Hi you lot
I hope you can help with a quire I have about the tyres that I have on my bike.
I purchased my Vectrix back in April of this year, when I purchased the bike it was an 08 plate and had 300 miles on the clock from new.
As you will all know the Vectrix comes with Pirelli Tyres fitted as standard, the size of the front is GTS23 120/70-14 and the rear is a GTS24 140/60-13.
The bike has now done a total of less than 2,000 miles from new.
I had the bike M.O.T a couple of weeks and the bike passed but I got a advisory note about the both tyres which read as follows, both tyres close to legal limit (4.1.3(ii)), I must admit that I could not believe it when they told me, I have hear that bike tyres don't last as long as a car but I expected at least 6 to 8 thousand miles.
The bike is not a race bike and I don't go out with other bikers and weave in and out of traffic to get from A to B as quick as possible.
I just use the bike for work which is around a 25 mile round trip.
Can an one please tell me are these tyres only supposed to last around 2,000 miles. This seams very low to me, or is there a problem with the tyre compound, or are Pirelli just a bad tyre.
I have tried to contact Pirelli but every time I try it says message not sent, does any one know how to send a email to Pirelli.
Can you lot suggest a good tyre I could use that will last a lot longer than 2,000 miles and be good in the wet and a good winter tyre, a good all-rounder.
Hope you can help.
Regards
Big John
I don't know about these tires specifically, but if they are the OEM tires for Vectrix and Vectrix owners aren't complaining all over boards like this about them, then odds are they aren't inherently bad. Either you got a bad set (unlikely, because they'd both have to be defective in the same way) or you are doing something wrong, like under or over-inflating them. Are they worn more in the middle? That's over-inflation. At the edges? That's under-inflation. If they are equally worn, do you regularly travel over an exceptionally rough surface, like concrete pavement with rain grooves? Do you carry a lot of weight on the bike?
I'm sure others will have other ideas.
Interesting. I guess it all depends on how you drive them. I have 12.000km behind me and they're almost as new.
I'm gonna have to change them only because they're getting old (2007 make) and I wouldn't want to fall on wet/cold road because of the hardened rubber.
I get about 5000km out of a stock rear tire, with about 110km payload and mainly riding on very coarse asphalt surfaces. Some parts of my commute have recently been re-surfaced with a type of smooth asphalt, it makes a big difference - much less riding noise.
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
My rear tyre lasts between 8000 to 10.000 km. But the Dutch roads are really smooth.
My front tyre is still in great shape after 15.000 km. The rear tyre wears more than normally because I use the regen brake a lot.
The rear brake pads wear is more worrying for me. I hardly use them but replaced the original set after 14.000km. Must be the rain and sand coming into the brakes.
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
Hi, I´ve done 10500km / 6300 Miles with the original tyre, but it needs to be replaced within the next 1000 km
because I inflate the tyre with 3,0 Bar for better range its more worn off in the middle than on the side.
The front tyre is quite ok, it will be replaced next year.
Greetings Mike
I had to replace my rear tyre some months ago. It was a michelin gold standard, and lasted over 17.000 km. The front has around 20.000km, and it's in good shape. Answering your question, yes, the pirellis are really bad tyres, but they should last more than 5000 km....
Big John,
I think your mileage is a bit on the low side, but I don't really know how much tread you have left, so comparitively, you could be right on the money.
I just wore the air right out of my rear OEM tire at 3820 miles. However, it SHOULD have been replaced at least 5 to 800 miles back! Most of my trips are 3 to 4 miles at a whack, so I've been just watching the tire for cord exposure, to try and get the most bang for the buck out of it. It was down to exposed cord, but actually a nail took me out last night. The good news is, those tires are much wider than the wheel, so if you're careful and don't have too many turns to make, you can crawl a mile or two on a flat rear tire! (no I don't advocate unsafe driving on slick tires or riding on flat tires! Take life at your own risk!)
Incidentally, I haven't taken the time to search the FAQs here to see if it's already posted, but the tools you'll need for tire replacement are as follows:
3mm Allen wrench to release the chrome axel cover
13mm wrench or socket for the swingarm nuts, brake caliper bolts and wheel-to-hub nuts.
19mm wrench or socket for the shock bolt
27mm socket for the axle nut.
Torque specs are 17ftlbs for the 13mm nuts/bolts, 21ftlbs (I think) for the shock bolt, and 100ftlbs for the axel nut.
Forget about balancing the tire. Just leave any existing weights on the wheel as-is, and put the wheel back on the hub in the same position it came off, and you should be good to go. If your replacement tire has a small painted dot on the side, that dot should be at the air valve stem location, if there isn't a dot, the tire is within acceptable balance limits for placement at any orientation. Be sure to note the direction of travel on the tire that comes off and the one that goes on so you don't put it on backwards!
I bought my rear tire a while back from Motorcycle Super Store for less than $60. That's not exactly cheap, considering that it won't last but half or a third as long as a $120 Back tire for my Harley, but it is what it is. I guess we make up for it in gas savings? :-)