Tire Life

[ponti_33609]

A very stupid question but if you could offer advise/insight it would appreciated.

 

Bought my V11 in August. Has just under 4,000 miles on it. The tires appear fine (penny in the thread). How long would a set normally last? Not sure what normal driving would typically yield.

 

Thx,

Bob

[Guest ratchethack]

Not a stupid Q, Bob. But tire life depends greatly on what tire you're talking about, how the bike is ridden, and generally, to a considerable degree on how far you want to take them once they've begun to square-off, at which point handling starts to become compromised. Rear tires can go from just 2-3 thou miles on a V11 with a sticky Sport tire compound, aggressively ridden, to 6, 7, or 8 thou on a Sport/Touring tire. I get a good 7K on the rears of my personal choice, the formidable Metzeler Z6 , considerably more on Z6 fronts.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

[Dan M]

A very stupid question but if you could offer advise/insight it would appreciated.

 

Bought my V11 in August. Has just under 4,000 miles on it. The tires appear fine (penny in the thread). How long would a set normally last? Not sure what normal driving would typically yield.

 

Thx,

Bob

 

 

Here we go.

Bob, It would be less confusing and maybe more accurate if you rolled a pair of dice, multiplied the sum by .663, then multiply that number by 1000. This is the exact number of miles a V11's tires last.

Seriously, the numbers will vary greatly with tire compound, how aggressive a rider you are and road surface.

[ponti_33609]

I do not ride agressive but because my V11 handles unlike any other I have ridden in my junior years, I have trouble distinguishing if it's normal or time for tires. I have "learned" to handle it (DO NOT ACCELERATE OR DECELERATE in turn and I am good now!!)and am comfortable riding her, but because I have not owned it since new, it is hard for me to tell. I guessed they should last for up to 10k but certainly appreciate your input. I do ride mostly in city conditions so I do a lot of stop and go riding.

 

 

Regards and Thanks,

Bob

[ponti_33609]

and.....the tires are the stock ones since new....Bridgestones.

[Guest ratchethack]

Bob, may I most humbly suggest that for your requirements as expressed, that it'd be a brand-new world of handling with any of the top rated Sport/Touring tires available, especially switching from the stock-issue, well-aged, seven-year-old 170 Bridgestone to an "oven fresh" 160/60 for your 4.5" rear wheel. Many hereabouts (myself included, and everyone I've recommended do this, without exception, has thanked me) have enjoyed greatly improved handling as a result.

 

While it's certainly possible that YMMV, and no two riders are the same, I reckon anything different might be a first -- at least on this here Forum.

[ponti_33609]

Bob, may I most humbly suggest that for your requirements as expressed, that it'd be a brand-new world of handling with any of the top rated Sport/Touring tires available, especially switching from the stock-issue, well-aged, seven-year-old 170 Bridgestone to an "oven fresh" 160/60 for your 4.5" rear wheel. Many hereabouts (myself included, and everyone I've recommended do this, without exception, has thanked me) have enjoyed greatly improved handling as a result.

 

While it's certainly possible that YMMV, and no two riders are the same, I reckon anything different might be a first -- at least on this here Forum.

 

Again, because I do not know better regarding the handling, I am certainly open to that suggestion and inuitively, it makes sense. So it's safe to say that age is also a factor regardless of miles?

 

Any personal preferences for someone that is at best a Sunday, around town and to the beach rider?

 

Thx again,

Bob

[Guest ratchethack]

So it's safe to say that age is also a factor regardless of miles?

Safe to say in general -- but again, now we get back into "it depends". . . I'd generally be pretty leery of any 7-year-old tire myself, but that's just me, and then, I've never taken a set of Bridgestones that've sat sorely unused for most of their life between Boston and Tampa, either. . .

 

Any signs of cracking anywhere on their surface? If so, that'd be my first motivation to pitch 'em, but again -- that's just me.

Any personal preferences for someone that is at best a Sunday, around town and to the beach rider?

How much do you want to weight cost on the 3-way tradeoff triangle betwixt cost, performance and mileage?

 

Depending on wot you mean by Sunday, around town, and beach riding (??) Some might do fine with a Cheng Shin (now MAXXI? or something to that effect??) garbage tire made by the premier Communist slave labor on the planet and "borrowed", who knows how old technology?? Again, this is just me, but on a Guzzi, in The Golden Age of Moto Tires, I reckon this amounts to an abomination! Others might put a strictly Touring tire on for max life. Others would be buying tires with the idea of doing burnouts by the boardwalk under some perverse compulsion to act a fool and make a spectacle o' themselves -- I'm not suggesting that's YOU, Bob, but I reckon we might have a few hereabouts with such "priorities". When it comes to tires, it's a little difficult to make all the correct assumptions about the requirements!

 

If you just want someone to tell you wot to buy before you do it, I reckon I'll leave that to someone more inclined.

 

You've got a terrific range of unprecedented tires to pick from in The Golden Age of Moto Tires, my friend. In your situation, you ain't gonna make a mistake almost no matter wot you do, and it's pretty much all upside from where you are now. . .

 

You already got the broadest hint I'm gonna give on a specific choice. Sorry, that's about all I got.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV.

[ponti_33609]

Well the former owner "claims" to have left her with the wheels off the ground. He had lot's of bikes and it seems to have been well cared for so I am guessing he might have. No cracks or anything when I inspected them but I know tires can often look fine when they are not. The more I think of 7-8 year old tires, the more I have decided they should be switched regardless. Despite geating what I thought was a great deal on a used Guzzi, I do feel a bit off because it's my first and I lack a point of reference by not having it since new to gage.

 

Thx for the suggestion on tires....yes Sunday driving is cruising, mostly between 40-50 mph (city you know).

 

My last question, unless anyone else weighs in on tire recommendations................Would I be breaking any Guzzi Laws or will she even run if I tried to install non-Italian tires on it?

 

Thx for all the advise...I do appreciate it!

 

Bob

[Guzzi2Go]

...doing burnouts by the boardwalk under some perverse compulsion to act a fool and make a spectacle o' themselves ...

On top of my ToDo list now that my Bridgestones have gone past the "barely legal" wear limit.

[Guest TippyRacer]

. . . I'd generally be pretty leery of any 7-year-old tire myself, but that's just me, and then, I've never taken a set of Bridgestones that've sat sorely unused for most of their life between Boston and Tampa, either. . .

 

Not just you, 7 years is too long for me too.

Just as another data point, as a slow street commuter (I take my racing to the racetrack) I've always been happy with the stick/wear compromise of street (not supersport) Michelins, Pirelli's, or Metzelers, on a variety of Ducati's, BMW's, Honda's, and Laverda. I'm not a fan of the pointier (pointy-er?) profile of most Dunlops, I like the rounded profile of the Michelin Pilot Road's or Metzeler ME Z4.

 

Not sure of how many International laws I am breaking by putting French or German tires on an Italian bike ...

[Skeeve]

Some might do fine with a Cheng Shin (now MAXXI? or something to that effect??) garbage tire made by the premier Communist slave labor on the planet <_ and who knows how old technology src="%7B___base_url___%7D/uploads/emoticons/default_ohmy.png" alt=":o">

 

OMG! I think I might have caught Ratch in an error!

 

Last I knew, Cheng Shin [aka "Cheap Sh!t"] tires were Taiwanese. Also, AFAIK, the Maxxis off-shoot, while still being much worse than any of the big name [Dunlop, Metz', Mich', Pirelli, etc.] brands is a huge advance over the old line of C.S. tires, due to newer rubber formulations and rip offs of more modern tread designs...

 

Of course, I could be wrong about all of this, but I seem to remember Cheng Shins being widely available in my youth [when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth & before Nixon had gone to knock on the Great Wall...] when America still had some production capacity of its own & embargoed just about everything from the 2nd world...

 

Now, as far as the advisability of replacing barely broken-in 7 y.o. Bridgestones for new skins: heck yeah, w/ one exception; if you're using your bike for commuter service and only ride on warm, dry, clean roads, then you'll still be able to extract a lot of wear from those old shoes, barring obvious "toss me!" indicators like cracks in the sidewall as Ratchet' described! But not many live in that sort of ideal environment, & w/ winter coming on here in So. Cal., even I wouldn't keep'em unless I was planning on putting the bike away til Spring[1].

 

BTW, I also like the Metz' Z6 tires for a good mix of wear vs. traction.

 

Ride on!

 

[1] At which point I'd leave them on as "place holders" until I could throw on truly fresh rubber in the spring: no sense spending money on new tires I wouldn't be using for several months...

[Guest ratchethack]

OMG! I think I might have caught Ratch in an error!

 

Last I knew, Cheng Shin [aka "Cheap Sh!t"] tires were Taiwanese.

Well spank me naked, Skeeve!

 

I do b'lieve y'er absolutely correct!

 

Though I do b'lieve that China has always been, and continues to be their primary market.

 

If you savvy Cantonese (or is it Mandarin?) -- sorry, it's all Greek to me:

 

http://www.cst.com.tw/

[dlaing]

They are primarily a Taiwaneese company, but appear to have factories in China and maybe elsewhere, like Thailand and Vietnam.

Click on the eighth link from the left in orange that looks like this (assuming your browser shows the characters) :

公司簡介

http://www.cst.com.tw/

You will see pictures of business offices and factories, two of which are in China.

Does this mean Ratchet is right and they are made by Communist Slave Labor?

They still could be made by college graduates, cannibals, or even desperate people trying to feed their children in the free world of Thailand or Taiwan, right?

[dlaing]

If you savvy Cantonese (or is it Mandarin?) -- sorry, it's all Greek to me:

Cantonese and Mandarin are spoken languages or dialects.

The websites are written in Chinese:

The Taiwanese website is in Traditional Chinese

http://www.cst.com.tw/

The Chinese website is in Simplified Chinese

http://www.cst.com.cn/