Motorcycle tire rant

[Jarlaxle]

Why do MC tires still SUCK? I'm dead serious: why the hell are motorcycle tires still crap? My wife just replaced the rear on her PC...it was a $200+ Metzler 880 (supposedly, one of the better brands) that, with about 6000 miles on it, had several good-size chunks of rubber missing from the tread after a long road trip! (Even had that not happened, it would have been bald by 10K, at the latest.) This is on a touring bike that, while often loaded with gear, is ridden by a relatively light rider and NEVER with a passenger.

I have seen big touring bikes go through rear tires in a few thousand miles...I talked to one rider who changed the oil and rear tire (at $200+ a whack!) on his Goldwing every 5000 miles! After his latest $200+ tire came close to exploding on the highway, he darksided...as of last month, his Eagle Ultra Grip has outlasted FIVE MC tires, and had about half the tread remaining! (Is it any wonder darksiding is popular on touring bikes?)

Contrast that with a car tire...even the cheap discount brands from Walmart will go 30,000+ miles. They have at least some quality warranty (a MC tire warranty is usually, "It will hold air when you mount it."), and some treadlife warranty. (MC tires have, without exception, none.)

 

[DGS49]

It is a mystery to me...not that MC tires are "junk" but that people have such different results with them

A good friend of mine rides a Road King, usually with a rider. He get a MINIMUM of 20,000 miles on a set of tires. The tires on my Goldwing have at least 10,000 miles on them, and still look like new (and passed PA state inspection a couple weeks ago).

And yet I often see ads for bikes with 6-8000 miles on them, and "new tires" is listed in the ad, so the OEM tires must have gone bad in the first 5k miles. I have had very heavy bikes (Kawasaki 2000) with no similar issues, so weight does not appear to be the issue.

I would just say about MC tires that they MUST be very soft rubber and very "hydrophilic" because when riding in the rain, you have a miniscule contact patch, and in my experience they are great in rain. So for that reason alone, I would not complain if I only got 10k miles on a set.

But your experience (jaraxle) is worse than any I've even heard of. "Chunks of rubber missing"? Those tires are dangerously DEFECTIVE, and should be returned for REFUND. If no satisfaction, contact the relevant state highway safety agency and report the dealer and the tires. This should never happen.

 

[TNHarley]

Depends a lot on where you buy them, too. Online warehouses have their tires for a while, for example..

 

[Jarlaxle]

She didn't buy the tire...it was on the bike when she bought it. (The matched front tire was replaced due to a lag bolt.)

Actually, mc tires aren't nearly as soft as you might expect. Offhand, I have never seen one-even a DOT race tire-that was softer than the performance winter tires many darksiders run.

I have heard several people gripe about tire wear, especially if they ride 2-up on a Wing...it is a high-torque, very heavy bike, and also a rear-heavy bike. (Rider, fuel tank, and all storage is behind the engine.) The Burgman 650 also eats rear tires, for much the same reason. (All scooters are rear-heavy.)

 

[Larsky]

Do your research. Performance bike tires are usually a softer compound, and 10k is normal life.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Not really. It is on some bikes...it is a miracle on others!