Mike05 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I run Avon Storm 2's front & back. Great tire, both in the twisties & the rain. Always accepeable milage on the front (7-9.5k) tire but now, steadily decreasing results on the rear, from 5-6k average to just at 4,000 on each of the last two tires. Even going from regular Storm's to the Storm 2, with it's advertised 10% plus milage improvement hasn't helped a bit; back tire milage continues to fall. The bike has Works ESA-compatible shocks with about 35K miles on them. I notice some deterioration but frankly not all that much. Still, nothing else has (obviously) changed; ride the same roads, weigh about the same, consistent saddlebag load. If it ain't the shock or possibly an adjustment in the preload then I'm stumped. Any thoughts or ideas appreciated. Link to comment
CoarsegoldKid Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 In my experience a worn shock will not increase tire wear without a corresponding deformation of the tread from bouncing up and down uncontrollably. Low tire pressure, change in compounds, road surfaces, right wrist angle, brake application, load increases(weight gain, passenger, luggage) all contribute to tire wear. I think some thing has changed and it's not the shock. On the other hand many riders have the shock refreshed after that many miles so you might just start there anyway. Link to comment
Edgar Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Looks like it's time for the PR2's. Link to comment
John Bentall Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Looks like it's time for the PR2's. How about some PR3's? Link to comment
Quinn Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I just think that there's a lot of variation in batches of tires. There's also a lot of factors that can influence wear; abrasive pavement, tire inflation, etc. To me, it's like good genes vs. exercise. You control what you can and let the chips fall where they may. Do I win the mixed metephor award? --- Link to comment
tallman Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I think more comfortable he are so more wrister he go. Tire go faster so tire goes faster. Link to comment
FrankBrown Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Could be the rear caliper/pads hanging up? Link to comment
Mike05 Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Looks like it's time for the PR2's. How about some PR3's? Actually ordered PR 3's yesterday. Ordered Avon Storm's this morning too. Couldn't help myself; really like them. Plan on using the Avon's now & the PR 3's for the UnRally and/or a trip out West. Some good thoughts here. Will adjust the preload this weekend & hope for the best. May also "thin out" the saddlebags. Can't think of anything else. Thanks all. Link to comment
eddd Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Has your bride been preparing some extra special meals/deserts the last few months? Link to comment
Mike05 Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Has your bride been preparing some extra special meals/deserts the last few months? That would be too easy an answer. I'm sure not afraid of a fork but actually weighing less now these days. Cked. brakes, they're fine. Maybe Quinn's right; less-then-optimum batch. Avon isn't exactly known for stellar quality control; lots of headaches there in the past. Three day weekend to Arkansas coming up' plus a trip to Phoenix. Will see how this latest tire holds up. Link to comment
johnlt Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hey Mike, if you come through Tucson enroute to Phoenix, give me a shout, we'll do lunch. Link to comment
dirtrider Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Morning Mike On my list of (rear) tire wearing things a worn or mis-adjusted rear shock would be way down the list. As mentioned above usually causes asymmetrical tire wear not evenly distributed accelerated rear tire wear. Probably proper tire pressure would be near the top of the list as well as rear brake usage. Heavy acceleration by the rider is also near the top of the list. Even continued high speed operation can cause continual rear tire slippage especially with no weight on the rear of the bike. Road surface abrasion is another high tire wearing possibility (are you riding the same roads you always have?) Anything added to that bike like larger windshield ,or new rear brake pads, or even less aggressive front brake pads? OR, any changes in riding style like more extreme high speed travel, or more aggressive brake usage, or a bit heavier on the R/H twist grip? As mentioned above it could just be variance in tire rubber compound (are you using the correct tire rated for the BMW bike? Not sure on the Storm but some tire manufacturers use different tire construction (usually denoted by an added suffix number) for heavier bikes like the BMW. Is you tire air gauge accurate? Maybe it has lost it’s original accuracy. Maybe try a different tire manufacturer. There are certain motorcycle tires that I personally wear out much quicker that others. Link to comment
Mike05 Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hi John, Thanks, I'll make a point of it; will pm you as soon as I have dates. Dirtrider, All good points. I'm getting the idea shocks aren't the issue. I don't use the brakes excessively, prefer gearing down to hard braking. Texas FM (Farm to Market) roads, where we do most of our fun riding are generally more abrasive then most, and usually at higher temperatures too, but the same ones we always run. I don't consider myself an overly aggressive rider but do like the twisties. The wear is smack in the middle of the tire, the part on the road for highway travel. Do a little "go fast" on occasion but not overly so. I'll ck. the tire gauge this weekend when mounting new tires; usually run 38-39 lbs.front, 41-43 lbs. rear. Maybe too high? All-in-all, it's been a good exercise in reviewing the possible issues. Will just have to keep track & see what happens. Looking at this from a more positive perspective, if I have to keep switching out rear tires every 4-5K miles you can bet there's a No Mar tire changer in my future! Link to comment
Limecreek Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Hey Mike....I had the same issue with my last 2 sets of Storms. The mileage dropped significantly. The last 2 Storm rears didn't last 3K. I was nearly ready to move on to something else when the Storm 2s arrived. I am on my 2nd set of Storm 2 and my mileage is > than 6K on the rear again. One thing I did notice about the last sets of Storms--they were old; more than 30 month old if I remember. Not sure if that had anything to do with the decrease in mileage. Cheers! Link to comment
dirtrider Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Evening Mike Keep in mind that “Gearing Down) IS a form of breaking (called engine braking) only that way ONLY uses the rear tire instead of both to slow the bike. Not real aggressive but the BMW boxer has a lot of compression braking so it is forcing the rear tire to do all the decel duties. Link to comment
Mike05 Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 One thing I did notice about the last sets of Storms--they were old; more than 30 month old if I remember. Not sure if that had anything to do with the decrease in mileage. Cheers! Hi Greg, Now that's interesting! The last two sets I ordered were so dirty when they arrived I checked the dates & they were old as well. Maybe that's it. Just looked at the new set that came today (ordered yesterday morning from "Competition Accessories" ; came that fast!) ; rear manufacturing date of 47th. week of 2009, front tire date of 41st week of 2010. So age should not be an issue on this set. It'll be interesting to compare the Avon Storm 2's with the new PR 3's. Link to comment
tallman Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Have you checked the odo? Maybe someone took it on a trip to Florida? Link to comment
Mike05 Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Have you checked the odo? Maybe someone took it on a trip to Florida? Hi Tim, I'll probably do that myself later this year. We have some retired folks to see down your way & besides, I promised Matts_VSTROM a bottle of Texas Vodka. Link to comment
markgoodrich Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I think more comfortable he are so more wrister he go. Tire go faster so tire goes faster. (Translated from the Japanese) Link to comment
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