Watch out for OEM IRC tires on newest SilverWings.

My new left over SilverWing now has 9300 miles.

From appearance rear has at least 3,000 miles left, front about same---BUT the rear has worn real square, screwing up handling, providing lots of rear wheel steer--unable to hold line in high speed sweeping turns, climbs ridges on road. I jacked bike up this AM--steering head bearings=OK, no free play on rear swing arm

Square tires have no place on 2 wheeler!!

I have used IRC in the past as they are well made tires, BUT what in on my bike right now could kill FIX: get rid of them @ 5-6000 miles and enjoy riding.

I have Michelin SC in Garage and will buy Michelin SC for front----starting out with matched pair good idea. Michelin SC worked great on my Burgman 400 and even wore ROUND.

Another observation: I like "Ride On"----- but have noticed after stopping from high speed--80mph, hot tires, the goop seems to run to bottom of tire and the 1st miles can be a bit ruff, until the stuff equalizes and balances.

Thanks for the observations John. I most likely will add ride on to my tires as I think being 60% flat proof is a fine idea, especially in central Arizona at night. I ride a left over 2011 so my tire probably match yours. 9300 miles on a 13 inch tire seems good
to me.

john grinsel wrote:

My new left over SilverWing now has 9300 miles.

From appearance rear has at least 3,000 miles left, front about same---BUT the rear has worn real square, screwing up handling, providing lots of rear wheel steer--unable to hold line in high speed sweeping turns, climbs ridges on road.  I jacked bike up this AM--steering head bearings=OK, no free play on rear swing arm

Square tires have no place on 2 wheeler!!

John,
It is probably because of the type of riding you do, mostly straight. This would wear the center treads. I know that the roads have bends, twists, but percentage wise, mostly straight. And this is just my $0.02.. Aloha

WingMan02 wrote:

john grinsel wrote:

My new left over SilverWing now has 9300 miles.

From appearance rear has at least 3,000 miles left, front about same---BUT the rear has worn real square, screwing up handling, providing lots of rear wheel steer--unable to hold line in high speed sweeping turns, climbs ridges on road.  I jacked bike up this AM--steering head bearings=OK, no free play on rear swing arm

Square tires have no place on 2 wheeler!!

John,
It is probably because of the type of riding you do, mostly straight.  This would wear the center treads. I know that the roads have bends, twists, but percentage wise, mostly straight.  And this is just my $0.02.. Aloha

Wearing square typically has much more to do with the type of riding than the tire compounds.  Especially when you factor in the reality that MC tire manufacturers usually use a harder compound in the center section of the tire.  Of course speed, road surface, temps, and a whole host of other factors are also responsible for tire wear.  Rarely is the manufacturers trademark one of the wear factors.

I have gone thru 250-400 plus tires in my riding career----so might know a little from experience and do own tire work----some tires work better than others on certain applications.   How many have you experts used??...my dollars are going for Michelin matched pair, which I hope work---failing may keep Michelin in rear and put Bridgestone Hoop on Front this combo worked well on Burgman 400 which was not the greatest handling scooter in the world....but maybe no worse than SilverWing.

Tire such as Michelin wears round by design---thru out its service life---ever tried one?  I have.  More than one.  Never disturbed me.

So which Michelin tire(s) do you recommend? Which one wears so well?

There's a sale + free shipping right now at the Motorcycle Superstore.

Tim

My stock IRC rear tire wore a bit square as well but really wasn't a big problem and got nearly 11K out of it.  The new IRC bought from Honda handles better and is not wearing square as of yet (over 3K).  Amazingly the stock IRC front tire is still on the ground and not wearing square.

Have no idea what to make of any of this but there it is...    

Hey John, Honda was just looking out for your safety. Square tires will help the scooter stand up by itself.      

Tires I corrently like...Michelin Power Pure SC Dual Compound----available from Dennis Kirk @ about $46 for rear plus $5 "tire charge" last quote on front $69.88 plus the $5 tire charge----combine order to over $100 shipping is free if you ask for it.

Mount yourself and I add "Ride On" @ $15 a wheel.

I will ask downtown dealer to match price----should do as they all come from Parts Unlimited.

Michelin City Grip do not come in proper SilverWing sizes.

My experience with SC=no wet slip, bike handles ok as scooter AND they have worn round in my experience......and lasted over 10,000 miles on rear

Don't do own tire work you may be at dealer's mercy on cost of package, as there is time involved in rear wheel removal. Buy from Honda dealer if you have them do work---as they might have experience on SilverWing.

Few months ago I carried new tire on Burgman trip----paid for "Chuck the Butcher" to mount in NB----bike was cobbled!! But tire held air and was balanced.

john grinsel wrote:

Tires I corrently like...Michelin Power Pure SC  Dual Compound <>

Michelin City Grip do not come in proper SilverWing sizes.

My experience with SC=no wet slip, bike handles ok as scooter  AND they have worn round in my experience......and lasted over 10,000 miles on rear

OMG Mr Grinsel, are you saying that you are using the 'incorrect' size tires on your SW, and, if so, what size tires are you using?

Tim

Proper size: 120/80-14 front, 150/70-13 rear S speed rated. Michelin SC comes in these sizes. Newest operator manual only recommends IRC-----previous Bridgestone Hoops no longer , recommended---funny? I had good luck with Bridgestone Hoops fronts, not so great with Bridgestone scooter rears, wore square on SilverWing, Came apart on Helix and THREE flew apart on Reflex---Bridgestone covered replacement. Tires flying apart not nice feeling!!

Tackle box techs making changes in tire sizes on scooter with already marginal handling not good idea in my book.

John said he likes Michelin Power Pure SC Dual Compound, not Michelin City Grip.

john grinsel wrote:

Tires I corrently like...Michelin Power Pure SC  Dual Compound----.

John,
I purchased Michelin Power Pure SC tires last year. On first inspection, the sides of the tire seem to be very soft. As a matter of fact, the whole tire seem to be flimsy. I hope that I can get a lot of miles from them. I have read here in this forum where other rider did not get more thatn 6k miles on the rear. Any comments.

I got over 10,000 miles with Burgman 400, same size SC and expect that with SilverWing----At least right now the SC appears to be best tire for buck on these (Burgman 400 and SilverWing) that are old designs and are a bit dated.

For those doing own tire work, the SC is easy to work with.

I got over 10,000 miles with Burgman 400, same size SC and expect that with SilverWing----At least right now the SC appears to be best tire for buck on these (Burgman 400 and SilverWing) that are old designs and are a bit dated.

For those doing own tire work, the SC is easy to work with.

My OEM IRC rear was pure hell after 5,000 miles, up to 10,000, now, today ended at 10,500, the square seems to have worn off---ridges/crown of road/corners/abrasive pavement-----Different than what people think--I am not Freeway Flyer, use all types of roads, use Interstate for quick point to point runs---like today, just under 300 miles to get home.

Looking at rear tire and newfound good feeling of bike---big sweepers in particular, slow stuff ok, tire will stay on until 12,000---like to get my money's worth....after all there is $15 of Ride On in it, which goes away when the tire is thrown away.

At 11,914 miles just changed rear tire to Michelin SC in proper size.

OEM may have had another 1500 miles left---but had time/new tire and urge to change tire yesterday.

Michelin easy to work with----yes is soft in sidewalls, but air pressure holds you up.

Used "Ride ON" as balance aide=works.

50 miles on new tire @33PSI, Michelin max for load capacity----works going down the road, maybe some improvement in ride---still wearing off coating that could be slippery.

Expect no problems in long sweepers, when I can stress tire/traction.

Tip: directional arrow a little hard to see when mounting. Make sure you get it right

New Rear has a couple of hundred miles....including 40 or 50 miles in rain....I think the slippery stuff has washed off.

Cornering is much better either slow or pushed with the SC Michelin. I am satisfied with SC rear and OEM front combo. Original will last another 5,000 miles or so, when it is replaced it will be with Michelin SC in proper size.

It will be interesting to hear your opinion of the SC's as they wear. Some owners say they wear very quickly. If anyone can comment on their longevity, it's you.

I have purchased two Michelin SC's in same size as SilverWing rear in the past for use on my Burgman 400-----they wear ROUND! Each lasted 10,000 miles or more. Handling fine.

Expect SC to wear round and last 10,000 miles or more on SilverWing

FWIW, I get about 3,500 out of the Michelin SC Power Pures. We do have high speed limits here, and 75MPH riding is a lot harder on a tire than 55MPH riding (for example). But thought I'd throw that point out. They do wear round.

I replace when the wear bars are level with the tread (the Power Pure tires have wear bars near the center and near the sides - my center ones always wear before the side ones, although the tire doesn't square off). As for flimsiness, my flat one stayed on the rim just fine at 65 MPH. I tend to think the Bridgestone tires are dangerously stiff, particularly the bead (I have a hard time seeing people not accidentally damaging the bead when mounting on the Bridgestones).

The S40 comes with IRC tires front and rear. In that application they are junk

I had a new set of Dunlop E-3 radials on the Goldwing and the FRONT tire went square at under 10K! It affected the handling so prior to a big trip last summer I replaced it. Weird thing is the rear tire is still OK with over 14K on it... No idea why, I check tire pressure frequently etc.

My OEM IRC on the Silver Wing, the rear squared a bit but front did not. Go figure...

The original IRC on my Silverwing lasted for 14,000 miles. It had squared off but I don't remember it being a major problem.
I replaced it with a Michelin City Grip which I like and hasn't squared off at all in 7,000 miles. It's a shame that Michelin only make the City Grip in the size for the rear wheel and not the front (at least they didn't last time I looked).
The original IRC front is still going at 21,000 miles. Tread is ok but I plan on replacing it in the spring.

Maybe I just don't notice compromised handling much as I do tend to ride pretty gently.

John,I too is riding on front IRC (miles?) and Michelin Power Pure (easy mounting) and after 1000 everything is OK so far. You took away my worrying about Mich's mileage...thanks John