Cupping Photos

[bigdave]

My Bridgestones looked like that at 7500 miles changed both tires to metzler made a big difference but only got 8500 out of the rear metzler front has over 10000 miles on it and should last a few thousand more. replaced the rear metzler with an elite 3 great riding tire have a little over 2000 miles on it and still looks almost new. im having to change rear tire 2 times a year so darkside for me next time

[Cajunrider]

My front stone has 15,700 miles on it and it is just beginning to cup. An Avon Cobra will replace it within the next 1,000 miles.

[markusmaximus]

I'm at 8600 on my Bridgestones. I'll be looking more closely now. Thanks for the pics.

[macmac]

The OEm Brick is trash pure and simple.. You can buy a decent brick, but whu wants a brick that rolls? I used them on cars for a while in the 80's and hated them for my customers..

In time I was totally convinced they were junk, as far as I am concerned all bricks are junk.

Maybe when I see rave reviews saying stable, longer than 25,000 miles wear on a sport bike and handeling is great...

I don't belive I will hold my breath. Metz just took the cheap road out too, and if you buy a tire made in South America it is gonna suck! Pirellii is a brand made by metz, so best of luck with them too.

Seems we have 2 choices... Cobra and Dunlop as mc tires..

I got 8.4 miles on my D 251F Dunlop, in the last 2 weeks due to monsoon season, and cold...

I ordered the pontoon adapter kit, and camo paint for the Nad since I guess i am going boating , might hunt leftists while I'm at it.

[dandolfn]

What made you swap out your tires, I remember when you got that and it wasn't that long ago!

It WASN'T that long ago. The rear tire got worn down to the point I was uncomfortable with it at only 5300 miles.

The front tire looked fine, but I wasn't going to mix radial and bias, so I swapped out both for Avon Cobras.

What a difference!

I hope the rear lasts longer than the stock one did!

One thing I'm trying to do, besides watching the pressure is to ride on the wrong side of the street as much as possible. I live in a rural community so there's hardly any traffic. When I'm on a back road and there's no other traffic, I ride on the left, trying to balance out the wear on the left sides of my tires with some wear on the right sides.

I don't know if I can do that enough to make a difference, but I figure every little bit helps.

[dogdoc]

heyyou guys that have Avon Cobras: what are your psi you run and why different than specs: 32/40???
Thx

[Top Cat]

Doc, I'm running 40/42 only because thats what I ran in the Metz and no one on here has said any different.

[aggienomad]

Doc...

When I decided to put on Cobras, I talked to 2 different AVON Techs and got the same answer: due to the radial design of the tire, (ie; more flexible sidewalls for one), more pressure is needed to "hold" it's shape. They recommended pressures based on the bike weight and the load that I carry and it was more than the owners manual stated for the "bricks". They are very easy to talk to on the phone. So far the tires are great; very quiet compared to the bricks and the Dunlop D251s that the Cobras replaced. Also very sure footed in the turns; at slow speed I find myself cutting corners short because of the ease with which the bike turns!

[egetaseb]

I am on my second set of stock tires. The first set was replaced around 17,000 miles. I now have 5,000 on this set and so far, I still have about 80% of the thread and I have not had any problems - knock on wood.

[kenb]

http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/tirewear/

[flavor]

Originally Posted by Doc (Lonewolf)

heyyou guys that have Avon Cobras: what are your psi you run and why different than specs: 32/40???
Thx

Someone previously talked to an Avon rep about psi on the cobras. They were told 40 in the front and 44 to 46 in the rear. I've been running 40 in the front adn 44 in the rear. results seem to be OK for that air pressure.

[metalman]

I don't understand how some of you are getting such high mileage out of your rear Bridgstones. I got about 8500 miles each on the first two Stones. There was no noticeable cupping though. Half of the riding is two-up (380 pounds). No aggressive riding (I'm over 60). I now have about 4,000 on the car tire and it shows absolutely no wear.

[cyclecat]

I replaced both of the stock Stones at 6000 miles and the cupping on the front was worse than the rear and worse than the pic posted. The howl coming from both tires was incredible and again, the front worse than the rear. I put on Metzler 880's and got 31,000 kms (19,000 miles) on them with no cupping, they just wore out. Switched over to Dunlops next and again, just wore them out with very little cupping. I am now running Michelins and so far so good. We run a bit more air in the rear tire, 48 psi, and seem to get really good mileage out of our tires. My husband has over 30,000 kms on both his front and rear Dunlops and they are wearing well. Our tire guy told us to run a bit more air in the rear since the width of the the tire and the weight of the Nomad will wear out tires faster. It seems he was right since we get more mileage than most riders out of our tires.

[macmac]

Originally Posted by egetaseb

I am on my second set of stock tires. The first set was replaced around 17,000 miles. I now have 5,000 on this set and so far, I still have about 80% of the thread and I have not had any problems - knock on wood.

HUH??????? Are you saying that somehow you got 17,000 miles on a OEM bridgstone rear tire?

I can maybe see a ft tire running out that long ..maybe a very slim maybe, but no way can I understand how you got any 17,000 miles on a rear!!!!

[radco]

Great pics of the cups..I was looking for a D cup but see you were talking about tire cupping lol.... The shots of the cupped tires show the whole story.. Thanks