Need help with tire wear

[stose85]

Mods please feel free to put this in the never-ending thread if you see fit.

Alright guys here's my predicament. My wife and I took our anniversary trip to Oklahoma City this past weekend. I had at least 1.5 mil of tire tread left on the rear tire before the wear bars in their lowest point. This was the first trip with 2 fully loaded saddlebags and a passenger. I'm figuring we had at least 320lbs with riders and gear on the bike. The trip ran a total of 320 miles, mostly interstate, at speeds from 75mph up to 90mph (but only for short bursts at the top end). Tire pressure was 40PSI on the front and 42PSI on the rear. I have put on 1020 miles since purchasing the FJR and the rear tire looked "ok" when I bought it, but I knew I would need to replace it soon. After we got back on Sunday afternoon I noticed a considerable flattening of the tire. They are both Michelin PR2's and I have no idea how old they are. I looked for a manufacturing date, but I may not have been looking in the right place. The rear now appears to be past the wear bars in the middle. This is the largest motorcycle and sportbike that I have owned and I was just surprised at how fast its eaten up the tire. The clean part of the tire is where the flattest part is located. We ran through some pretty heavy rain at times in Tulsa and I didn't have any slipping or sliding around.

On a side note I ordered a set of Pirelli Angel GT with an A-Spec for the rear. I knew I would need to change out the rear before NAFO, but I'm going to switch them both as I have no idea how long they have been sitting on the bike.

My questions are: Does this wear look right to you? How much time do I have left on it?

 

[Ignacio]

Mods please feel free to put this in the never-ending thread if you see fit.

Thank you for the permission for that. I was so unsure what to do with this thread.

I'm curious, but what did you learn glancing through the 78+ other prior threads on the subject of tire wear before posting this?

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[FJReady]

I've run at least five PR2 tires on my FJR. From what I see in these photos you have very normal looking wear. If I were running two up with luggage I'd be setting cold pressure at 43-44 psi.

I bet there is another 1000 miles on this one. That's what mine look like at around 8K. I've got over 10K before, but most of my miles are 1-up commuting miles.

And maybe try finding some curves: those tires have a lot of life left on the sides

Report in on the Angels. Curious to know how they are for you.

 

[stose85]

I thought this was a very specific question (with photos) that was unlike the 78+ other threads... which is why I asked

 

[stose85]

I've run at least five PR2 tires on my FJR. From what I see in these photos you have very normal looking wear. If I were running two up with luggage I'd be setting cold pressure at 43-44 psi.
I bet there is another 1000 miles on this one. That's what mine look like at around 8K. I've got over 10K before, but most of my miles are 1-up commuting miles.

And maybe try finding some curves: those tires have a lot of life left on the sides

Report in on the Angels. Curious to know how they are for you.

There's a ton of tread left on the sides which is why I was a little sad. I don't drag knees around corners as this part of Oklahoma is pretty flat. Arkansas isn't too far away though, maybe I should take a trip. Thanks for the heads up this is exactly what I needed. I will definitely update you with the progress on the Angels.

 

[BkerChuck]

Pretty much what my PR2 rear looks like at 12.5k miles. Most of my riding is solo. I run 41 psi front 43 psi rear and have generally gotten 13.5-14.5k out of these tires.

 

[Fred W]

I'm lookin', but I'm not seeing what's wrong with the tire.

Ride more, stress less, replace tires after they wear out. It's a continuous cycle.

 

[rushes]

If you ride around OKC,

you may as well go darkside...

 

[ionbeam]

I don't even see the wear bars yet. I usually manage at least 1k miles more after the wear bars show up. That's riding 2 up almost the whole tire life.

 

[Uncle Hud]

(Shhhhh: Don't want anyone to hear ....

The tread grooves on brand-new Michelins don't go all the way to the center of the tire. They get shallower as they approach the middle and then disappear. Yes, the Marshmallow Man makes them that way.

You've done lots of highway miles -- upright -- and only a few miles tipped over, haven't you? It's OK; I understand that's the kind of roads you have "where the wind comes right before the rain"; and that's also the kind of miles one gets with a babe strapped to one's back. That's why you have a flat spot: most miles upright. Look on a few other tire threads around here -- Senor Igancio is right on this -- and you'll see a half-dozen photos that look just like yours.

Those tires look really good to me. Maybe another 3,000 miles if you're not out doing crazy squidly stunts on chip seal in Arkansas or Hooterville.)

PS: (Not Whispered.) Easy on the rebukes to Admins. They're right a lot ... because they've hung out here far longer than you and me put together, and have more FJR miles than you and me and any other two guys on this board. Take a look in any tire wear thread. There will be photos that look remarkably like yours. Uncanny, isn't it?

Edit 3 mins later: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/167395-front-tiretable-top/

Edit 5 mins later: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/156169-michelin-pilot-road-4-tires-review/?p=1300582

Edit the next morning: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/164544-avon-storm-3d-xm-mileage-report-in-last-post-edit/?p=1257889

 

[HelzBelz]

Yep, get used to it. The FJR eats tires, especially flattening in the rear, or cupping in the front, with long straight miles. Watch your pressures, pump em up a drop more than recommended and prepare to spend money on tires. If I get 6k, I am happy. 7500 and I am throwing a big ole party. But I tend to do a lot of Iron Butt type riding (big days, more highway than curvy, cause I like to see new places)

I did use sport tires once, and got about 3500 out of them. They were cheaper than the touring tires, and it was well worth the fun I got out of them in Colorado.

Welcome to the FJR.

 

[stose85]

PS: (Not Whispered.) Easy on the rebukes to Admins. They're right a lot ... because they've hung out here far longer than you and me put together, and have more FJR miles than you and me and any other two guys on this board. Take a look in any tire wear thread. There will be photos that look remarkably like yours. Uncanny, isn't it?

No disrespect intended. Its one of the downfalls of internet forums, sarcasm and ribbing each other can be taken as rude/ungrateful because of a lack of inflection in the keyboard. I try and take as much as I dish out, and I do appreciate the advise.

As for the photos I'd rather be sure as to my current situation and I know everyone on here has a lot of experience with these types of things. It isn't a huge deal with me alone, but when I ride 2 up I take the life of my passenger very seriously as it is in my hands quite literally. I don't like guessing when it comes to tires. I do understand this is a dead horse topic

Thank you everyone for the help! No disrespect intended Ignacio.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Since everything else has pretty much been covered already, I just have one question. Why are you switching brands? You really have no idea how many miles are on those tires, you have no idea how the bike was ridden before you got it, and you have no idea how well the air pressure was maintained, nor do you have any idea what those pressures were.

IF you did go read through some of those other threads, or even better through The Big FJR Tire Poll, you might find that you are already running one of the preferred tires.

The good thing about this forum is that even though you did get the sarcasm you still got your answers. This thread was not a total loss for you.

Good luck and do let us know how the new tires perform and last. But please do NOT start a new thread on them, just add that info to one of the existing threads.

 

[stose85]

Redfish I'm only switching in an effort to find the best tires for the type of riding and roads we have around here. I did search for tire threads and pictures but I was unable to locate what I was looking for. I make my decisions based on a lot of Internet research, questions to people who have used a particular item, and most importantly this forum. I'll take a heavy dose of sarcasm and BS from the members here any day as it has already saved me time and money. On other bikes I've had Dunlops, Bridgestones, and now Michelins. I liked the road smart 2s but I think the FJR may be too heavy for them. The Angel GT A-spec were recommended by riders of various heavy sport tourers.

 

[relhok]

There's a 4 number stamp on tires with the week and year of manufacture. Looks like that tire was made in the 9th week of 2010 if that is 0910 on the sidewall.

I'm at almost 500lbs 2-up with bags and GIVI V46 top case. I run the Angel GT A-spec front with 190 A-spec rear and I'm extremely pleased. I like the grip much better than the PR2s especially as they near the end of their tread life. Lasted almost 8K miles for me.

 

[Pterodactyl]

One word, no maybe two words, alright one word.... Darkside. I went to school in OK and if ever a place was designed for the Darkside it is OK.

And, just about every motorcycle tire is designed for a max of 42 PSI cold temperature (20 C.) inflation.

 

[MajBach]

I thought this was a very specific question (with photos) that was unlike the 78+ other threads... which is why I asked

Don't feel too bad. Without semi-redundant posts like yours, some people would have no reason to even log on.

 

[N4HHE]

There's a ton of tread left on the sides which is why I was a little sad. I don't drag knees around corners as this part of Oklahoma is pretty flat. Arkansas isn't too far away though, maybe I should take a trip. Thanks for the heads up this is exactly what I needed. I will definitely update you with the progress on the Angels.

If you never use the sides of the tires then you have no reason to be sad about all that unused tread.

 

[Fred W]

@stose85 - On my old '05 I ran through 7 Michelin PR2 rear tires over the years, and when the OEM rear tire wore out on my new '14, I replaced that with a PR2 also. So, safe to say, I have lots of experience with that particular tire.

Here's what a PR2 looks like when it is wearing as I would expect it to for the way I ride it.

This tire currently has about 6500 miles on it.

The little yellow arrows show the wear bars. Note that you can see all three on this tire still.

Same tire in the same rotational position

At the very edge of the tire tread area are little directional arrows molded in that show where you should be able to see the three wear indicators. Because I do not commute, and generally avoid riding the slab as much as possible, I tend to wear out my tires first at the red arrows. As you can see the tread in that area is more worn than anywhere else. You can also see that, although my peg feelers remain unscathed, I manage to get over onto the edges of the tires every now and then.

I have never yet worn out the center of a PR2 before erasing all tread in the area shown by red arrows, and that includes the one that is still on the '05 now after running lots of slab back and forth to Montana and Wyoming in 2014.

I still expect to get another 2000-2500 miles out of the above tire (to around 9k miles) if I do not replace it before that for the state inspection due at the end of this month. Guess what tire I will be putting back on there? For the price these things can be bought for ($140 shipped from Jake Wilson) you really cannot beat 'em with a big stick.

PS - I still think your tire looks fine.