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Oh No - Not Tires

And make sure the tire's rotation [arrow on the side wall] is facing in the foward direction,[we recently lost two motor officers,one in Massachusetts and one in Illinois, because a dealership put em on backwards] the air pressure is CORRECT,and then,"BALANCE the TIRE" as it makes a BIG DIFFERENCE in wear ,handling,and smoothness of the ride.And for those off you who mount your own tires [I do] make sure the balance mark [usually a small yellow or white dot on the side wall] lines up with the valve stem.You'd be surprised at how many guys,not to mention "REPUTABLE DEALERSHIPS" don't know that or just plain don't do it.So a word to the wise is sufficent. Carry on gentlemen!! Dave!!!
 
MikeBike said:
I have about 5600+ miles on the stock tires. I'm planning a 3000 mile trip from NY to FLA. Should I change them now when I bring the bike in for the 6000 mile service check or what?
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At just before 6,000 miles my back tire was showing the wear bar so I had the dealer replace it. I just took the bike in yesterday to drop it off for its 6,000 service at around 6,150 and the general manager said my front tire was showing wear and was cupped. I told him that I had just replaced the rear one then he said it could wait until my next oil change for the front one. Before a 3,000 mile trip, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I just took a 3,000 mile road trip in my truck and, luckily, put new Michelins on it just before. I traveled up the I/5 in Calif. and the pavement was horrible. Without the new tires, I would have been sitting along the roadside waiting for AAA to come help.
 
Davetac1 said:
And make sure the tire's rotation [arrow on the side wall] is facing in the foward direction,[we recently lost two motor officers,one in Massachusetts and one in Illinois, because a dealership put em on backwards] the air pressure is CORRECT,and then,"BALANCE the TIRE" as it makes a BIG DIFFERENCE in wear ,handling,and smoothness of the ride.And for those off you who mount your own tires [I do] make sure the balance mark [usually a small yellow or white dot on the side wall] lines up with the valve stem.You'd be surprised at how many guys,not to mention "REPUTABLE DEALERSHIPS" don't know that or just plain don't do it.So a word to the wise is sufficent. Carry on gentlemen!! Dave!!!
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When I worked at the dealership we did not always align the dot on purpose. We would balance them and see where the weights would end up and how much. If it needed a lot and we figured less weight would work if we turned the tire we would. Just because the dot isn't aligned with the valve stem don't condemn the dealership. There was also one brand (I forget) that the dot went 180 from the valve stem according to the manufacturer.

As for leaving on a 3,000 mile trip with 5,000 on a stock tire. There is NO WAY I would. My brother questioned me when we left on a 5,800 mile trip and I told him his OEM tires needed changed on his FJR1300. He said there was only about 2,000 miles on them. He changed the front which was already cupping. He got home with cord showing on the back riding in the rain. He listens better now.
 
Little Don said:
At just before 6,000 miles my back tire was showing the wear bar so I had the dealer replace it. I just took the bike in yesterday to drop it off for its 6,000 service at around 6,150 and the general manager said my front tire was showing wear and was cupped. I told him that I had just replaced the rear one then he said it could wait until my next oil change for the front one. Before a 3,000 mile trip, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I just took a 3,000 mile road trip in my truck and, luckily, put new Michelins on it just before. I traveled up the I/5 in Calif. and the pavement was horrible. Without the new tires, I would have been sitting along the roadside waiting for AAA to come help.
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Thanks for the info Don. I hate to have to change them with such little miles, but as you said, "better safe than sorry".
 
When I owned my RSV, [it weighted close to 900 lbs.] and used bias tires,Dunlop had just introduced a new bias tire ,the Elite III to replace their older series Elite II.So due to the short mileage I was getting out of the original Dunlops that came on the bike,[I forget which model they were] I tried a set of E III's. Well,not only was the E III a better handling tire,but believe it or not,I was getting 25,000 miles out of both front and rear tires,which was unheard of.Now that I have the Tbird,[820 lbs.] which uses radial tires like most bikes do today,the best I could get out of the factory Metzlers was 6-7000 miles,which,IMO,is totally unacceptable.And my understanding is,most of the guys with this model bike were only getting 4000 miles out of their tires,so I wasn't doing too bad compared to them.But I went shopping anyways,and after trying a number of different brand tires,I finally came up with the Avon Cobra AV71 for the front,and Dunlops new American Elite for the rear.Now I'm getting 15-20,000 miles out of the front tire,and 12-15,000 out of the rear,instead of 6-7000.So my point is,ya might wanna try a set of these tires.And the other thing I learned is,the recommended tire pressures may be TOO HIGH for your application,[unless you like to play squirrel or run on the race track,lol ] which wears em out prematurely in the middle.So I also played with pressures until I found a pressure that worked best for my application which was 4-5 lbs. LESS,then the factories recommended pressures,and the bike handles just fine. Dave!!!
 
abbienormal said:
When I worked at the dealership we did not always align the dot on purpose. We would balance them and see where the weights would end up and how much. If it needed a lot and we figured less weight would work if we turned the tire we would. Just because the dot isn't aligned with the valve stem don't condemn the dealership. There was also one brand (I forget) that the dot went 180 from the valve stem according to the manufacturer.

As for leaving on a 3,000 mile trip with 5,000 on a stock tire. There is NO WAY I would. My brother questioned me when we left on a 5,800 mile trip and I told him his OEM tires needed changed on his FJR1300. He said there was only about 2,000 miles on them. He changed the front which was already cupping. He got home with cord showing on the back riding in the rain. He listens better now.
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The dealer told me that going down to Fla. would be ok, then change front when I get there. Rear is ok. What does everyone think of this?
 
MikeBike said:
The dealer told me that going down to Fla. would be ok, then change front when I get there. Rear is ok. What does everyone think of this?
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Only if you want to stop in the middle of the trip and pay top $ for a replacement and frustrating down time. Even half-worn tires seem to disintegrate like gelato on a hot day on an extended trip. Trust me on this one and just replace it now.
 
GT-Rx® said:
Only if you want to stop in the middle of the trip and pay top $ for a replacement and frustrating down time. Even half-worn tires seem to disintegrate like gelato on a hot day on an extended trip. Trust me on this one and just replace it now.
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Going to Guzzi dealer in Ft. Meyers. I hope we make it!!!
 
Oh, I think I forgot to mention that, when you replace your rear tire, you should have the differential serviced. You can only do it with the wheel off and you might as well just do it when the wheel is off anyway.
 
According to the Moto Guzzi parts fiche, a rubber cush drive [which is what it's referred to on the Triumph I own],is used inbetween the metal halves of the drive system used in that back wheel.So what I do is clean and lightly grease that rubber cush drive with die electric grease,[both sides]and then wheel bearing grease on any bearings that are NOT sealed,and then alittle wheel bearing grease on the axle itself "EVERYTIME" that rear wheel is off for tire R+R.You'll discover that it makes a BIG difference,as any noises you may have heard coming from the back wheel should now be non existent,[unless something is broken ,worn out,or incorrectly installed]and,the bike will ride smoother.
 
Davetac1 said:
According to the Moto Guzzi parts fiche, a rubber cush drive [which is what it's referred to on the Triumph I own],is used inbetween the metal halves of the drive system used in that back wheel.So what I do is clean and lightly grease that rubber cush drive with die electric grease,[both sides]and then wheel bearing grease on any bearings that are NOT sealed,and then alittle wheel bearing grease on the axle itself "EVERYTIME" that rear wheel is off for tire R+R.You'll discover that it makes a BIG difference,as any noises you may have heard coming from the back wheel should now be non existent,[unless something is broken ,worn out,or incorrectly installed]and,the bike will ride smoother.
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Which Triumph do you have Dave, the Rocket III?
 
Negative!! I'm riding a 2010 Thunderbird SE 1600,water cooled,parallel twin,bought brandy new 5 years ago next week and have driven it almost 87,000 miles.And I drive it the way it was intended to be driven and not hot rodding it to the max trying to make it do somethin that it was NOT intended to do.However, I've had my share of problems with it,[it was the first year of the reintroduced Tbird] but nothing major or anything I couldn't figure out,which I then passed that info along to my fellow birders so they could fix theirs.What I don't like about it is the belt drive which is what brought me to the Guzzi among other shaft driven machines.The last five machines I've owned were all shaft drive and I am now thoroughly convinced that the shaft drive is definitely the way to go.
 
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The little satellite dealer where I bought my Guzzi also services a friend's little 225cc Yamaha dual sport (I referred him there as the tech is pretty knowledgeable and cares about his work). Before we headed out yesterday on a 200 mile ride, my friend and I stopped the dealer by to check tire pressures. On the way out, the tech asked me if I had seen my friend's tires--I had not. Later I took a look. His knobby dirt tires only have knobs on the sides the centers are worn flat as slicks. I think I've got to talk to him.
 
Ranger said:
My tire of choice is the Bridgestone Exedra Max Cruiser and Touring Tire, matched set front and rear. I almost had my tires replaced when I purchased my 1400-T but did not, big mistake. Photo shows the OEM Dunlop rear after 1,338 miles, 70mph, I-95 Florida, not fun.

View attachment 7177 View attachment 7178 View attachment 7179
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G'day Ranger
I'm getting the same Bridgestones tomorrow. How've they been? Get the same again?

Keith
 
Just a thought, prior to buying my C1400 the only thing I really didn't like was the 16"wheel/rim size, is it possible to get, fit and use 17/18" rims on these bikes as it would give us a lot better choice of tyres? Thanks.
 
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MJPTexas said:
In September I finally gave up waiting for the Dunlop 251 front to show up and bought a Dunlop Elite 3. I had thought that since it was an OEM replacement for the Goldwings there wouldn't be any load/performance issues and had hoped that since it was the same manufacturer as the back that it would work. Net, net - I really don't like the way it feels during spirited riding. The big Cali just doesn't seem to fall into the curves as smoothly with the Elite 3 as it did with the 251. It's wearing pretty well, but I'll replace it when the time comes to replace the rear.

I guess I'm one of the few that liked the way the OEM 251s worked on my Custom. My big complaint is the rear was toast after 6,000 miles and the front had a funny cupping. But the first 5,000 miles were great.
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MJP, I had the same exact result on my OEMs.
 
image.webp After much research, decided to go with Metzeler ME880s
Been on a week, so far so good.
Got 12,000 km from the D251s
We'll see...
 
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