Brand and tire life on the R18

I am a walking, talking Metzeler ad but the Michelin Commander IIIs that came with my bike are excellent. They have held up in the wet and to aggressive riding. I am pleased. Early wear is an indicator something's not right. perhaps low tire pressure and hopefully not a suspension problem.
 
Front tire is gone... at 7300 miles... running michelins, rear still ok ...
I'm on Michelins too and that seems like a short service life especially on the front. I have 16 inch rims on both ends so the extra footprint may help spread the forces across a bit more tire, but also in the past I have had very quick wear on an "identical tire and use conditions" where I'm guessing it was cured improperly/very soft. Anyway, what pressure do you set it at and what type of riding is most typical for you? The R18 being so long and heavy I know on our tight mountain roads I ask a lot of the front tire in both turning and braking and while our mileage is +/- 500 of use my front is just showing a bit of wear v. you needing a new one.
 
Any vibrations at speeds between 30-60mph?
No, but I noticed this tire (Michelin) is sensitive to even minor pavement grooves or slightly uneven surfaces like from patches/repairs. It never is a problem, but the first few times I was double checking that I hadn't missed something more pronounced like actual gouging where there's been a wreck that damaged the pavement or really aggressive/excessive grinding to prep for resurfacing the road.
 
I'm on Michelins too and that seems like a short service life especially on the front. I have 16 inch rims on both ends so the extra footprint may help spread the forces across a bit more tire, but also in the past I have had very quick wear on an "identical tire and use conditions" where I'm guessing it was cured improperly/very soft. Anyway, what pressure do you set it at and what type of riding is most typical for you? The R18 being so long and heavy I know on our tight mountain roads I ask a lot of the front tire in both turning and braking and while our mileage is +/- 500 of use my front is just showing a bit of wear v. you needing a new one.
Hi Bob , i always check the tires pressure ... front 36 back 42 ... i called Michelin yesterday and a have a case number, they understud its kind early for a replacement.... next step its take to a shop and call them back... they will possibly reimburs if need to replace... but im not sure if they will only give me a % of the amount of a new tire..
 
Hi Bob , i always check the tires pressure ... front 36 back 42 ... i called Michelin yesterday and a have a case number, they understud its kind early for a replacement.... next step its take to a shop and call them back... they will possibly reimburs if need to replace... but im not sure if they will only give me a % of the amount of a new tire..
Sounds good! The outside diameter of the 19" v. 16" tire is the same and I run the same recommended pressures as you are. You have higher temps and our respective pavement(s) may have a little different drag factor, but I don't think the rider variables would be enough to explain this big a difference in wear. A little prorating on a new tire would be a nice moral victory even if the $ saved isn't as much as a full replacement, best of luck!!

Edit. I just took these photos so you have similar miles of use to compare.
 

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How many miles you have on that tire Bob? Look at mine its seems worst in person but...
 

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Approximately 6500+ so a little more gap than I originally thought, but even at that I can not imagine even being close to your wear with another 2-3 day rides it would take me to be where you are now. I've also ridden a bunch in AZ as I lived there a long time and still ride there most years as we have family there and friends I've ridden many trips with too. We've discussed and used tires for everything from Indian, Victory, HD, BMW, Guzzi, aprilia in all shapes and sizes for trips across the lower 48, good bits of Canada and AK too and I've never seen a tire scrubbed like that in such a relatively short period of use outside of track days and some really go fast guys using softer Sport or maybe even Sport-touring rubber on their mountain road rides at paces that are more track day than not.Soooo, unless you've been Representing in the King of the Baggers Races I'd say they owe you a tire :ROFLMAO:🍻🍻
 
Approximately 6500+ so a little more gap than I originally thought, but even at that I can not imagine even being close to your wear with another 2-3 day rides it would take me to be where you are now. I've also ridden a bunch in AZ as I lived there a long time and still ride there most years as we have family there and friends I've ridden many trips with too. We've discussed and used tires for everything from Indian, Victory, HD, BMW, Guzzi, aprilia in all shapes and sizes for trips across the lower 48, good bits of Canada and AK too and I've never seen a tire scrubbed like that in such a relatively short period of use outside of track days and some really go fast guys using softer Sport or maybe even Sport-touring rubber on their mountain road rides at paces that are more track day than not.Soooo, unless you've been Representing in the King of the Baggers Races I'd say they owe you a tire :ROFLMAO:🍻🍻
I ride very conservative... i literally just cruise around... never aggressive... and the sides were gone... the cebter still some tread left... seems defective to me...
 
I ride very conservative... i literally just cruise around... never aggressive... and the sides were gone... the cebter still some tread left... seems defective to me...
I was kidding about racing the big girl and I also believe it was just improperly cured or a similar issue that left it very soft. I've had and have seen other tires with the multi compound construction on Michelin and others have similar wear where the harder center strip adjoins the softer shoulder compound. You could feel a noticeable raised center with a grooved section in the softer compound that deepened over the miles and it made for some interesting handling in the right circumstances. Anyway, they keep improving tires and we have better "road" tires than what were "track" tires not so many years ago. The complexities of design with the new rubber compounds, lots of silica along with all the siping combinations offer just incredible tire performance we enjoy even on these big, heavy bikes, but I can see when being just a little off from a tight spec a tire is still essentially good, but the stresses eat it up quickly like you experienced.

It will be interesting to see how the new tire treats you when you have similar use.
 
How many miles you have on that tire Bob? Look at mine its seems worst in person but...
Those look like tires that have seen extreme temperatures like at a track. Assuming you weren’t taking the R18 on a track, the only other explanation is tire pressure was low for a while which generated excessive heat in the carcass and faster wear. You’d mentioned you keep pressure at 36/42, is it possible it was below that for a few hundred miles before you checked and adjusted?
 
Those look like tires that have seen extreme temperatures like at a track. Assuming you weren’t taking the R18 on a track, the only other explanation is tire pressure was low for a while which generated excessive heat in the carcass and faster wear. You’d mentioned you keep pressure at 36/42, is it possible it was below that for a few hundred miles before you checked and adjusted?
I check my tire pressure before any big ride or every 10 days.... bi weekly... i was never more than 1 psi below/over recommended...
 
New one
 

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Those look like tires that have seen extreme temperatures like at a track. Assuming you weren’t taking the R18 on a track, the only other explanation is tire pressure was low for a while which generated excessive heat in the carcass and faster wear. You’d mentioned you keep pressure at 36/42, is it possible it was below that for a few hundred miles before you checked and adjusted?
I would have to agree with your observation. Tire has clearly overheated. I too would expect low tire pressure on the highway. If they were the correct pressure, it looks as tho they were checked hot and not cold. As the sides of the tires show little wear I expect low speeds and low lean angles in any cornering.
 
It would be great to hear from Michelin what they find, but that will never happen. I've had friends with the old Pilot Powers that had problems with delamination and outright failures get told tough luck by Michelin and while things may have changed as to "better safe than sorry", I'm thinking they must have seen something of concern that they replaced rather pro rated and will likely have it analyzed to confirm if the tire batch had any issues.

Gr8adv, as a side note and YRMV as to limited sidewall wear, but if you look above at my tire photos that's about the point the pegs are scraping so there is a huge amount of unused rubber or big chicken strips if you prefer.

Cheers all, enjoy safe travels 🍻
 
It would be great to hear from Michelin what they find, but that will never happen. I've had friends with the old Pilot Powers that had problems with delamination and outright failures get told tough luck by Michelin and while things may have changed as to "better safe than sorry", I'm thinking they must have seen something of concern that they replaced rather pro rated and will likely have it analyzed to confirm if the tire batch had any issues.

Gr8adv, as a side note and YRMV as to limited sidewall wear, but if you look above at my tire photos that's about the point the pegs are scraping so there is a huge amount of unused rubber or big chicken strips if you prefer.

Cheers all, enjoy safe travels 🍻
Good point about tire wear and the pegs. I will agree 100%.

Michelin should make r18 specific tires for us with more rubber on the top and vey little sidewall. 😝

Come to think of it I am surprised that wunderlick has not come out with a tiny (training) wheel to bolt on the end of the pegs.
 
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