Follow-up on Diablo Strada

[HaulinAshe]

Having two flats in one week gave me an opportunity to do some unscheduled (and unwanted) tire changing. I removed the Pirelli Diablo Strada front and put on my "spare" which was the original POS Messler purchased with the bike. Words simply cannot describe how much I hate that Messler. The Strada makes the FJR a completely different motorcycle. But the experience was good because it reconfirmed the performance of the Strada.

I plugged the rear Strada and kept riding it. Used a string plug and it held fine. Put about 800 miles on the rear after plugging it.

I noticed last week that the rear was showing some blemish marks in the center area. It looked like I had clutched too hard and rolled a little bit of rubber. The surface looked "chewy", not "skinned" like you would typically expect on a tire subjected to throttle twist or hard braking. I knew last week the tire might be getting close to "spent" because I had over 3,000 on it then. But the tread pattern did not visually indicate to me that the tire was gone, yet.

Well today I took a two hour, 150 mile romp through the country roads. When I pulled into the garage and walked to the back of the bike guess what was showing. You got it, steel belts. That means the rear was showing belts at 4,000 and should have been changed by 3,800 max.

Now in all fairness, I've run down to the belts on other tires, also by mistake. But I can see the need to really understand and grasp exactly how to read the Diablo Strada wear bars. I'm not 100% convinced that the wear bars will truly show accurate tire wear around these flat, sandpaper roads. I will say this... that I love the performance of the Diablo Strada so much that I am going to continue running a couple more rears to work things out.

The rear tire I mounted today has a tread wear indicator I am testing. I used the Dremel to bore a 5.2mm deep hole into two spots of the center area. This will give me two opposing "treads" that I can use as visual indicators for the very center stripe. I plan to watch them and the manufacturer's wear bars very closely to see if I can get comfortable with how the Pirelli wear bars work.

If not, I will probably have to suck it up and go back to Michelin Pilot Road truck tires.

 

[TheRepairMan]

Hey Jeff, are the Michelin Pilot Powers available in the sizes you use?

I know they are a bit pricey but I hear nothing but really positive reports about them,

especially how smooth they are, and their grip capabilities.

The Roads are too hard for real aggressive riding IMO. Two guys I know had them scoot right out from under them during hard corners, but they do last forever.

I'm running OE Dunlop 221Ds, similar to their Qualifiers, and would use them again if they were priced right, but I think my next set will be the Michelin PPs.

Roger

 

[HaulinAshe]

Hey Jeff, are the Michelin Pilot Powers available in the sizes you use? I know they are a bit pricey but I hear nothing but really positive reports about them,

especially how smooth they are, and their grip capabilities.

The Roads are too hard for real aggressive riding IMO. Two guys I know had them scoot right out from under them during hard corners, but they do last forever.

Yes, the Mich PPs are available for my FJR sizes, and they cost exactly the same as the Pirelli Diablo Stradas, $234 delivered to my door. I've thought about trying the PPs but I have admittedly been looking for "tire nervana", you know, a long mileage tire that handles like a sport tire. It's the whole cake and eat it too thing.

Anyway, since I made the post last night, I had an supplemental idea and am giving it a try. I added a squeeze of Red RTV Silicone to plug the holes I made. It should stay in the tire until the rubber wears thin around the hole. Makes a really nice red dot wear indicator. I have two sets of Stradas in stock so I might as well see if I can get comfy with them. But thanks for the PP suggestion. It's definitely a good one and worth a shot on the next round of rubber.

 

[Grumpy]

So Jeff, how'd you know when the holes in the tire were deep enough, but not so deep as to nick the belt?

Jim

 

[Bike Effects]

Anyway, since I made the post last night, I had an supplemental idea and am giving it a try. I added a squeeze of Red RTV Silicone to plug the holes I made. It should stay in the tire until the rubber wears thin around the hole. Makes a really nice red dot wear indicator.

Please keep us posted on the details of this experiment. Does the red RTV actually stay in there? I love the Stradas but wish for more wear bars.

 

[HaulinAshe]

So Jeff, how'd you know when the holes in the tire were deep enough, but not so deep as to nick the belt?Jim

First things first... [SIZE=12pt]Hi Grumpy![/SIZE]

First I studied the specs Pirelli sent to me. Then I measured the depth of the existing wear bar indicators on the new tire and compared their depth to the Pirelli spec. I found the existing wear bars averaged a depth of 5.2mm, which concurs with the 5.5mm specified tread depth. That would leave 0.3mm of rubber once the wear bars are contacted.

 


So I used my Dremel tool with the router attachment and set the bit to 5.2mm depth. It only took a couple minutes to bore holes in the tire. I verified everything with digital calipers and then plugged the holes with red silicone. (Sometimes it helps to have been raised in a machine shop!)

 


Of course I'm not worried about the holes being there, I just thought the red silicone would help keep foreign matter from clogging the holes and possibly affecting my test. Besides, the red dots look REALLY COOL!

 


I still think the standard Strada rear is worth trying. It specs at 6.9 mm tread depth and that could translate to a lot of extra mileage. I believe that there is significant difference between what many folks consider "average" loads on the FJR and my average. Some people ride primarily solo with little or no luggage in the side bags. Some people ride primarily two-up and/or often with loaded bags. I THINK that I represent something close to middle ground at 183 lbs., three bags lightly loaded. So I think the extra stiffness of the E-series Strada may be primarily targeted at the typically heavier loads. Just a theory.

 

[keithaba]

Hey Jeff, are the Michelin Pilot Powers available in the sizes you use? I know they are a bit pricey but I hear nothing but really positive reports about them,

especially how smooth they are, and their grip capabilities.

The Roads are too hard for real aggressive riding IMO. Two guys I know had them scoot right out from under them during hard corners, but they do last forever.

Roger

I just got my Pilot Powers today and did about 100 miles. I quote Borat, "I liiiike."

I got the Powers due to hearing rumors about the roads not doing well with aggressive riding. If I can make the bike scoot right out from under me with the powers, I should deserve some sort of award!!!

 

[HaulinAshe]

Follow-up note...

Red Silicone does not stick to black rubber.



Wonder if I can shove a piece of that tire plug sticky string in the hole. It's a very different color than the tire rubber. Any other suggestions?

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

Don't know why your being so anal about this. When the wear bars show, it's time for a tire! Any further and your asking for trouble.

 

[HaulinAshe]

Don't know why your being so anal about this. When the wear bars show, it's time for a tire! Any further and your asking for trouble.

If you run Diablo Stradas on primarily flat roads, then there is some question about how well the wear bars indicate the worn center area. I don't feel I'm being anal, just cautious and trying to learn how to read the tire without running into the steel belt unexpectedly.

 

[boogahboogah]

My suggestion: go to your local marine store & buy some 3M 5200 caulk. It sticks to damn near anything, and is a s close to permanent as anything on this earth. Only thing that takes off 5200 is a torch. It's generally white, so it won't be as cool as red, but I garundamntee you it'll be there after your tire wears out... Takes a day or so to cure, can be accelerated by spraying on water.

 

[keithaba]

Don't know why your being so anal about this. When the wear bars show, it's time for a tire! Any further and your asking for trouble.

If you run Diablo Stradas on primarily flat roads, then there is some question about how well the wear bars indicate the worn center area. I don't feel I'm being anal, just cautious and trying to learn how to read the tire without running into the steel belt unexpectedly.

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but why don't you just shell out the 150 bucks or so a little early to avoid hitting belts?

How many miles are you planning on getting out of this rear tire?

 

[HaulinAshe]

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but why don't you just shell out the 150 bucks or so a little early to avoid hitting belts?How many miles are you planning on getting out of this rear tire?

Not sure how many miles I plan on getting. The Diablo is new to me and that's why there is so much question about reading/determining when it's worn. Only been through one rear so far. Took it to 3,800 and noticed that there was some oddity about the center rubber. I either misread the wear bars or they didn't indicate the center wear, because at only 200 miles later (4,000) I had steel belts showing.

It's a fairly well-documented concern about the Diablo.

 

[dcarver]

Yeah, Jeff, I agree with you... I've been through 2 strada e's now and got caught waiting too long to replace on both.. sure would be nice to have a wear bar in the center... this time I'm trying pilot roads..