OEM Bridgestone tire wear

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jim oneill

triplex
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
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Location
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Wanted to install 90 degree valve stems on my 08 which has 6k miles on the original Bridgestone tires. I was told you,d best do it when you change tires because the bead had to be broken for the install. The bike has 6k miles on it with hardly any appreciable wear on the tires. I,m curious as to how many miles I should expect to get before changing? Some folks say they get less than 6k? I,m not overly aggressive with braking, cornering etc. but I don,t baby the bike either. Is this wear normal?

 
Hey Jim!

Best I can tell ya is by my personal experience.

I bought a new '05, received Oct 2004. The bike came with 020 Stones as OE.

I would categorize my riding style the same as you have.

I currently have just short of 14,000 mi on them. They are down to the wear bars at this time, with a new set of Storms

ready to install come spring.

Even tho the stock valve stems are a (small) PITA to utilize, I wouldn't replace them until a tire change. My $.02.

Hope this helps...

JC

 
Wow, why in the heck did Bridgestone quit making the 020s in favor of this POS 021? You get weird wear and damn little tire life with the 021. Maybe they needed to sell more tires? <_<

Ed

 
Wow, why in the heck did Bridgestone quit making the 020s in favor of this POS 021? You get weird wear and damn little tire life with the 021. Maybe they needed to sell more tires? <_< Ed
Originally I had an 06 with 020s. The front tire cupped (which was a major flaw of the 020 front tires) by 5K & replaced with an 021. The 06 was totalled in a rear end crash with just under 10K. The 021 was wearing fine, & the rear 020 still had about 1K left on her. Now I never was a fan of Bridgestone tires but I must be honest in my 34 years of riding on all kinds of bikes I never even came close to logging 10K on a rear.

I now have an 08 with 5K on the front 021 & it's holding up just fine. The rear is a Dunlop Roadsmart with about 2K on it. It replaced an 021 that had a nail in it.

I never had grip problems with the Stones, but I prefer the slightly stickier compound of the Dunlop. I'm a daily commuter & very confident with Dunlops, especially under wet conditions.

 
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I got 8500 out of the pair of 020's that came on the bike, and then only 8000 out of the set of 021's I put on after that. Latest set is PR2's with just under 12K on them, and I don't see using any other type of tire anytime soon.

 
Jim I have an 07 with 8200 mi and will order a new rear tire this week. The OE tires are also the Bridgestone 020 and they have worn just like the salesman said. He thought I would get 7-8000 mi out of these tires. I told him I was more oriented to touring than sport riding although I must admit to more speed on this bike than any previous one I have owned. As to the 90 degree stems, I read on this forum or somewhere that it helps with the front but makes airing up the rear a little more difficult. Mine also looked very good at 6000. I saw someone on here got 14000 out of theirs. I wish!

 
Will someone please tell me how J-Daddy got 14000 miles out of a set of 020s? At 5700 mine were toast. I might have gotten to 6000 with them, but that would have really been pushing it. I have almost 6000 on the 021 on my rear now and it looks pretty good. We will see, but I think I am gonna try a set of Pilot Power 2CTs after this set...just to see how they wear and stick. If they suck, maybe I'll try the Stradas.

 
Wow, 6000 miles and no wear...that's weird.

I've got an 07 with the OEM 020s and at 6500 they are trashed. Front cupped first, now the rear is cupped. I'm not particularly aggressive either (as I found out this past Saturday riding with some other Feejers, sheez they left me!), but the tires seem to really underperform.

Next stop for me, Michelin PR2s.

 
Will someone please tell me how J-Daddy got 14000 miles out of a set of 020s? At 5700 mine were toast. I might have gotten to 6000 with them, but that would have really been pushing it. I have almost 6000 on the 021 on my rear now and it looks pretty good. We will see, but I think I am gonna try a set of Pilot Power 2CTs after this set...just to see how they wear and stick. If they suck, maybe I'll try the Stradas.
Much smoother roads here in the Midwest. Really, I usually get 10K out of a set of tires.

 
Will someone please tell me how J-Daddy got 14000 miles out of a set of 020s? At 5700 mine were toast. I might have gotten to 6000 with them, but that would have really been pushing it. I have almost 6000 on the 021 on my rear now and it looks pretty good. We will see, but I think I am gonna try a set of Pilot Power 2CTs after this set...just to see how they wear and stick. If they suck, maybe I'll try the Stradas.
Much smoother roads here in the Midwest. Really, I usually get 10K out of a set of tires.
I get 7 to 8k out of a set of tires riding the same roads that TriggerT does.. I must be a ***** and change 'em too early.

 
Will someone please tell me how J-Daddy got 14000 miles out of a set of 020s?
HotRod, J-Daddy most likely is very conservative ( small in stature) rider who doesn't exeed the speed limit.... also keeps a very close eye on tire pressure. :lol:

 
2008 with 021's and the front is shot with 9200 miles on the bike. the back can go another 2000 but there is a gash in it and i will probably replace it before next season. I think the front went faster because i wasn't so anal keeping up with the correct pressure. I also ride 50/50 2up.

 
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Much smoother roads here in the Midwest. Really, I usually get 10K out of a set of tires.


I get 7 to 8k out of a set of tires riding the same roads that TriggerT does.. I must be a ***** and change 'em too early.


HotRod, J-Daddy most likely is very conservative ( small in stature) rider who doesn't exeed the speed limit.... also keeps a very close eye on tire pressure. :lol:
Well, at least now I know it's not because I got a bum set of tires....It's because I weigh too much, don't check my air often enough and ride too fast on ****** roads. You guys are the best!!! :lol: :lol:

PS...I'm pretty anal about my air pressure, but the rest are all valid issues.

 
Much smoother roads here in the Midwest. Really, I usually get 10K out of a set of tires.


I get 7 to 8k out of a set of tires riding the same roads that TriggerT does.. I must be a ***** and change 'em too early.


HotRod, J-Daddy most likely is very conservative ( small in stature) rider who doesn't exeed the speed limit.... also keeps a very close eye on tire pressure. :lol:
Well, at least now I know it's not because I got a bum set of tires....It's because I weigh too much, don't check my air often enough and ride too fast on ****** roads. You guys are the best!!! :lol: :lol:

PS...I'm pretty anal about my air pressure, but the rest are all valid issues.

Hey Guys!

I see I got some reaction to my post claiming 14,000 mi on an OE set of 020 Stones! The miles are actually 'bout 13,700.

The front tire cupped pretty badly by about 7,000 miles. I had been airing at 36 lbs and have since upped that pressure to

40, both f/r. Utilizing Haulin' Ash's suspension settings along with the higher air pressures diminished the cupping somewhat.

To consider: I ride 95% of the time w/o side cases. Never use a top box.

Rarely carry a passenger.

Stature - 6', 180 lbs

I'm usually 'bout 10 mph over the limit.

I check tire pressure regularly, air is rarely needed

I don't do burnouts or stoppies, tho occasionally a wheelie

I havta say, I'm also surprised at the tire mileage I'm getting...but I'm not bitchin'.... Come to think of it, the 1800 GW I sold to buy this bike had 'bout 14,800 mi on it's original tires and were not quite down to the wear bars, but close. Those tires were also Stones, but I don't remember which model.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Happy New Year!

JC

 
My '07 with OEM tires just went over 7,600 miles (bought new 26 AUG 08) and the front is just down to the wear bars.

I'm 5'10", 175 lbs and I don't ride very aggressively.

I hope to get another 1,000 miles before it gets down into the wear bars, which will probably be next month.

 
any one know what the 09`s have for oem tires???
Probably Bridgestone 021 or Metzler ME6. That seems to be what Yamaha likes. No rhyme or reason to what area gets what. Previous years got 020s or ME6, but I don't think there are 020s around any more.

Smooth is easy on tires. Smooth rider first, smooth pavement second. Cooler temps don't hurt either.

 
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