Bad Tire experiences to share?

[jscon2011]

I had a friend, and a few people on the forum, recommend the pirelli rosso corsa tires. I just want to share my miserable touring experience with these tires. The first 2000 miles were amazing, very sticky tires that made corning really nice (55s on the tail). But, they cannot handle endless hours on hot road, touring. I was hitting curves, straights, concrete, red pavement, asphalt, whatever. Denver to Coeur d'lane type roads. And at the 4500 mile mark these tires were showing their metal mesh innards and then were punctured by a pebble. There were flat as a board. The only reason I kept riding on them once they got flat was that for some reason I thought I could make it to Coeur before it got serious. Well, not five minutes after getting off the interstate and onto a backroad in Missoula MT I ran over a very round pebble, this pebble poked into my tire like it was wet paper. These tires hold up to touring conditions about as well as a wagon wheel.

Now riding with Pilot 2's
 

[TallyRex]

So, you were surprised when your metal showing tires failed?  Once you get to the wear grooves, your supposed to re-tire.  Don't be cheap with tires, they are more crucial to your safety than anything else.

[petepro]

    

 

[Rhino]

How far did you plan on riding on a flat tire? And at what speed?

My son got a flat on the rear Avon Cobra on his Valkyrie somewhere in a 40 mile stretch. We stopped for gas, everything seemed fine then. We went on for about 40 miles on straight roads at about 60 mph. When we stopped he said the bike handling like crap. Sure enough not only was the rear flat but a strip of cord showing around the tire. Another few miles it would have been goo. He had about 5k miles on a tire he normally gets about 10k. The wear to the cord happened in that 40 mile stretch. We found a nail and plugged it. Allowed us to limp it the 30 miles or so into Huston to get a new tire.

[ZG]

Michelin's FTW... 

[jscon2011]

How far did you plan on riding on a flat tire? And at what speed?

My son got a flat on the rear Avon Cobra on his Valkyrie somewhere in a 40 mile stretch. We stopped for gas, everything seemed fine then. We went on for about 40 miles on straight roads at about 60 mph. When we stopped he said the bike handling like crap. Sure enough not only was the rear flat but a strip of cord showing around the tire. Another few miles it would have been goo. He had about 5k miles on a tire he normally gets about 10k. The wear to the cord happened in that 40 mile stretch. We found a nail and plugged it. Allowed us to limp it the 30 miles or so into Huston to get a new tire.

When I said "flat" I meant flat in shape not in air pressure. They got a flat spot all the way around in the center about 1.5 inches across.

So, you were surprised when your metal showing tires failed?  Once you get to the wear grooves, your supposed to re-tire.  Don't be cheap with tires, they are more crucial to your safety than anything else.

They weren't showing metal when I last inspected them, they were just really flat in the center (as in shape, not out of air). The part that was wearing down was so centralized that the wear bars were not being affected very much and still showed I had more miles to go. I'm not cheap with my tires, I bought those which were expensive. It just came down to not recognizing how bad that wear pattern was :/ Touring tires with a hard rubber in the center are what I think I'll stick to. 

[Daytona_Mike]

Why would you put an ultra soft- race track / sport bike tire on a huge heavy  bike like a C14?   Were you planning on tracking your C14?  There is absolutely nothing wrong with those tires.  I sure hope it was not people from this forum  who made that recommendation with out letting you know how long they would last.  Those tires  did exactly what they should have done. They should have been tossed at 3k miles and you should have been happy. Dont blame the tire for your  choice.
 I would like to have been behind you to watch you leave a thick black stripe on the pavement every time you took a fast turn.
A  Pirelli Angel GT would be the better choice for your bike and still get you that fantastic grip.
Any more bright ideas from your friends please feel free to ask here first.
 

[maxtog]

PR4 GT

[datsaxman@hotmail.com]

Yeah..."Rossa Corsa" = Racing Red.  You might expect those to last ONE thousand miles on a heavy bike.  Just sayin...


saxman

[datsaxman@hotmail.com]

Instead of just jumping the OP's shyte, I thought maybe I could actually contribute...

Full Bore tires.  There we were, with the OEM Pirelli fairly worn at 4500 miles.  This is on the mighty Buell Ulysses.  Thought I would take the GF for a nice ride through Joshua Tree NM.  Then, at 4700 miles, the tire was GONE.  Long story short, the THIRD place we limped to had a Full Bore in 170/60R17.  I took the wheel off, they did the tire, and even loaned me the air tools to remove and install the wheel in their service bay.  They were getting ready to close, and the mechanic was frantically buttoning another bike up, so that was probably how that came about.

So the DEALER was awesome.  High Desert MC in 29 Palms, CA. 

Anyway, that Fulll Bore was the worst tire EVAH. 
1) Skipped on the tar snakes that I have been riding every day for 15 years.  Worst EVAH.
2) Felt sketchy in the rain.  I like riding in the rain.  Actually.  Except that one time.
3) 2400 miles and it was done.  Remember, this is on the Buell that did 4800 on the OEM Pirelli.

Full Bore is rated UNACCEPTABLE in actual road testing.  We cannot recommend this tire.


saxman

[Rhino]

When I said "flat" I meant flat in shape not in air pressure. They got a flat spot all the way around in the center about 1.5 inches across.

They weren't showing metal when I last inspected them, they were just really flat in the center (as in shape, not out of air). The part that was wearing down was so centralized that the wear bars were not being affected very much and still showed I had more miles to go. I'm not cheap with my tires, I bought those which were expensive. It just came down to not recognizing how bad that wear pattern was :/ Touring tires with a hard rubber in the center are what I think I'll stick to. 

Sorry I misunderstood. Thought you were attempting to ride a long distance on a tire with no air pressure.

[jscon2011]

Why would you put an ultra soft- race track / sport bike tire on a huge heavy  bike like a C14?   Were you planning on tracking your C14?  There is absolutely nothing wrong with those tires.  I sure hope it was not people from this forum  who made that recommendation with out letting you know how long they would last.  Those tires  did exactly what they should have done. They should have been tossed at 3k miles and you should have been happy. Dont blame the tire for your  choice.
 I would like to have been behind you to watch you leave a thick black stripe on the pavement every time you took a fast turn.
A  Pirelli Angel GT would be the better choice for your bike and still get you that fantastic grip.
Any more bright ideas from your friends please feel free to ask here first.
 

Didn't do enough homework, live and learn

Instead of just jumping the OP's shyte, I thought maybe I could actually contribute...

Full Bore tires.  There we were, with the OEM Pirelli fairly worn at 4500 miles.  This is on the mighty Buell Ulysses.  Thought I would take the GF for a nice ride through Joshua Tree NM.  Then, at 4700 miles, the tire was GONE.  Long story short, the THIRD place we limped to had a Full Bore in 170/60R17.  I took the wheel off, they did the tire, and even loaned me the air tools to remove and install the wheel in their service bay.  They were getting ready to close, and the mechanic was frantically buttoning another bike up, so that was probably how that came about.

So the DEALER was awesome.  High Desert MC in 29 Palms, CA. 

Anyway, that Fulll Bore was the worst tire EVAH. 
1) Skipped on the tar snakes that I have been riding every day for 15 years.  Worst EVAH.
2) Felt sketchy in the rain.  I like riding in the rain.  Actually.  Except that one time.
3) 2400 miles and it was done.  Remember, this is on the Buell that did 4800 on the OEM Pirelli.

Full Bore is rated UNACCEPTABLE in actual road testing.  We cannot recommend this tire.


saxman

Yep, basically identical stories. The dealer had to keep his shop open late for me as there was only one tow truck in all of Montana and he was, at the moment of pressure loss, picking up someones boat that was bouncing along the freeway

[VirginiaJim]

Even with identical tires, some get better mileage than others.  I typically get fairly decent mileage out of tires, especially the stockers.  In fact, coming from a C10, the BTs were absolutely fabulous.

[tomp]

Had a KTM Duke 690, with Dunlop SportMax tires.  First rear was gone at 1400 miles,  The second one was mostly gone when I sold the bike 1000 miles later.  Just too much tire expense to validate owning the Duke.  Sure stuck in the twisties, though. 

[C14lvr]

I put a new PR2 55 series rear on mine about 15 or so months ago.
Within a month and 500 miles, I happened to be cleaning the bike one day, and started cleaning the rear wheel...when I noticed severe cracking in every sipe!
I couldn't believe it!
So, had it replaced, and Michelin comp'd me the difference.
According to the production date on the tire, it was about 9 months old, minus the one month...age wasn't the cause.
Just a bad batch of rubber, and luck, I guess.

I've had 2 since... no problems. Weird deal.

[texrider]

I'm half-way into the second set of the Full Bore M-1 tires, and have had very good service from them.
Just back from a 2500 mile Colorado Rockies ride, the tires still look fine, and were pushed fairly hard.