TIRES?? What tires are everyone running on their FJR?

[Abercrombie FJR]

You know, I've always been put off when the old timers discourage newbies for starting new threads about subjects that have been beaten to death. This thread is proof that there is always new and interesting information and more to learn. A 5 or 10 year old tire thread is worthless with new tires and technology coming out every year.

 

[rbentnail]

You know, I've always been put off when the old timers discourage newbies for starting new threads about subjects that have been beaten to death. This thread is proof that there is always new and interesting information and more to learn. A 5 or 10 year old tire thread is worthless with new tires and technology coming out every year.

OTOH there's always the option to post in a 5 or 10 y/o thread to bring it up to date.

 

[William160461]

I have put Metzeler roadtec 01 on my bike in the last 2 months and have been happy with my ride except they are a little noisier and not as good as my previous Michelin Pilot Road 3 tyres. I will go back to the Michelin on my next set

 

[fastpappy]

I have put Metzeler roadtec 01 on my bike in the last 2 months and have been happy with my ride except they are a little noisier and not as good as my previous Michelin Pilot Road 3 tyres. I will go back to the Michelin on my next set

Are you running the SE version or the standard 01? I have been running Roadtec 01 SE and like them well enough but don't have enough miles on them yet for anything definitive.

 

[torch]

Next I'll bump the cold pressures up 2 psi and see how that does,

After a bit of experimenting, I've settled on 35F/38R cold (15°C, after sitting overnight). A nice highway run brings the front up to 38psi and the rear to 42 solo with no cargo aboard. Loading a week's worth of groceries into the luggage for the return trip brought the rear to 44psi. Very similar to what I would use on the R5s, despite the stiffer sidewalls.

I still haven't had the chance to try the Mutants out in real rain, however no issues pushing it on damp roads. Last night on our dry but somewhat sandy, well worn tar and chip secondary road they had decent grip during an emergency stop when two deer jumped out in front of me at dusk. I felt the front ABS kick twice, but it stopped well short of the dang forest rats.

 

[an-guy]

You know, I've always been put off when the old timers discourage newbies for starting new threads about subjects that have been beaten to death. This thread is proof that there is always new and interesting information and more to learn. A 5 or 10 year old tire thread is worthless with new tires and technology coming out every year.

I get it, it's annoying to keep seeing tire threads for those who've been around for years. But with forums dying in favor of other means, I really don't feel bad for starting one up. This one has 66 replies now, that's a lot of members who engaged with the site.

A lot of opinions, yes of course. But that's exactly what I wanted. All I could find about tires I wanted was "this works good on my 200LB lighter sport bike that does 5k miles a year" so I wanted to hear opinions from FJR owners.

I read RoadSmart many times. I actually had a rear of these on my VFR800 because I ran over a nail somehow but I really hated them because I accidentally broke the rear loose in the rain many times.
I'm also no longer happy with the PR4s I have... I might ride a little harder than some riders but this front tire is pretty much done with the rear having about 2-3K left. An FJR owner I know ran R6s on his, they were awesome for the first couple thousand miles but are now cupping pretty badly. And both of ours are developing this issue where they kindof develop a shoulder and once you lean the bike past it, the bike feels like it's low siding. We've both accidentally drug pegs now just during normal riding.

Thinking I'm going with the Metzeler Roadtec 01s.

 

[rbentnail]

I'm happy with the Pirelli Angel GT. Non-A-spec. I just replaced my rear, right at 9k miles to the cords. Good all-round tire for me. The front I usually get a yr- 10-11k miles.

 

[Trailrider57]

hiya mate. I had the same question on this forum a while ago. I'm still running Bridgestone T31 rear and T32 front. These tyres have been great for confidence in all weather but the rear hasn't lasted me more than 3000k's and ready for change. The front is about 50% down - both were changed at the same time. My previous set looked like the top 3 sides of a pentagon after 3000k's (or so, it wasn't much) with nasty wear on cornering contact patch. Some one here suggested upping tyre pressure to 40/42 and wear is much more evenly distributed - lesson learnt. The rear isn't getting anywhere near the K's others suggest so I'm looking to change the next set.

What I love about this combo: grip! Hate: **** lifespan!

Ps, mostly 1-up riding with infrequent pillion. I've been keeping off the back roads trying to preserve these tyres and being gentle..cruisy. I now know it's not my riding style wearing these out so fast Some else replied similar. In Oz, these 2 tyres were about $700

You are quite possibly getting poor mileage from your tires if you are not running the GT version which is necessary for this heavy of a bike. I have gotten 8000 miles out of my front T31GT and the same from my T32GT. In both cases my front tire is cupping before it hits the wear bar. My rear T32GT has over 5000 miles on it and looks like it will get 7000-8000 miles before it reaches the wear bar. I run 40-41 psi in the front and 42-43 psi in the rear as many others have stated.

 

[art miller]

I am curious why there is such a vast difference in the miles riders are getting on the same brand tires. I have been using Michelin Pilot Road and now Road tires for many years. The best mileage I have gotten has been on PR4's 13,000 miles and still some tread life left. On Road 5's 10,000 seems to be the limit with some tread left. I have a new set of Road 6 on hand and will see how they do. It seems obvious the rider's weight and riding habits have a major impact on tire wear. I weigh 145lbs. and ride moderately aggressively. Most of my miles are road trips with about 50lbs of baggage. I inflate tires, front 39lbs, rear 42lbs. Except for some center tread flattening after many miles of slab the tires seem to wear evenly with very minimal cupping on front and none on rear. A good stretch of twisty mountain roads takes the cupping out of the front tire. Am I some anomaly?

 

[RossKean]

The right wrist and right foot are major causes of reduced tire life. Those effects are greatly enhanced by higher average lean angle (aggressive riding on curvy roads). Perhaps followed by road conditions - chip seal surfaces are like riding on a cheese grater; especially if you are aggressive in the twisties. Total weight loading is a significant factor but I would expect less than the above.

 

[Whooshka]

Like Ross said, too many variables. Rider weight, bike loaded weight, road surface. right wrist, suspension settings, suspension state of tune, air pressure, rate of braking/accelerating, temperature, on and on.

All that affects fuel mileage too.

Also some guys, like me, will swap out tires as soon as feasible after hitting the wear bars while others won't change them out until belts are showing.

 

[feejerbkb]

I would add aggressive closed throttle deceleration and shifting technique to the reasons mentioned above for increased tire wear rates. Smooth application of all control inputs with careful rev matching when shifting are your tires' best friends.

 

[torch]

A good stretch of twisty mountain roads takes the cupping out of the front tire. Am I some anomaly?

I would say so. In my experience, that's what causes the cupping.

Short explanation:

I don't think many of us have such a dramatic disconnect between riding conditions. I think most riders have a more homogeneous blend -- ie: there is little we can do to even out cupping because we are already doing it all along.

Long winded explanation. Skip to the next post unless you are bored:

Discreet blocks of rubber are formed by the tread pattern. Lateral force, as when cornering, causes each tread block to deform slightly, away from the applied force. The deformation forces the leading edge of the block downwards, so as to take the brunt of the wear in the fight against friction -- which is considerable as one leans into a corner. But that's only one of the forces involved.

Remember, we are actually counter-steering slightly as we lean the bike over; applying pressure to the bars in the opposite direction of the actual turn. The bike turns due to the difference in tire circumference from one side of the contact patch to the other. The circumference of the patch near the centre of the tire is longer than the circumference at the outer edge of the patch. Since both are necessarily traveling at the same RPM, the longer circumference travels further than the shorter and so the path of travel becomes an arc towards the side of the tire we are leaning on.

The arc would be perfect if the tire only contacted the road at the point of those two circumferences, but of course, it doesn't. There's a lot of rubber on the road between those two points, introducing a whole lot of complicated interaction. The described arc ends up being more of an average than an ideal arc, and rubber wears away fastest at the points of highest force and friction, forming cupping.

So, back to Art: dramatically changing the wear environment from excessive straight-line riding to a mostly cornering environment shifts the locus of friction. Areas that were previously close to average, near the edge of the straight-line contact patch, are now subject to higher forces; areas that were rarely in contact with the road now start taking a load. The cupping is not reduced -- just shifted further outboard -- but the previous high spots are now worn down and less pronounced.

 

[GPRIDER]

The rest of the story. I bought an FJR Gen2 (with almost 20k miles and good maintenance history) a year ago at an estate sale for about half of KBB private seller price. There was not much interest in the FJR, maybe because I'm in Harley territory and it was missing aftermarket accessories: CB "headset stuff", obsolete Garmin GPS, and top trunk (felt good to remove superfluous mounts and wiring). The bike was in excellent electrical and mechanical condition; however, both tires were ready for replacement. As I recall they were Continentals with a cupped wear problem. The bike came with a "brand new" in the wrapper, never mounted, Avon Azaro for the rear. When I went to mount and balance, my motorcycle shop said the tire was discontinued (the tire date stamp indicated 2006 manufacture) and the most compatible tire for the front would be the Storm (manufactured in 2022). There are no cracks or signs of deterioration on the old/new tire and I've put about 5k miles on the tires. I've tested acceleration and braking up to engaging ABS and it seems competent and predictable. That is how I ended up with a discontinued new tire on the back. For now, it's working fine--but I do inspect frequently because the rear is an older tire. Would I get Avon again? Yes, but I should also look at Michelin per my motorcycle shop's recommendation.

Good luck finding Avon Storm's in the future. From what I read they are going out of business. Avon storms have been my favorite tire since they came out. Going to have to try something different now.

GP

 

[meosborn]

Good luck finding Avon Storm's in the future. From what I read they are going out of business. Avon storms have been my favorite tire since they came out. Going to have to try something different now.

GP

You sure about that?

https://news.goodyear.eu/avon-tyres...s-into-the-future-as-part-of-goodyear-family/

 

[GPRIDER]

You sure about that?

https://news.goodyear.eu/avon-tyres...s-into-the-future-as-part-of-goodyear-family/

Yes. That was for 2022. Things have changed since then according to the article I read a few months ago. It said that Goodyear had bought them and are now in process of shutting them down in 2023. Look on all the sites online that sell Avons. Getting harder to find a set of Spirits for the FJR.

 

[1skier]

Yes. That was for 2022. Things have changed since then according to the article I read a few months ago. It said that Goodyear had bought them and are now in process of shutting them down in 2023. Look on all the sites online that sell Avons. Getting harder to find a set of Spirits for the FJR.

O

 

[meosborn]

Yes. That was for 2022. Things have changed since then according to the article I read a few months ago. It said that Goodyear had bought them and are now in process of shutting them down in 2023. Look on all the sites online that sell Avons. Getting harder to find a set of Spirits for the FJR.

No, that was in March 2023. And it's the Goodyear site that says they are "looking ahead to the future with a reinvigorated approach to the Avon brand."

I don't run Avons anyway so I'm not particularly concerned. That being said, just because you can't find them easily during this sort of transition doesn't mean they won't be available in the future. It just appears they won't be made in the UK.

'“As we plan for 2024 and beyond, we will reveal new product lines, technology upgrades and clear market positioning for both brands.”

In addition to this continued commitment to motorcycle tires, the Avon brand will remain a key part of Goodyear’s portfolio in the passenger vehicle segment.'

Just the facts Ma'am.

 

[GPRIDER]

Goodyear already owned Dunlop. Their purchase of Cooper (which owned Avon) spells major integration of product lines, brands, etc. This happened in 2021 so the news is old. In late 2022, Avon announced their tire plant in the UK will close sometime in 2023 (this year).

 

[GPRIDER]

No, that was in March 2023. And it's the Goodyear site that says they are "looking ahead to the future with a reinvigorated approach to the Avon brand."

I don't run Avons anyway so I'm not particularly concerned. That being said, just because you can't find them easily during this sort of transition doesn't mean they won't be available in the future. It just appears they won't be made in the UK.

'“As we plan for 2024 and beyond, we will reveal new product lines, technology upgrades and clear market positioning for both brands.”

In addition to this continued commitment to motorcycle tires, the Avon brand will remain a key part of Goodyear’s portfolio in the passenger vehicle segment.'

Just the facts Ma'am.

The Avon Tyres plant, the last remaining motorcycle tyre production facility in the UK, will close its factory in Melksham, Wiltshire next year.
The site began making tyres in 1904, with the company expanding rapidly in the 1950s and ’60s, by which point it produced 1.5 million car and motorcycle tyres per year.
But the company’s profits have been in steady decline for 20 years. In 1993, the factory generated profits of £4.3 million. In 2020, its profits were listed at just £6873. The factory has been earmarked for closure at the end of 2023.
;
By Stuart Prestidge
Former Staff Writer with a penchant for long hours in the saddle.

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