Tire Information

[Grumpy Goat]

Surprised to see the cords when not far left or right of the those cords showing appears to be a small amount of thread depth remaining.

That's getting to be a common problem for touring or sport touring riders. with today's tires.

Maybe the centre compound on these dual compound tires could be harder and/or maybe those with the cords showing are not riding as much in the twisties. This is a bit of a concern for me since I really dislike discarding tires when there is tread left. It is a total waste of good money.

[BobAin'tStoppin']

I now have a few hundred miles on the T31 Bridgestones. Just like on my previous FJ09 I find them just fine. They feel a little different than the PR4, but after an hour you don't notice it any more. I'm an old guy so can't comment on the limits one way or the other.

About wearing in the center of the tire: my ride to the Arkansas meet was 1300 or 1400 miles each way. The accident limited my riding at the event, but that would have been 300 or 400 miles in twists at best. So in my mind, most of the riding is pretty straight up, regardless of the trip I'm on. Next June to Georgia will be pretty similar. Then I'm still wanting to get up to the Alberta, and BC area again, which is a lot of slabbing just to get to the area.

[Grumpy Goat]

About wearing in the center of the tire: my ride to the Arkansas meet was 1300 or 1400 miles each way. The accident limited my riding at the event, but that would have been 300 or 400 miles in twists at best. So in my mind, most of the riding is pretty straight up, regardless of the trip I'm on. Next June to Georgia will be pretty similar. Then I'm still wanting to get up to the Alberta, and BC area again, which is a lot of slabbing just to get to the area.

The GA Ride In will be a long one for you coming from California and you will definitely know the longevity of the centre portion of the tire. But it would be good for you to ride with us this time while there.

On a slightly different but related note - Anyone try Continental ContiRoadAttack 3 Sport Touring tires?

They are not a multi compound tire but uses different curing temperatures and pressures across the tire profile to achieve similar centre hardening. They supposedly have great road feel and handling characteristics and had favourable reviews in 2017 in the Motorrad magazine in Germany.

Here is a review by an MOA member on an RS, no less.

They seem to be available for a decent price also.

[Lee]

The GA Ride In will be a long one for you coming from California

I thought he's from the North East.

[darrell]

The GA Ride In will be a long one for you coming from California

I thought he's from the North East.

Bob is from MA.

[Grumpy Goat]

Bob is from MA.

I guess I was mixing him up with someone else ... was it a "Mike" (?), with the all blue bike and the Corbin Smuggler .... he was from CA. Yes, Bob's location is the Berkshires which is in MA.

Sorry Bob.

[darrell]

Bob is from MA.

I guess I was mixing him up with someone else ... was it a "Mike" (?), with the all blue bike and the Corbin Smuggler .... he was from CA. Yes, Bob's location is the Berkshires which is in MA.

Sorry Bob.

Mark from southern CA. He has the customized blue bike.

[Grumpy Goat]

Mark from southern CA. He has the customized blue bike.

Right ... Mark is the one.

[BobAin'tStoppin']

Ha! You guys are all jealous of my red frame. How could you mix me up with any of those blue bike guys :-))

[Grumpy Goat]

Ha! You guys are all jealous of my red frame. How could you mix me up with any of those blue bike guys :-))

Thousand apologies Bob. Though we have not met each other long (due to your short time this year in Arkansas) I can tell that no one will mix you up with anyone. And I do mean that in the nicest way.

[darrell]

Here is an update at 90,000 miles when last change occurred. 230 lb rider in full gear. Tires pressures checked frequently. Front and rear set at 38/42 psi cold before riding in morning. Tires are usually refreshed before a trip or when down close to the TWI. Only one PR4 was run until no tread left when coming home for a trip.

Tires - Mileage When Installed, Brand, Model, (Mileage When Removed), Cost (Tires, M&B)
Total Cost $4817.96 / Tires $3021.60 / Mount/Balance/Misc $1796.36
Cost per mile - $0.052 (including rebates / comp sets)

0000 miles - Metzeler Roadtec Z8 (7735)
7735 miles - Metzeler Roadtec 01 (3990) - $380.37 / $164.30 - $60 sold used set
11725 miles - Michelin PR4 GT (11,063) - $397.47 / $114.40
22788 miles - Michelin PR4 GT (6252) - $396.40 / $104.12
29040 miles - Michelin PR4 GT (7906) - $412.43 / $156.50
36946 miles - Dunlop Roadsmart III (8380) - $308.76 / $154.50 - $100 rebate
45326 miles - Dunlop Roadsmart III (8186) - $308.76 / $160.91 - $75 rebate
53512 miles - Dunlop Roadsmart III (8435) - $000.00 / $161.94 - Dunlop Comp Set
61947 miles - Dunlop Roadsmart III (8322) - $318.38 / $163.50 - $100 rebate
70269 miles - Dunlop Roadsmart III (5940) - $000.00 / $161.94 - Dunlop Comp Set
76209 miles - Dunlop Roadsmart III (6468) - $318.01 / $163.75 - $60 rebate
82677 miles - Dunlop Roadsmart III (7523) - $318.01 / $159.50 - $60 rebate
90200 miles - Dunlop Roadsmart III (TBD) - $318.01 / $131.00

[Ray]

Here is an update at 90,000 miles when last change occurred.

Many thanks.

Not quite a Dunlop-sponsored rider..., but you should be.

Any picture of the wear on your RS IIIs?
(With my riding - primarily the Ozarks, the rear shoulders seem to wear much faster than the hump at the top.)

I never asked, what caused you to part early with the Roadtec 01s? (If the answer's too long, it can wait until an overdue beer or the equivalent.)

[Lee]

Not quite a Dunlop-sponsored rider..., but you should be.

At the Tenn. National I was visiting with a Dunlop rep by registration and he knew who Darrell was

[Grumpy Goat]

Any picture of the wear on your RS IIIs?
(With my riding - primarily the Ozarks, the rear shoulders seem to wear much faster than the hump at the top.)

So far with my experience with the Roadsmart III, I have found that the centre strip compound is perhaps harder than with the PR4s so they don't square off as much. I patched a RSIII yesterday and it almost seemed that the centre area was "raised". Let me try and grab a picture now. No idea how many miles are on this time but I want to say 6000.

   
   

[runnerhiker]

Thanks Darrell, I am also a big fan of RS III tires.

[darrell]

As far as photos I might have some but would be embarrassed to post and not sure I could handle the comments on the 1” chicken strips that remain on each side. Dunlop doesn’t have that little man on the side so nothing to go after and abuse him. He is kinda cute. I think with Ray I should exchange tires with him at 6000 miles and we could cumulatively get 12,000 miles out of a set Dunlop’s as I use the middle 40% and he uses the 30% on each side.

Sponsored Dunlop rider. They have been very good to me with some sets to test and responding to the reports I submit to them.

On the Metzeler Roadtec 01. I did not like the front end handling at all and did not want to even use up the set I had on the bike.[attachment=545]

[Duccrazydave]

Tire opinions are so subjective Darrell, as you well know. I'm like you when it comes to the Roadtec 01. I never liked the feeling from the front tire at all. Saw on the other forum, this morning, where someone put up a tire test and the Roadtec 01 came out on top. It's listed as Roadtec 01 SE, so maybe there has been a design change, but steering feel was one of it's strongest points. The Dunlop Roadsmart 3 came in second. Not to drag this out but the Dunlop suited me (steering, handling) much better than the Metzeler. Not to mention better wear characteristics.

[Ray]

Tire opinions are so subjective Darrell, as you well know. I'm like you when it comes to the Roadtec 01. I never liked the feeling from the front tire at all. Saw on the other forum, this morning, where someone put up a tire test and the Roadtec 01 came out on top. It's listed as Roadtec 01 SE, so maybe there has been a design change, but steering feel was one of it's strongest points. The Dunlop Roadsmart 3 came in second. Not to drag this out but the Dunlop [IV] suited me (steering, handling) much better than the Metzeler. Not to mention better wear characteristics.

Yeah - there is a design change - increased land to sea ratio on the shoulders. That might actually improve feel on the front.

Of note, no heavy weight option for the rear - which Metzler recommended for the RS on the O1s.

I'm going to give them a try..., though there's of course some good deals on last year's 01s and I am reminded my bike does seem to attract rain.

Here, I was caught trail braking into a wet corner on 129. Would I be able to do that with the SEs?

   

[Duccrazydave]

"Here, I was caught trail braking into a wet corner on the dragon. Would I be able to do that with the SEs?"
Love that pic, Ray. An interesting question. I'm pretty sure you could get away with it running slicks Clicking back and forth between 01 & 01SE on the Metzeler site, looks like you would. My first time on the Dragon was on Dunlops, in the wet (following Bruce & Dawn). They have less tread than either one of the Metzelers and seemed to work just fine in that scenario. If only going by the land/sea ratio (on the edge of the tire), the Michelins I just installed should have me in the ditch, under those same conditions as you describe, lol.

[Ray]

"Here, I was caught trail braking into a wet corner on the dragon. Would I be able to do that with the SEs?"
Love that pic, Ray. An interesting question. I'm pretty sure you could get away with it running slicks Clicking back and forth between 01 & 01SE on the Metzeler site, looks like you would. My first time on the Dragon was on Dunlops, in the wet (following Bruce & Dawn). They have less tread than either one of the Metzelers and seemed to work just fine in that scenario. If only going by the land/sea ratio (on the edge of the tire), the Michelins I just installed should have me in the ditch, under those same conditions as you describe, lol.

Well, you already do something I can't - follow Bruce and Dawn....

Thanks for helping me commit to a trial of the SEs. Hopefully, we can kick those tires this fall.