stock new tires! i like allot!

[themadchef]

hello all, i have a 2018 c14 and i must say i really like my stock tires on my bike! i only got 400 miles on them but they seem to be super smooth and have great grip! i rode a little in the rain and they seem good as well! they are battle axe 011? i think? i also have a aprilia futura and i have pilot road 5 and they are great as well! what are your thaughts on the battle axe tires? do they get good life miles wise? and how are they in the heavy rain?

thanks the chef

[MAN OF BLUES]

everyone is going to tell you they are horrible... but truth be told, I found when mine (021's) were "new" and on my "brand new bike" back in '07, they were fine... no complaints... as good as anything "new" at that time...
They will wear out tho, and performance will degrade, and at some time around 3k miles, you will see this...
 but use them up, and when you decide to make 'new' again, there are a plethora of tire posts here... so just use caution.

just scroll all the posts below... read them until you begin to feel nauseous, and then continue... by the time you read 3 pages, you should have more than a lifetimes worth of "tire opinions"...
oh, being new, don't ask which oil people recommend....just warning ya...

Enjoy your new ride...

[Old Man on a Connie]

Here they are called Stone's and if I knew then what I knew now I would have had them swapped out on the dealer floor. But what MOB sez is true. Ride them till they are done and swap. My only suggestion, tires, oil, seats and screens being very personal to each is to get the 55 profile rear tire vs the 50. I think most do prefer that tire size. Enjoy that scoot and get out to some gatherings. As the old saying goes opinions are like........... And for what it's worth Baldwin Saddles, Cal Sci screen and Motul full synth 

[themadchef]

thanks for the ideas, i have had battle axe tires in the past and i was happy with them, so i will ride the heck out of them and then switch to the pilot road 5 gt, i am familiar with the pilots! as with gatherings, i will try to go to some of them! i am booked up on rides till the end of july, so august on, will work out for me, def look forward to putting miles on the bike!

thanks the chef!

[GrantE]

The stock Battle Axes lasted for only 7,000 miles at which point I replaced them with Pilot Road 4 GTs. Wow what a difference the Road 4s made and they still have some life on them at 11,000 miles. BTW the Road 5s don't as of yet come in GT form and may not ever. Michelin doesn't recommend using the non GT on the Concours however there are a few here that are and like them. I will most likely be putting another set of 4 GTs on before this set is done to avoid being on a longer ride needing them out on the road.

[SuperDuc]

For anyone contemplating sticking with the OEM Battlax, have a look at mine from 3 days ago and reassess.  The front is almost as bad with both tires at the 8K mark.  Yes, the bike is in the back of a U-Haul because no replacements were available in Missoula for 3 days.  All the shops were closed and I had to get back to Seattle.  Will likely be switching to Michelins.  Not how I wanted to end a 10 day, 4000 mile leisurely ride.
The low speed front end wobble was the 1st indicator of problems but the tread looked OK on both at 7K.  2 days later, not so much.

[GrantE]

For anyone contemplating sticking with the OEM Battlax, have a look at mine from 3 days ago and reassess.  The front is almost as bad with both tires at the 8K mark.  Yes, the bike is in the back of a U-Haul because no replacements were available in Missoula for 3 days.  All the shops were closed and I had to get back to Seattle.  Will likely be switching to Michelins.  Not how I wanted to end a 10 day, 4000 mile leisurely ride.
The low speed front end wobble was the 1st indicator of problems but the tread looked OK on both at 7K.  2 days later, not so much.

Put a set of PR4 GTs on and you'll think it's  a whole different bike. I now have 13,000 miles on the Michelins and still look like they did at 11,000. I do have a new set ready to go on but what is on the bike is still going.

[gsun]

For anyone contemplating sticking with the OEM Battlax, have a look at mine from 3 days ago and reassess.  The front is almost as bad with both tires at the 8K mark.  Yes, the bike is in the back of a U-Haul because no replacements were available in Missoula for 3 days.  All the shops were closed and I had to get back to Seattle.  Will likely be switching to Michelins.  Not how I wanted to end a 10 day, 4000 mile leisurely ride.
The low speed front end wobble was the 1st indicator of problems but the tread looked OK on both at 7K.  2 days later, not so much.

This can happen to any tire because you aren't paying attention to the tread wear. Sorry but it couldn't have looked ok 1000K before. There would have been almost no tread in the middle of the tire.

[SuperDuc]

Not to get into a pissing match but you weren't inspecting the tire or riding the bike.  Thanks for the helpful insight though.

[Road Runner]

"For anyone contemplating sticking with the OEM Battlax." Don't think so!

They were the first item to go on my bike after purchase...

[Just Cliff]

For anyone contemplating sticking with the OEM Battlax, have a look at mine from 3 days ago and reassess.  The front is almost as bad with both tires at the 8K mark.  Yes, the bike is in the back of a U-Haul because no replacements were available in Missoula for 3 days.  All the shops were closed and I had to get back to Seattle.  Will likely be switching to Michelins.  Not how I wanted to end a 10 day, 4000 mile leisurely ride.
The low speed front end wobble was the 1st indicator of problems but the tread looked OK on both at 7K.  2 days later, not so much.

This can happen to any tire because you aren't paying attention to the tread wear. Sorry but it couldn't have looked ok 1000K before. There would have been almost no tread in the middle of the tire.

I gotta disagree with you, it can happen. Happened to me & yes I inspected the tires good before leaving. Looked to have a easy 1,500 miles left, probably 1/3 tread left. Made a overnight 2 day ride of only 800 miles. Limped home with cord showing all the way around the front tire, rear still looked good. You could see tread disappear at every gas stop.

It happens!

[CaffeineMan]

I’ll second the “goes away instantly” comments on the stock tires.  Ran for about 4K on mine, then wear increased noticeably and got a front end wobble.

[themadchef]

hello well I got almost 9k miles on my battle axe tires, I got maybe 500 left on them, other than unusual tire wear, I have had no issue with them! I noticed that you must keep them a 42psi. they lasted FOR A GOOD AMOUNT of time. Its time to change them out! friends of mine recommend Dunlop q3 plus, which I will try, they are cheaper then the pilots which I have on my Aprilia and they do have a dual compound! I will give an update on which tires I do decide on, but the stockers did really well almost 10k on them!

[MAN OF BLUES]

AS I noted prior, tires are very funky to predict; that said, I'm glad you got the life out of them... you actually got a lot out of them. Having said that, and also having much less miles before I replaced them (4k-5k maybe? iirc),and they in my opinion when new, were steller tires.. until they weren't... they, and many other tires will deceive you on "miles left", as once those layers of "durable" rubber scrub down, the softer under layers wear very rapidly... Having gone thru PR's, PR2's, and PR3-PR4 now, I can say without a doubt no matter just how many miles I "think" I have left, they always wear out before that point arrives.. and on the road, and at the mercy of anyplace that sells tires for like 40% more than I buy them online... it makes for a bad road trip.. btdt. Like going on a 2k trip with wife, thinking "no problem, these will last... " and faced with a 2 day ride drinking from the firehose home.. having to get a new tire to protect my wife took priorities, and sucked $250 outta the trip money..  any more, when I plan a long ride, say 2k miles, and look at my tires, and think "i can make it on these"... I change them out, in my garage, and leave home without a worry.. yeah, I may have some tires I peeled off, sitting, but hey... when I have a pal that needs one on a Sunday, we slap it on and he can ride for free.. passing it forward so to speak.

[Bud]

Buddies with extra "stuff" sure comes in handy at times.

[MAN OF BLUES]

Buddies with extra "stuff" sure comes in handy at times.

guilty as charged... my wife says I'm a pack rat... but when I mount a set of tires on a pals bike, just so he can ride a couple more weeks... and he brings me 2 "sixer's" of reallllllly good beer... she can't say much about it...   Now if she would only "give stuff she brings home from work" away, I could get into my garage...
 

[strum]

 i would like to know how yall gettin 9-10 -13 k out of your tires. 6-7k is tops for me.

[gpd323]

i would like to know how yall gettin 9-10 -13 k out of your tires. 6-7k is tops for me.

I know, its beyond belief how they get that kind of mileage on a set of tires  . My Avon's at 5K are are pretty worn out. Maybe a another 600 mile trip on them but the handling is suffering already. Tramming on the pavement groves and imperfections on the roads.

BTW: I thought the OEM stock tires were just fine, I wore them out and went to Pirellis and other brands. Now stay with Avon's. Cheers!

[Old Man on a Connie]

i would like to know how yall gettin 9-10 -13 k out of your tires. 6-7k is tops for me.

Pretty sure this isn't the answer but me thinks (and therefore considered dangerous) road surface has a bunch to do with it. Them east coast roads with oyster shells and chip seal have teeth. I think it has more to do with your idea of fun. I enjoy riding the pace, avoid using the brakes getting into corners and accelerating hard out (though I have been known to do so sometimes). Then some enjoy braking hard into corners and twisting it hard getting out going corner to corner. Just thinkin'.

[gpd323]

Yes, some Oregon roads are like 1 grit sandpaper. They chew the tires to pieces if you are aggressive. My least amount of front tire went in 2700 miles, I swapped it for another Pirelli ST and at 6K miles both the new front and rear were worn out.

I do think its all about how one rides, how aggressive or tame one is on the corners, brakes and throttle.

Beer me! 

[MAN OF BLUES]

I think both of you are correct on the surfaces.. When I was in Va, and did a lot of back and forth "droning", my bike simply ate tires.. I think it is also combined with "duration" of held speeds... back and forth to work, didn't really eat them up... scrubbing a 6-10 hour freeway trip, made sure that rubber stayed soft and got eaten up faster..
Back here in Ohio now, where we have very smooth asphalt roads, and no sand, they simply do last a bit longer for me.. so i'll add that as a good thing.. I did see a marked increase on the tires that came to Ohio on my bike, during the last "miles ridden", of "slowed wear" compared to down in Va., and when I changed them out last, I can say the last ones (installed in Ohio), have shown very little "visible wear", compared to what the last 5 sets had..

[ron203]

i would like to know how yall gettin 9-10 -13 k out of your tires. 6-7k is tops for me.

Pretty sure this isn't the answer but me thinks (and therefore considered dangerous) road surface has a bunch to do with it. Them east coast roads with oyster shells and chip seal have teeth. I think it has more to do with your idea of fun. I enjoy riding the pace, avoid using the brakes getting into corners and accelerating hard out (though I have been known to do so sometimes). Then some enjoy braking hard into corners and twisting it hard getting out going corner to corner. Just thinkin'.

I think road surface temps also play a role, as well as the kind of rock in the pavement. Strum and I live in an area with granite rock used in the asphalt and there are high road temps in the summer here in Georgia. Granite fractures (breaks) into pieces with sharp edges and corners when it is crushed and it is hard to begin with, so the sharp edges stay sharp.

In the summer, road surface temps are very hot here. I used to sell carbide teeth for road planing contractors and granite aggregate jobs just destroyed tooth life. Lime rock like in middle Tennessee and Florida, was pretty soft and river gravel dredged from the Mississippi River and used in pavement near rivers, was even harder than granite on teeth, even though the river rock was worn round by the water action over the ages.  I guess the soft stuff turned into sand leaving the hardest rock of all to be dredged.

Then there's rider weight and riding styles that vary. No wonder miles vary so much.

[strum]

Then there's rider weight    you saying im fat

[ron203]

Then there's rider weight    you saying im fat

The hit dog hollers....  but not in this case. 

[Boomer]

I find it quite funny when people say that the BT-021s are good when new.
Of course they are, it's when they are part worn that they start to get strange.

Mine were fine until about 3500 miles. Then they started to track white lines and tar-snakes getting progressively worse over the next 1000 miles.
Finally I'd had enough and on inspecting the front tyre I found it had worn badly into a V cross-section shape.
I used a drill with a flap sander attachment to change the profile back to U and doing that 2 more times I managed to make them last to 7000 miles when I gave up and fitted PR3's. When I swapped both tyres out, the rear BT-021 still probably had 2-3k miles left in it and seemed to be wearing normally, but the front was dead.

The PR3's wore predictably and normally, and apart from a bit of cupping (which made them hum when leaned over) I never had any problems with them. I got 10k miles out of them and the front had at least 2k miles left in it. I replaced those with PR4s (non-GT) which have consistently got me 14-15k front and 10k rear and since then I've had PR4's all the way to 75k miles on the bike. My next set of tyres will be the PR5-GT which are now available.

I've seen that V wear on the front BT-021 on 3 other ZG1400s and also on an FJR1300 and an ST1300.
The rears seem to be fine, it's the fronts that are just not up to loads involved on a big ST bike.
Only tyre I've ever ridden on where the fronts die before the rears.

Some swear by the Pirelli Angel-GTs, others prefer the Avon Storm/Spirits, some like the Metzeler RoadTec Z8, Bridgestone Battlax T31, Dunlop Roadsmart II/III, Continental RoadAttack3. Others fit budget tyres and some have even fitted car tyres to the rear of their C14s.
I've yet to be disappointed by a Michelin tyre so will be sticking with them for the foreseeable future.