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Tyre Life

RBD914

RBD914

Joined Aug 2008
176 Posts | 0+
Moffat, Scotland, UK
Hi,

I need some advice on tyre wear please. I have a 2008 Factory shod the Piralli Dragon Supercorsas, they have 1300 miles on them so far.

The problem is I go to Italy on it in May, and will do approx 3000 miles over the trip, maybe more. So the questions are:-

1. How many miles will the current set of tyres do?
2. Should I change them before I go, or change them whilst in Italy?
3. What tyres should I put on next?

One other thing, tank range could be crucial in the Alps area, with petrol stations few and far between, I seem to be getting about 100 miles before the reserve light comes on, and estimate about 120 miles per tank - does this sound about right?

Any thoughts / recommendations gratefully acepted!
Cheers
Rob
 
Hey rob.

To me a 100 miles doesn't sound ridicilous (is it spelled right??). Mine's a '03 and i do about the same when riding with a swift. i can odo 340km when riding easy on a full tank. (GT 19 litres). But then again, with no lugage than my backpack.

about tires, i'd personally recomend Pilot Power, been using them ever since. Durability and compound goes hand in hand - it's a good sporty "inbetween" tire

ciao..
 
I'd go for either the Pilot Power 2Cts or Pilot Road 2s.

The roads last longer but I have had them break loose a couple of time on very greasy bends on a medium throttle, they got grip again very quickly but still un-nerving. they are good on straight forward wet roads, it just greasy stuff, that maybe all tyres would struggle with. The rears will last between 3-6k miles.

The Power 2cts are just fantastic. Mega grippy and a great profile. I have them on my Blade and get about 3-3.5k from a rear.
 
I've just replaced a set of Diablo rosso's with another set.
Very good tyres, especially in the wet. i got exactly 4880 mile out of them. They came top in a "Ride" or "Bike" mag Tyre test i believe.
cost me £252 fitted, with £25 cachback leaflet.
As for fuel, 120 is good, i'm getting 98 - 110 when light comes on depends on what propotion is fast stuff and what's normal day to day riding, if doing motorways expect 125 before the light, then get to a station soon, i think 135 - 140 is running on fumes.
I've worked out i get 11 pence per mile out of the fuel, and 19 pence per mile out of the tyres, go figure.
So not bad economically either.

On changing tyres in Europe, i don't think they have the same set up as us, i think, and i stand to be corrected, but you would need to go to an Aprilia dealership. which may limit your choices.
1300 mile on a tyre you'd have no problems getting there and back. I'f your concerned, you could get new ones keep the old ones and re-fit when you get home. think of them as spares.

Have fun on your trip, I'm coming up to the west coast in August with some mates. doing the islands and distillaries!!!!

cheers.
 
I'm currently on Pirelli Corsa IIIs and they seem pretty good - not sure of mileage yet though. I bought the bike with under 2k on the clock and the rear Supercorsa was almost illegal... so to answer your question, no, don't take them to the alps.

As for changing tyres out there, it's not a problem but you'd need to plan ahead (possibly booking in advance) and will lose a couple of hours while they change the tyres. In fact I would say they are probably better set up than the UK with the larger chains covering bikes - Metifiot is one that springs to mind. EDIT: Just realised you said Italy, Metifiot is a French outfit.

I'm also going to the alps this summer and nervous about fuel stops as they never seem to appear when you need them. It's been ok with a range of 150+ but I seem to be getting the light come on at 77 miles in 'silly mode' and a lot of the alps will definitely be covered in silly mode :D

As I go early June you can tell me how good / dire the fuel situation is when you get back ;-)

Adam
 
stoney said:
How many miles can you normally do once the fuel light come on?
Click to expand...

I nervously made over 35 miles from the light on a motorway run but bank on closer to 30 max in silly mode, although when the light comes on I seem to back off a bit unless I know a fuel stop is just up the road.

The trick is to fill the tank as full as possible. Not a good idea if you don't plan to set off immediately as the overflow leaves a puddle under the bike.

Adam
 
Cheers thats handy. Mine came on at 106 miles today (97ron) and I was worried once I had done 10miles with the light on, but if I can bank on 25miles or so that should usually be enough.
 
adamski49 said:
I'm currently on Pirelli Corsa IIIs and they seem pretty good - not sure of mileage yet though. I bought the bike with under 2k on the clock and the rear Supercorsa was almost illegal... so to answer your question, no, don't take them to the alps.

As for changing tyres out there, it's not a problem but you'd need to plan ahead (possibly booking in advance) and will lose a couple of hours while they change the tyres. In fact I would say they are probably better set up than the UK with the larger chains covering bikes - Metifiot is one that springs to mind. EDIT: Just realised you said Italy, Metifiot is a French outfit.

I'm also going to the alps this summer and nervous about fuel stops as they never seem to appear when you need them. It's been ok with a range of 150+ but I seem to be getting the light come on at 77 miles in 'silly mode' and a lot of the alps will definitely be covered in silly mode :D

As I go early June you can tell me how good / dire the fuel situation is when you get back ;-)

Adam[/Q

Hmmmmmmmm - some conflicting advice here, but thanks to all contributors!

I guess the deciding factor will be how many miles I do between now and May - if weather is good I could well use up the tyres before I go and put some new ones on for the trip. Will have to keep a close eye on the fuel situation and fill up at every opportunity whether empty or not - one of the group had a good idea, he's taking a small pump to syphon petrol from one bike to the other! So as long as we don't all run out together we should be ok!
Cheers
Rob
Click to expand...
 
Rob

The Supercorsas are the ridiculously sticky tyres that wear out just thinking about a fast ride (they'd be great in the alps though). The Corsas are the more road orientated sport tyre so should give better mileage... I'm thinking 4 to 5k.

Tyres en France here: http://www.metifiot.fr

Hope you're French is good.

Adam
 
Michelin 2ct or bridgestone 021 both dual compound so super sticky edges and hard centres, both should be good for 3000 miles up, i fast road ride on 021 and they havent broken out on me and i have done 3000 miles and they are just starting to flat (incl 5 day tour of France.

Fuel. I have a mille and i get 120 then reserve comes on, and thats fast riding, although i have had 170 with careful riding and lots of holding breath
 
The Michelins are great tires. Many of the sporties around here are using the roads to save some mileage with good results. I am currently using my first set of Continental Road Attacks. I like them a lot. They have a great looking tread pattern, which happens to look sweet on the Tuono. The wet weather grip is OUTSTANDING. The turn in is predictable and they will allow you to grind hard parts on the Tuono with no complaints. Not bad for a "touring" tire... Not quite the tire of the Michelin powers, but, what is?
 
Tried the Corsa IIIs on ANdiamo, had wear issues and never really trusted the front end, and mine sucked a$$ in the wet. The Michies Pilot 2s are better all rounders for me and I've snuck onto the local track for a couple laps and they were great after they warmed up. I can run as little as 3k km on a rear if I am riding like a dick, and my tank empties in about 125 km. Out on the highway, I can get over 200 km, and I ran out of gas just over 70 km. In town, 35-40 km before I run out of gas. A Sig fuel bottle with a litre of 95 Octane can be a a godsend when in the mountains and you have been riding "briskly" with the next gas stop at an unknown distance ahead. Don't be afraid to ride hard n fast, pushing the limits of your fuel tank. Some one will always come along, and you may make a new friend. Good luck!
 
i have had the fuel light come on at 85 miles on a fast road ride. but yesterday i did 110 miles on the motorway then got paranoid when the light didnt come on and filled her up anyway. only got £10.80 in her at rip off motorway services prices.
i had the diablos on the factory when i got it. they were about half worn and i destroyed them in a weekend. im not the fastest guy in the world but i struggle to get decent mileage out of any tyres. i put dunlop 208s (not the soft ones) on to replace the diablos. i was well chuffed to get nearly 3000 out of them. i could only get 2000 out of michelin macadams on my old 1200 bandit and a pair of dragon corsas were completely shagged after less than 1500 miles. i dont understand how people can get over 4000 miles out of any tyre that has any kind of grip. just had BT021s fitted last week so fingers crossed they might last a little longer.
 
If your *** is as big as mine, and yer throttle hand as heavy as well tandy... yer going to have tire wear issues. Twins, with all that torque, have a tendency to wear out tires quicker as we are generally quicker out of the box at low speeds and revs. Ergo, the tires have to overcome that inertia. IL4s build their torque later so the bike is already rolling, not recquiring so much traction to the ground.
 
hi,I've only been riding a couple of years but on the tuono and zx7r I would love to get 3000 miles from a tyre.What pressures do you use in the rear tyres as mine square off quickly and I get them marked down to the edges.Currently running 34 front and rear on the latest set(Dunlop Roadsmart)as 41 seems far to hard
 
Hi all

Thought i`ld get the best of both worlds and put some Avon Storm ST s on the Tuono,i thought wrong ,my back tyre is just about shot after only 1600 mls!!!!!So much for the glowing write ups.....again!!

I`m on the wrong side of 14 1/2 stones and avoid straight roads like the plague but am mega dissapointed with this wear from a supposedly "superior" ST tyre although grip was very good.

Dunlop Roadsmarts here i come .......After that i feckin give up!!

Am pissed off with these tyre companys blowing smoke our arseholes so i am!!!!!!!!!
 
adamski49 said:
I'm currently on Pirelli Corsa IIIs and they seem pretty good - not sure of mileage yet though. I bought the bike with under 2k on the clock and the rear Supercorsa was almost illegal... so to answer your question, no, don't take them to the alps.

As for changing tyres out there, it's not a problem but you'd need to plan ahead (possibly booking in advance) and will lose a couple of hours while they change the tyres. In fact I would say they are probably better set up than the UK with the larger chains covering bikes - Metifiot is one that springs to mind. EDIT: Just realised you said Italy, Metifiot is a French outfit.

I'm also going to the alps this summer and nervous about fuel stops as they never seem to appear when you need them. It's been ok with a range of 150+ but I seem to be getting the light come on at 77 miles in 'silly mode' and a lot of the alps will definitely be covered in silly mode :D

As I go early June you can tell me how good / dire the fuel situation is when you get back ;-)

Adam
Click to expand...

ADAMSKI - Did you mix a rear corsa 3 with a front super corsa - if so was it ok as I may do this as the front is still ok? How are you finding the Corsa 3's and how much did you pay for the rear 190/55, I have been quoted £120 fitted.
RBD
 
I got my T with Pirelli Diablos on it.
Wore out the rear pretty quick it seemed, but I didn't know how many miles it had on it.

Put on another Diablo rear. It was toast in 1,486 miles. No track days, no burnouts or anything. Unacceptable. :crazy

I put Michelin Pilot Powers on about 500 miles and 1 track day ago, they've worked well for me on other bikes and lasted longer. I'm hoping for 3,000 from the rear, although the track day obviously accelerates the wear quite a bit. :dunno

For gas, I get 100 - 110 miles from a full tank until the idiot light says you need gas fool. :yes
 
RBD914 said:
ADAMSKI - Did you mix a rear corsa 3 with a front super corsa - if so was it ok as I may do this as the front is still ok? How are you finding the Corsa 3's and how much did you pay for the rear 190/55, I have been quoted £120 fitted.
RBD
Click to expand...

Hi Rob

No, I didn't mix the tyres. The Supercorsa front looked pretty ragged on the edges anyway so I had a pair of Corsa III s fitted.

Cost for the pair fitted (to the bike, not loose wheels) was £231.20, splitting out just the rear it was £134 so £120 seems pretty good. I went for the190/50 if it makes any difference.

The pair are currently at 2800 miles and the rear is pretty much finished (should be able to top 3000 but I doubt 3500 is possible) so I'm looking at a new one in a week or two which should get me round France. The front is fine at the moment.

[EDIT - Just read my post higher up about hoping to get 4 to 5k out of the rear... doh! Although in the bikes defence the suspension was set way too hard for the first 1500 or so miles (I have been slowly softening it up over the last 1000+ miles) which probably didn't help tyre life. Grip has not been an issue though, even in the wet.]

Cheers

Adam
 
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