1st new set of tires installed...

Leave it to Honda to make getting the rear wheel, on a single sided swing-arm, difficult!



Took me longer than I expected given I had to figure out how to get the rear wheel off. Turns out, I had to not only disconnect the Akro exhaust, but remove the right side, rear-cowl and unbolt the flapper valve servo so the exhaust could be moved out of the way.



Then, of course, it's easy!

Mileage on the new VFR is at a lovely:


...and I think she was definitely due


Showing typical, left-favoring wear.

The front wasn't quite as worn, but for sure is close to end of life and worn to a nice "V" profile.


I want to experience the Pilot 2ct as a set anyway, so I've changed both.

Off with the old


And on with the new


Isn't that pretty?


Strangely, there were no weights on the rear wheel at all. ...and it ended up not needing any either.


Time for the front:


Despite moving the tire around to different locations on the wheel, I was never able to get it to naturally balance, so some weight needed to be added.


All done (and only 1:30am ...should have started a bit earlier than 11pm, and it took a while to figure out removing the rear-wheel / exhaust bit).



Boring to most, but I LOVE this bike and on my commute via Mulholland this am she handled great, even taking it easy for scrub-in.

 

man, i like that rear wheel better every time i see it !!!

looks like 1200 units of torque may be rough on rear tires,
but im sure youre not thinking about tire wear when you twist the joy controller

i also commute by bike frequently, nothing like gettin to work with a big grin

 

Amen! ...have about 100 canyon miles on them now, and really like them. Of course, I may only get 1500 miles out of them, but as my mechanic buddy always says "Sticky tires are cheap insurance!".

 

Dude, 3K on a rear tire!?! I take single trips longer than that on my 6th Gen....so now I will have to carry extra gas and a rear tire on my V12 !?!

Looks like a No-Mar...excellent tire changers!! Great pics and post.

 

If you are riding on the street only, then a sport touring tire like the Road 2 or Road 3 will give you better life. A friend of mine runs the Road 2's on his 2005 ZX-10 and he screams on it. I don't think you will suffer for grip with any of the current sport touring tires.

Just a thought.

Oh, and the V12 is looking better to me all the time. Nice bike!

 

thanks deadsmiley...I have been running Diablo Stradas (love them) on my 800 and just got a new set of Angel STs (installing this week) for the 800 as Pirelli discontinued the Stradas. I think I'll try some Angel STs on the V12 once the Sportmax's are dead and see how they do.

 

I have heard good things about the Angel STs.

If it weren't for my track day fetish I would run Sport Touring tires on my 954. However, I have tracked my VFR with the Road 2's. My avatar is me at Little Talladega last year.

 

Good eye, it is the No-Mar Pro (older version), and I love it. ...I was running the Dumbflop Roadsmarts on my 5th gen out of convenience, but never liked them as much as the Avon AV45 / 46 combo I ran forever on my 4th gen. I really, REALLY needed new tires and couldn't find the Roads in stock in the right size, so I figured I'd give the Powers a try. ...we'll see how they hold up, but they sure are sticky! lol

What I really wish is that I could find the Avon in a 190 rear, but they don't seem to even make one. I'm sure I'll get plenty of opportunity to try different tires though, as the V12 seems to enjoy eating them!!!

 

Love the Elsinore, is it still in service?

 

well, while it wont really help with the fuel range,
at least you could easily bring some tire changers

 

Thanks for sharing, great job keep the rubbers side down.

 

Hey Dale , looks like fun . Where did you pick up your tires ? I definitely need to replace these stock ones . We have to go for a ride soon OK .--------------- Roy

 

Don't sweat the 3k bit. ...I'm luck to ever get more than 3k out of a rear tire, even going way back to my Magna 750. I'm sure a sensible rider can eek double that mileage out of a tire.

 

Hey Roy, I ordered them from jakewilson.com $246 shipped. ...would love to hook up for a spin some time.

 

thanks abner...great idea! I just ordered the factory sidecar and I'm headed out tonight to pick me up a couple of them there tire changers.

I get 5 to 6K on the 800 so hopefully I'll get 4 to 5K on the V12.

 

Wow.
I was checking out this thread as my OE Roadsmarts are starting to square off at a little over 7500 miles. Commuting with no twisties to speak of and bad weather sure does wonders for tire life!

 

I've just been looking at the profile difference between the Road 2 and Power 2 at the tire shop and I went for the Road 2 front and rear for the 1200. Some people were advizing Power 2 in front and Road 2 in the rear for easier turn-in but IMHO the Honda doesn't need that and I didn't want to run the risk of turning it into a nervous bike. Since I still have half an inch of chicken strips on the Dunlop rear, the tire guy (ex-racer and still rides a lot) was going to check if the rim would hold a 180 without distorting the tire.

I've ridden with Pilot Powers on several bikes and liked them a lot. But they're not for my wallet. I think the Road 2 CT will suit my needs just as well. They've come a long way since the crap Road 1's my Tiger was fitted with from factory.

Just my two cents.

 

Good choice. ...I've got 2527 miles on the Pilot Powers now and the rear is essentially done. It's not peeling apart like the OEM rear was, but it's nearly bald down the middle. ..strangely, it has more twisty miles on it than it does slab, but the sides have significantly more tread left than the middle. The OEM tire wore the middle fist too (makes sense, the bike is more upright when you're really getting on the throttle, and I use a lot of engine braking on approach to turns), but the OEM wore more evenly from edge to edge.

In all, I'm surprised I got this many miles out of the tire; I was expecting closer to 2000 before it was shot.

I'll probably be able to commute on it for another week, I just have to avoid the back roads (or the throttle, anyway).

I'll be hunting for the best price on Pilot Road 2 (or 3) soon enough. I'll update this thread with pics at the tire change as well as total mileage on the tire(s).

 

Thanks! 2500 miles is very good compared to the Dunlops. Well done Michelin!
Seems strange that the middle would still wear first, judging by your riding style. The pp2ct has A LOT of side rubber. Compared to the Road 2ct, the sides are much flatter, giving you more contact at an angle.

Now our Aprilia Futura tire guru - wears tires out like you do and suffers from MBS - tells me I should have put the Road and Power fronts on some scales. Apparently the Road is a heavy tire which will affect turn-in. It's always something!


With my commute being mostly straight, I have to make compromises. I tend not to have the bike upright on acceleration - not easy with this kind of power - and I'm hard on the front brakes and make the slipper clutch work a lot. When weather permits which isn't often. Both Power and Road are excellent rain tires so that was important to me.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

If you're really worried about turn-in, you can always raise the forks in the triples by a few millimeters; that will sharpen things up a bit. ...just don't go crazy, you don't want a twitchy bike (but the VFR is long and stable, so it's not a big concern of mine).

The more I think about it, the more I think my few rides out in the middle of California's "nowhere" at well over the ton *may* have contributed to excessive wear down the middle of the tire! lol