Same here. 2014 sprint GT SE. Quirk of those tyres, wait till they start tram tracking on every little line on the road.
I've done 12k on mine and thankfully they're about done.
My front has worn out either side of the Centre, which has plenty left. Nothing like that vague feeling doing right hand turns at round-a-bouts.
The next big upgrade for me will be the pilot road 4 tyres
I threw my original tyres into the bin long before they were worn out. Since then I have used Avon Storms and currently PR4s. No issues with either of those.
After that I had not confidence in the tyres and in the rain I was *****footing it around bends, so in preparation for this year's Eurothrash I've had PR4s fitted.
There are lots of tyre threads with mostly negative comments including my own about this Bridgestone range of sports touring tyre including preceding versions.
My advice is bin them and put a better tyre on, most others are better in the wet and in conditions where the surface is poor.
I'm glad you chaps wrote about the handling when the BTs get weary. I must say that I've had good life out of my BTs, especially when loaded up and doing thousands of dead straight miles on gunbarrel style highways around Australia. They do admirably.
But yeah, when they are worn, the handling is something special. Not so much the tracking - that is to be expected on any worn tyre, but the other vagueness is disconcerting. I too had to check my pressures and when the vagueness persisted, I thought the suspension must be getting tired. So it's nice to hear some affirmation that it's just the rubber.
Am looking forward to putting on the Pilot 4s. Have heard so much goodness about them.
Thanks for all the feedback.
The PR4s seem like a very good tyre but now I have done a phone around for prices I am getting Pirelli Angel GTs and Metzler M7RRs thrown up as possible alternatives. Has anyone experienced either of these?
I have just got back from getting a new front Angel GT and can report that the change is dramatic. The feel is much more stable. The old BT021 was knackered for sure and this no doubt is the primary cause of my feeling unsure of the handling. I reckon PR4s or Agel GTs are the tyres of choice for my sytle of riding on my GT, and in the end I got a good deal from my Triumph dealer so that swung the decision. The StripleR is for canyon carving the GT for a slightly more relaxed ride. Cheers again for all your feedback it has been most helpful.
Since you asked...
My 2011 had the PR4's on it when I bought it, they were new. They were slippery from the day I rode it off until I pulled them off 4500 miles later. I can't comment on the profile and feel, I can just tell you that they did not have good traction. I talked to Michelin and they said that since I didn't buy them there was nothing that they could do about it to help me. I poked around on a bunch of internet sites and apparently there are *some* PR4's that just don't stick to the road very well. I'm a pretty smooth rider and usually wear tires from edge to edge without drama, but those things sucked. So, YMMV.
I replaced them with Avon's new Storm 3D XM tire and it is wonderful. Profile is good so the bike handles very nicely, they stick like glue and have nearly 5000 miles on them and are about halfway through their life. I've never had tire last past 5000 miles on my Sprints so I'm very pleased with the wear. I have two buddies who have run them as well and they're also impressed. We ride a lot of miles and try a lot of tires and have all agreed that this particular Avon is a home run so you might consider them as well.
I don't know if they've made changes or not. Mine were manufactured in the summer of 2015. I'm not saying they're all bad, at all. There's been enough support here and elsewhere to let me know that they are good tires, for the most part. BUT, there are many reports out there that mirror my experience so they obviously had some issues, too.
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