Rear Tire Wear

[pwilbarger]

We are waiting out the rain in Pittsfield, MA. It's suppose to be outa here in a couple of hours. Anyway I was checking the RTS yesterday and noticed that the rear tire was almost down to the wear bars in the center (11.6+ k miles). I checked the tires before we left Ohio and they all looked fine For the 2000 mile trip. Now I wonder if I'll make back without having to get a new rear put on some where along the way, another 1000 miles to go. We are staying three nights in Burlington, VT and renting a car (for a wedding) but it will be the holiday weekend. I'll have keep a close watch on it. Pulling a fully loaded trailer and two up prolly doesn't help.


Spyder Phyl

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Denman]

Keep an eye on the sky... :shocked: Less tread might mean a greater tendancy for hydroplaining if you catch some wet roads.
The weather is changing for the better; you'll be good to go for the next three days or so! :thumbup:

 

[CyncySpyder]

You should be fine to get home, just take it easy & keep an eye out

As Bob mentioned, be more cautious on wet roads as you'll have more of a tendancy to hydroplane, but your trailer should also help hold you down as well.

nojokeThe way the stock tire is designed with having a softer middle, the more highway miles (high speed) you do, the more the center of the tire balloons out causing the center to wear much faster than the sides:banghead:

nojokeI don't recommend this to anyone:lecturef_smilie: but we challenged how far you can go past the wear indicatorspps:, and lets just say, we won't ever go as far as we went again:lecturef_smilie: but we ended up replacing it at 23,000 miles none worse for the wear:shocked:

 

[MarkLawson]

When time for replacement, consider the Michelin HydroEdge. You have to get the 215/60R15 since they don't make the stock 225/50R15. The alternate size works with the nanny & makes the speedometer & odometer more accurate, at least according to my GPS. The tire is about $50 cheaper than the OEM and is rated for 90,000 miles. Have no idea how long it'll last on my RT. Have yet to lose traction with it & the name would suggest it's designed for the water. Seems to be a great tire so far...

 

[grumpybob]

As Bob mentioned, be more cautious on wet roads as you'll have more of a tendancy to hydroplane, but your trailer should also help hold you down as well.

nojokeThe way the stock tire is designed with having a softer middle, the more highway miles (high speed) you do, the more the center of the tire balloons out causing the center to wear much faster than the sides:banghead:

nojokeI don't recommend this to anyone:lecturef_smilie: but we challenged how far you can go past the wear indicatorspps:, and lets just say, we won't ever go as far as we went again:lecturef_smilie: but we ended up replacing it at 23,000 miles none worse for the wear:shocked:View attachment 52325 View attachment 52326 View attachment 52327

What do you normally run your tire pressre at?

 

[CyncySpyder]

What do you normally run your tire pressre at?

Usually between 25 & 28 no more no less

 

[CyncySpyder]

When time for replacement, consider the Michelin HydroEdge. You have to get the 215/60R15 since they don't make the stock 225/50R15. The alternate size works with the nanny & makes the speedometer & odometer more accurate, at least according to my GPS. The tire is about $50 cheaper than the OEM and is rated for 90,000 miles. Have no idea how long it'll last on my RT. Have yet to lose traction with it & the name would suggest it's designed for the water. Seems to be a great tire so far...

Did you use this for the rear only, or all the way around:hun: (I know, different sizes for the fronts)

Our stock rear only has about 10K on it since we replaced it, and its still looking good so far:thumbup: But our fronts have uneven wear (need alignment) and I rotated them about 15K ago trying to even the wear out and get the most out of them that we can, but we're almost at 32,000 now and need to be replacing them soon and getting that alignment:thumbup:

Seeing as Teds Red Sled is our ONLY mode of transport and daily driver year round, we need to find something that will handle it all as well as possible if such a beast exists:dontknow:

 

[MarkLawson]

Did you use this for the rear only, or all the way around:hun: (I know, different sizes for the fronts)

Our stock rear only has about 10K on it since we replaced it, and its still looking good so far:thumbup: But our fronts have uneven wear (need alignment) and I rotated them about 15K ago trying to even the wear out and get the most out of them that we can, but we're almost at 32,000 now and need to be replacing them soon and getting that alignment:thumbup:

Seeing as Teds Red Sled is our ONLY mode of transport and daily driver year round, we need to find something that will handle it all as well as possible if such a beast exists:dontknow:

Michelin doesn't make the HydroEdge in a 14", so they are not available for the fronts. I have about 20K on the original fronts and they still look pretty good. Not sure what I'll do when time to replace them. There is a Michelin tire of that size, although I don't recall which. Might go with it, but don't know for sure...

 

[sinkhole]

Teddy the gambler..

but we ended up replacing it at 23,000 miles none worse for the wear:shocked: View attachment 52327

Teddy must love the drive back and forth between Vegas and Atlantic City. hyea:

 

[Bob Denman]

Front tires: has anybody put any miles on Bridgestone's Potenzas?? :dontknow:

 

[hecoon]

Front tires: has anybody put any miles on Bridgestone's Potenzas?? :dontknow:

yes ihave the bridgestones on the front of my 08 gs and at 44k they still look like new.

i run them at 17psi and i check them everytime i go out for a ride.

74 k so far and counting

i put on 2 sets of fronts before i got the front end aligned right

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

SUPER LONG WEARING FRONT TIRES

This is just a theory but IMHO from listening to 100's of comments about front tires and that some people are getting 20,000 + miles and most are definately not getting anywhere near that......I feel that some people have received perfectly aligned Spyders from the factory, But unfortunately that is not the norm.....Why BRP can't send out Spyders with uniform Alignment is a mystery to me.....Unless all New Spyders must be aligned at each selling dealer..........Does anyone know ????????.......Mike

 

[CyncySpyder]

I don't have the answer, but do have visuals of the initial un-crating

This is just a theory but IMHO from listening to 100's of comments about front tires and that some people are getting 20,000 + miles and most are definately not getting anywhere near that......I feel that some people have received perfectly aligned Spyders from the factory, But unfortunately that is not the norm.....Why BRP can't send out Spyders with uniform Alignment is a mystery to me.....Unless all New Spyders must be aligned at each selling dealer..........Does anyone know ????????.......Mike

 

[NancysToy]

This is just a theory but IMHO from listening to 100's of comments about front tires and that some people are getting 20,000 + miles and most are definately not getting anywhere near that......I feel that some people have received perfectly aligned Spyders from the factory, But unfortunately that is not the norm.....Why BRP can't send out Spyders with uniform Alignment is a mystery to me.....Unless all New Spyders must be aligned at each selling dealer..........Does anyone know ????????.......Mike

Here's my totally unofficial (and partly educated guesswork) answer. The alignnment changes as the Spyder is loaded...especially on the RT. As the Spyder is lowered from a jacked up position to sitting on the ground, it toes out more. The alignment setting jacked up is supposed to compensate for this, leaving the Spyder at zero (or slightly positive) toe-in sitting on the ground. BTW, this cannot be measured using the procedure in the Spyder shop manual. Unfortunately, this dynamic alignment continues as the Spyder is loaded, so a heavy rider or a rider carrying cargo or a passenger will toe the front out more than a solo lightweight rider. The folks getting tire wear on the inner bars do not have the alignment adjusted to optimize the load being carried. Please not that there may also be some camber issues which cannot be addressed, and there are differences due to ridiing styles and road surface materials and conditions, that cannot be measured or readily predicted. The bottom line is that if your Spyder does not get good front tire life, it probably could use some tweaking. In all likelihood your dealer will not be able to help, however. JMHO...I'll give you twice what you paid for it if you don't agree.

 

[pwilbarger]

Thank for all the comments guys. We waited out the rain this morning and didn't leave Pittsfield until 10:00 headed for Seabrook, NH. Of course 24 miles from the hotel we got caught in a pretty good shower for about 8 miles. Didn't feel any slipping or sliding of the back end during that time but never really got up over 55 on NH107 into Seabrook. From the looks of Dave's tire I'll be able to make it home before I replace mine.


Spyder Phyl

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IGETAROUND]

When time for replacement, consider the Michelin HydroEdge. You have to get the 215/60R15 since they don't make the stock 225/50R15. The alternate size works with the nanny & makes the speedometer & odometer more accurate, at least according to my GPS. The tire is about $50 cheaper than the OEM and is rated for 90,000 miles. Have no idea how long it'll last on my RT. Have yet to lose traction with it & the name would suggest it's designed for the water. Seems to be a great tire so far...

Had a set of these on my Prius, got 60000 miles out of them.

FYI, was told by Discount Tire these are no longer made, have been replaced by the Michelin Defender which is a true 90,0000 mile tire.

Hope this helps with your decisionhyea::thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

ALIGNMENT ISSUES

Here's my totally unofficial (and partly educated guesswork) answer. The alignnment changes as the Spyder is loaded...especially on the RT. As the Spyder is lowered from a jacked up position to sitting on the ground, it toes out more. The alignment setting jacked up is supposed to compensate for this, leaving the Spyder at zero (or slightly positive) toe-in sitting on the ground. BTW, this cannot be measured using the procedure in the Spyder shop manual. Unfortunately, this dynamic alignment continues as the Spyder is loaded, so a heavy rider or a rider carrying cargo or a passenger will toe the front out more than a solo lightweight rider. The folks getting tire wear on the inner bars do not have the alignment adjusted to optimize the load being carried. Please not that there may also be some camber issues which cannot be addressed, and there are differences due to ridiing styles and road surface materials and conditions, that cannot be measured or readily predicted. The bottom line is that if your Spyder does not get good front tire life, it probably could use some tweaking. In all likelihood your dealer will not be able to help, however. JMHO...I'll give you twice what you paid for it if you don't agree.

Scotty, I don't quite understand your last sentence, but no matter....What I'm saying is Someone here reported that they got 26,000+ miles on their Kenda front tires and most people are lucky if they get half that......I think that's a hugh variance.....That's all I'm saying.Mike

 

[NancysToy]

Scotty, I don't quite understand your last sentence, but no matter....What I'm saying is Someone here reported that they got 26,000+ miles on their Kenda front tires and most people are lucky if they get half that......I think that's a hugh variance.....That's all I'm saying.Mike

I'm just not sure that many will agree with my assessment of the "dynamic" alignment issue of the Spyders, especially the RTs. I have 21K on my Kendas up front, and at last measurement they were less than half worn...and measured even across the tread. I should get about another 15K out of them. It is not only minor differences in the factory alignment that causes the variance, but the rider/cargo load, type of riding, road surfaces and conditions, and ambient weather that factor in. I think rider/passenger weight is the biggest variable, but that is a personal opinion, since I have not measured the changes as the Spyder is loaded. The load may affect camber as well. In one sense, these changes would be "normal", since they would be inherent in the design and common to all the Spyders of that model series. That's not an excuse...just an explanation. Automobiles have similar compromises is front-end geometry, but they are far less subject to the effects of loading, due to their more substantial initial weight.

The differences in front (and rear) tire wear are very real, and are substantial. It is a lot of variance. Because even the worst wearing tires are getting more mileage than any motorcycle I have ever owned, it is not a hot button issue for me, but I understand the confusion and concern. BRP considers it "normal" and acceptable, however, so we will probably not see much change in this area. To some extent their hands are tied. It is hard to engineer around the differences between a 150 lb rider, a 300 lb rider, and 450 pounds of rider/passenger/cargo when you are staring out with a 700-950 pound vehicle, as opposed to a 3,000 pound car. It may be something that each rider has to learn to live with...with each Spyder having its own unique norm.

 

[sinkhole]

front tires...

I've been running my stock front tires at 22 psi and shocks set at #4 from the start. My toe-in is .12º, and 22,000 miles later here is what they look like.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

TIRE WEAR THING

I'm just not sure that many will agree with my assessment of the "dynamic" alignment issue of the Spyders, especially the RTs. I have 21K on my Kendas up front, and at last measurement they were less than half worn...and measured even across the tread. I should get about another 15K out of them. It is not only minor differences in the factory alignment that causes the variance, but the rider/cargo load, type of riding, road surfaces and conditions, and ambient weather that factor in. I think rider/passenger weight is the biggest variable, but that is a personal opinion, since I have not measured the changes as the Spyder is loaded. The load may affect camber as well. In one sense, these changes would be "normal", since they would be inherent in the design and common to all the Spyders of that model series. That's not an excuse...just an explanation. Automobiles have similar compromises is front-end geometry, but they are far less subject to the effects of loading, due to their more substantial initial weight.

The differences in front (and rear) tire wear are very real, and are substantial. It is a lot of variance. Because even the worst wearing tires are getting more mileage than any motorcycle I have ever owned, it is not a hot button issue for me, but I understand the confusion and concern. BRP considers it "normal" and acceptable, however, so we will probably not see much change in this area. To some extent their hands are tied. It is hard to engineer around the differences between a 150 lb rider, a 300 lb rider, and 450 pounds of rider/passenger/cargo when you are staring out with a 700-950 pound vehicle, as opposed to a 3,000 pound car. It may be something that each rider has to learn to live with...with each Spyder having its own unique norm.

Scotty by your own estimation you may get 36,000 + on your front tires because you are the perfect weight, perfect load, perfect balance, perfect road, perfect weather etc. I also think if you have not adjusted your alignment you got a perfectly aligned Spyder from the factory... Sinkhole post #19 may get 40,000 + miles from looking at his picture.....I'm saying both of you are so far from normal it's UNBELIEVEABLE,...but I do believe you because you are truthful.....What I'm also implying is proper alignment from BRP should not be like winning the LOTTERY....a one in Million case, and right now I think it is.....and I don't think it's right...I also don't think it's right that probably most dealers can't do an alignment.....so then what ???????.....Mike..