I’m a tight-fisted wan*er. I don’t like wasting money and throwing away stuff that is still useful.
I believe I still hold the world record for "
most KMs travelled for a PR3 front tyre on an ST1300" – set at 37,425km (see
here).
However, winter is here in Perth and we’ve been getting a lot of rain. We’ve not been breaking records, but there have been lots of puddles and standing water on the road. So, safety first.
I’ll be replacing my current front Michelin PR4 with the same (Road 5 GT isn’t available for the ST1300 yet). This one went on just before I started my lap around Australia last year. It’s seen a lot of long straight roads. While I was tagetting the twisties where I could, I’m quite surprised it’s not "squared" off much at all. The photos below show the profile that it’s pretty much had throughout its life. The 6,000+km I’ve done in Perth since my return hasn’t really "rounded" it any more. As you can see – there’s actually still a fair bit left to go too, but again – safety first.
Given some of the road surfaces travelled were as harsh as hell, and the fact I was towing a trailer, I’m not surprised I didn’t set a new record (I was getting < 50% of my typical wear from the rear tyre with the trailer).
I’ll give the same answers to the same question of "how do I manage to do that?" – I maintain good tyre pressures (44-ish for me), and I don’t ride like Casey Stoner.
So, drum-roll please… here she is at
30,000km…
