topazsparrow Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 At the end of the season last year I bought a set of Pilot Road 4's: After more than 15,000 km on my original PR2's that came with the bike - many of which were part of a huge roadtrip down to california (8,000+ km) They seemed like a no brainer. I expected similar results. The front tire is perfectly fine, but the rear PR4 is almost down the wear bar after less than 5,000km, it's flat spotting pretty obviously and it's cupping around the siping. I'm not sure if it's increased wear due to the increased power (Akra Ti + tune, etc) or a bad batch of tires or what, but I expected a lot more from a sport "touring" tire. Anyone else find the PR4's (which are marketed as a hard compound, long wear, sport touring tire!) wear out this fast on this bike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Don't blame it on some small increase in power - even if you bumped it up to 70 hp, it's not 150. No, blame it on your right hand satisfying your brain's need to hear the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbatrossCafe Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 My PR3's "lasted" about 17,500km (not to the wear bars, but had too much cupping). My PR4's I changed at 14,500km but probably could have gone to 19,000km if I pushed it. If yours are worn after 5000km then something is wrong. No way a 3HP difference caused it. Is your rear tire out of alignment? Is the wear even? Either you are riding 2-up 100% of the time, you do burnouts on every accel, skid the rear on every decel, or something combination of everything above. There is just something weird about that. Dual headlights or deathhttp://fz07.org/thread/5384/albatrosscafes-galleryhttp://fz07.org/thread/5174/dual-headlight-upgrade-completed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Cupping these days is usually an indication of under inflation. Hard to imagine a need to run a 180 more than the recommended 36 psi on this light weight bike, but running it soft will not do it any good. And yeah, out of alignment will definitely increase wear. Then there's that right handed/endorphin feed back loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topazsparrow Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 4 hours ago, rick said: Cupping these days is usually an indication of under inflation. Hard to imagine a need to run a 180 more than the recommended 36 psi on this light weight bike, but running it soft will not do it any good. And yeah, out of alignment will definitely increase wear. Then there's that right handed/endorphin feed back loop. Is there some trick to the alignment outside of the alignment markings on the swingarm? They've always been dead on when I checked. I do tend to skid the back a bit on gearing down when coming in hot. I do a fair number of wheelies and stuff too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member norcal616 Posted May 31, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted May 31, 2018 40 minutes ago, topazsparrow said: Is there some trick to the alignment outside of the alignment markings on the swingarm? They've always been dead on when I checked. i use em as a quick reference to get it in the ball park...then I use a chain alignment tool to really make sure its aligned... some ppl get lucky with dead on hash marks, others can be 4mm out of each other... 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition...2015 fj-09- 120whp- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich Race Kit- tuned by 2WDW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faffi Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Unless the tyre was defect from production, the cause of the rapid wear is elsewhere. My brother rode around Europe, including plenty of Alpine roads and fast Highways, all in very hot conditions, and after 5000 miles the PR4s looked virtually new. That was on a Triumph Trophy, so not a light bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 7 hours ago, topazsparrow said: Is there some trick to the alignment outside of the alignment markings on the swingarm? They've always been dead on when I checked. I do tend to skid the back a bit on gearing down when coming in hot. I do a fair number of wheelies and stuff too. Personally, I just use the marks. But there are numerous ways to do it more carefully involving strings and straight edges and other tools. Just do a search. Keep in mind, you were doing the alignment with the marks with the 1st tire that lasted a long time. skidding w/downshifts, hard launches to get to the next traffic light, hard launches with wheelies etc. - all endorphin related wear. At 5k miles, my OE 'Stone 023 back tire looks new, the front not so much. The OE brake pads in front will be toast by the end of this summer. I'll never need to replace the back pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I can't help but think that after a tune some people, not all, would maybe ride their bikes (with their sport/touring tires) a little more on the sport side, more aggressively. Not saying you did but do you think that maybe you did without really noticing? I just read that you say you skid a lot so there's that that doesn't help a tire last longer. I bet that deep inside you know the answer to the riddle. Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topazsparrow Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 5 hours ago, Beemer said: I can't help but think that after a tune some people, not all, would maybe ride their bikes (with their sport/touring tires) a little more on the sport side, more aggressively. Not saying you did but do you think that maybe you did without really noticing? I just read that you say you skid a lot so there's that that doesn't help a tire last longer. I bet that deep inside you know the answer to the riddle. Oh I absolutely did. I upgraded the suspension as well. I've been flogging the bike hard. I wouldn't have thought a change in riding behavior would have that level of impact though. It's not like i'm ripping burnouts at every light. The cupping struck me as odd as well. I'm assuming it's a little bit of the aggressive riding and a little bit of an alignment issue for now. my OEM chain was toasted at 20,000km as well - but I also wasn't super religious about cleaning and lubing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faffi Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I would suspect the new shock / its settings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLbxcYVEPYc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQgBYHteQw&t=1s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topazsparrow Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 37 minutes ago, faffi said: I would suspect the new shock / its settings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLbxcYVEPYc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQgBYHteQw&t=1s outstanding links! That might very well explain the cupping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 18 hours ago, topazsparrow said: Oh I absolutely did. I upgraded the suspension as well. I've been flogging the bike hard. I wouldn't have thought a change in riding behavior would have that level of impact though. It's not like i'm ripping burnouts at every light. The cupping struck me as odd as well. I'm assuming it's a little bit of the aggressive riding and a little bit of an alignment issue for now. my OEM chain was toasted at 20,000km as well - but I also wasn't super religious about cleaning and lubing it. I would just chalk it up to having to take the bad with the good. You had your fun with it, it didn't last as long but that's the price you pay for fun sometimes. Tip: you could always go with a crappy, hard rubber, Battlax tire that might last longer after burn outs and rear tire lock-ups. You don't seem to be too concerned with grip as much as others usually are. You're having a different kind of fun with your bike, more hooligan like it sounds. I like that. Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregjet Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 The new Michie Road 5's are supposed to last longer, though that's pretty short for a PR4 . Do you ride on roads that use angular aggregate in the top surface? I have a pR4 that's done 7000 onthe back of a TR650 whcih is both a single and much heavier , both of which shold make it wear faster. It has worn down the middle to a flat as it is loaded toured, but plenty of distance left in it. Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topazsparrow Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 On 5/31/2018 at 12:11 PM, faffi said: I would suspect the new shock / its settings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLbxcYVEPYc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQgBYHteQw&t=1s Just following up - the bike is much better now. It was a combination of the tire pressure and my suspension settings. The cupping is evening out now. The rear rebound was much too stiff. The tire pressure was low (30 rear, 28 front!). Front compression was too stiff and rebound too slow, also. It's like a different bike now - still room to improve as the front compression is only at 2 clicks and still a bit stiff - spring rate too high I think. So.. yeah... tire pressure I guess.. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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