okey dokey let's talk tires...

[RaYzerman]

While it does appear funky, I'm not so sure that is tread separation, but rather that the "antenna tread" has worn to the point of disappearing... wear that tire some more and it will become smooth.... Look at 2and3cylinders post above, his tire is showing it also.

http://www.cambriantyres.co.uk/dark-line-around-motorcycle-tyre/

[Warchild]

17 hours ago, RaYzerman said:

While it does appear funky, I'm not so sure that is tread separation

My poor choice of words here. "Tread separation" implies a defect, and this is not the case. This little section of "ginsu knives" effect in the center of the tread in normal when running the tire a bit beyond its useful service live. There is steel under the ginsu knives section, then the inner butyl liner, that last line of defense.

[larolco]

On 11/4/2022 at 9:53 PM, Wintersdark said:

So, M+S ratings are more about tread type than temperature compatibility, which is why I was asking above. That they're designed for use in soupy sorts of terrain (hence, mud and snow). For example, the stock Tenere 700 tires, the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR's, are M+S rated - and they're horrible in the cold. Like PVC tubes.  Way, way worse than a set of Michelin Roads. This of course does not mean all M+S tires are bad in the cold, just that an M+S rating doesn't mean they'll be good in the cold.  This is why I'm really interested in how they work out for you - if they're good in the cold and wet, that's great.

Meanwhile, the Anlas Wintergrips - which have the mountain & snowflake symbol - are designed for cold temperatures first and foremost and come with a warning not to run them above 13C due to rapid wear.  

I'm a BC boy myself (even lived in Langley for a few years) so I'm very aware of the winters there.  

My experience so far in BC winters is the Anlas tires are outstanding, but frankly I'd just run Road 4/5/6 tires year round as they're just SO good in wet and temps down to around -5C, as weather is more cool and wet vs crazy cold and snowy/icy.  I'd only go to the winters if I was planning on riding in snow and ice too.  Here, I have to contend with riding down to around -25C, where non-winter tires just don't work well at all.  

These are the Wintergrips (on my trip last Oct, horseshoe bay ferry terminal).  They're really great up to about 180kph, but start to feel sketchy after that.  If you follow the guidelines about temperature (read: don't run them in the summer) they get great mileage.  These have about 5000km's on them here.  

Those are some aggressive looking tires. They would have been good on my V-Strom but probably overkill for what I'm doing with the Tracer. Who knows? Maybe the Mutants will be great, maybe they won't, and that's the point of trying them out. Everything I've read says they have good cold/wet grip due to compound and that's mostly what I based the decision on, plus a somewhat blocky tread pattern for water/slush dispersion. 

They should be in my possession sometime this week and, if all goes according to plan, on the bike Remembrance Day long weekend so I can actually scrub them in in the snow which just started to fall this morning. Ugh. 

One review I can already report on is that the LS2 Assault helmet is not a good wet-weather helmet. It sends shed rain right down the collar. Drips off the buckle, I think. Back to the old HJC for the winter. 

[larolco]

On 11/4/2022 at 9:10 PM, Lone Wolf said:

As tires wear, they can go out of balance as well as the cupping. The rubber "goes away" and they are not going to retain the balance they had when new. An out of balance tire can cause wobble & shake.

If you change your own tires, just for giggles check the balance before you pull the old tire off rim and it may be a learning experience. Just one of the reasons why new tires feel so awesome, plus the profile isn't jacked by wear on the sides (V-pattern) or flat spot for those who do a lot of straight line riding, resulting in odd turn in due to squared profile.

I will do that and report back. I didn't mount the stock tires, so I don't know if they were well-balanced to begin with or not. I'll check how true they are as well but it's a cast wheel, so nothing to do about it anyway. 

[larolco]

Finally got the Mutants mounted. I don't even have them scrubbed in yet, just 50 kms or so. Initial impression is good, but new tires are always good relative to the old. Unfortunately, I've been snowed in here for the past few weeks and haven't had a chance to get a real world feel for them. Next week looks to be back to rain.

Both the old front and rear were squared off but still well balanced; the cupping on the front was quite severe. I think I got my money out of that set at 27 thousand kms. Lots of that was in the wet/cold. 

Here's a few pics of the Mutants going on. (no good pics of the take-offs I realize now)

Edited January 3, 2023 by larolco

[Wintersdark]

They're a pretty cool looking tire, I have to say.

Can't wait to hear about how they handle!

[Darren69]

Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV give you the best of all worlds imo. Sporty tyre suppleness with grip when you need it ( pushing hard or stuffed up lol) but my personal preference is Dunlop Sportsmart 2 if you can find them 

[Heavy]

On 1/2/2023 at 10:35 PM, larolco said:

Finally got the Mutants mounted. I don't even have them scrubbed in yet, just 50 kms or so. Initial impression is good, but new tires are always good relative to the old. Unfortunately, I've been snowed in here for the past few weeks and haven't had a chance to get a real world feel for them. Next week looks to be back to rain.

Both the old front and rear were squared off but still well balanced; the cupping on the front was quite severe. I think I got my money out of that set at 27 thousand kms. Lots of that was in the wet/cold. 

Here's a few pics of the Mutants going on. (no good pics of the take-offs I realize now)

Any report on the Mutants?  A guy at a local shop says they can't be beat on his CB500X.

[larolco]

On 2/11/2023 at 5:36 AM, Heavy said:

Any report on the Mutants?  A guy at a local shop says they can't be beat on his CB500X.

I'm really liking them. I've got over a couple thousand kilometers on them in a variety of conditions: rain, light snow, black ice, dry pavement. I've had them up to 200 km/hr and down to -10 Celsius. They are very predictable and confidence-inspiring. I do notice a slight drone as you would with any chunkier tread. At this point, I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again, but the longevity test is still an unknown.

[pgeldz]

I just put a set of Dunlop Road smart 4's and LOVE them!!! Plenty of stick...

 

They are new so not sure how long they last, but from everything I've read supposed to outlast the Pirelli Angel GT's and have more grip...

[miguelix]

After wearing out my set of Michelin Road 5 after 7500 Km (4600 miles), I have ordered a pair of Bridgestone T32.

They were 325 € including taxes and labour. The Road 6 were 350 €

I'm eager to check how they work. I liked so much the Michelin at the beggining but now that they are worn out near the indicator I have the feeling that they are made of wood! specially when leaning.

Also I have quite uneven wear, more in the left side (as I made left turns more aggressively), and also completely lost the round profile in the rear towards a more V-shaped profile except at the very end of the tire, which gives me a really disgusting feeling when I want to lean the Tracer so much.

[2and3cylinders]

Funny, I was going to put on Road 5s to replace my T32s.

The front T32 is at 7,298 miles being put on a bit after the rear which is at 7,401.

The rear is about spent with the very center wear worms worn but less than inch off center either side are not quite yet worn, with progressively less wear until within an inch of the very edge.  Flat spotting is evident but not bad despite living the straight flatland life, and only slightly impairs tipping-in.

The way I've balanced the bike with the suspension makes turn-in a no-brainer, not super-quick but definitely more weight on the front than stock.  So much so that the varying diameters of the brands for the same tire is no really noticeable.  I'm actually thinking of shortening the Razor-R a bit to slow down turn-in very slightly; which will also lower my custom Sargent saddle a smidgen.  I need all the help getting saddled up and off due to my lumbar issues but I'll likely still have to still use a Cowboy mount and dismount and end up lengthening it again because my foot pegs are 3/4" lower and foreword.  I rare drag a toe but it could happen if I loose my Covid 19 pounds... 🙂

The front is worn evenly and has, as usual, more meat left.  I'll likely replace them as a pair soon.

T32 rear have only one sneaky little bad habit, when you've maybe got what you think are another 500 to 1,000 more miles left in the condition mine appear now, if stressed at high speeds for only 70 miles or so, you can suddenly see steel cord shining in the sun!

So be forewarned.

I'm mounting myself on my NoMar another set of T32 doughnuts because they have the oldest bake date, albeit only in 21.

The Road 5s are the freshest with a set of Dunlop RS3s still smelling fresh next in line.  I store them vertical in a big plastic garbage bag in my cool, dry basement.

A have a  just barely scrubbed-in S22 on the back of my VTR with an old but not nearly yet toast Road 3! on the front with the brother S22 dying to go on and get on the road.

I haven't ridden the VTR much since I got my fastest red 16 in July of 16 but hopefully I can put on a couple thou on this season; as it's raring to go.

[thewrenchbender]

I hope I like them-too late now…

[Darren69]

If my Michelin 6 ever wear out lol, im going to try Dunlop Q3+. 

[Bill H]

On 5/14/2022 at 10:06 AM, dpippin said:

Here's the Road5's with 4,934 miles on them

wow cant believe how bad that front looks after 5k miles mmi usually get tow to one on the front and they have never looked as bad even after 10K miles