[28468]

Hi Gang!

I've put 7500 miles on a pair of Metzeler Sportec M3's. They are down to the wear indicators so I'm replacing them. I'm going with michelin pilot. My question is this. Is that about all I can expect out of a sport bike tire, about 8k miles?

Cheers

 

[mnhoulden]

I got 8700 miles out of my stock PP's, then bought some Bridgestone 021's and got the same mileage? A friend of mine got the PP2CT's and has 9000 miles on them and barely a flat spot!?! Hard to say which tyre is best.
If you want mileage get the PP2CT's for a little more dosh.
Cheers,
Mark

 

[Ride.]

I'm surprised you got that much!

 

[joe tabler]

confused

I'm surprised you got that much!

We stiil build trucks that get 12-15 miles to the gallon? Why are we making tires for bikes that only last 5-7 thousand miles? Break pads only last 5-7 thousand. It seems like poor manufacturing or inproper design for road bikes. I understand race bikes go through parts this fast. Why hasn't anyone designed longer last parts for the regular riders that ride on the street and don't have a factory sponsor?

 

[Catenaccio]

I've only managed 6K on both Avons STs and Michelin Roads. You've done well keeping the same skins for so many miles. I burn through mine in the center because the 5 turns we have in the county only come up twice a day for me - to and from work. And to get where there are serious twisties is a 1/2 day ride.

 

[Ride.]

We stiil build trucks that get 12-15 miles to the gallon? Why are we making tires for bikes that only last 5-7 thousand miles? Break pads only last 5-7 thousand. It seems like poor manufacturing or inproper design for road bikes. I understand race bikes go through parts this fast. Why hasn't anyone designed longer last parts for the regular riders that ride on the street and don't have a factory sponsor?

I don't make tires, I only use them.

There are tires that will last over 8K miles. They are touring tires, which sacrifice grip for longevity. However, none of the tires mentioned in this thread are any such tire. Nor is the stock Metzeler M3.

 

[S3Partisan]

I've never got more than about 3500 out of a standard Pilot Power rear, having said that just about every rear I have replaced through puncture (4).
I had a new PP2CT front fitted two weeks ago with about 6000 miles on it from the last change, it was on the wear marks. Now front and rear are PP2CT, I was told to expect slightly better mileage from the 2CTs.

9000 on a PAIR of stock PP's is impressive. Must be very frugal with the throttle.

 

[TripleZ]

4300 miles on my PP2CTs. But I weigh 255 lbs. THAT does make a difference. I also ride relatively hard, so the edges are done as well. I will be replacing the pair this spring.

I had Dunlops on my previous bike, not bad grip and 6000 miles of wear. Avon's as another pair, but I didnt like the grip as much. When cold it was slippery at 1/2 lean and greasy at full lean.

The Pilot Powers 2CT are my favorite to date.

 

[mnhoulden]

I've never got more than about 3500 out of a standard Pilot Power rear, having said that just about every rear I have replaced through puncture (4).
I had a new PP2CT front fitted two weeks ago with about 6000 miles on it from the last change, it was on the wear marks. Now front and rear are PP2CT, I was told to expect slightly better mileage from the 2CTs.

9000 on a PAIR of stock PP's is impressive. Must be very frugal with the throttle.

That being said, I did have a pretty wicked flat spot by 8700! Got a flat and bought new tyres! I've read that the dual compound tyres are fairly comparable to the PP's. And on a side note I only run nitrogen in my tyres, whether that changes anythng I'm not sure. On my BT021's I actually wore out the front tyre first!?! I know that the progression of a rider does account for some wear.
Just my 2 bits.
Cheers,
Mark

 

[Bohdan]

We stiil build trucks that get 12-15 miles to the gallon? Why are we making tires for bikes that only last 5-7 thousand miles? Break pads only last 5-7 thousand. It seems like poor manufacturing or inproper design for road bikes. I understand race bikes go through parts this fast. Why hasn't anyone designed longer last parts for the regular riders that ride on the street and don't have a factory sponsor?

Well, look at the motorcycle tire shape, hence the size and shape of contact patch. Car tire is flat, so contact patch goes all the way across tire. Bike tire is rounded to allow lean and turn, so contact patch is reduced to narrow spot in the center, moving to sides when you lean. So you have about 4..5:1 increased pressure and wear. Add to this much higher power delivery to this spot (you ride 110 hp bike, and all this goes to this one spot on single rear tire), and fact that bike tires are stickier than car's (you lean to turn, it better hold and not slide). High performance car tires last 10-25k miles (depends on driver)... So you still wonder why?

My first set of PPs lasted 6k, I pushed it and at 6.5k had threads showing in the center (it happened when I went for Dragon, and I had to ride like that all the way back home). I have changed to PP2CT front/PR2CT rear. At 12.5k (6k on new set) it looks like I still have a lot of tire left, and I don't feel like I have sacrificed grip.
One other factor for longevity - it depends on the surfaces you ride on. I don't ride many concrete roads, and tarmac here is smooth, not very abrasive like in some places.

 

[Speed3]

I can get only 4500-5000 miles out of a rear M3. But I love these tires.

 

[28468]

Ok, I get it. I've had 7500 happy, twisty fun miles. Did a few stoppies, one burn out (ok two). Several very hard stops. And fell off twice (once at the track and once while leaning just too much on a cold road in the fall )

This is my first sport bike. I've had Hogs, Honda road bikes and a Bonnie. They were all fitted with harder compound tires. But the S3's fun factor is just too high not to lean her. So, I'll just add annual tire replacement to the cost of ownership.

Oh and the end of May I'm taking S3 to Lee Parks level 2. Na! Na! So some new rubber is a good thing.

Larry

 

[Chev25250]

Worn out

Have Michelin Pilot Powers front n rear on my
2005 with 20k on the clock,in that time I have fitted (2) Two new front tires,
& (3) Three back tires- Will probably go Pilot Power 2CT next time around, but in saying that the current tires are an excellent & I guess that good grip comes at a price ?

 

[thall912]

I ran Dunlop Qualifiers after the original PPs wore out at about 3k. They will go about 3-4k. I have had great luck with the Dunlop Roadsmart sport touring tire. One track day and about 2500 mile on gritty Arkansas mountain roads and looking pretty good at 6k miles. They are a dual compund with a harder compund in the middle. Dunlops also seem to be a little cheaper than Michelins. I wouldn't expect much more that 3-4k on soft sport tires.

 

[b18cya]

Some of you guys getting 6k+ out of a set of pp sounds crazy. I can only get about 4500 out of mine. By the way the pp2ct are softer on the edges then the old pp. Like they weren't soft enough in the first place. I'm trying the pilot road 2 this year, much improved tread design and also softer on the edges then the old pr.

 

[BritishKompressor]

I have the original M3's that came with my 08, and I'm impressed with the wear up to now. I have 4,000 miles on them, and I'm expecting to get another 3-4k miles out of the rear and maybe twice that on the front. The front looks practically brand new, and the rear has some wear on it but nowhere close to the wear markers.

I'm probably going to get the same thing for my next set. They are super grippy and confidence inspiring.

 

[S3 Street Rat]

I have an '03 S3 with only 4.1k miles on it (a previous owner was a 54 year old woman) My question is, do motorcycle tires 'age' and need to be replaced even before they are used a lot?

I know some car tires do because the rubber gets hard, etc. Don't know how long that takes though. (Ford says 6 years...) I do know someone who has a 1974 VW bug with the ORIGINAL tires though! They have to be pumped up every time it's driven, which is almost never.

 

[Joemomma]

Yes, tires age, and, if it were my bike, I would replace them. Your tires may be 7 years old!
If you see any signs of weather checking and cracking, I would run to the tire store. If you sorta just cruise around, and don't see any external weathering, just put in your mind that they're more like wood than good at this point.

 

[S3 Street Rat]

Well, I've looked at them, and the tread looks almost new, aside from some wear at the very edges. The 2nd owner (after the lady) had it for only 3 months and may have replaced the tires at that point. He drove aggressively, as noted by the wear at the edge, but the bike is in great shape. I bought it several months ago, and I don't remember if I asked or if he told me the tires were new. I'm kind of 85% sure they're less than a year old (I got the bike in Sept., he had it for 3-4 months prior to that, and it was garaged from nov.-feb.) But if they weren't, they'd probably be about 6-7 years old now... :/ They're only $200 a set to replace, plus labor...

 

[Joemomma]

Tires have a date code.
I stole this from somewhere...

Locate the 4 digit code pressed in the tire. This indicates when the tire was made.
Step3
The first two (2) digits indicate the week. For example 06 would be the 6th calendar week.
Step4
The second two (2) digits indicate the year. For example 08 would indicate 2008.
Step5
Example Code 0608

This tire was made the 6th week of 2008.

BTW, the tread never seems to weather check, it's the sidewalls that show their age. Either way, the date code should eliminate the mystery.