BMW S1000R 2107 Hawes 200 miles tyre scrub in Michelin Road 6

 
Hawes 200 miles

high speed vibration

Dented the akra exhaust pulling into drive past a caravan hitch!

BMW S1000R 2017 : Rideout to Cat N Fiddle then Matlock Bath : Scrubbing in the new Road 6 rear : 120 miles : 4 hrs elapsed

 replacement rear Michelin Road 6 fitted.
Rideout with Liam on his Honda Fireblade

A50 then A537 then A54 then A515 60 miles each way

BMW S1000R change of tyres : Michelin Road 6 rear tyre bulge from new / severe vibration and bobbling above 70mph

Change from Pirelli Rosso IV to Michelin Road 6  (same sizes)

big front end vibration (up and down) not side to side at 80mph +
note this is NOT headshake

Reasons for issue could be

• Out of balance
• Tyre not seated on bead fully
• Wheel out of round
• Tyre out of round 
• Tyre / suspension combo wierd

I did read that issues with the rear tyre and manifest as a front end issue

subsequently found bulge on the rear tyre! (from new)

clearly something amiss in the construction as you can push your finger in to it.
once tyre was removed there was no evidence of a problem from the inside surface

rear replaced at AG expense and form completed for a Michelin claim

front removed, rotated 180 and refitted

static balancing used

Hats off to Adam at https://www.facebook.com/AGMotorcyclesManchester
for coming back to my house, replacing the rear and refitting the front.
Great customer service, even though as a private business he's out of pocket.
Even if Michelin honour the rear tyre defect claim, he's still out of pocket for 2 journeys and another morning fitting.

After several weeks the issue is now resolved 

so the root cause was either  (or a combination of)

• front tyre not seated correctly
• front tyre not balanced correctly
• rear  tyre defect causing overall vibration (appearing as front vibration)

I cant prove it, but Adam is an ex bike racer and knows his stuff, so I find it very unlikely the issue was the front, Im more likely to believe its the last reason that the rear tyre defect was manifesting at higher speeds as an overall vibration.

Its also worth noting the change in tyres has had a noticeable change in feel to the bike.
'vertical bobbling' still occurs (which I really didnt have or notice with the Pirellis)

So the overall construction between these two tyres is clearly very different.

current pressures are the recommended 36f / 42r

Im going to try reducing pressures, removing some preload (im maxed out front and rear) to see if it removes the bobbling

13920 miles front and rear changed to Road 6
14120 miles rear changed due to bulge

BMW S1000R Michelin Road 6 tyres fitted at 13920 miles

Pirelli Rosso IV have been on the bike since buying , see my final review blog pirelli rosso iv review

I have chosen to now try out the Michelin Road 6                                        

I did a quick check on the approximate costs for tyres

                                 Road6 (new tyres)       RossoIV (my previous tyres)

120/70/17 front tyre    138                            131

190/55/17 rear tyre     191                            181

So for the Road 6 that would be  138+191 = £329 for tyres only

390 inc fitting, so approx £60 for fitting

Decided to have the tyres fitted at my home by

http://www.facebook.com/agmotorcyclesmanchester

took 45 minutes , all done in the back of a van.
an awesome experience from start to finish

even painted the wheel weights black to hide them against the wheel.
also on the edge of the brake discs.
awesome attention to detail.

noted Im down to the last 1/3rd of my front brake pads.


new tyres fitted at 13920 miles 

brand new Road 6 front and rear

new tread depth is approx 5.5mm front and 6.5mm rear

BMW S1000R quadlock Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

BMW S1000R 2017 Gen 2

Of note I run some MV bar-risers 

1 x Quad Lock Motorcycle USB Charger (QLA-MOT-USB)

1 x Quad Lock Motorcycle Vibration Dampener V2 (QLA-VDM)

1 x Quad Lock Motorcycle Handlebar Mount Pro (QLM-HBR-PRO) 

1 x Quad Lock Case - Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (QLC-GS23U)

short  10cm usb to usb c cable :  https://amzn.eu/d/ebhgMW8

small black zip ties

remove seat (theres just 2 screws on the rear edge
remove the plastic sidepanel on the LHS (3 screws and 1 bolt near to rear of tank)

USB charger is direct wired to the battery (no inline fuse , but apparently has surge protection in the 'head' , of note this wont help if theres a short downstream of the head!) you could fit an inline fuse if you wanted to

NOTE THIS MEANS THERE IS PERMANENT POWER TO THE USB CHARGING HEAD AT ALL TIMES.
So you could discharge the battery if you leave something connected with the bike not running

here you can see I have 4 cables to each terminal of the battery now

1. Bike
2. Tracker
3. charging extension lead to pillion seat (so I can connect a ctek charger over the winter easily)
4. Quadlock USB charger

usb charger has a useful split  to an SAE plug in the cable, so you can do the cable routing seperate from hooking up to the power (it also means if you already have an SAE plug you could use that for a switchable power)

handlebar mount
size of padding ring used was 28.6mm
route the cable so its suitable going lock to lock steering wise

I did think about but didnt get in the end

wireless charging head ( was unsure if it was going to be the full fast charge amps)

Motorcycle - Waterproof 12V To USB Smart Adaptor (on only with ignition and prevents from accidental battery discharge scenario

poncho

BMW S1000R Tyre review Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV (4) 4600 miles in 18 months

Tyres new at delivery from BMW at start of my ownership

start 9253 miles (Nov 2021)

end 13920 (May 2023)

so they have lasted for 4667 miles (18 months) 
This is in the UK
Nov to May
So a lot of my riding is done is cold and/or wet conditions

120/70 ZR 17

190/55 ZR 17

tyre pressures cold are

2.5 bar / 36psi

2.9 bar / 42psi

Im a heavy guy 110kg without gear, and well out of rear preload adjustment (see blog post)
fyi For most of the miles the preload was set incorrectly for a much lighter rider

I ride all year round, in almost all conditions (not snow and ice!)
I dont hang around and ride make good progress.

rear needs replacing
front still has plenty of tread left (despite cupping)

great feel
confidence inspiring
warm up quickly

great in warm/cold , dry/ wet conditions equally.

only ever felt traction lost under heavy throttle in wet conditions, even then no scares and my fault not the tyres!
never tried on track but I would assume they are excellent if not overheated.

down to the rear wear markers its clear, thats the end of the tyres life (cords starting to show), from being legal to something Id prefer not to ride on (and illegal) in 200 miles.
(i did get a puncture (which also might be due to it being highly worn) which may have accelerated the wear)

cant talk about costs, as I didnt buy these, they came on the bike.

the rear squared off (as expected) 
the front has appeared to 'cup' quite a bit.
the smooth transition on turn in feel was lost a little in the last 1000 miles, with me feeling the tyres stepped when tipping it in.
Didnt feel unsafe but noticeable

I also think its a good looking tyre pattern (but in reality thats the last thing you should care about if you ride a bike any distance or in any conditions

The Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV are a superb tyre that I wholeheartedly recommend.
In theory I could just have only a new rear Rosso IV (matched set) but Im changing to Michelin Pilot Road 6 's to try and get the same grip/feel but a greater mileage.

Comparison of costs 2023

                                  Road6   RossoIV

120/70/17 front tyre    £138         £131

190/55/17 rear tyre      £191        £181

Depending on where you buy, the Rosso IV is generally cheaper than Road6 so might be a good choice if you do less mileage.

Fantastic tyre for mixed usage, just dont expect many miles from them.