Tyre Wear

(August 9th 2005) Just replaced front & rear with Dunlop 220s, $382 fitted and balanced.

So far done 250k, half of which in the wet. Confidence is good, haven't exactly pushed them yet though.

The old tyres hung in for a good while. Got 15,000 from a Pirelli GTS rear and 30,000 from a Metzler ME1. I mostly commute to work and play twisties on the odd weekend.

Well that was five months ago, I don't like the profile of these 220s but the grip and wear is OK. 13,000k so far and the rear is getting a bit close to legal limit (1.5mm untill the wear mark); the front still has plenty of life. I'll probably replace the rear in a couple of weeks with another 220 and then get something different when they both run out in another 5 or 6 months.

17000k in 7 months

Finally got a new hoop today (7/05/06 for future reference). $284 for a Dunlop 220 fitted & balanced. Bike has now done 56500k, 17000 of which was done in the last rear tyre, then front is looking good and should last until the next rear is needed in about October.

another 7 months and only 10,000k done - must be winter. Rear is still looking good, front is holding up but looking decidedly second hand

Last edited by photomike666 on Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Faaaark Mike! The life you get out of a rear tyre, is about the same as what I get....................out of a bike!

43,000k in 22 months, am half way through my second front and just started my 4th rear tyre.

Had a new rear Pilot power fitted on Saturday , 21000 k on the clock so now I can see how it lasts . Was suposed to be a front as well but something got lost in translation

About to change 2 on the car Bridgestone B530 235/45 x 17 on it from new , 85000 k .
Totally shagged really , but still have tread pattern , amazing life for a 17 and never a worry with grip .

10 times the life of the last Power for the same price .

Had a new rear Pilot power fitted on Saturday , 21000 k on the clock so now I can see how it lasts . Was suposed to be a front as well but something got lost in translation

About to change 2 on the car Bridgestone B530 235/45 x 17 on it from new , 85000 k .
Totally shagged really , but still have tread pattern , amazing life for a 17 and never a worry with grip .

10 times the life of the last Power for the same price .

Yeah but I bet it's got a shithouse lean-angle and fuck-all side grip.

Front - Pilot Power with ~7500km.
Still plenty of wear left. Nice tyre.

Rear - Pilot Road with ~12000km.
Wearing better than a BT020, still has about 5000km if I take it easy. Trouble is, it's lost its wet grip. When new it was good(ish) in the rain. Now it slips if you even look at a corner. Stil ok in the dry, although I can make it slide fairly easily. 020s last me about 13000km on the rear, just for reference.

Shinkos next. Trouble is I can't get the 003 in a 160 rear. But first I think I'd better sort out my shock. And maybe get/make some adjustable dog bones - I need more ground clearance.

new power on rear, 4700ks from the 170/06/70 bridgy 012 ss, went back to 160/60/17.

Fitted a second hand set of Racetech 01's Yesterday. Thanks Big Kev, Be real interested to see if they are worth twice the Price of the Shinkie 003 Ultra Soft/Soft that just did the "Snowies to the Super Doopers" trip with Animal experts "Poddy Scaper" & "Larz the Lovegod".

Report on the Shinko 003 Ultra-soft Front 120.7017. Soft Rear 190.55.17 was very favourable. Keep in mind the Ole Tourer ZX9R F2 was chasing a "Crim/Shinko 003" & 2 12R's "Powers & Racetechs"

Pros
- They take very little time to warm up
- Not as Sticky as the Pilot Races But just as hard to Break traction on outta corners. Have video of Mick C & Gos both "on it" & the Pilot powers leaving big darkies while the shinko's were'nt.
- Relatively good feedback Especially from the front Reminiscent of the Pirelli Diablo (with more grip & stability)
- great Durability with solid Construction so little chance of punctures. We plugged Kevs Racetech at Walwa on the way home.
- Quite usable on dirt Not that you should be using them on it. Eh Larz ?
- Appearance the rear 190 is actually 197mm so it looks damn tuff.
- Bargain Basement price i paid less the $300 the pair fitted.
- Better in the wet then i expected would put them on par with the Bridestone 010 0r Pilot powers.
- Milage, the front was flogged out on the sides by the time we got to Melbourne @2000ks but by changing my riding style to mimic Gos's Trail braking i was still able to have fun in the snowies & nurse it another 1500ks before the back one was more shagged then the front.
- so they managed to make the whole trip plus ride around home for 4 weeks before they were past the wear mark on the rear one. Kev's rear Racetech was showing canvas before we left the snowies & had to be patched at Walwa & replaced at nearest bike shop Tumut.

Cons
- They dont last long if you are using them hard. i reckon Hammer would kill a set in 1500-2200ks on his last 12r.
- They dont like Surface changes when hot & hard on the brakes. It's not the type of Blackie you wanna see from a sportsbike.
- The Overly flat shape of the rear makes it slower to steer & makes muscling the bike in the tight stuff more of a chore.
- The Rear side grip is very unusual as you can feel it flexing up & down when accellerating hard through opening apex corners. Sorta like a gentle up n down from the back end.
- on a few occassions i had both wheels sliding sideways/drifting at the same time. I would of prefer the back one to slide on it's own to let you know where the limit is. They come back in line without too much bother as long as it wasn't combines with a braking manouver & diresction shange then it got all To combersome & tried to Toss into a minor headshake in the direction of the original slide. Still better then the Pilot powers with "its all good shit i let go feedback back" eh ?.
- Too easy to flog out the sides on the the ultra soft front if you carry a lot of Brake to Apex. Don't think they would make a great tyre for the Track for this very reason.

Summary I'll be back to the shinkies with winter coming up the NEW ULTRA SOFT rear will get a runbut with the current Big Brother antics up here it'll probably last 6 months anyway

get mine next week 009 front and 005 rear $250 for the pair i'm fairly easy on the tires atm so should last a while

thats a great tyre report Brett, and I can sure vouch first-hand for them Shinkies when the pace 'hots up' so to speak..... If anyone out there is considering Shinkies but is unsure of grip levels, well they hang on just fine......also come highly recommended in *Rapid* as a very good tyre for drag racing - excellent grip and not too expensive.

Better do a quick wrap-up of my *Pilot Power* experience as well.

Just clocked over 14.5k, the rear went on at 6.5k last October, and is *just* about stuffed, but it still has some life left (not much), I think I will be able to drag it out to 9000km from a rear, which is bloody terrific, considering the caning it got on the WSB trip, and a couple of others since......(visions of Phil's dissapearing ZX9 up near Cathcart...... )

The front Pilot went on at 7k, so its chugged about 7,500km, and is still in *very* good nick for this mileage.

I am really happy with the Pilots, but this is only the second set of tyres used on the 12, first set being the original 208's, and I thought they were OK, but not quite as good grip levels as the Pilots. Plenty feedback from the Pilots, and I have not had any of the 'letting-go' moments as have been experienced by others.......I think riding style has more to do with this than tyre construction/compounds etc.

Very much looking forward to fitting a set of Dunlop Qualifiers before winter sets in. I really do like my Dunlops.......(although I also *really* like Metzelers, used them for *years* on the old Zeds.....) maybe a set of Racetechs once the Qualifiers are stuffed ( at current mileage and tyre life, this will be in about September........just in time for the GP ha hahahah Snowies here we come.......

warning newb question

im not sure if this is rider error

or tyre letting go

while trying to stopppp
and sorta grabbing rear brake in steada the front

i am now skidding oh shit that was tooo close !!!!!

a/ have i damaged the tyre by skidding on it / flat spot
b/ plenty of tread left / wear marker cannot be seen

im not sure how old the rear tyre is although
tyre looks in good nick and shape is ok semi circle

is this my bad riding skills or tyre

i realise the front should be the prodominant player here

just a newb question

i just gotten in to riding recently after different bikes along the journey
chook chaser / bar transport in thailand /step thru
although never road bikes
so my knowledge is zero here

would appreaciate some imput as winter looms

thankx

with the shinkos ive heard numbers used like 003, 005 and 009.

But what does it all mean? What do I use on the rex.

smaller number = more grip. 009 is about on par with a Pilot Road, apparently.

thats a great tyre report Brett, and I can sure vouch first-hand for them Shinkies when the pace 'hots up' so to speak..... If anyone out there is considering Shinkies but is unsure of grip levels, well they hang on just fine......also come highly recommended in *Rapid* as a very good tyre for drag racing - excellent grip and not too expensive.

Better do a quick wrap-up of my *Pilot Power* experience as well.

Just clocked over 14.5k, the rear went on at 6.5k last October, and is *just* about stuffed, but it still has some life left (not much), I think I will be able to drag it out to 9000km from a rear, which is bloody terrific, considering the caning it got on the WSB trip, and a couple of others since......(visions of Phil's dissapearing ZX9 up near Cathcart...... )

The front Pilot went on at 7k, so its chugged about 7,500km, and is still in *very* good nick for this mileage.

I am really happy with the Pilots, but this is only the second set of tyres used on the 12, first set being the original 208's, and I thought they were OK, but not quite as good grip levels as the Pilots. Plenty feedback from the Pilots, and I have not had any of the 'letting-go' moments as have been experienced by others.......I think riding style has more to do with this than tyre construction/compounds etc.

Very much looking forward to fitting a set of Dunlop Qualifiers before winter sets in. I really do like my Dunlops.......(although I also *really* like Metzelers, used them for *years* on the old Zeds.....) maybe a set of Racetechs once the Qualifiers are stuffed ( at current mileage and tyre life, this will be in about September........just in time for the GP ha hahahah Snowies here we come.......

I noticed yr Metzler Fetish in your post Gos. FYI, I have a set of the previous generation of the racetech on the Hornet. Which apparently have similiar wear rates, with the racetechs being slightly better grip and feedback. I get 5500-6000K from the rear, and now have nearly 8K on the front, with another 2000 to go as an estimate, so maybe 10k from a front and 6k from a rear. Thats at normal riding pace. No commuting apart from a hume freeway run into coutnry NSW of about 1200k's.

I have ridden on dirt with them and they held up fine, including that lovely piece of dirt across from Lake Buffalo to Whitfield!!!!!!
HTH

Dunno if I should be awarded a prize for the best wear from a set of tyres or not, but I'm about to don a pair of Avon Azaros after getting 26,600km out of my Pilot Roads Yep, amazing but true. I don't like them though, and thought I'd be a bunny and try something different.