T31's and mileage reports

[st1300doug]

Al- Your roads must be paved w/marshmellows. Hardly 'anyone' here, in the U.S. see's 14,000 MILES on a rear. The most I've got with a T30 is 8,800 MILES. I just had a Continental Motion get me 9,200 MILES.......the most I've ever reached with ANY brand rear tire.

 

[larryg]

Al- Your roads must be paved w/marshmellows. Hardly 'anyone' here, in the U.S. see's 14,000 MILES on a rear. The most I've got with a T30 is 8,800 MILES. I just had a Continental Motion get me 9,200 MILES.......the most I've ever reached with ANY brand rear tire.

Ditto that !
My T30 rears's are usually taken off about 7K, about double that for the front. we'll see if the T31's do better.
But I'm OK with that mileage, because these tires hold the road like a magnet, in any weather I've encountered.
Never had the desire to try anything else.

 

[Al st1100]

Just installed the rear T31 GT EVO this weekend. The rear T30 GT EVO that I took off had just under 14,000 miles on it.
Let's see if the T31 can top that.

I see the Canadian address, is that miles or kilometers ???

 

[Al Gully]

I see the Canadian address, is that miles or kilometers ???

I always convert it over to miles on this forum as most of the riders use miles.
I put the T30 on in January 2018 with 136,500 kilometres. I currently have 158,500 kilometres (13,670 miles) on the bike and just installed the T31 this weekend. If you guys are only seeing like 7,000 miles, I'm guessing your road builders use a lot of chip seal and concrete highways. Up here they don't use any chip seal or concrete motorways in my areas. 99% of the roads are asphalt oil based made with 7mm-10mm granite stone. I'll have to check my records, but I'm sure I'm seeing over 20,000 miles on the front T30's. I would like to change the front to every 2 rear tires, just not there yet

 

[fnmag]

Just installed the rear T31 GT EVO this weekend. The rear T30 GT EVO that I took off had just under 14,000 miles on it.
Let's see if the T31 can top that.

That's excellent mileage on those tires.
I may have to take another look at them.
Thanks for posting.

 

[kiltman]

I can't seem to get the T31 GT model for the rear, I have a T31 GT on the front and a GTR on the rear. Having said that, they lasted at least twice as long as my T30's

 

[ReSTored]

I can't seem to get the T31 GT model for the rear, I have a T31 GT on the front and a GTR on the rear. Having said that, they lasted at least twice as long as my T30's

I just received, from Pete's, my T31 GT rear but I had to order it in 170/60, not 160/70.

 

[Al Gully]

I can't seem to get the T31 GT model for the rear.

Pete's is the place I bought mine from for the 1300.
Also check if Bridgestone has a rebate going on, last year they sent me a $100 rebate card. I was totally impressed

 

[Al st1100]

I just received, from Pete's, my T31 GT rear but I had to order it in 170/60, not 160/70.

the GT has a load range 72w (783) and the non gt in a 160/70 has a higher load range 73w (805) which goes against what was said about the GT, can carry a heavier load .

 

[kiltman]

I just received, from Pete's, my T31 GT rear but I had to order it in 170/60, not 160/70.

Mine should be arriving today. but I went for the 160/70

 

[beemerphile]

Mine is hard enough to hoist onto the centerstand with the 160/70. I'd have to call for help with a shorter tire.

 

[ReSTored]

Mine should be arriving today. but I went for the 160/70

Mine is hard enough to hoist onto the centerstand with the 160/70. I'd have to call for help with a shorter tire.

I got about 7,500 km (4,650 miles) on my T30's, 10,000 km (6,200 miles) on my T30 EVO, 10,000 km ( 6,200 miles) on my Z6's. I just put on a 160/70 Avon XM 3D reinforced GT type rear tire and we'll have to see how it wears and handles vs. the older Storm. I always have a spare set on hand as I've had issues with availability of the 110/80 18 front tire and I just received my new set of T31's with a 170/60 GT rear which I'll probably install in the fall or early next year sometime.

I've always liked the Z6, relatively speaking, but I can tell you that the T30 and T30 EVO are much stickier tires and the Z6 just didn't inspire as much confidence in corners. While both the front and rear do slide out consistently it is a bit disconcerting to feel this happening as the Bridgestones don't do this at all.

If you have issues getting the ST onto the centerstand then just use a small scrap of 1/2" plywood under the rear wheel and this will make all the difference.

 

[drrod]

My tale of T31 GT's on my ST1300

• first 4500 miles - spirited riding down to the Black Hills and back in hot weather. About 700 miles of that was 2 up, the rest was one up with luggage.
• there was 4/32 of tread left above the wear bars. Total measured on a new tire was 7/32 (Bridgestone says 6.5.
• so with at least 60% of the tread left I embarked on a 4,000 mile trip with the math saying I have lots of tire.
• 1200 miles into the trip I am down to the wear bars. WTH! This was relatively easy riding, with cold weather (snow on the Beartooth - yikes).
• so total mileage out of the T31, down to the wearbars (and a bit beyond) was 5700 miles.
• So...in my hands, the T31 is no better mileage wise than PR4's, Angel GTs, 020's, etc. Seldom have I got more than 6,000 miles out of a rear tire.
• incidentally, the front looks great and will probably go 10,000 miles.
• Good news though is that the wear pattern was great. It did not square off or get trapezoidal shaped like PR4's.

Net conclusion:
I will run these tires again given that they give about the same mileage, wear evenly across the tread and they are less expensive.
The handling is just as good as with the other tire.

Caveat - This is my experience, with my bike, with my riding style. YRMV

 

[tmoldovan]

Ditto that !
My T30 rears's are usually taken off about 7K, about double that for the front. we'll see if the T31's do better.
But I'm OK with that mileage, because these tires hold the road like a magnet, in any weather I've encountered.
Never had the desire to try anything else.

So, I’m both proud and ashamed to admit that I had 14,000 miles on my rear tire. And while she wasn’t showing belts, it was “down to the wire.”
(I’m the guy who needed the rear tire replaced at the last NATSTOC :/ )
That was a 023 Battlax.

I just took the front one in to get replaced, and that was a 2013 BT 023, with 12,000 miles on it and still had a bit of tread above the wear line.

 

[Mellow]

So, I’m both proud and ashamed to admit that I had 14,000 miles on my rear tire. And while she wasn’t showing belts, it was “down to the wire.”
(I’m the guy who needed the rear tire replaced at the last NATSTOC :/ )
That was a 023 Battlax.

I just took the front one in to get replaced, and that was a 2013 BT 023, with 12,000 miles on it and still had a bit of tread above the wear line.

That's a pretty good run, but that tire was looking ugly.

 

[tmoldovan]

Best darn tire I ever had

 

[Upt' North]

It is time to decide what to do again. 4000 miles on my T31GTs and the rear has 1.5 mm to the wear bars leff. Front has 2mm. There may be 1000 miles left, there may be only 500. 500 isn't enough fo my next planned ride.

Ive no data to go on as to how fast the last 1mm will wear down on the T31, so this week I am going out for short 100 mile runs to see what happens. Next week, no matter what, some new T31s are going on front and rear.

History . One long trip, 2000 miles to Scotland, 2 up, fully loaded with camping gear. Scotland's roads eat tyres, but i made a conscious effort not to accelerate hard this time....... But i kept forgetting. And another 1500 mile tour around Wales, without camping gear.

Ive stopped worrying about the mileage. I ride the bike for enjoyment and these tyres are superb and have no odd wear patterns. So I'll just put new ones on again.Its been a long time since i changed a tyre that had actually reached the wear bars. The next long trip usually demands that they get changed before, but I do know that the last 1mm on the BT020 F rated, wears down extremely quickly.

Your 13 seems to use them up quicker than the 11's John, my rear has just been changed at about 7000 miles and I did the front at the same time although there was about 3 mm left on that. Obviously mine are not GT's. My riding I would think would be over similar roads in similar style. Can't deny the extra power of the 13 must make a difference to the rear. Both tyres were still in great shape, no cupping etc, much improved over 023's. At 4000 miles I would have struggled to complete two of my trips over the last 5 years although autoroute miles would probably have extended that a little.
Thanks for the report.
Upt'North.

 

[racerbri]

This is one of my first posts so if I break some protocol please go easy on me.

I bought a set of T30GTs for my 2004 ST1300. The rear went about 7000 miles and it was bald - and I mean BALD. I would typically never wear a tire down this far but I left on a 1500 mile trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway and around VA, NC, TN and WV. When I left, I inspected the tire and it had plenty of tread left and life left in it ( I thought). I guess the heat (August and in the 90s) was too much for the tire. Plus, I was carrying a passenger, carrying a lot of corner speed and on roads that had all curves and very little straight sections - including the famous "Back of the Dragon" in southern VA. I have some on-bike video posted below. The front tire is wearing very well and has a lot of tread left after 7000 miles.

A few data points for you all:

* I always check the tire pressure before each ride and set it for 42 PSI front and rear.
* I always carry a passenger - it is rare I ride solo on this bike
* Most of my miles come from long weekend rides and little from commuting
* I am a 25+ year roadracing veteran and I carry a lot of roll speed in corners but I typically to do accelerate hard
* I got an average of 48 MPG on my 1500 mile trip down the BRP - That should tell you more about how I ride than the above statement


Photos of the rear T30GT

7 new items by Brian

photos.app.goo.gl

Back of the Dragon on-bike video
Starting at Hungry Mother State Park and ending in Tazwell. 32 miles and 300+ turns they say. A very nice ride!

 

[Upt' North]

I think we can safely say you got full value out of that rear.
I hate changing tyres before a jaunt when there's tread left but experience always pokes me quite hard to get it done.
Upt'North.

 

[racerbri]

I think we can safely say you got full value out of that rear.
I hate changing tyres before a jaunt when there's tread left but experience always pokes me quite hard to get it done.
Upt'North.

LOL! Yeah, I got my money's worth out of that tire! I sent those photos to some of racer buds and asked them if they thought I should flip the tire since there was still tread showing on the right side! It's common for racers to flip a tire to get more life out of it; e.g., Summit Point is a right-hand track with 7 rights and 3 lefts so the right side of the tire wears out long before the left.

I had no idea the tire would wear so much in 1500 miles. I was shocked. I tried to get a replacement in Beckley, WV but no dealer with 150 miles had a 170/60-17 in stock. So I limped home. Bottom line, I won't make that mistake again.