Tire Choices

[Jeffmal]

What Model Spyder

I am running a Dunlop Direzza 205/55/15 Ultra High Performance Summer tireand it is incredible. Tire Rack for less than $100.00.

What model and year Spyder are you running the Dunlop on?
How does it handle wet roads?
Thanks

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

ALIGNMENT ????

But if the rear tire is slightly off parallel with the bike frame doesn't the laser alignment process compensate for that? I thought after the laser alignment is completed the bike will track straight with respect to the three wheels but the bike frame might be slightly off parallel with respect to the line of travel.

I would PM SpyderAnn she knows this better than anyone ...... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Peter Aawen]

Peter, if it's " Scrubbing " ..... WHY , what's causing this ....my belt moves back and forth on the sprocket constantly .... And I don't have un-even wear ...it has been reported some engines weren't ALIGNED perfectly ...... Also too high a psi won't imho cause UN-EVEN tire wear - it would be the same across the footprint ....... Mike :thumbup:

I think it hasta be TWO problems Mike - the easy one being the first, the high tire pressure that's causing the 'centre' of the tread to wear more than the edges.... only that's skewed just a little bit by the 'other' problem! And the second problem being the uneven wear/scrubbing issue, that's a little more difficult, and yeah, SpyderAnn is probably the best person to ask about that one!! :dontknow:

But if the rear tire is slightly off parallel with the bike frame doesn't the laser alignment process compensate for that? I thought after the laser alignment is completed the bike will track straight with respect to the three wheels but the bike frame might be slightly off parallel with respect to the line of travel.

You are basically right IMS, and the only things I can think of that might be causing this 'abnormal wear issue' are that 1). the tire hasn't been mounted properly on the rim - the LHS bead is possibly seated a bit 'higher' on the rim than the other side... something that can occur during mounting if the technician doesn't use/get quite enough free air flow when inflating to 'bead seating' pressure & doesn't give the tread a few whacks with a mallet or tire lever to help pop the bead down into its seat properly &/or then check that the bead is seated correctly, but this is usually 'fixed' pretty much as soon as the tire starts carrying the weight of a car - as the weight goes on it generally 'pops' the bead back down into its seat properly as soon as the tire does its first rotation under load, only maybe in this instance the weight of the Spyder hasn't been sufficient to do this?? :dontknowr 2). was the laser alignment done before that particular rear tire was put on & the axle 'aligned' during tire replacement? That other earlier tire tread wear pic didn't look skewed like this latest one, so has the rear axle alignment been 'crossed up' just a bit since the laser alignment occured?!? There'd hafta be some signs elsewhere tho, maybe the bars not quite aligned with 'straight ahead', or the front tires feathering just a tiny amount on the LHS of their tread?? I dunno if that'd really do it tho, not without physically checking the actual vehicle & mounting etc out personally, I'm sorta clutching at straws here - SpyderAnn may be able to offer something more substantial??? or 3) possibly the tire construction isn't quite as 'even' as it normally is on Passenger tires, with the tread band laid onto the carcass marginally off centre?!? OK, Not really all that likely, altho it IS theoretically possible - just look how many of the Kenda tires that get onto the streets with construction 'defects' like that that've slipped thru their quality control!! So one in a million slipping thru from Cooper isn't anywhere near as bad, is it??? I'd still be asking SpyderAnn, or having a very up close & personal look at the tire, rim, axle alignment, wheel bearings, belt tension, road camber, swing arm alignment, swing arm bearing, etc to see if there was any indication as to why that particular tire was wearing like that?!? If it wasn't quite so fiddly to do, I'd suggest flipping that tire on its rim & running it the other way for a bit to see if it made ANY difference in the wear pattern - but it'd be a right pain doing that for potentially very little gain!?! :gaah:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

IMS - tire issue

Bravo Peter - bravo :clap::clap::clap::clap:....I know Utah doesn't like me using " emojis " :roflblack::roflblack:....but YOU deserve EMOJIS :yes::yes::yes:......... Mike :thumbup:

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

If it wasn't quite so fiddly to do, I'd suggest flipping that tire on its rim & running it the other way for a bit to see if it made ANY difference in the wear pattern - but it'd be a right pain doing that for potentially very little gain!?! :gaah:

Any suggestions about the tire are moot. It was sent to tire heaven about 3 months ago!!! When I took it off all I was focusing on was the center wear and decided that 25 psi was too high. I'll just keep a watch on the Cooper CS5 I'm running now.

This is twice that my experience didn't quite match Mike's experience and recommendation! :banghead: I ran a Michelin Hydro on my 2013 RT. I was not impressed with its traction on wet pavement. I'm talking wet, not standing water covered! Its wear wasn't super either, IMO. 25 psi tire pressure probably was the reason! If I hit the throttle very hard at all it would break loose. I sold the bike with about 18k miles on the the Michelin touting it to be good for about another 5k. Even if the wear would have been even on the Altimax above I'm doubtful I would have made it to or past 25k miles. Otherwise all was good with it the best I remember!

One factor probably is that most of my driving is on highways at 70 mph and over!

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

TIRE WEAR

Any suggestions about the tire are moot. It was sent to tire heaven about 3 months ago!!! When I took it off all I was focusing on was the center wear and decided that 25 psi was too high. I'll just keep a watch on the Cooper CS5 I'm running now.

This is twice that my experience didn't quite match Mike's experience and recommendation! :banghead: I ran a Michelin Hydro on my 2013 RT. I was not impressed with its traction on wet pavement. I'm talking wet, not standing water covered! Its wear wasn't super either, IMO. 25 psi tire pressure probably was the reason! If I hit the throttle very hard at all it would break loose. I sold the bike with about 18k miles on the the Michelin touting it to be good for about another 5k. Even if the wear would have been even on the Altimax above I'm doubtful I would have made it to or past 25k miles. Otherwise all was good with it the best I remember!

One factor probably is that most of my driving is on highways at 70 mph and over!

#1. - INTERSTATE use will be a factor, however something else might be going on #2. my experiences with car tires are at 17 to 18 PSI..... so yours at 25 may also be a factor #3. - my Hydro-edge ( on my RT ) now has 38,500+ miles on it and I still feel safe in the wet ..... however I will be changing it fairly soon ...#4.. :agree: with Peter, yes you had increased center wear ....But it wasn't EVEN across and it SHOULD have been:yikes:.... There is a reason it's wearing slightly more to one side of the Middle ....... figuring that out isn't going to be easy ...... PM Ann about the alignment ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[jcthorne]

#1. - INTERSTATE use will be a factor, however something else might be going on #2. my experiences with car tires are at 17 to 18 PSI..... so yours at 25 may also be a factor #3. - my Hydro-edge ( on my RT ) now has 38,500+ miles on it and I still feel safe in the wet ..... however I will be changing it fairly soon ...#4.. :agree: with Peter, yes you had increased center wear ....But it wasn't EVEN across and it SHOULD have been:yikes:.... There is a reason it's wearing slightly more to one side of the Middle ....... figuring that out isn't going to be easy ...... PM Ann about the alignment ..... Mike :thumbup:

I have seen this uneven wear pattern on two other bikes. Both, it turns out had been victims of minor rear end collisions. The uneven tire wear is a bent swing arm. This is why I tell folks that are in rear end collisions, even minor that the swing arm must be checked for being true. It does not take much out of square to cause this and it drastically reduces rear tire traction when riding as well because the tire is not in good contact with the road.