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Tire question
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casey
Enthusiast
| Posts: 470
| Joined: 09/05
Posted: 09/15/05
04:43 PM
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This might seem like a weird or dumb question, but I'm on my first sportbike.... so bear that in mind.
Soon after I got my 98 Speed Triple I replaced both tires with a set of Michelin Pilot Sports. I loved them. After I knew my tires were good I started tweaking my suspension until I had it dead-nuts where I wanted it. Eventually the bike started to not feel right going into turns, so I suspected my rear tire was starting to square off (4000 miles on the pilot sports, it was) so I replaced the rear only with a Michelin Pilot Power (since they discontinued the Pilot Sport). Once again, the bike felt great. The front tire looked good. Then a month or so went by and it seemed like the bike was real twitchy when leaned over. I hadn't changed any settings, so I checked the front tire, and the thing had tread in the center, but none one the sides. So I replaced it with a Pilot Power, and once again I'm very happy with the handling. It's funny to see the Michelin Man and his good buddy The Directional Arrow getting scraped off of a tire that still has the little molding flash knobbies sticking out everywhere.
Anyway, here's my questions:
1.
On the fresh tires, it feels like I am going much slower than I was before I replaced the front, even though I know for a fact (according to the speedo) that I am carrying more speed through most of my corners. Has anyone else experienced the feeling of going slower after a tire change? Is it because the twitchy feeling I had at lean before is gone, or do I need less lean angle on the new tires, or what? Is this all in my head like I think it is?
2.
I know that you can never adjust out bad tires, BUT as a tire starts to wear, what changes if any can you make to your suspension to help compensate, or lessen the effect?
3.
Is it normal for a tire on a sportbike to have the front tire wear the tread off completely on the edges, but be good in the middle? Or do I have too much weight on the front, or is there something I might change as far as my riding goes to help this (if it is a problem). Like I said I got 4000 plus miles out of those Pilot Powers.
Any insight would be appreciated. Learn me something..
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wheelspin
Enthusiast
| Posts: 318
| Joined: 05/05
Posted: 09/15/05
04:55 PM
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Quote:
1.On the fresh tires, it feels like I am going much slower than I was before I replaced the front, even though I know for a fact (according to the speedo) that I am carrying more speed through most of my corners. Has anyone else experienced the feeling of going slower after a tire change? Is it because the twitchy feeling I had at lean before is gone, or do I need less lean angle on the new tires, or what? Is this all in my head like I think it is?
It's all in your head. (one thing, however: Don't mix different models of tires- even from the same brand- from front to rear. Motorcycle tires are made to be a matched set by design.)
Quote:
2.I know that you can never adjust out bad tires, BUT as a tire starts to wear, what changes if any can you make to your suspension to help compensate, or lessen the effect?
Unfortunately, when you wear out the sides of the tires, you're changing the overall profile of the tire, and there's not much you can do if the profile differences are too great from front to rear. You can try experimenting by loosening or tightening the spring preload on either end to change the chassis attitude a bit, but that's no guarantee that it will help.
Quote:
3.Is it normal for a tire on a sportbike to have the front tire wear the tread off completely on the edges, but be good in the middle? Or do I have too much weight on the front, or is there something I might change as far as my riding goes to help this (if it is a problem). Like I said I got 4000 plus miles out of those Pilot Powers.
Yes, it's normal, depending on the riding environment. Since front tires are usually softer in compound and even construction than rear tires (since they don't have to deal with putting power to the ground as well as turning), they usually wear quicker than the rears unless you're doing mega laps at a track. If you ride a lot in the canyons and carry a lot of speed into corners but don't try to be Rossi coming out, your front tire wear will be greater than the rear. Getting 4000 miles from a Pilot Power (or any good sport tire) is pretty damn good mileage.
Hope that helps (or "learns ya").
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casey
Enthusiast
| Posts: 470
| Joined: 09/05
Posted: 09/15/05
05:04 PM
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Thanks man.
That all makes sense to me.
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