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Tire wear and tire options.

I’m trying

Member
Member
Time for new tires on my 93 c10.

At 20k I put on a Michelin pilot activ front tire and a a Shinko 777 rear. I put 12k mostly two up on it.

The front tire cupped early like around 3k miles and developed radial cracks around 11k. The rear still had not exposed cords at 12k.

I decided to step up to a semi matched set at 32k With a Metzler lasertec front 110/80-18 and a ME888 150 /80-16 rear.

After a 1500 mile weekend, This morning at 39k, I see exposed cords on the rear and the same radial cracks starting to form on the front. This set was strictly solo riding. I’ve tried to keep on top of tire pressure but I do know my front tire leaks down a pound or two overnight.

I liked the way this metzler set handled and rode. Is 7k a reasonable amount of miles for this setup?  Or should I be looking at a different brand.

I am taking wheels off after work and want to drop them by the dealer tomorrow if possible.
 
I don't think I've ever gotten more than 8k miles on any motorcycle tire.  There are those who have, but I'm not one of them.  HTH
 
Here we are not allowed to mix Radials with anything else and I don't like crossply front tyres.
I run 40psi front and 42psi rear.

So, here I run a Michelin PR3 front in 110/80-ZR18 and a rear Avon 3D-XM in 150/80-ZR16.
I get between 6k and 8k miles from the rear and about 10k from the front but they grip like dried snot to a blanket.
This mileage is to the wear bars as the legal limit of tyre tread depth in the UK for motorcycles is no less than 1mm across ¾ of the width of the tread pattern and with visible tread on the remaining ¼.

At the next change I am going to try the Avon Spirit rear with a PR3 front.
 
You should also take a good look at your preload suspension settings (SAG), especially if your switching from two up to single riding.  The cupping on your front could also be related to not enough air in the tire and to soft suspension.  Your bike is 23 yrs old.  Have you ever serviced the forks...changed the oil, new springs, bushings?  Not sure about the radial cracking.

Forks-
Static Sag- 12mm +/-3mm
Rider Sag- 35mm +/-5mm
 
Shock-
Static Sag- 10mm +/-3mm
Rider Sag- 30mm +/-5mm
 
The forks were rebuilt at 19k 4 years ago with Progressive springs and new bushings. They do have too much fork dive when braking. I am used to threaded shock bodies for setting sag. On this bike sag is adjusted by adjusting air pressure according to guide in manual correct?  :??:

When I pulled the rear Metzler ME888 off last night, I found that it was a front tire fitment.  I should have seen this before. I picked the tire up out in AZ in the middle of a ride to CA from VA. I probably should have inspected the set better at the dealership. The shops I’ve been to recently just kind of throw up their hands and say that it’s almost impossible to get tires for old bikes these days.

I was going to go with a set of Avon Storm 3dxm as they look like a good radial with correct front and rear sizes for a pre 93 concours but the two shops I went to yesterday say that that tire range was discontinued here in the US. I have an email into Avon to confirm.

From reading other tire threads on here, it looks like 6-7k is a reasonable mileage for rear tires.  I was riding 250cc and under bikes for 10years.  It’s taking some time to recalibrate my expectations.

My local guy is putting a Shinko SR777 on today. I’ll ride it out the rest of the season I have a zx9 front end and a meanstreak wheel sitting in the garage. I guess that doing the 17” swap this winter will be my best bet.
 
If you want matching Radials, the Avon Spirit ST are the only ones I know of other than the Storm 3D-XMs.
Avon's USA website still shows both of those tyres in the C10 sizes (early and late).
 
Thank you Boomer. I received this response from Avon confirming that the 3D cam is no longer being produced for America. I assume any existing stock listed on cycle gear etc are last years tires.

“The Avon Spirit ST replaced the Storm 3D-XM in US. Both of the sizes you are looking for are in the Spirit ST range. Please see the attached catalog for more details.”

Thank you tire guy for the sag suggestion. I ll be servicing the rear shock this month with the kit from murphs.
 
What causes the cupping on the rear tire? I have a '99 C10 with 128k miles. I have an Avon 3D with about 7k miles, front looks good yet.

Steve
 
What causes the cupping on the rear tire? I have a '99 C10 with 128k miles. I have an Avon 3D with about 7k miles, front looks good yet.

Steve

They seem to be real sensitive to pressure . I keep my rear at 42 and it does ok with minimal cupping .
 
Getting ready to replace the rear tire. Is the Avon 3dxm still a good choice or is the Avon Spirit now the good tire. The Avon 3dxm front still look good.

Steve
'99 C10 129k miles
 
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