Tire Questions

[Jimmy Ducati]

I am new to motorcycles and have what I assume
must be a fairly common minor dilemma.
After searching through all of the tire related threads, I came
away equally as confused as when I started. I have just
about 4000K miles on my 4.5 month old 696 and my
rear tire is flattened in the middle, and I have just hit
the first set of ware bars. So a new tire is in my near
future. The stocker is a Bridgestone battlax BT56R 160/60 ZR17.
I have a few thousand or more miles left on the front
tire. I probably can not afford to do both at the same time.
Do I stick with the same tire, or might I get away with
this tire ...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p3907.m29&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D2&item=350067860230&category=35578&viewitem=#ht_500wt_1364
....or a similar Bridgestone sport touring tire of original size
like this one....
http://www.motosport.com/street/product/BRIDGESTONE-REAR-BATTLAX-BT021-16060ZR17/?prodId=787577&nav=&sMMY=
I have read that mixing brands is not a very good idea, but
if one where to do it, as long as you stick within the same brand
your chances of a successful pairing greatly increases. I live in
south florida where there are basically zero twisties, and 95%
of the riding is upright. I will not be doing any track activities,
and I would love to get a bunch more than 4K out of it. I know
then I'll have the same problem with a worn out front...

Thoughts?

[clubhousemotorsports]

Jimmy
here is my take on tires for you.
You state you are new to motorcycles and you live in a state without curves, I will guess that at this point you are not needing a full on sport tire.... Yet, don't worry we will get you hooked on the race track soon enough but that will be another thread.

Ideally you would always change your tires as a set, If you do not you are always running around on at least one partially worn out tire. This is not a safety issue normally but it certainly means you are not getting the best handling out of your bike. If you cannot afford a set of tire I would put the tire on  that will either get you long enough life until you can afford a set.

From the description of your riding I would point you toward either a sport touring compound tire  (one with a harder center rubber compound would be best) or a standard oem tire like you linked to. I have had customers who ran sport tires on the front and sport touring tires on the rear so that they would wear out at the same time. Again not ideal but it worked very well.

Your bike will be best with a 160 rear  but the 170 will be fine if you just have to have the wider rear for looks, 160 will cost less also. don't be afraid to try a different brand tire either, look at what every on else in your area is running and see what they are getting for mileage.

Now, about that trackday.................

[Jimmy Ducati]

Your bike will be best with a 160 rear  but the 170 will be fine if you just have to have the wider rear for looks, 160 will cost less also. don't be afraid to try a different brand tire either, look at what every on else in your area is running and see what they are getting for mileage.

Now, about that trackday.................

Thanks for the reply. I was only looking at the 170 because that
is the only one I can find online. I am trying to avoid going to my
Duc dealer as it won't be a bargain I'm sure, but I will call them
tomorrow and find out. So I should be good if I go with the BT-021
if I choose that route? Anyone know an online source for the stock tire
if I want to go that way?

Thanks!

I'll hit the track sooner or later, but for now I am enjoying my squid status.
Besides that is just more friggin' gear for me to buy 

[erkishhorde]

Cyclegear sells tires and has a free repair (or was it replacement) policy for nails. IZ would know about this one best. 

To expand a bit on ducvet's comment about changing tires as a set: It is common for people to run 2 rear tires for the life span on 1 front tire. But changing compounds (brand or type) of only one tire can cause problems sometimes if you're pushing the bike hard. For a new rider I doubt that it would cause any problems though.

[ScottRNelson]

Cyclegear sells tires and has a free repair (or was it replacement) policy for nails. IZ would know about this one best. 

Cycle Gear charges to have a warranty on a tire.  I know because the one time I bothered to pay for the tire warranty I got a nail in my rear tire at 2500 miles and they credited me for full tread depth on the replacement tire.  I figure that it still cost me $60 overall for that "free" tire.  Based on how often I've had flat tires, I don't feel the tire warranty is worth it and don't bother with them.

As to the original post, I've never managed to get more than 4000 miles from a rear tire on a Ducati.  Maybe I do too much stop and go riding, enjoying the acceleration during the "go" part, but they're always down to the wear bars by 4000 miles.  And I mostly use sport touring tires.  I only got 2500 miles from the last sport tire I had on there.

I just factor in the cost of frequent tire replacement as part of the cost of enjoying riding a Ducati.  It's worth it to me.

[Ivan]

I ran a BT-014 front and a BT-021 rear for a while, back when I was doing a lot of commuting.  This combination worked out OK in terms of not causing strange handling characterisctics.   The sport-touring folks often run a  sport tire in front, and a longer life ST tire (from the same manufacturer) in the rear.

I think that the value of the Cyclegear warranty depends on how dirty the roads are in your area.  The Socal freeways just seem to be littered with nails and screws.   I just picked up a nail in my rear Pilot Power with less than 800 miles on it.  The cost of the warranty was $twenty-something, and the cost of the tire was very competitive with the best price I could find on-line.

[hypurone]

Tire preferences are like women. Soooo many choices and some of them dangerous.  Basically what you are fighting is the need for more mileage vs a decent amount of grip. These days even the high mileage (harder) compounds have decent enough grip. If you are doing one tire at a time I would recommend staying in the same brand at least. Not necessarily the same tire model but brand. Now if you decide to go to a harder compound (the lower the speed rating, the harder the compound as a rule ex: H vs Z) you want to make sure you take a bit more time to warm it up before getting frisky. That said, if you stay with the 'stones you basically have 2 choices. The 020 or 021...Then you dip into the "cruiser" spectrum which usually get even harder.

and as I have always said to anyone asking questions about anything mechanical or women:

"If it has tits or tires, you're gonna have trouble with it!"   

[ScottRNelson]

This combination worked out OK in terms of not causing strange handling characterisctics.   The sport-touring folks often run a  sport tire in front, and a longer life ST tire (from the same manufacturer) in the rear.

I tried that with the BT-010 front and BT-020 rear once.  I've decided that I prefer sport touring tires front and rear and have not been able to detect any traction or handling improvements with a sport tire on the front.

I really liked the Avon Azarro and Storm tires and am currently very happy with the Pirelli Diablo Strada on my bike.  For most riders, sport touring tires are a better choice, since they work better when cold, last longer, and offer enough traction for sane street riding.

[clubhousemotorsports]

As  ScottRNelson said some people just wear out tires sooner than others.
at the dealership I worked for we had a customer who would wear out the tires in 3000 miles ... on the sides..... on sport touring tires!

we also had customers who would get 8000 miles out of pilot sports or powers, thats rear tire life. One guy got 12000 miles on a set of pilot roads.
So much depends on the rider, acceleration wears tires as does engine braking, wheelies and just plain old riding hard.  I can not get that mileage myself But I have seen it done on more than one occasion.

When you mix tire models you may be changing the shape as well as the size of the tire from what you had. A 160 on brand A may be a different size than a 160 from brand B, to make it worse the same thing can be true within the same brand. Different profiles (shape) of tires will cause the bike to handle differently.

Again I do not think you should be afraid to try a different combination just know that things may be different handling wise, get to know the bike after the change. Another good rule of thumb is that if you have a stickier tire on the rear than the front you may over ride the traction you have up front, I always have prefered the back to be the one to slide first as it is easier to recover.

[Langanobob]

I don't have anything to add about tire selection over what's already been said by those above who know a lot more about tires than I do.   I do have some comments about buying tires online.  I do  my own work, with the  exception of just not having any interest in mounting tires.  If you mount your own, buying online is fine, but I've found that the initial cost buying tires online may be less, but by the time I pay a local shop to install them, the cost advantage is slim.  Also, even though a local shop may charge a fair price for their time installing tires you bought somewhere else,  they seem to take some level of offense when I've brought in tires I bought from someone else.   Can't say I blame them and I like to maintain a positive relationship with them since they are very helpful in other areas.

So, these days I buy tires at a local independent shop.  May cost a few dollars more but I think it's worth it.

[herm]

my personal experience has been two rear tires for every front tire. i was getting less than 4k on my favorite tire, the pilot power, so i switched to the pilot road 2ct.

still got them on the bike with close to 5k on them, and i think at least a healthy amount of tread left for next season.

[Gearhead211]

 [moto]Don't forget to check the alignment of the rear axle (double sided swingarms) when you mount your new tire.  Even a small amount of misalignment can have a dramatic effect on tread life.  4000 miles is about right for most sport touring tires, the pure sport tires wear out even faster.  But some of it depends on how hard you ride and the condition of the road surface.  If your roads look more like 4x4 trails like they they do up here in VA you can expect shorter tread life no matter the tire brand.

[Jimmy Ducati]

I decided to mismatch. I ended up picking up a
Dunlop Roadsmart tire at my local Cycle Gear.
I went during their New Years day sale and picked
it up for $115.00. A local shop charges $49 labor if
you buy the tire there, and $59 if you bring your own.
He had no tires in my size, so he was cool with me byot.
My selling Duc dealer wanted $190 for the OEM tire
alone. Yikes. I only have about 30 miles on the new
tire, and it needs to be worn in for another 20 miles
or so before I really push it. Seems fine so far. 
Thanks for all the input.

[clubhousemotorsports]

OH NO NOT A DUNLOP ROADSMART !!!!!!!


lol just kidding , had to do it.