 2003 and if they wanted to use a BT-020 sports touring tyre on the rear they had no other choice. The problem with fitting this mixed pair on this particular bike is that stability is not as good as
with a matched pair of BT-010s or BT-020s. And this just highlights the possible pitfalls when fitting mixed tyres on any bike - if one type of tyre is designed as a smooth handling, totally neutral sports touring tyre and the other is designed as a rapid steering, ultra responsive tyre, why should we expect them to work together? If a bike doesn't handle when fitting mixed tyres it's not going to be the tyre's fault.

But the main reason why riders fit mixed tyres is to supposedly benefit from having a grippier tyre on the front while getting sensible mileage from the rear tyre. Well...we kinda know this. We are, after all, the biggest tyre manufacturer in the world and we really do know what we're doing. We know that the demands placed on a front tyre are different to the requirements of the rear tyre, and that is why the compound of our front tyres is different to the compounds of our rear tyres. So the front BT-020 compound is different to the rear BT-020 compound and the front BT-010 compound is different to the rear BT-010 compound, etc., etc., all the way through our various ranges of tyres. Now that you have this information you can see that it's pointless mixing tyres, Bridgestone is already giving you what you want when you fit a matched pair of our tyres.

 

[Gipsy]

Bridgestone as far as I know never recommended mixing their tyres. This was debated to death on the Fazer site as many fitted 010's to the front for added grip. Bridgestones head honcho penned a long letter explaining why it wasn't recommended. Basically for example, the front 020 is stickier than the rear 020 so mixing them was a no no and in fact not needed.

EDIT: Found it: Here's the bit from Bridgestone on mixing tyres:

Mixing tyres:

There is absolutely no point in mixing tyres on the same bike. e.g. BT-010 front with BT-020 rear.

In the case of FZS600 owners, many did it because the 110/70ZR17 BT-020 was not available until early 2003 and if they wanted to use a BT-020 sports touring tyre on the rear they had no other choice. The problem with fitting this mixed pair on this particular bike is that stability is not as good as
with a matched pair of BT-010s or BT-020s. And this just highlights the possible pitfalls when fitting mixed tyres on any bike - if one type of tyre is designed as a smooth handling, totally neutral sports touring tyre and the other is designed as a rapid steering, ultra responsive tyre, why should we expect them to work together? If a bike doesn't handle when fitting mixed tyres it's not going to be the tyre's fault.

But the main reason why riders fit mixed tyres is to supposedly benefit from having a grippier tyre on the front while getting sensible mileage from the rear tyre. Well...we kinda know this. We are, after all, the biggest tyre manufacturer in the world and we really do know what we're doing. We know that the demands placed on a front tyre are different to the requirements of the rear tyre, and that is why the compound of our front tyres is different to the compounds of our rear tyres. So the front BT-020 compound is different to the rear BT-020 compound and the front BT-010 compound is different to the rear BT-010 compound, etc., etc., all the way through our various ranges of tyres. Now that you have this information you can see that it's pointless mixing tyres, Bridgestone is already giving you what you want when you fit a matched pair of our tyres.

Couldn't have put it better!!

 

[terayon]

Ahh, but when I had problems with the front end sliding away on 020's I phoned them up and the guy on the other end, don't ask who as it was 6 years ago said try an 010 on the front and that should help you out, I did and it did. Gave up on bridgestone a couple of years back when they changed the construction of 020's and they never felt right after that, and then Had a pair of trailwings on a Vstrom and the first bend I came to, I ran off the edge of the tyre.

 

[JayGee]

I'm not too sure about this riding over the edge of the battlewings, I scrubbed mine in last year at a Mallory track day. I was scraping pegs and rear brake pedal even with the preload adjusted to max height, sure the rear tyre had melted bits sticking out from the edge but the rear never let go.

I reckon with a modern radial you can easily get the tyre worn to the very edge but that just means thats the outside of the contact patch and the tyre will flex as you lean further and still give reasonable grip at even greater lean angles.

If I'm wrong PLEASE tell me cos I ride that way on the road as well and would like to know if I'm about to loose it!

 

[Shep]

I'm not too sure about this riding over the edge of the battlewings, I scrubbed mine in last year at a Mallory track day. I was scraping pegs and rear brake pedal even with the preload adjusted to max height, sure the rear tyre had melted bits sticking out from the edge but the rear never let go.

I reckon with a modern radial you can easily get the tyre worn to the very edge but that just means thats the outside of the contact patch and the tyre will flex as you lean further and still give reasonable grip at even greater lean angles.

If I'm wrong PLEASE tell me cos I ride that way on the road as well and would like to know if I'm about to loose it!

Alot depends on riding style, i'm a sit still in the saddle type of rider on the road, and I think this leans the bike a bit more for any given corner speed, also mine is a GSA with much more cornering ground clearance than the basic GS. Running off the edge is probably a bit strong a statement but even the slightest 'chicken strips' are a thing of the past with the BW's fitted, but with Anakees fitted there was a slight area of virgin rubber visable especially in the winter.

Shep

 

[LiquidLAN]

tourances on my bike have lasted well

13,500 miles so far and probably another 2000 miles left on them

hummm I'm not sure if you lot ride like a bunch of big girls blouses or I'm caining it too much, but I've done about 3,000 miles and I think I'm down to 3mm left on my torance... not bad but super bike standards and much better than I managed on my TKC80s.

Good grip in the wet and dry, not tried them off road yet, but we'll see when I next find a bit of accessable dirt lane.

 

[Malcvtr]

I've done about 3,000 miles and I think I'm down to 3mm left on my tourance...

Thank God! I was beginning to wonder what I was doing wrong hearing mileages of more than 10,000 from a rear Tourance. I'm at 3,500 miles and have about the same wear as you mate.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

What I can't get my head around though is the difference in mileage, ie at least 10,000 miles

Surely riding style is in no way going to account for that

I have yet to get more than 4000 miles out of a rear tyre (Trailmax / 020's) before the tyre is well past it's best. It might be legal, but as it's the only thing keeping me shiny side up it gets replaced.

Andres

 

[terayon]

How do you ride, do you accelerate hard and brake hard, these are the things that will wear tyres out quick. I ride hard but smooth hardly touch my brakes and tend to get min 7000 miles out of a tourance rear and normally average 9000.

I'm quite often up your way, if you ever want to compare riding styles

 

[silvermog]

So, just for a counter point ... my 1200GSA was delivered on Anakee's, they proved to be great, fantastic grip, rear lasted about 5k, fitted another for a 4-5k tour, at about 11k I decided to to switch out both tyres as the (original) front was shot and the rear down to legal minimum.

Fitted a pair of BattleWings, which were supposed to give similar grip but more longevity ... so, the front end is twitchier (even after tweaking suspension) and ultimate grip from rear is definitely less than Anakee (which was unstickable), just not as inspiring ...

With a months touring coming up, I'll be switching back to a pair of Anakee's next week, even tho there is plenty of life left in the BWs ...

;-)

Craig

 

[JayGee]

I've never tried the Tourances nor the anakees as I only ride on tarmac (and tghe odd bit of gravel/dirt road). I'm amazed some get over 10,000 miles out of a rear, I've had Dunlop Trailmax which were shot at 4,000, Mich Road Pilots which should have been replaced at 7000 (I nearly got down to the canvas after a miscalculated holiday mileage of 9000) and currently I have the battlewings which might do 6000.
Acceleration and cornering (particularly applying lots of power while banked over) will increase the wear rate of the rear tyre but I (like others) are surprised by how different the milages are for different users.
Lots of two up fully loaded mileage will also increase wear and another factor, of course, is how much tread is left when they are replaced, I never go down to the 1mm limit and usually replace before the wear bars show, probably I usually change at about 2mm.

 

[terayon]

I've never tried the Tourances nor the anakees as I only ride on tarmac (and tghe odd bit of gravel/dirt road). I'm amazed some get over 10,000 miles out of a rear, I've had Dunlop Trailmax which were shot at 4,000, Mich Road Pilots which should have been replaced at 7000 (I nearly got down to the canvas after a miscalculated holiday mileage of 9000) and currently I have the battlewings which might do 6000.
Acceleration and cornering (particularly applying lots of power while banked over) will increase the wear rate of the rear tyre but I (like others) are surprised by how different the milages are for different users.
Lots of two up fully loaded mileage will also increase wear and another factor, of course, is how much tread is left when they are replaced, I never go down to the 1mm limit and usually replace before the wear bars show, probably I usually change at about 2mm.

If you look at a tourance you will see it was never designed for off road use, there is not enough gap in the tread, gravel roads at best.
The tread is thick as a off road and thats one of the reasons why they last so long. The worst I've ever had out of one was 7000 miles, and that was squared off by going up and down the motorway over winter. There was still plenty of life/tread left in the middle but was unsafe cornering. Compare prices to the other tyres and the tourances usually come out reasonably cheap. I've tried Pilots, Trailwings, 020's and the only other tyre I liked apart from tourances were Avon Distanzia's but then they aren't great in the wet.

I keep mine at Metzeler recommended pressures of 36 front and 42 rear

 

[JayGee]

If you look at a tourance you will see it was never designed for off road use, there is not enough gap in the tread, gravel roads at best.
The tread is thick as a off road and thats one of the reasons why they last so long. The worst I've ever had out of one was 7000 miles, and that was squared off by going up and down the motorway over winter. There was still plenty of life/tread left in the middle but was unsafe cornering. Compare prices to the other tyres and the tourances usually come out reasonably cheap. I've tried Pilots, Trailwings, 020's and the only other tyre I liked apart from tourances were Avon Distanzia's but then they aren't great in the wet.

I keep mine at Metzeler recommended pressures of 36 front and 42 rear

Thanks, maybe I'll give the Tourances a try next time.
I tried the Distanzias on a varedero and thought they were terrible, especially in the wet. TBH almost any tyre is OK in the dry it's in the wet that I find out just how good they are. Best in the wet were the Pilots but the BWs are nearly as good although the tread doesn't go round the edge as far (as has been said above). Tyres are a very personal and subjective choice but I'd always forgo mileage for grip (well up to a point!)

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

How do you ride, do you accelerate hard and brake hard, these are the things that will wear tyres out quick. I ride hard but smooth hardly touch my brakes and tend to get min 7000 miles out of a tourance rear and normally average 9000.

I'm quite often up your way, if you ever want to compare riding styles

Being an IAM 'riding god' I'm not heavy on the brakes or throttle but I would consider myself a fairly 'quick' rider.

Seriously though, I am fairly hard on tyres, doing a lot of high speed distance work, often two up.

I still, however, can't quite get my head around the big disparity in mileages here though

You're always welcome to give me a shout when up this way, any excuse to get out for a ride on the bike

Andres

 

[LiquidLAN]

What I can't get my head around though is the difference in mileage, ie at least 10,000 miles

Surely riding style is in no way going to account for that

I have yet to get more than 4000 miles out of a rear tyre (Trailmax / 020's) before the tyre is well past it's best. It might be legal, but as it's the only thing keeping me shiny side up it gets replaced.

Andres

I don't know... maybe we need evidence of riding style from some of the claimants

Maybe acceleration for them involves finding a long steep slope and freewheeling to terminal velocity and finding an even steeper slope to slow down on

 

[Bones]

I don't know... maybe we need evidence of riding style from some of the claimants

Maybe acceleration for them involves finding a long steep slope and freewheeling to terminal velocity and finding an even steeper slope to slow down on

My thoughts too. Personally I am a feckin' brilliant rider, faster than nearly everyone ('cept 46) and average 38,000 miles from my rear slick, bit less from the front.

PPPPPllllllleeeaaaaasssssse can we have a sticky thread for tyre recomendations. And a sticky for hugger recomendations as well !!!!