NOTIt's all good. That excedra is a nice looking tire and for a very reasonable price. Zeo and his machine have been through a battle. Tire mix is ok as long as it rolls straight.
Bad Tires???
- Thread starter Zeoran
- Start date
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
I agree with John O. in that my experience does not support this contention. This is an ST1100 not a 1300. Honda calls for 36 PSI on the front for the 1100. I have had two ST1100's always run with 36 PSI front. I only had one front tire wear like that. That was the tire my first ST1100 was delivered from the factory with. The front wheel was porous and so it was constantly running on low pressure until I figured it out.
Your tire looks exactly like what I would expect to see if a tire had been run for an extended period of time with low air pressure- low being significantly lower than the 36 PSI Honda calls for. That tire on my first ST1100 with the porous wheel looked exactly like yours does and that was due to the low air pressure. Once the wheel was replaced and a new tire fitted I was able to keep the pressure at 36 and no more abnormal wear occurred. Maybe the previous owner ran it on low air pressure and started the deterioration before you bought it.
Michelin tires are prone to cupping because of the thread blocks. Look at a T31 https://www.americanmototire.com/battlax-sport-touring-t31-gt-120-70zr-18-59w-front/ the thread blocks are larger and will resist cupping better. . Many here are happy with the performance of the Bridgestone T31s' and it is reasonably priced . A cheap in price tire but a good tire are the Shinkos. Had a few, good mileage , no complaints. You can use a 120/70 zr18 shinkos verge https://www.americanmototire.com/search-results/?q=120/70-18&sort_by=price_min_to_max Great tire!
Looking back to the original picture of the wear pattern, I had exactly the same thing on Pirelli Angel GT's that were fitted to my 1300 when I got it. The PO had been running what I'd describe as "track-day pressures", 29 psi F and 32 psi rear IIRC. I have used Angel GT's on my 1100 and never had an issue with them or the wear, they were my go-to tyres, so the wear pattern can only be due to the low pressures.
I've noticed that there's about as much useful information passed along in the average tire thread as there is in the average oil thread, practically none, with a good mix of mis-information thrown in for good measure.
Agree with the T31 suggestion, but recommend stock sizing.
I would immediately replace this tire, install a pressure monitor system, and ensure you ride with the proper pressure going forward. Also, if you plan to ride for years, get yourself a tire changer - it's not a difficult job to change a tire, and if you use beads for balancing, you can do it all in your garage. So worth it IMO - I have changed about 10 tires now without any problems - plus 4 on my cage!
If the tire is not worn down to the wear blocks in any place and doesn't cause a vibration, balance it, air it up to proper pressures and run it! It may cause some road noise, but that doesn't hurt anything. IMO, there is no such thing as the "best" tire. Tire wear is going to vary due to the way you ride and the conditions you ride in. Personally, I am going to get the tire that works for me, usually the least expensive with the best handling characteristics in all conditions. Again, there is no such thing as the perfect tire. More expensive doesn't mean better or longer wear. I suggest that the OP should get the best tire that works for his riding conditions.
thekaz
haz gone feral
stop leaning in the corners maybeI'm not sure if this is normal or if my front tire is not wearing down evenly. Can someone take a look at these and tell me if I should be worried or if this is OK?
I checked BikeBandit (where I usu buy) and they show front and rear in Angel GT and T31's ship next day.
Keep this in mind - most of these online retail places dont stock tires - they have them drop-shipped from wholesale warehouses (which they all buy from) and they try to choose a wholesaler closest to you.
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
I've got my last few sets from https://www.americanmototire.com/ and been happy with the service and price points.
As far as pressures, I use 36-38 in the front and 42-44 in the rear (I'm not too precise) - but then that's only over 380,000+ miles on ST1100s.
As UptNorth pointed out, some tires cup really badly, some not so badly, some not at all.
In my experience, radials tend to cup worse than bias on the front.
But with a lot of interstate miles, they all get the flat spot in the center.
I've seen rears where they had such a flat spot they looked angular like they were filed off that way.
As far as pressures, I use 36-38 in the front and 42-44 in the rear (I'm not too precise) - but then that's only over 380,000+ miles on ST1100s.
As UptNorth pointed out, some tires cup really badly, some not so badly, some not at all.
In my experience, radials tend to cup worse than bias on the front.
But with a lot of interstate miles, they all get the flat spot in the center.
I've seen rears where they had such a flat spot they looked angular like they were filed off that way.
I'm not sure if this is normal or if my front tire is not wearing down evenly. Can someone take a look at these and tell me if I should be worried or if this is OK?
Looks like normal wear to me. As a result of lots of highway miles. And not a lot of twistiesI'm not sure if this is normal or if my front tire is not wearing down evenly. Can someone take a look at these and tell me if I should be worried or if this is OK?
Looks like a Mich PR4 on there? They are a dualcompound which means that the centre portion of the tire (the part on your tire that appears to be raised) is a harder compound than the sides. There’s a few reasons they do this 1) most of your miles the bike is straight up; not leaned into a turn, and so most of the wear is in the centre. On a single compound tire, the profile gets very flat and consequently your steering gets heavier and heavier as the tire wears. With a dual compound the sides wear much more quickly relatively speaking which reduces the amount that handling changes as the tire wears. 2) with a softer compound on the sides you will have better ability to stick when you are riding the sides of the tire as a result of leaning in the turns.
it’s possible that your tire ran at low pressure for a while too which will have caused the wear pattern to speed up considerably. But it’s definitely worn out now so replace it and get in the habit of checking your tire pressures very regularly.