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tire review up date

P

polymite

Training Wheels
Hello all:
I am new to the forum, just got my brand new 09 Connie the end of Jan. Thats right brand new still in the box. Saved big bucks over the 11 model...:)
Now at 1250 miles I am very happy with the bike. Comfort, ride, POWER:), etc.
Tire wear on front is fast. Seems to be cupping just slightly at 41psi...
I have been researching the forum and found the correct way for setting pressure, (set cold, ride 15 min. check and adj.)
My question is, back in Jan. "cognosticator" purchased a set of Shinko Verge 011 tires... I was wondering how they were performing for him???? Any feed back would be appreciated, (sp)

Al in New Bern NC
 
Before I start, I want to say that these are just my experiences and opinions on tires and they may vary from others experiences. So take this with a grain of salt.  I want to begin that IIRC, the recommended cold temperature for the C14 from Kawasaki is 42PSI cold pressure. I pretty much always ran 42 PSI cold on my tires on the C14. Only one tire did I play around with the pressures on. But I'll get into that later.
I ran of course the Bridgestone 021's that came on the C14. As yours, they wore quick and the front cupped and wore out at about 4,000 miles. The rear was wearing a little better. But I changed them both out anyway. This is the first time ever over many years, tires and quite a few different motorcycles, that I had a front tire wear faster than the rear. But it turned out to be the Brigestone 021 itself. On different forums, you will hear from the majority of the people that their 021 front wore out first. Most will say quickly and that the front cupped as well. But not all. Some have gotten decent mileage out of them. But I tend to belive that they are the minority. Once you replace the 021's with almost any other tire, you find a better handleing bike. Tire wear and cupping also is much less of a problem with every other tire I used. And the funny part is that the easiest I ever was on the bike and tires was when it was new!
Anyway I ran three other types of tires on my C14. I'll go in no particular order. The Michelin Pilot Road 2 is a very popular tire on the C14. A lot of people have had good experience with them citing good handleing and wear. My particular set I found to be less than stellar. They were unpredictable with respect to grip. This is where I tried different pressures to help them. Yet nothing seemed to cure their tendency to just step out on me unprovoked at any speed and throttle. So I removed them before needing replacement, because I felt mine were border line dangerous. Others have had similar experiences on them. But for the most part, many have had nothing but good to say about them. I personally think Michelin has a quality problem with the tires that make them inconsistent.
Now I am not saying that they are bad tires. Only that mine were. So I am hoping that the new PR3 has addressed any of the problems some have had with the PR2 (because it is not just myself who has had such problems). The PR3 is supposed to be better in the rain, but it is unknown how the wear will be. Personally, I belive that the better gripping tires will not wear quite as good as harder better wearing tires. So I waiting to hear feedback from others that are now running the PR3.
The first tires I changed the 021's to on the bike was the Pirelli Diablo Strada. I absolutly loved the tire, except for the look of the tread pattern. Grip and handling was exceptionally good in both wet and dry. The down side were that they didn't wear as good as the PR2's seem to wear. I had different wear on the Strada's. But it depended how I rode the bike, as to wear. But the worst I ever got on the Strada was on par with the 021. But the rear wore out first like pretty much every tire but the 021. But the first set was much better than the 021. I ran three sets of Stradas. And found the wear was worse after I removed the secondary (butterfly valves) throttle plates. That's when they wore the worst (on par with the rear 021).
Since then, Pirelli has come out with a replacement tire for the Strada (although there are still Strada's out there). The replacement is the Angel ST. The Angel wear better than the Strada and still grip excellent in wet and dry. They also have a much better tread pattern. So I pretty much love the Angels, even if they don't wear as good as the Michelin. But I'll take better grip and sure footed handling any day over not as good and better wear.
I have not tried the some of the other tires like the Avons ultras, Dunlop Road Smart or others. So I can't comment personally. But I do recommend the Pirelli Angel ST for the C14. I feel it excels with confidence and grip, while giving decent wear.
 
same problem  with my 09  oem tyres  wore out at  3400  so  after much  reading on  this  site  installed  a set of  angels  well worth  the  cost  and with 5100 on  this  set  seems to have plenty of  wear  left    this site  is so  worth getting involved  with  good advise  and  good people  thank you  cog9178
 
I got 12,000 miles on PR2's on my '09 Connie.  OEM's were trash at 4,000 now I have 16,000 and ready to replace. I watch my tire pressures closely.  When the PR2's were on for about 2,000 miles and I was running 42psi front and rear, I could see the start of cupping.  I  started using a simple technique you can use to pick the right pressure for your style of riding and passenger/rider load. Keep in mind that all the recommendations in the Kawi manual for your 1400GTR are based on a solo 150 lbs rider.  For best results, you must use a real tire pressure gauge not the TPS on the dash board.

I have talked to Michelin, Metzeler and Avon reps and they all agree that tires must warm up for proper handling.  If the tire pressure while the tire is cold is too low, the tire pressure when the tires are warm will be more than 5 psi higher.  If the tire pressure while the tire is cold is too high, the tire pressure when the tires are warm will be less than 3psi higher.  According to the Metzeler rep I talked with, it is overheated tires caused by under inflation that is the number one reason for highway tire failure.  The tire doesn't fail because it has a nail in it, the tire fails because the nail caused a loss of tire pressure.

So here's the procedure for determining the right tire pressure for you.  Measure the tire pressure when the tires are cold, go for a 15 minute ride, stop, and measure the tire pressures of the warm tires.  If the warm tire pressure is 5psi higher than the cold pressure, add a pound or two of air.  If the warm tire pressure is less than 3psi higher than the cold pressure, let a pound or two out.  Add or subtract the air you changed from the original cold pressure then go for that 15 min ride again.

When I had a cold tire pressure of 42psi, the warm tire pressure was 47 psi but I could see the cupping.  Now that I boasted the cold tire pressure to 45psi, the warm tire pressure is 48 psi and the cupping was eliminated.

I found the results worth the effort and no one I have talked with has given me a better method of finding the best tire pressures that work for me.  Wait until you see the difference the right tire pressure makes in the handling

 
Ram, how would one take ambient temp into the mix ??  say mornings are 45deg, afternoons are 75deg.
pr2 at 42 with slight cupping.

Thanks,
Joel

(do the 23's grip and wear well compared to the pr2?)
 
I can recommend the Angels as well, and I've had the PR2's, Avons, and Roadsmarts on this bike.  Fred Harmon had a chart that compensated for "cold" inflation pressures that should get you close.  "Cold" means 65F and the warmer it gets the higher that initial pressure will be.  Then go ride it like RAMrider suggests  >:D and the only variables you'll be chasing is your riding style and road conditions.  Absolutely must have the right pressure for handling--I think it's the reason MCN didn't like the 2008. :-[
 
Regarding tire pressure, I have been using the formula that a properly inflated tire would gain 10% pressure after warming up.

Don't remember where that came from, but it seemed logical and I have had favorable results with it.

Peter
 
Polymite, I'm currently running shinko ravens. They work as good as good anything I have tried. I'm riding a 2008 c-14. Running close to 60k. Have tried all the map or brands.
 
This is a update on my stock tires.
At 3700mi. the rear still looks good, the front is shot. I ordered a set of  009 shinko ravens from Jake Wilson.
Installed only the front, the handling and ride change was very suprising. The bike turns in and holds a line much better than the old stock Bridgstone's. Also the bike straight tracks better now not wanting to wander and follow patterns in the road.
Thanks for all the input, and I will keep everyone updated about how they wear.
Al
 
JS_racer said:
Ram, how would one take ambient temp into the mix ??  say mornings are 45deg, afternoons are 75deg.
pr2 at 42 with slight cupping.

Thanks,
Joel

(do the 23's grip and wear well compared to the pr2?)
Click to expand...

Once the tires are wamed up, they are hotter than the ambient so any change in ambient really doesn't matter.  The reason we check the tires cold is that we need to know the starting point so we can make the cold/hot comparison

A tire rep once told me that a 10F increase in ambient will add a bit less than a 1psi in cold tire pressure.  That info explains why cold tire pressures go up as we go from a cold spring ambient to hot summer ambient conditions so we release air from the tires.  When the cool fall weather comes, we need to add air to keep the tires properly inflated.

I had the a cupping problem when I had the pr2's at 42psi cold, 47 hot. When I had 45psi cold, the hot was 48, and the extra pressure seemed to slow down the cupping problem. I got 12,000 miles from a set of pr2's.  The front was barely legal and the rear still had probably 2,000 miles more life but I was leaving on a 2,500 mile ride
 
For me I find running 36/38 or even 34/36 in my PR2's gives me about 3-4psi change. Any higher and grip is sacrificed too on the twisty roads around here.
 
Teleskier said:
For me I find running 36/38 or even 34/36 in my PR2's gives me about 3-4psi change. Any higher and grip is sacrificed too on the twisty roads around here.
Click to expand...

That's pretty low. 34PSI is right about where the low pressure warning will come on. This is the problem with the PR2. Inconsistent grip! Mine were absolutly terrible that way. You never knew when they would grip or just step out. And pressures didn't help much. So I stayed away from them. And ran Angels with great results. The PR3's I'm running right now, seem much, much better than the junk PR2's I tried.
 
Update on my tire wear.
Got the Shinko 009's installed front at 3700 mi. installed the rear at 4000mi.
I now have about 1000 miles on the rear and 1300 on the front and am very happy with the wear, handling, everything so far...
Running 41psi cold rear and 46psi cold front.... tits still on the front, some left on the back. very happy so far. $175 delivered from Jakes.
 
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