OE tires.

[Grumpy]

Haveing recently aquired a used Super Ten. I am ignorant as to the original tires wear rate, they have just over 2000 miles on them and still look farly fresh and I am reluctant to dump them. Should they last another 4000 miles? Thats about the distance, with pillion, I will cover to the Alps and back next month. :-\

 

[coastie]

What tires did yours come with? But yes, you should have no problem getting 6k out of them.

 

[mcbrien]

Might , Depends on how hard you are on tires . I changed mine out at 6000 miles and still
had some life left in them but I wanted K60's for a upcoming ride . I'm pretty easy on tires though .

 

[Roge]

There is nothing to stop you changing the tyres on the trip if you decide they won't last or the handling gets odd. There is only you who can guage how hard you are on tyres. Enjoy the trip. Having said that I changed mine prior to a trip I have just done and put the old set in the shed for the time when I need tyres and cash at the same time.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Might , Depends on how hard you are on tires .

There are two different tires that come on the bike. I've had both on my two Teneres. The Battlewings are a nice wearing tire and I managed to get a little over 7K on those. I swapped out the OEM Tourance EXPs long before needed because I was going with a different tire. Those EXPs only had 2,300 mile, but at the rate I saw I don't think they would have made it to 5K. Most everyone reports better mileage than me, so experience is only relevant if you are extremely hard your tires.

Personally for me, I would put new rubber on before a 4K mile trip. I save the original to put back on at the next tire change. It's all a personal choice, hope you enjoy the trip.

 

[Topgear]

My stock Battlewings have about 8,000 miles on them and easily have another 1,000 miles in them. That said, I'm replacing them because I have a 6,500+ mile trip coming up in July and I want to get used to the new tires before I leave.

 

[Twisties]

My bike came with the EXPs. I swapped them out at 4500 miles because of an upcoming trip. My wife's bike came with the Battlewings. She took them off at 600 miles for a more aggressive tire, then I put them on my bike subsequently. They ended up making 6600 miles total, into wear bar in the rear, and still some life in the front. But, here is the interesting thing... they looked pretty good when I set out on a 2400 mile jaunt, measuring 4.5 mm tread remaining in both front and rear. The front was still at about 4mm, but the rear barely made it home. When I got my new ones, I realized that a rear starts out with about 11 mm.

 

[tomatocity]

If you buy the BattleWing make sure you get the "E" code. I replaced the original BW "E" code tire at 7,500 miles. The parts guy accidentally replaced it with a non coded BW and it wore out in 4,000 miles. The next "E" code BW lasted about 7,000 miles. I like the tire but I am not a professional racer like some of the reviewers on this forum. I rode the piss out of them on back roads, enjoyed fore roads, and labored down the freeways, usually carrying loaded panniers and and sometime not. Never let me down. For the price they are a very good purchase and I would not hesitate to travel the US with the BW.

I ran a pair of Heidenau K60 for 9,000 miles and the rear tire failed me at 1,500 when it flatted on I-80. The structure of the tire broke down and was no repairable. Heidenau sent a replacement before we asked.

I currently running a pair of Michelin Anakee 3's. Today was the first day I put any significant miles on them, all asphalt. The handles the Gold Country roads very well but I did not torture them.

Have a pair of 400 mile BattleWings in the garage.

 

[Grumpy]

They are Metzela Tourance? (I think thats what it says, the lights not to good at the moment) Are they OEM? I had the same thought about putting them away and getting Mitchelin Pilot Road 3's. I love PR3's and have them fitted on my XJR and FJR. I am not an off roader (at nearly 64 I probably don't bounce back as fast these days ) I want the S.T. for the twisties and being able to cope with gravely roads.

 

[Rasher]

It depends so much on your style, I got 3800 out of the first Tourance on my bike, but this was lots of solo blasting with my mate, the current one is refusing to wear down, but I have been following the Mrs who has only just passed her test and riding down narrow lanes where the tyre gets a much easier time.

I know I could wear one of these out in under 3k exclusively on twisty tarmac (such as riding over Alpine passes all day) or get 8k if following the Mrs (My mpg goes from 45 - 60 when following her :exclaim

I would bung in a fresh pair / rear and put the part worn(s) away to refit - you would almost certainly be able to stretch the front for your Alps trip, so if you like the tyres throw on a new rear, the front will last about twice as long as a rear, so when your new rear wears out you could put the old one back on, and by the time that is knackered the front will be shot as well.

 

[iridemotorbikes]

I wore out my EXP's at 1900 miles and another set at 5000 miles, just picked up some Pilot 3's last week. Great tires, wish I would have put them on at the first tire change. Did a 200 mile ride today in the canyons and a very fast pace and they preformed great!

My Ténéré is a street only bike, no dirt for this beast so I'm very happy with the Pilot 3's.

 

[avc8130]

I, personally, would not embark on a 4k mile trip with tires with 2k miles on them. My personal rule is to always start a major journey with fresh rubber. I can always put the 2k tires back on when the trip rubber wears out to finish them off.

ac

 

[macca]

I would agree and swap to new tyres before trip as 6K is a good mileage to get out of a Tourance EXP rear that has unknown use in the 1st 2k miles. I replace mine at 4.5k and I probably could have stretched to 5K (for the legal min tread depth )or possible 5.5 if going bald, most modern rubber (bar K60s) seem to shed tread when you start to approach the wear bars especially if used at higher speeds. If funds are short a new rear should do it with the original front.

 

[Twisties]

If you buy the BattleWing make sure you get the "E" code. I replaced the original BW "E" code tire at 7,500 miles. The parts guy accidentally replaced it with a non coded BW and it wore out in 4,000 miles. The next "E" code BW lasted about 7,000 miles. I like the tire but I am not a professional racer like some of the reviewers on this forum. I rode the piss out of them on back roads, enjoyed fore roads, and labored down the freeways, usually carrying loaded panniers and and sometime not. Never let me down. For the price they are a very good purchase and I would not hesitate to travel the US with the BW.

I ran a pair of Heidenau K60 for 9,000 miles and the rear tire failed me at 1,500 when it flatted on I-80. The structure of the tire broke down and was no repairable. Heidenau sent a replacement before we asked.

I currently running a pair of Michelin Anakee 3's. Today was the first day I put any significant miles on them, all asphalt. The handles the Gold Country roads very well but I did not torture them.

Have a pair of 400 mile BattleWings in the garage.

Oh, interesting point... I just checked the owner's manual, and it says nothing about the "E" code. Bridgestone's website also makes no mention of any code beyond the typical size, load, speed rating (e.g. 150/70/17 M/C 69V). However, the OEM tires do in fact have an "E" code stamped on them just past the word "radial" on the side wall. My replacements do not. A number of vendors say nothing about the code. Some list their tires as "F". Bike Bandit appears to offer the "E' stamped tire. I sent Bridgestone a query and asked them to explain the version differences.

 

[tomatocity]

Oh, interesting point... I just checked the owner's manual, and it says nothing about the "E" code. Bridgestone's website also makes no mention of any code beyond the typical size, load, speed rating (e.g. 150/70/17 M/C 69V). However, the OEM tires do in fact have an "E" code stamped on them just past the word "radial" on the side wall. My replacements do not. A number of vendors say nothing about the code. Some list their tires as "F". Bike Bandit appears to offer the "E' stamped tire. I sent Bridgestone a query and asked them to explain the version differences.

I had the non-E rated tire replaced while during a trip. The manager of Cycle Gear San Luis Obispo went way out of his way to get me a in two days. We did a parking lot RR. The tire was showing.

I do like the BW-E tire for its price.

 

[markjenn]

I'm with the others here - the tires might make it, but then again, they might not. For most, swapping tires in the middle of the trip is a holy hassle and expensive, so if it were my bike/trip, I'd change them now.

- Mark

 

[Grumpy]

Thanks for all your imput. ::012:: I have decided to get a full set of Pilot Roads 3's fitted. The set I fitted on the FJR show little signe of wear after last years Alps trip. So I will see how the S.T. fairs with the 3 's and if they perform as well, I will get my tyre guy to refit the OEM's for winter, and hopefully the 3's should do a second run next year.

 

[Frenchfries]

Oh, interesting point... I just checked the owner's manual, and it says nothing about the "E" code. Bridgestone's website also makes no mention of any code beyond the typical size, load, speed rating (e.g. 150/70/17 M/C 69V). However, the OEM tires do in fact have an "E" code stamped on them just past the word "radial" on the side wall. My replacements do not. A number of vendors say nothing about the code. Some list their tires as "F". Bike Bandit appears to offer the "E' stamped tire. I sent Bridgestone a query and asked them to explain the version differences.

Twisties, Did you ever get a response from Bridgestone regarding the difference between the Battle Wings 150/70R-17 E and the regular 150/70R-17 (there is also a "E" version for the front tire) ?
Same question regarding the Metzeler Tourance EXP. The regular 150/70R-17 TL is $60 cheaper than the 150/70R-17 TL 69V (OEM version for S10) as of today on Motorcycle-superstore.
Reality or marketing BS?

 

[tomatocity]

Twisties, Did you ever get a response from Bridgestone regarding the difference between the Battle Wings 150/70R-17 E and the regular 150/70R-17 (there is also a "E" version for the front tire) ?
Same question regarding the Metzeler Tourance EXP. The regular 150/70R-17 TL is $60 cheaper than the 150/70R-17 TL 69V (OEM version for S10) as of today on Motorcycle-superstore.
Reality or marketing BS?

The BW 150/70-17 E: the E is a load rating and it is critical for the Super Tenere. Most of the big bikes have a load rating for this tire. Before knowing there was a load rating for the Super Tenere we installed a non-rated BW and I wore it out quickly (approx 4-5,000 miles) that I had to replace it during a trip. That tire was showing steel cord. A friend found that we needed the E load rating. I contacted the Cycle Gear in San Luis Obispo and explained what tire we needed. The store manager went way out of his way to make sure it was an E rated tire coming from the warehouse. I get between 8-9,000 miles out of the E rated rear tire.

As far as I know the front tire doesn't have a load rating and lasts the usual 1 front to 2 rears.

Are they the best tires, probably not. But could be the best for the price and availability.

 

[XtreemLee]

Im at a little over 10k on the original battlewings. I wear them out before they come off. I would take the trip, 2k is almost a new tire in my book.