Im not shredding my tyres but the others do...

[Marshall]

On the week end we organised a group ride consisting of 2x r1's, me (TLR), R6, ZX6, CBR9, GSXR. It was about 250km of nice twisty roads, hills , blind corners, blind crests,180 hair pinns right up to flat out cornering.

My question is that I was keeping up 3rd in line, the front two knew the road, the rest behind me about half of them knew the road.

So I was doing well, (Im no slow-poke).

When we stoped for a break, I checked out the others tyres (as you do). And I noticed that the two front runners had some decent wear, not balling up on the edges but impressive.

The rest behind me were fairly similar, but mine were warn, but not ripped up as much as the others. What gives I was riding just as hard as the the front runners (hence I was keeping up and they weren't waiting for me) and the others were keeping up to me.

I have bt-012ss's on mine and they had Pilots?? and bt-010's

What's the deal, am I just smoother with the power, what gives

[kevh]

could also be that you have taken the time to properly set your suspension up. bad settings can cause excessive wear

[horkn]

thats what i would say. what kinda pressure you got in those tires?

[Marshall]

32psi and the settings are roughtly Jamies?? hard setings

[Steve TLS]

Lots of things will affect tyre wear, one of them is riding style.

Here's an example, The last track day we did, my ex came with her YZF1000R, after a few sessions her tyres were all balled up, you could pick off big bits of rubber off them and they looked pretty impressive.

I did a session on the bike and when I bought it back, all the balling and loose rubber was gone, the wear resembled just a hard ride.

I'm heavier than her, was lapping about 1 minute per lap quicker than her, and no doubt more aggressive with the throttle and brakes.

All I can think of is I mover around on the bike MUCH more than her and even though I was quicker on it I probably was easier on her tyres than what she was going slower but not moving around on the thing.

[Marshall]

I did notice that I hang off more (sliding around the tank) the others they looked to be more upgright, when i did a track day on my r1 the tyres were balling up,

[TLRLee]

I want to know where this 250km's of the road you discribed are ??

[Marshall]

In Perth, if you know the area it's in the hills (if you can call them hills)

O'brian rd, berry rd, clenton rd, mundaining weir rd, jarrahdale rd.

It's not one road but they all flow into one another, like stages.

[Marshall]

Is this true...

an older tyre will wear faster then a new one, and so it shows more wear. As my rear is only about 600km old.

And so in the same riding conditions my tyre doesnt show as much wear. As the others

[kevh]

i have found that dunlops seem to wear faster after you heat cycle them a few times. also, a couple times i have ran "last seasons" tires after the bike sat all winter and they were shot to crap right away, no matter how much tread they had on them.

[Steve TLS]

I've found old tyres wear slower than new ones, old tyres that have out gassed and have gone hard take forever to wear out and don't grip very well at all.

If you wear out old tyres faster than new ones, it is probably them slipping and or spinning causing the accelerated wear :dunno

[DaRKoN_]

I thought the tyres 'balling' up was a sign of poor suspension setup... My tyres look like someone has taken a chainsaw to them after a few laps @ the track

[kevh]

wrong tire pressure and crappy suspension setup will ball the tires easier, but if you have all of that set right and ride harder, you will still ball them. having everything set right means you will get more out of the tire before it starts balling (a sign of slippage)

[EvilTwin v2]

I ball the tires on my cruiser way too often. ...usually a good sign to head home and get the TL.

[vane]

I have to second the tyres balling up. both front and rear. I run 36psi rear and 32 front. all the tyres I've tried have balled up. some more than others, but they all do the same. D207, D208, BT010, and now Supercorsa SC2's. I've never managed to get more that 3000km on a rear and 6000km on a front tyre.

I used Jamie's settings as a starting point. Adjusted the rider and static sag to my weight, both front and rear. And took another three months of tinkering to get my suspension to the point where I'm happy with it, so I think that I can safely say that poor suspension setup is out the window.

I've hear that changing from the stock rear damper to a proper rear shock increases tyre life. True?

I love my TL, but I have to buy three to four tyres every two months.

Last thought. Obviously road surface also plays a role in tyre wear and balling.