Tires !!!!!!

[Joe]

Good grief,

After poor mileage and cupping issues on the front tire (OEM) last year, I changed over to the RoadSmart 4 tires you have all been raving about here.

Now after this season's riding at about 14,000 kms....I am told this front tire is badly worn with cupping issue too and has to be replaced ?!

It bums me out, because I has spectacular results with the Dunlop Elite 4 tires on my Yamaha 1300 v- previously- getting over 30k on the rear and 50k on the front !!

What am I doing wrong ??
Why is the R 1250RS eating tires ??

Can I change the front NOW to the Elite 4- and the rear LATER when it is worn ?? Being mismatched for a year or 2...

We ride casually 2-up touring, paved good roads, speed limit or less, our combined weights are "only" 260 lbs, always make sure tire pressure is in-the-range or a wee higher (36 psi front and 42psi rear as recommended)

Thanks for your advice in advance !!

Joe

[Grumpy Goat]

Yours is the first report I have seen about poor wear and cupping with the Roadsmart IV tires. Not saying it is not possible of course, but your riding use case must differ from the rest of us who have had good results with these tires. I do have a few questions though:

1. What do you mean you are "... told this front tire is badly worn with cupping issue too"? Who is telling you this and are they trying to sell you tires? Can you not check them for yourself and maybe post pictures here?
   
2. If they are wearing out at 14k miles (8750 miles) then that is within normal range for a sport bike, depending on the road surfaces you are riding and the loading on the bike (combined 2-up load of 260# noted). "Good" roads don't necessarily shed any light on the aggregate surface quality, and whether it will act as a cheese grater on your tires. I have never heard any RS owner getting 30k on the rear and 50k on the front, even in kilometres.
   
3. What is a "Yamaha 1300"? The FJR 1300, which is a sport tourer?
   
4. I note the Dunlop Elite 4 Tires are primarily cruiser tires. Could be their compound is harder than the Roadsmart IV.
   
5. Yes, you can mix and match tires especially is you are not riding aggressively.
   

[Ray]

Well..., not exaclty poor wear. I assume by badly worn, you are down to the wear bars.

FWIW, I usually get only a little more than 10,000 km out of a pair of Road Smart IVs, but I spend a fair amount of time on twisty roads, pushing the tires around.

Darrell probably spends a similar amount of time in the twisties, but has a much smoother right hand on throttle and brake than I do, and I recall his tires are in the 14,000 km range when he replaces them. (His results are posted elsewhere in the forum.)

Not clear what the mechanics are trying to say. All front tires with tread that crosses the tire will show some cupping as a matter of wear at end of life due to flex with braking. If you've ever ridden nobbies - you'll note the difference in wear on the front and rear of the nobs. Same sort of physics with the cross tread on road tires, but more subtle. My Metzler Roadtec 01 front tires were visibly cupped for the last 50% of its life, but the rubber was soft and handled just fine.

If, however, the front wheel cupping is uneven or asymmetric, I suppose there could be an alignment problem..., but you'd have picked up on this as the bike veered to the side every time you took your hands off the bars.

You might ask the mechanics to explain if they think the wear is abnormal and why. My guess from here is the wear is normal, end of tire-life issues.

I'm also going to guess that the rear is also near enough the wear bars that you might want to replace the set. Reminder of the old rule that 90% of flats occur in the last 10% of tire life. (I mean, I can't verify that from my experience, but that's what I hear.) One of the veteran riders I know, likes to look at remaining tread depth on a tire and comment, "That tire has $24.95 worth of tread left." (Meaning 10% of tire life remaining.) Kinda keeps early replacement of a tire in perspective.

Everyone's different and everyone has different needs for pliability and feedback from the tires as they push corner speeds. You might be more like MRVVRROOMM who could probably put car tires on his bike, give me a head start, and still beat me to lunch. In which case, MRVVRROOMM's 3Rs of "round, rubber, and rebate" might have you back on the harder compound (25,000 km) Elite-4s before the real snows blow in Alberta.... Have fun.

[Toruk]

My OEM Michelin Road 5 GTs are wearing well 36 psi front, 42 rear. No cupping on the front at 9k miles when I replaced it with a Road 6 non-GT. Rear Road 5 GT is still going strong at 9k miles. I'd suggest you try Road 6 GTs.