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Mainer
| Posted on Sunday, June 21, 2009 - 05:02 pm: |
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I have an issue with the tire wearing off the back of my 2000 x1. When I got the bike it had a tire that looked as if it's entire life was a smokey burnout. The middle of the tire was gone and the out side edges were somewhat ok. So I put a new tire on it and figured either the last guy smoked it or did not keep up on the air psi. SOOOO, 1200 miles later I have the same type of tire!!!ARGHHHHH I had a shop inspect the bike as well as put the tire on, and they said everything looked fine. What would cause this type of wearing? If you look at the pics you can see the edge of tread blocks and how they are almost curled up. It is a Dunlop tire, also. PLEASE CHIME IN!! Thanks
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Ocbueller
| Posted on Sunday, June 21, 2009 - 05:29 pm: |
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Correct tire size for rim? Pressure? Which model Dunlop? SteveH |
Fahren
| Posted on Sunday, June 21, 2009 - 05:42 pm: |
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Try a better tire than the dunlops. What is your riding style? Do you commute on it? No matter what the issue with the Dunlops, how much time you spend on the edges vs. the middle of the tire will determine most of this. But damn, 1200 miles?!? Switch to a better tire. You need to, anyway, at this point. |
Kalali
| Posted on Sunday, June 21, 2009 - 10:00 pm: |
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I can't think of anything inherent to the bike itself that could cause so much wear in only 1200 miles regardless of the tire brand. No offense but I can only think of 1) riding style, and 2) amount of weight on the rear tire. |
Unsettledparadox
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 01:32 am: |
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"I can't think of anything inherent to the bike itself that could cause so much wear in only 1200 miles regardless of the tire brand. No offense but I can only think of 1) riding style, and 2) amount of weight on the rear tire." i can only add to this. at 1200 miles it boggles the mind why ANY tire would be flat regardless of riding style but perhaps you arent running it on the edges enough? |
Mainer
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 07:08 am: |
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the tire is a Dunlop D364 170/60ZR17 and I have kept it at 34 psi. I am 235lbs and have had no passengers. My riding style is somewhat aggressive but not crazy. My thought - could a bad shock do this? Is there such thing as bike alignment? Thanks |
Akbuell
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 11:39 am: |
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I wasn't real happy with the service life I was getting out of my Dunlops either. Given my riding style, I changed from a sport tire to a Metzler Roadtec Z6 sport-touring tire. Better mileage, and more tire than I will use on the street. And +1 on the riding style. I am willing to guess that you routinely blip the throttle and downshift when coming to a stop or when slowing down, using engine compression to slow down, then fine-tuning the stop w/the brakes. I used to do that, and ended up with the classic 'square' rear tire profile your picture shows. Changed my riding style, and got 7500mi out of a Dunlop. The Metzler is doing much better than that. Hope this helps, Dave |
Fahren
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 12:10 pm: |
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my owner's manual says 38psi for rear Dunlops. Could be a factor. Akbuell, are you saying he should slow down with brakes, and only downshift to keep the engine in sync with the deceleration (i.e., no engine braking)? |
Mainer
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 12:49 pm: |
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so the tire wear is normal from blipping and down shifting for a buel??? |
Fahren
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 05:17 pm: |
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This is the second tire you've seen this happen to on your bike. But still, I can't see anything inherent about a bike (any bike) that alone would cause that. So that's where I think Kalali was going: tire pressure, the weight load on the rear, and the style/mannerisms of your riding (and maybe the PO's riding style, too. No matter what, a lot more time is being spent on straights than on curves on this bike. How accurate is your tire pressure gauge, and how often do you use it? One of the simplest yet most important pre-ride checks is tire pressure, using a good-quality gauge. Doesn't have to be expensive - there are some cheap-o mini-digital units out there that work just fine. But do it. The line at the outer edge of the worn area looks almost as if a wide (flattened) area of the tire was getting all the wear. |
Mainer
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 07:05 pm: |
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I have a good quality gauge from napa. 35 psi vs 42 if thats what the manual says is a big difference. I brought it back to the shop and they said to put a new tire on it and check a few things $250. I brought them this tire to put on, i got it from ebay new for 75$. The guy at the store told me that dulop hasnt made this tire for 10 years and it probably sat in a warehouse for quite some time and thats why it wore out...he could be right...but i would like to be sure before i flush 250 down again in a few months |
Akbuell
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 09:27 pm: |
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To Fahren and Mainer: Yes, I'm saying use the brakes. When I used to downshift and use engine braking, I had high rear tire wear. Got out of the habit, and ended up getting 12.5k out of the OE rear on the Fatboy I traded for the X-1. And yeah, if the tire sat in a warehouse for a long time, it will not be as 'elastic' as a fresh one. And you may want to consider something closer to 38PSI, as you are within 150lbs of GVWR. |
Fahren
| Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 11:05 pm: |
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Yep, a new tire and 38 psi. Can't ride on the old one safely, anyhow. There's quite a bit of "tire thread" action on Badweb to review, so wade in and good luck. |
Fahren
| Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 08:03 am: |
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tires on sale at JC Motors: http://www.jcmotors.com/c-1279-tires.aspx?SectionF ilterID=8 |
Kalali
| Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 08:36 am: |
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Tires have expiration dates just like meat and eggs.... Whenever I look to replace my tires, I remember what my mentor told me when I got my first bike: There is less than 4 square inches of contact patch between you and the tarmac. Don't skimp on tires...Specially on rear tire on a bike. |
Mainer
| Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 09:43 am: |
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HEY what are you trying to say- that I need to loose weight??? (haha) I went to the shop that put the tire on yesterday and they said that if I bought a new tire from them and they put it on they would gar-on-tee that it would be OK. They quoted me a new metzler tire and labor for $250. I think that is what I am going to do then if there is a problem it's there problem. |
Chelpdogg
| Posted on Friday, September 25, 2009 - 02:51 am: |
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you do know you should change both don't you? not just the rear? they are engineered to match. mix and matching can cause problems due to different compounds, tyre profiles and stiffness and flex. and yes if you change ur riding style and reducethe ammount of braking u do while commuting on the rear it will last longer. think about it, front wheel wears out from braking rear from accelleration, if your doing the going and the stopping on one tyre its gonna half the life of it. |
Buell_bert
| Posted on Friday, September 25, 2009 - 09:35 pm: |
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Most of us do a bit more straight driving. And yes weight is a variable. But, when slowing down and dumping the clutch (and getting some bark) instead of easing it out, over a short amount of time, will cut down on tire life. Especially, it is dependent on your geographic area. The type of pavement compounds used throughout our great nation is (should we say) very unique. I live on a steep hill for a driveway and when it was gravel my automobile tires had a very short life but now with a paved surface they last so much longer. Please let us all know what you find out. |
Bombardier
| Posted on Monday, September 28, 2009 - 04:22 am: |
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You have an alignment issue with the rear tyre. A simple check is to measure the distance between the axle centres front to rear with the front wheel set straight ahead. Also measure from the centre of the rear axles to a known point on your frame on both sides. Also look along your rear tyre to the front tyre to see if they look aligned. There are people with the measuring and setting equipment to fix your issue. It may be something simple like a swingarm bearing or a bent frame/swingarm. |
Fast1075
| Posted on Monday, September 28, 2009 - 04:41 pm: |
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My Blast could wear a tire out that fast...and the only problem with it was me. |
Sportyeric
| Posted on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 12:59 am: |
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I think that using the engine braking puts far less stress on the tire than acceleating quickly, so I don't really buy that argument. I tend to nurse my bike into motion off the lights and not give 'er until second gear. Tires last a lot longer that way. Also, speeds over 90 mph or so will eat up rubber quickly. I've gone to dual compound tires (harder in the center and softer on the sides). A good balance between economy and performance on the street. |
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