Tires, do I need two rears?

[bshultz0930]

So like most if you I'm sure, i ride every chance I get. Last year from August to December I did 8000 miles alone. I commute a 52 mile round trip to work plus the random trips/twisty weekends. I have a problem of too much highway commuting and I get the perfect bald spot right in the middle of my tires. Outsides are beautiful but the middle is almost trash. Plus when it begin to happen I can feel it going into corners and it makes nerves go crazy. So, my question.

Should I just ebay an additional rim and roll two tires, one for commute and one for twisties? Or is there a tire that won't wear like the Michelins I have on there?

[Tonik]

How many miles are you getting out of a tire?

[Tpoppa]

The best balance I have found between grip and mileage is the Mich PR2.

You could run different pressure for commuting/twisties.

[Bad324]

PR2's for sure could help alleviate that as well as changing the pressure. I've got 5k on my PR2's of probably 50/50 commute/twisty action and they have plenty of life left

[bshultz0930]

Current tire is around 8000 miles. I might be able to get another 2000 out of it. Don't get me wrong, I think I'm getting decent life out of my tires, I'm just trying to eliminate the middle being worn down so much so I can be safe in the twisties.

[Bad324]

what Michelin?

[Helmutt]

Dual compound tires ftw when it comes to longevity down the middle and keep corner grip. A spare rear would make it easy to swap out once you do burn one down or catch a flat, but not necessary.....you can see tire wear as it happens over the life of the tire, so there shouldn't be any "surprise, I'm cooked".

What are you running on it now?

[bshultz0930]

Pilot 2ct. You can see in the picture what I'm talking about. Any kind of twisties lean on the bike you can feel it go from the flat surface to the still rounded part.

[bshultz0930]

And just an FYI, I don't do burn outs. The tire appears that way, but I don't. Can't tell you how many n00bs ask if I do.

[Helmutt]

I know this problem all too well, but its typically at 3-4k miles. All I do is replace it if its worn to the indicators. Maybe try a different 2CT? May have better results

[Helmutt]

What tire pressure do you keep in the rear? I know that I've pulled a few pounds from mine in the past when this happened to help from feeling the transfer on/off the flat spot.....the difference was of little help, so I don't recommend it.

[Tpoppa]

8k on a Pilot 2ct you must be really easy on tires.

[Bad324]

Holy shit!!

[bshultz0930]

I run 30 all the time. Seems to be a good in between. If its super cold ill drop them to 25. Ill probably just buy a used rim and run a tire for the weekend fun and a tire for weekly commute. My fronts got it a very little bit, but it's not bad at all.

[Gunner75]

Pilot 2ct. You can see in the picture what I'm talking about. Any kind of twisties lean on the bike you can feel it go from the flat surface to the still rounded part.

Is this a current picture of your tire? I ran 5600 on my OEM Dunlop Roadsmart 2's and my center was worn so much that there wasnt even any tread. If your getting 8000 out of one rear I dont see an issue other then you being easy on the tires.

[bshultz0930]

Yea, that was taken today. It looks worse in some spots and it is down to the wear bars. So you all are telling me I need to start taking more turny roads to work?

[conn-e-rot]

Avon Storm 2 ultras .... FTW

[Bad324]

Yes and switch to PR2s

[Gunner75]

Yea, that was taken today. It looks worse in some spots and it is down to the wear bars. So you all are telling me I need to start taking more turny roads to work?

Well thats up to you, I contemplated doing what your asking but decided against it

[jschaf]

Simple solutions to your dilemma; Get a separate commuter bike, or ride more twisties. With 8,000 miles on that rear, the way I would look at it is the last 4,000 miles were freebies.

[RHill]

That is at 8k miles? Count your blessings and buy a new set of tires. Keep doing what you are doing because you pulled 1.5x the miles most riders would get on the same tire. I really doubt you will get 2k more miles of out that tire, but I don't think I've ever even past 6k on a rear let alone 8.

[DreamNofR1]

I have the same issue - I'm about 50/50 between commuting to work and doing twisties. I got about 5k miles from the Pilot Powers. Switched to the Pilot Road 3's and I can't even tell you how huge of a difference they make. Although it's a brand new tire put on a few weeks ago, I can't speak of wear, but I can absolutely tell it's a tougher tire and the rear end just feels more solid. I feel a lot more traction too (and not just because it's a new tire - I was never really that impressed with the handling of the pp). I'll never go back to the Pilot Powers. The front still has okay tread on it, but I'm sure I'll have to replace that within the next 1,000 miles or so. I was told that there's not much difference in the PR2's and the PR3's, but I figured, why not throw down $20 more on a "newer, better" tire. Still freakin' expensive though. $230 mounted and balanced from Iron Pony a couple weeks ago. I searched and searched any website possible that sold motorcycle tires and while they do offer free shipping, some of them add $5-10 in misc. charges by the time you get through checkout. I could have had it for $178 through Revzilla since they were the cheapest I could find but there was nice weather around the corner and I wanted it now, so Iron Pony said they would match that price and just add $10 for shipping. Had it mounted and balanced within 30 mins. and I was out riding that day. In all my research I did online and asking several different motorcycle stores, they all seemed to lean towards the Michelin's.

[TSB67]

There's really no solution to that. You ought to hook up with a track day guy that runs street tires. I was wishing I commuted when I was ditching tires with 85% left in the middle.

[RHill]

I'll have 2 sets of q2's that look damn near new in the centers coming off soon.

[Tonik]

I think this thread is about a problem that does not exist. I mean no harm saying that.....but you are getting close to 10k on a tire. That is pretty awesome.