BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I was so stunned when I did the math, that I called the shop to make sure I hadn't left an invoice out of my record book. Replaced the rear in June '06 at 13,230 miles. Just replaced it today with 30,300 miles on the bike.

The front was replaced in April at 21,300 miles, and it still looks fine. Been commuting about 60-70 miles daily, the last 5 months. Half of the ride is highway, the other, nice winding two lanes.

P

Wow. That is really impressive!

I get 4 or 5k.

Of course, I am heavy and i beat the hell out of my bike...

You've got a gentle touch! My Z6 had about 4K when it came off the bike.

RB

RBrider wrote:You've got a gentle touch! My Z6 had about 4K when it came off the bike.

RB

I get a little more than that out of Pirells Diablo Stradas (sametyre in all but tread pattern), something like 5 - 5.5K miles.


RB

Lion Lady,
I've had the same good luck as you. Put a set of Metzeler Z6s on my R850R at 17,500 miles. I've put 14,500 miles on them, and still have a couple thousand left in the tread!

Hi Lion_Lady.

What F/R pressure do you run?

And... riceburner are you still running on 36/42?

I run 42 rear / 36 front on my Stradas (like RB) which is the manufacturers recommendation...

M

DYNAMICS wrote:Hi Lion_Lady.

What F/R pressure do you run?

And... riceburner are you still running on 36/42?

Yup, as MikeLea says - it's the Pirelli recommendation and it feels fine.

Darn Lion_Lady.....you must weight 80 pounds wet and fill the tires with Helium.....that is outstanding mileage.

I got about 9-10000 miles out of my Z6 and Strada rears.

My rear Z6 is looking a little raggedy after a few thousand miles, especially in the center. Is that normal for mostly highway miles? How stringent are you guys in keeping the air pressure in the 36/42 range before you fill up again?

Tire pressure has some leeway but generally speaking, once you choose your preferred pressure, every ride should start there. Daily pre-ride checks of oil and air pressure are a minimal safety standard.

Yes, the checking I do every ride. It's the filling part where I get lazy. Not helping is the disappearance of free air. So right now, I know my rear tire is at 37psi. And I'll let it get down to 35 before I do anything. Is that bad?

As little as 2-3 psi can affect how a motorcycle handles, and can alter the running temperature and wear rate of a tyre.

Buy a bicycle type track pump and a good quality pressure gauge, and it is a 4 minute job. (Also it will be "clean air" not full of moisture like some petrol station machines!)

DYNAMICS wrote:As little as 2-3 psi can affect how a motorcycle handles, and can alter the running temperature and wear rate of a tyre.

Agreed.

I can "feel" that something's wrong with as small a difference as 1psi off normal.

When I ran 36 psi on the front, it got badly cupped too soon.

I run front at 38. Rear at 42.

To tell the truth, after examinining the NEW Z6. I noted that there is only about an INCH between the "points" of the tread grooves. On the old tire, there was over 2 inces of smooth rubber down the center.

I probably should have switched a couple K sooner.

P

I think the major determinants of tire life are:

Road surface
Pressure
Weight
Speed

On my ZZR1200, which weighs about 70 pounds more than my Rockster, I destroyed a rear Z6 in under 3200 miles. I was running 38 pounds, on chip-seal roads (awesome traction, but like a cheese grater), frequently exceeding 100 mph, averaging 80 mph.

Currently have 5,000 on my rear Z6, including a trip to the Pyrenee's, one to the Lakes and one to Scotland, ridden loaded and pretty hard. Still has good life in it. Pretty impressed really.