Handling, Running out of rear tire.

So I am no Rossi, but I do ride at a pretty good pace through the turns. I feel that I push pretty hard while still being with in reason. Anyways, going over my bike the other day and I am looking at my tires. My rear shows that I have used it all the way to the last mm of the edge to the sidewall. But looking at the front shows that I have plenty left, more like a centimeter left.

So to cut to the chase, I am wondering if I need to adjust something. I have the rear at the standard height and the front lowered about a half of an inch.
I wonder if maybe I should raise the rear some or increase the tire pressure in the rear etc...
I had both the front and rear at 32 psi last time I checked.

One thing that I have noticed after dropping a lot of weight off of the bike is the rear feels pretty harsh. I weigh only about 165 fully geared and I have pulled a lot of weight off of the bike. I know a lot of people say that the bike is under sprung from the factory, but I feel at this point that my front spring rate is about right and my rear spring rate might be a little high.

My front preload is one line out from full stiff and has fresh honda pro oils in it per you guys advice. My rear is at full soft and I am not really sure about the rebound, I cant seem to find a good spot. I think I may just need a new shock, as I am sure that they get cooked with there location to the rear exhaust primaries...

My bike is a 2007 with 46,000 miles.
Hoping to hear back.

 

oh and there is a Michelin road three out back and a bridgestone bt23 up front

 

I wish I could help, but I am interested in the response because I have the same result. (Pilot power rear battlax in the front) I'm wondering if it is just a mis-matched tire issue.

-Drew

 

could be. my asshole racer friend wont shut up about shortening the wheel base. i think the suspension and tires just need to be dialed in.

 

On the street you will probably never want to be wearing the front tire to the edge as on the rear--there is no margin left and no future in it. You could ride and recover in a rear power slide, but not so in the front.

Racers trail-brake the front while turning into the corner and that is what causes the shredding to the bleeding edge.

 

I have found that I use 2 rears to one front. However I would also suggest that for regular street riding that you keep front and rear the same type of tire. Also I keep my rear tire at 40-42 psi and the front at 36-38 psi. As per the honda dealer by my house and my buddies that I ride with. I do however change my pressure when track days come around..

 

Your tire wear is normal. You will never wear the front edge to edge on the street, only the track. Quite normal to wear the rear edge to edge.

47k? Your suspension is shot. With twisty riding, rebuilds need to occur every 15-20k depending on how much of a grandma ya are. My guess is that your rear shock/sag is off and/or your shock needs to be replaced.

 

I'm the same. Push the back tire, more room on the front. Higher cold pressure (40 - 42) front and rear. ANd do keep the same brand and type (Soft/Med/Hard compound) as well, unless you run a bit softer up front to keep it from tucking on you.

 

I run 32 on both front and rear. I get about 4500-5000 out of a rear tire and could get about 1000k more out of the front but always replace both at the same time. As with Reg, I've done full blown suspension and it makes a huge difference in stability but I've noticed no real difference in wear pattern. I can still lean as far but I can do it faster now and with more confidence.

At 46k, you definitely need your forks rebuilt. Bushing are shot. I had mine done at 38k and they were toast. At the very least, toss in springs for you weight while getting it done. If you want to go all out, get some Racetech parts to have the shim stack rebuilt.

My guess is your rear is shot as well. Most say they can't be rebuilt. Jaimie D on here does it for a few hundred bucks I think and many have spoken highly of him doing it for them. After that, youre looking at $600+ for a Penske or Ohlins to replace it. I've got the Penske 8983 and I just replaced my 42k shock with it. Absolutely amazing difference and short of the front forks, its the best thing I've done to the bike.

 

Two out of three ain't bad...

Let me sleep on it, i'll give you an answer in the morning...

 

A couple things. I will set my tire pressure to the recommended around 35 and 40 psi that you guys are advising. My body position is good. I am definitely not leaning to the wrong side of the bike lol. Also I do not ride with luggage or passengers very much and when I do, I ride at a very toned down pace. As stated Earlier, I have pulled A lot of weight off of the bike and do not weigh much myself, passenger ride, or luggage ride so that is why with the sag set properly, the rear shock is set to full soft. Most of the weight has been pulled from the rear of the bike so the forks still need some additional preload. The fork fluid is fresh and filled with the Honda pro oils full synthetic 5w that you guys just recommended to me the other month. The fork feels great but yes I would like to swap out the rear shock ASAP. I am not sure what a suspension specialist could do other than set the sag, and raise the forks a half inch, which I have already done. There isn't shit for adjustment on these bikes besides the rebound in the rear. Anyways thanks for the advise guys, I am feeling much better about the tire wear now.

 

Candy:

You may not be leaning 'the wrong way' but there are addiitonal body postions that help alleviate running to the end of your tire.

If all mechinical items are addressed and the suspension is set for your weight then the issue is YOU.

I don't mean that ina bad way, but Stuka is right...if you want to get off the endge of your tire you need to learn how to take corners differently. Only rider training is going to help you.

My guess is at the speeds you come into a turn you are probably turning in slightly early and it requires a tad more lean angle to keep your line.

BZ

 

now HERE is a guy (on a VFR) running out of tire...
Powerhead Productions - killboy.com at PhotoReflect.com - Deals Gap - Monday - August 26, 2013-killboy.com

pictures 99 to 104. I don't know how he pulled that one out of his @$$!

 

yeah I know I need to do a track day :nod:

 

So I am definitely not an expert, but after my last stint on the track, here is what I had observed.

I was hanging off the bike as much as possible to keep the bike upright as much as possible and keep it on the fat part of the tire. Even so, I had the rear worn to the edges, dragged the peg feelers in the corners, and still had what you described, a bit of unworn rubber on the front. So my guess is this is normal.

Most of us can recover from losing the rear, but not many from losing the front.

And by the way, this is only on the track, where racing belongs and there are things like gravel runoffs, corner workers, well maintained Tarmac, no deer, no oncoming traffic, no cops, experinced riders and an ambulance 30 seconds away. Don't do this on the street. It will catch up to you eventually. Ok, I am off my soapbox now.

 

The reason the front tire is more difficult to wear to the edges is profile. A 180/55 rear is very easy to get to the edge due to it being far flatter than a 120/70 front. That is 15% more profile so at the edge it could be a lean angle of more than 50 and probably closer to 60 degrees for a front tire while a rear might only need 45. Before I totaled my SV650 I had worn the front tire to the edge and ground down the footpegs to do it.

 

That guy's body position is poor. He's crossed-up, pushing the bike under himself, and I suspect that he hasn't got the throttle cracked open, so the suspension's more compressed than it should be. His head also isn't turned far enough, so I doubt that his eyes are looking where they need to be. He needs to do California Superbike School and learn how to ride properly before he digs his center stand into the road and slides into the scenery...

Now, for the OP... It's entirely normal to run out of tyre on the rear before you run out of tyre on the front. On my old '98 I had no chicken strip on the rear and 5mm on the front (both Bridgestone S20 tyres). On Pirelli Diablo and Pirelli Diablo Rosso, I had 2mm chicken strip on the rear and 10mm on the front. It all depends on tyre profile.