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New rubber needed

10K views 54 replies 18 participants last post by  OldBobagain 
#1 ·
https://www.gsxs1000.org/forum/members/oldbobagain-albums-oldbobs-pics.html
 
#4 ·
Found the pics, and you are correct Sir! You need new rubber BAD. My tires handled like crap and had way less wear. I put on the Mich R5s (same size as stock) and the handling was so nimble it freaked me out.

Go for it.
 
#8 ·
Jeff how many miles are you getting out of the rear Rosso 3s?

I've had the bike 11 months and this will be the 4th rear tire and I am running -1 +2......1-Pilot R4 (came with the bike, not much left when I got it...good tire, plenty of grip... no complaints)......2-Connti road attack 3 2000 miles (lots of wheels spin on low gear power digs...hated this tire)....3- Bridgestone S21 4000 miles (good tire, plenty of grip...no complaints just wanting a little more miles)

From what I've read it looks like 4k on the rear is about the most you're going to get if you ride her like she should be rode.:D
 
#7 ·
:laugh:
I just looked up your pics and I can see you like getting your money's worth:laugh:
That rear should have been changed ages ago;)

Michelin M5s will give you more mileage and good grip but the rosso's will give you more confidence when you're pushing it. Two good tyres if you ask me. I also liked the Metzler M7's.
 
#11 ·
I don’t really worry about how long a tyre lasts I’m more worried about good edge grip.
One of the best tyres I used was back in 08 Bridgestone BT 016 on a gixxer 1000 did one track day and they still lasted 12,000ks.
Not sure these days but the BT016 is probably classed as a crap tyre now but back then I was impressed.
Razor just wondering what pressure your running?
 
#15 ·
I'm running 32F 34R cold.....back when I only got 2K out of the Conti's I jumped on here to see what guys where running and me and Frog had some good back and forth about tire pressure ect….by the way I haven't seen Frog on here in a while. Hope all is good with him. He suggested I was under psi and I should increase the tire pressure and should get better mileage out of the rear tire because it's getting to much heat in it. Other guys also suggested this as well. Anything above the 32 and 34 (cold) really feels rock hard and I just don't feel confident in my grip higher than that. So I installed a on board TPM to see exactly what psi and temps I was getting once the tire warmed up. I can start at 32F and 34R on a nice day around 78 degrees and within a 5-8 miles the tires are 36F and 38R (warmer days they get even higher)...this feels really good and grippy to me...I never knew the tires would gain 4-5 psi when warm until I got the TPM...very good for knowing the psi at a glance and never ever have to even worry about it. I know the recommended 38 and 41 (cold) is what the manufacturer says to run...so once they warm up your at 42 and 45...I've tried these higher psi's and even on a hot day they feel like the tires have concrete in them.

I also put the R1 rear shock on...so I'm not try to compensate for a crappy stiff stock shock by going soft on tire pressure.
 
#23 ·
I’m amazed at the mileage some people get from tires and realize we all ride our bikes differently. The most I have got out of a tire, PR4, was 9000 miles and that was almost exclusively commuting to work. At that time I had the SV for mountain rides. Generally I only get 2000-2500 miles out of tires I use in the mountains. That is very aggressive riding with hard braking and coming out hard on corners.
 
#32 ·
There are so many variables to deal with when it comes to air pressure, I feel the setting giving are baseline. The pressure will be different for 125lbs rider vs 325lbs rider, to use a certain pressure for everyone is ludicrous. Same for someone cruising around vs track pace. I run higher psi for my daily commute but run lower pressure when I go to the mountains and especially for the track.
 
#37 ·
All true, lower pressures at the track or street will give you more traction....but at a cost to tire life. I noticed my front tire was quite loud a few months ago. Was thinking it was just the tread design of the RS III. Nope, tire was 5 pounds low. Put it back to 36psi and no more road noise. Recommended pressures are there for a reason, and they may not be optimal for best grip, but other tire parameters are at play like wear and road noise. Either way tire pressure is a personal preference. I understand why you would run lower pressures sometimes, just know your tire life will be impacted as well as slowing turn in a wee bit from the tire being more squishy.
 
#36 ·
looks like your a more aggressive ride that me i think most are....i got 7800 miles out of my stock ones ,, other riding buddy with the old pp2 has 18000 miles on his kawasaki older 1200 model other buddy 1000rr bmw got
over10,000 also on s21...I live 2 min from highway thats all i do ... high speed highway runs at 36 42....every bike i ever owned i got over 10000 miles...when i was in my 20s tires didnt last so long
 
#38 ·
Usually the max I can get out of tyres is between 6000 and 7000 kilometres.
The most was out of a set of Bridgestone BT016 12000 kilometres.
So it’s got me stuffed how anyone is getting 14000miles = 22500 kilometres.
Maybe it’s something to do with weather conditions as a lot of my riding is warm weather.
 
#41 ·
I'm the same weight and run the same pressures.
I've never had more than 5000mls out of any rear tyre on this bike, usually around 4000/4500mls.
I am now at around 36000mls. Last five pairs have been Metz Roadtech 01s, brilliant tyres.
 
#44 ·
I have been using Dunlops: Q3+ on the front and Roadsmart III on the rear. I get about 6500 - 7000 miles on each on Florida roads using 34 psi front and 38 psi rear.

Very happy with this combo. I don't see how any tire can last 18k miles. At least not on Florida roads.
 
#46 ·
I like that combo too. I thought about doing the same. My OEM rear was done way before the front so initially I just replaced the oem rear with the Road smart III. When it came time for the front I debated whether to buy the Q3 or matching RS III. I bought the RS because it has good grip even when its wet and cold. Little warm up is needed for them to stick good. I figured the Q3 would never get up to temp during late season riding on cold roads and could get sketchy. So far the RS front has not ever surprised me in any way other than developing a loud hum, but that was due to the psi being at 30psi. Filled to 36 and no more noise.
 
#47 ·
Per page 117 of the owners manual, the factory recommended COLD tire pressures for the GSX-S1000 is 36F and 42R. That is for solo and two-up riding.
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1063571/Suzuki-Gsx-S1000.html?page=117
I used to run just those pressures on my CBR929 and CBR954 but realized they were a touch too 'firm' for solo riding when I was getting my freak on in the curves. With experimentation, I found I liked about 34F and 39R (again, COLD) when riding by myself, with no luggage, and being aggressive/having fun with the bike. The GSX-S1000 seems to like those pressures, too. But I'm a 'big boy' (250 lbs) so I need a bit more pressure than the next guy, I'm sure.



If you put someone on the bike with you, please(!) use the factory recommended 36F/42R. If you are riding on a trip and have the bike loaded up with luggage, again, the factory pressures are going to give you a better safety margin and a bit more tire life.


When I was doing track days, they suggest you lower your tire pressures. I started off with what they recommended (30F/28R) and found I did not like the way the bike felt at all. I experimented and found I needed the front to be at 32 psi COLD to 'feel' right (to me.) I also figured out that 28R psi was too low and 30R psi felt 'right' at the track for me, using the tires I had (usually Michelins.)



Again, I would never run those track pressures on the street! AND, it should be pointed out that running those pressures at a track day ruined a set of Michelin Pilot PURE tires I had. They were never grippy on the street after that track day. In fact, they felt so slippery I had to replace them well before their tread life was used up. The heat from the low pressures at the track day ruined them. I will note that those tires didn't remain in Michelin's line-up for very long, so I suspect I wasn't the only one that experienced that 'problem'.


So what should YOU run? You decide. I wouldn't go below 33F/36R on my street bike rides. And - keep in mind - tires are losing air pressure constantly. If you run such low pressures, you need to check them more often because you are on the edge of safety. If you filled your tire a week ago, I would bet they have dropped by a psi or two already since then. True story. Check it out for yourself. I had one tire that lost air faster than that (about a psi every two days) but I never could find a leak or object in the tire. That's just the way it was for that particular tire. Kind of a pain.


Another consideration is that different maker's tires feel different. Bridgestones seem to have 'stiffer' carcasses than Michelins in my experience. I can run a Michelin at 33F/36R and it will feel just a touch too soft and mushy in cornering until it really gets warmed up. But a Bridgestone at those pressures would feel great to me. That being the case, I would put a bit more air in the Michelins to get the 'feel' I'm used to because of the slightly softer carcass/sidewalls. Can't speak for all the other brands (they vary, as you would imagine) but those two are very distinct from each other, so they make good examples.


Final thought - the lower you run your tire pressures, the hotter they will get and the greater INCREASE in pressure you will get once they are hot. For example, imagine you ran your front tire at 30psi COLD; after riding around for an hour, you jump off the bike and check it and find it is now up to 36psi HOT. That represents a 20% increase in pressure from hot to cold. That is too much. You are running the tire at too low a pressure. Let's then say you then run the tire at 33psi COLD and after an hour of riding around you get off and check the pressure and find it is 36.5 psi HOT. That represents about a 10% increase in pressure from hot to cold and that is what you are looking for - a 10% change from hot to cold.


Ride safe. Have fun. Live the dream.
 
#48 ·
I like it all Frog... good advice, I'm one of those low psi guys with a thick head. 4 rear tires in 11 months, but I do ride a lot...I'm going to force my self to do the factory recommended psi for this next set and see how it goes.

Haven't heard from you in a while...always like your inputs. :)
 
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