Was this the new compound Rear V35004 or the new Front V350003 you Tried? About how many miles would you call "dismal"? I hope some one that has tried both the old Rear V35002 VS. The new V35004 shares experience on difference, or if there is any verified improvement in tread wear. So far, the Kumho 225/50R/15 Rear is still looking the best to me, as long as the owner reviews from Consumer Affairs are disregarded from Cage owner reports. My Kumho on my 2012 RT Limited has 10,000 miles on it right now, and hasn't quite hit the wear marks yet, so I expect another 2-3,000 miles on it, if it passes inspection in Jan. The wear pattern is straight, and handling has been superb in all weather conditions, riding both Solo and two up. But before I order another one and pay $20-30 more than Discount tire's usual price of $81.00 delivered,......I hope to find out if there is some Conspiracy going on with Discount Tire about why they are with holding selling it to selective Spyder Owners like me, who they refuse to sell to, regardless of my being their past Customer with 10,000 miles of experience and counting. So, if I keep the same size, I already know Kenda is an 8,500 mile Rear Tire, on my last two, and my both sets of Kendra fronts have worn on the inside, and the first set cupped. So, Kenda is out on Fronts for me as well, next set. I definitely plan on going with Bridgestones on the front next set. But the Jury is still out for the Rear. I run with 20 psi in the fronts, and 30 psi on the Rear after much experimentation. My first set on Kenda fronts were replaced at 12,700 miles because of extreme wear on inside, and after toe in adjusted and air pressure increased to 20 psi, my present set has 15,000 on them, and still wearing on inside, but I might get another 2-3000 miles out of them.