OEM Tire Story

[Bogus]

I have an 08 A, and it came with Bridgestone BT021's as OEM tires. After 3800 mi. the front tire was "shredded". Down to the wear bars, and cupped badly. I had run 38# in the front for about 1000 mi. before reading on this forum about running 40 or 41#. That alone made a difference in the handling, but I still had to really push and hold the inside bar to maintain the lean angle in a turn. Since this is my first "sporting" bike, (I've been riding for 35+ years) I thought it was the nature of the beast.

I was going to try another brand of tires when the OEM's wore out, but since the rear looked like it had another 3-4 K in it, I decided to get another OEM tire for the front, and try the different brand when they both wore out.

Well, I ordered a BT020 front, and when it came in, realized the completely different tread pattern and the mistake I had made, but decided to put it on anyway to hopefully try something different when the rear wore out.

Here is the good part: after getting the tire mounted, putting in 41# of air, and scrubbing the tire in before pushing it, I can't believe what a difference the BT020 makes. The steering is now DEAD NEUTRAL, and it requires almost telepathic inputs to change direction, or lean into a corner. I found that in corners that I thought that I was pushing it before at 40mph, I was running 60mph and not even realizing it until I would glance at the speedo. It was fun before the front tire change, but now it is a pure joy to ride!

I guess I'll have time now to see how the BT020's will wear before I have to replace the rear. If I get significantly better milage out of the new front, I will get the matching BT020 for the rear.

I just wondered if anyone else had such a dramatic change in handling with a simple tire change?

 

[ShawnKing]

I just wondered if anyone else had such a dramatic change in handling with a simple tire change?

Not on my FJR but on my previous bike I did. I had run two sets of Bridgestones on a big cruiser and just thought, "Well, it's just a pig going into turns. It is what it is." Until I described the issue to my mechanic and he recommended another tire brand.

Made a *world* of difference in my enjoyment of the bike.

I'm doing the same with the FJR - came with Metzlers and I'm going to try the Michelin's next.

 

[luvtoride]

I just wondered if anyone else had such a dramatic change in handling with a simple tire change?

Absolutely!

 

[Knifemaker]

.........I just wondered if anyone else had such a dramatic change in handling with a simple tire change?

MMMM, tire type effects handling?? And you notice a significant diffrence from riding a bike with worn out tires , to riding the same bike with brand new tires.....Wow, amazing, me too!

Wait till you start messing around with the suspension settings...this seems to effect handling too...

KM

 

[k7lvo]

Interesting.... My 07 came with Metzlers. The front tire wore out in about 6k miles (~1500 miles before the rear) and for the last several hundred miles I had also been having to exert pressure on the inside bar to mantain the line through the corner. The Dunlop Roadsmart made all the difference.

 

[Bogus]

.........I just wondered if anyone else had such a dramatic change in handling with a simple tire change?

MMMM, tire type effects handling?? And you notice a significant diffrence from riding a bike with worn out tires , to riding the same bike with brand new tires.....Wow, amazing, me too!

Wait till you start messing around with the suspension settings...this seems to effect handling too...

KM

FUNNY! I guess I didn't make myself clear in the first post.....but the front OEM tire acted like this from mile 0. Had to push and hold hard on the inside bar to hold the line in a corner, and after raising the pressure to 41psi after 1000 miles, the handling improved only marginally.

Had the wife on the back for the first time at about 1500 miles, went for a 40 mi. loop in the eastern Iowa twisties, and I was exhausted by the time we got home. Just this afternoon, we went for the same ride since the new tire was installed, and it was an unbelievable difference! Instead of wrestling the bike around corners, just drop into the turn, and relax. Like I said in the first post, absolutely neutral steering.

By the way, I did start with the settings suggested by someone on the board here at about 1500 miles, and tweaked them to my liking with the OEM tire, and yes it does make a big difference. I will be doing more tweaking since the tire issue seems to be sorted out for now anyway, thank you very much!

 

[angus]

I just put a new set of 20s on i love them i got 10,000 mile out of the last set of 20s.

 

[teerex51]

<...> I just wondered if anyone else had such a dramatic change in handling with a simple tire change?

Nature of the beast, really.

Plus, you scrap some dead tires and start riding on brand-new ones. The first impact would be wonderful even if you went back to the same tires again.

Front BT020s will cup badly, I'm afraid, in some 3,000-4,000 miles depending on variables. YMMV and all that.

Avons will last longer (although their QC is kinda random) and so will Dunlop RoadSmarts and MPR2s. If you want a real fun tire (get ready for a failry short but exhilarating service life, though) try Michelin's Pilot Power 2CTs.

When you first have them on you'll think your bike can no longer ride upright... :yahoo:

Stef

 

[sin_loki]

I just put a new set of 20s on i love them i got 10,000 mile out of the last set of 20s.

how did you manage that? 6K at best and i need a new set :blink:

still having issues trying to buy the pilot roads 2ct at a decent price with install, local stealler wants 197+mount balance + sales tax (rear only mind you). he asked when could a bring it, i said "have a nice day!" :****:

 

[Fjroamer]

...intriguing!

My '03 came with 020's and like almost everyone else who has had them, they're good 'till the cupping begins up front and then they're substandard.

Several different brands of tires later, I just used up a set of 021's and felt they were much better handling and lasted only about 1,000 mi. less (for me) than the 020's. The front is to the wear bars, center and sides fairly equally. They handled satisfactorily (for me) right up to the end which was not the case with the 020's.

Roadsmarts or P.R.2's next.

...aren't "Tire Testimonies" interesting???

 

[Baz]

I had 020's from the factory on my bike. On a couple of occasions, I just about low sided because of the 020 front wanting to slide out. The 020's are also absolutely horrid on tar snakes. Can you say riding on ice?

I put a set of 021's on about 5000 miles ago, and can report that thes tires turn much quicker & grip much better than the 020's. The front wears sort of weird with these, but it has no detriment to the handling of the bike. The front tire is also very noisy, but I hear this about the PR 2's also. I am predicting I should get about 8000 miles out of these.

So far, I would buy another pair of these as the price can't be beat here (100 bucks less than the PR 2's for a set)