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1Back to top Go down   Bridgestone T31 Tires Empty Bridgestone T31 Tires Tue Nov 05, 2019 3:05 pm

brickrider2

brickrider2
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After reading the reports on fitting Bridgestone T31 tires on K-bikes, I bought a pair.  I'm now in the process of changing them out for their replacement.  I liked their performance; they made the bike handle as if it had lost 100 lbs.  However, they have surprised me in ways I never anticipated.  The front and rear tire wear at virtually the same rate.  In the past I've replaced two rear tires before one front was knackered.  That was my experience on other motorcycles. Now, at about 10 k miles I am again fitting T31 tires on both ends of the bike.  Is this typical of this tire?  A second surprise is the wear pattern of the front tire.  It's badly cupped.  Any thoughts on what caused that condition?


__________________________________________________
1996 K1100LT
    

2Back to top Go down   Bridgestone T31 Tires Empty Re: Bridgestone T31 Tires Tue Nov 05, 2019 3:10 pm

92KK 84WW Olaf

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I have used BT45 and not familiar with BT31 but the front would scallop very quickly unless run at higher pressures, I runt the front at 38 psi and its ok at that.

10k miles is good but the front wear rate suggests its a dual compound or softer tyre meaning you might need to look at the pressure you run it at.


__________________________________________________
1992 K100LT 0193214 Bertha Blue 101,000 miles
1984 K100RT 0022575 Brutus Baja Red 578 bought 36,000 now 89,150 miles
1997 K1100LT 0188024 Wotan Mystic Red 689 58,645 now 106,950 miles Deceased.
1983 K100RS 0011157 Fricka 606 Alaska Blue 29,495 miles Damn K Pox Its a Bat outta Hell Now 58,200 miles. 
1996 K1100LT 0233004 Lohengrin Mystic Red 38,000 miles currently 51,800 miles.
1983 K100RS 0004449 Odette R100 colours 58,000 miles. Sprint fairing now 63,390 miles

Past:
1968 Yamaha 80 YG1
1971 Yamaha 125 YAS-1
1968 Honda 125 SS
1970 Honda CD 175
1973 Honda CB500-4
Honda CX 500
    

3Back to top Go down   Bridgestone T31 Tires Empty Re: Bridgestone T31 Tires Tue Nov 05, 2019 4:57 pm

Point-Seven-five

Point-Seven-five
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What pressure are you running the front at?  38psi is what I run all my front tires at, and have never had a cupping problem.  I'm pretty sure that is the pressure listed in the owner's manual.


__________________________________________________
Present: 1991 K100RS "Moby Brick Too"
 
Past:
1994 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
1988 K100RS SE "Special Ed"
1994 K75S "Cheetos"
1992 K100RS "Moby Brick" R.I.P.
1982 Honda FT500
1979 Honda XR185
1977 Honda XL125
1974 Honda XL125
1972 OSSA Pioneer 250
1968 Kawasaki 175
    

4Back to top Go down   Bridgestone T31 Tires Empty Re: Bridgestone T31 Tires Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:34 pm

brickrider2

brickrider2
Life time member
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I use 38/42psi. front/rear. 
In the more remote parts of Arizona that I rode through in October there were significant stretches of what approaches "washboard."  I found the forks did a pretty good job of taming that, but maybe the front tire suffered.


__________________________________________________
1996 K1100LT
    

5Back to top Go down   Bridgestone T31 Tires Empty Re: Bridgestone T31 Tires Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:38 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
I've run lots of T30/EVO fronts at 35-36 front and 40 rear and the front tread wears just fine without cupping.

And the rears do wear faster but that may have something to do with how I ride. Very Happy


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

6Back to top Go down   Bridgestone T31 Tires Empty Re: Bridgestone T31 Tires Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:29 pm

Point-Seven-five

Point-Seven-five
Life time member
Life time member
An out of balance tire will have strange wear patterns(cupping and flat spots).  I have found that my wheels do not have the heavy spot at the valve stem.  Installing tires with the red dot oriented with the valve stem has led to weird balancing and odd wear issues.

I now check the bare wheel for the heavy spot before I mount the tire.  Makes balancing a lot easier, and the tires seem to run smoother with less vibration.  I've found that my three spoke wheels have a heavy spot about 60 degrees from the valve stem and can need as much as an ounce of weight to balance.


__________________________________________________
Present: 1991 K100RS "Moby Brick Too"
 
Past:
1994 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
1988 K100RS SE "Special Ed"
1994 K75S "Cheetos"
1992 K100RS "Moby Brick" R.I.P.
1982 Honda FT500
1979 Honda XR185
1977 Honda XL125
1974 Honda XL125
1972 OSSA Pioneer 250
1968 Kawasaki 175
    

7Back to top Go down   Bridgestone T31 Tires Empty Re: Bridgestone T31 Tires Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:45 pm

92KK 84WW Olaf

avatar
Life time member
Life time member
brickrider2 wrote:I use 38/42psi. front/rear. 
In the more remote parts of Arizona that I rode through in October there were significant stretches of what approaches "washboard."  I found the forks did a pretty good job of taming that, but maybe the front tire suffered.
I run the same pressures and have Ks going back 10 years and found these are the best too.


__________________________________________________
1992 K100LT 0193214 Bertha Blue 101,000 miles
1984 K100RT 0022575 Brutus Baja Red 578 bought 36,000 now 89,150 miles
1997 K1100LT 0188024 Wotan Mystic Red 689 58,645 now 106,950 miles Deceased.
1983 K100RS 0011157 Fricka 606 Alaska Blue 29,495 miles Damn K Pox Its a Bat outta Hell Now 58,200 miles. 
1996 K1100LT 0233004 Lohengrin Mystic Red 38,000 miles currently 51,800 miles.
1983 K100RS 0004449 Odette R100 colours 58,000 miles. Sprint fairing now 63,390 miles

Past:
1968 Yamaha 80 YG1
1971 Yamaha 125 YAS-1
1968 Honda 125 SS
1970 Honda CD 175
1973 Honda CB500-4
Honda CX 500
    

8Back to top Go down   Bridgestone T31 Tires Empty Re: Bridgestone T31 Tires Wed Nov 06, 2019 12:08 pm

brickrider2

brickrider2
Life time member
Life time member
I doubt very much that incorrect tire pressure is the reason for the cupping of the front Bridgestone tire.  It's more likely that the balance was not the best.  However, that theory has it's own problems, as an out of balance tire can be felt by the rider, but the bike ran very smoothly.  scratch As I mentioned, I've replaced it with a second T31.  It'll be interesting to see if the second one wears any differently.  It could very well come down to the formulation of the rubber and the condition(s) of the roads I travel.  We shall see.


__________________________________________________
1996 K1100LT
    

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