[MikeLucey]

I have noticed quite a few posts on the forum which suggest (a) that scooter/motorcycle tires wear out relatively fast and (b) tires for Burgmans are hard to get.

I have wondered whether the combination of these things makes it advisable to acquire tires and put them "on the shelf" to avoid losing a major part of the all-too-short riding season we have in the Northeast.

So I ask: what sort of mileage can one expect to get on Burgman tires, specifically (if it makes a difference) Burgman 400 tires? Also, can anyone expand on the "hard to come by" issue with replacement tires? Is it bad enough that one should buy in advance? Or was it perhaps a temporary shortage?

Thanks in advance.

 

[NormanB]

I do not think 400 tyres are a problem - even in North America.

Mostly it will be the rear that goes first in wear terms.

Mileage depends upon type of useage and road sufaces but you would be unlucky not to get 7000 miles (my guess), of course a puncture could pox up any planning calculations.

If you are concerned order one in and store in the original packing in a dark cool place. OR if you have a good relationship with your supplier just reserve one - negotiate! :wink:

 

[allwalk]

Most if not all the posts in regards to tire acquisition problems were for the 650. I have 14,000 kms on my OEM tires and still have quite a bit of tread left especially on the front. However I do have a spare set allready to mount when the time arrives. Like Norman says the rear is definetely going to wear out first. I think I will order another set shortly after I install my new ones.

 

[MikeLucey]

Wow, what an instant response! Thank you very much.

 

[NormanB]

We try to do our best! :wink:

 

[ted clement]

Mike, one of my fellow 400 riders has about 9,000 on his now and figures the rear will go at least 12-14,000. He measures it regularly and its no where near the wear indicators. Prob get twice that on the front. I don't think you need to worry about availability for awhile. Pirelli's are avail now and Bridgestone should catch up by time we need them.

 

[garyw0cki]

I had a problem as I picked up a nail. No one in Las Vegas had one in stock, for my 400 rear tire, and all wanted a minimum of 7 business days. I called several internet dealers and as a result of reading a post, found that Dennis Kirk had them in stock. Bought the rear tire for $48 plus 6 bucks for delivery.
Also, shop around as one of the local dealers wanted 123 bucks, free install, what a deal. :twisted:

 

[chuck807]

I ordered a pair of Bridgestones for my 650 via my motorcycle mechanic over a month ago. They finally came in and I actually drove my cage over to pick them up. They're now sitting at home so I don't have to worry about picking up a nail or wearing a tire out. My mechanic has a "connection" (an account) with Bridgestone and it still took a long time.

On the same day I ordered from my mechanic, I also ordered a rear Pirelli tire from Azmotorsports online. Still don't have it as of this writing.

So to answer your question... YES, I'd HIGHLY recommend ordering NOW and keeping them around for when you actually need them!

Now that I have a spare pair at home... If I'm 100 miles away from home when I need them I can have a friend drive them to me, or if I'm too far they can be shipped next day.

- Chuck

 

[Randy]

Put a new set of rubber on my 400 today, 10,045 miles -front was a little worse then rear but both needed changing - it took one month from time of order to delivery . but I believe the dealers were out then but have since been restocked--Don't know about the 650 tires.
By the way, it's like riding a new scooter, even more so then replacing tires on a large bike.

 

[pauljo]

I sent my first rear Pirelli tire to tire heaven today. It served me well. The original rear Bridgestone was replaced at 5,242 miles (Burgman 650). The Pirelli lasted 7,975 miles. It never did flatten out as much in the middle as the Bridgestone did, and kept its excellent ride and handling characteristics right up to the end. A new Pirelli rear is now installed. The front Pirelli has about 4,000 miles on it, and still looks almost like new. If I also get 50% more wear out of the front one (compared to the OEM Bridgestone), it should be good for about 12,000 miles.

Due to sporadic availability of these tires, I plan to order both front and rear replacements in January. I'll have them sitting in my garage long before I need them, even if it takes several months to get them. I will definitely go with the Pirelli's again. They are an awesome tire!

Compared to the Bridgestones, the Pirelli's have provided:

- Remarkably better ride. They dampen sharp bumps in the road much better.
- Equal or better handling.
- Lower cost
- Longer tire life. I can now add this to the list!

 

[chuck807]

I sent my first rear Pirelli tire to tire heaven today. It served me well. The original rear Bridgestone was replaced at 5,242 miles (Burgman 650). The Pirelli lasted 7,975 miles.

I have 5,100 miles on the tires and it looks like they can go a few thousand more miles. These are the original stock Bridgestones. I'm wondering what the average life is, and what might be different.

Oh, and while we're on tires... what's the shelf life? In other words, is there a limit to how long I can store them in the garage?

 

[pauljo]

I have 5,100 miles on the tires and it looks like they can go a few thousand more miles. These are the original stock Bridgestones. I'm wondering what the average life is, and what might be different.

Riding style (semi-aggressive for me), riding speed (often 70 mph or higher for me), rider weight (225 lbs), weight of other luggage (I toured a lot), riding 2-up, tire inflation pressure maintained, temperature of road surface - all that stuff affects tire life. Some folks get significantly longer tire life than I do. I think the main factor for me is that there are many roads out here where you can travel at the higher speeds. At 70 or 80 mph, those scooter tires are spinning quite fast...

Oh, and while we're on tires... what's the shelf life? In other words, is there a limit to how long I can store them in the garage?

You should store them out of direct sunlight, and in a cool place if possible. I store mine in the back of my garage. Two years is probably the maximum time that I would store tires before using them. Generally, at the rate I've been racking up miles lately, I'll use them in less than a year. It is no fun getting to the point where you need a tire, and finding that there is a two month wait to get one! Happened to me last Summer... Won't happen again!

 

[Randy]

chuck807 wrote

Oh, and while we're on tires... what's the shelf life? In other words, is there a limit to how long I can store them in the garage?

There is of course a limit, I don't know what it would be but I am sure a set of tires should last a year (or longer) with no problem. It mite be nice to know how long the dealer had them before selling them. :?

 

[pauljo]

There is a code on the side of the tire that you can figure out the date of manufacture from. Somewhere in this forum, it tells how to read it.

Ahh... found the post. I'll copy it here for convenience. It was submitted by Aehanson.

"This tire age question is almost as controversial as what type of oil to use. Probably the first question would be to make sure you buy fresh tires-not so easy when buying on the internet. The NHTSA website says that the last four digits after the DOT on the sidwall are the week and year of manufacture e.g. 2304 would mean made the 23 rd week of 2004. There are other (mostly alfa) codes after the DOT, the first being the plant of manufacture, followed by manuf. codes at their discretion, probably in case of a recall.
Ozone is very harmful to rubber compounds, so you should probably tightly wrap them in plastic and keep them as cool as possible, although how much damage heat does on the shelf doesn't seem to be talked about often. Heat on the tire when mounted, generated by use, is good as it helps prevent drying out- and of course, obvious signs of dry rot (checking, cracking) are reason to throw the tire away.
The British tire industry has apparently decided that 10 yrs is the max life of a tire, regardless of tread wear. I've seen other (motorcycle tire) websites that say adhesion is down to 50% after only three years.
My personal timetable is to discard after 5 yrs- car tires also. So, if it were me, I wouldn't feel too badly about mounting well stored 2 yr old tires if they were to be used up in 1-2 yrs."

 

[chuck807]

Thanks Paul, that helps!! I've put on 1,000 miles/month in the 5 months I've had the 650. That's going to slow down now that its colder. My best guess would be new tires every 18 months. With two rear tires and a front tire sitting in the garage, that should probably work out.
Again, thanks for the info!

 

[Mi SeaRider]

Question for Pauljo:

If you wouldn't mind, could you give us the Pirelli tire part (or stock, or whatever) number for both front and rear tires on the 650? Also, did you order via the internet (if so, where?) or through a dealer? Many thanks.

 

[pauljo]

Question for Pauljo:

If you wouldn't mind, could you give us the Pirelli tire part (or stock, or whatever) number for both front and rear tires on the 650? Also, did you order via the internet (if so, where?) or through a dealer? Many thanks.

Pirelli Front tire is GTS23-05
Pirelli Rear tire is GTS24-05

(The -05 designates the radial tire. They also made a non radial GTS23/24 series, so the -05 is important.)

I've ordered through my dealer before, also from Zdeno (Canada) when my dealer couldn't get a front tire.

For those who haven't dealt with it before... The Burgman 650 is the only machine in production that uses this tire. Therefore, it does not seem to be a very high priority with the tire manufacturers. Tire supply has been sporadic. Last July you could not find a front tire in the USA anywhere, neither Bridgestone nor Pirelli. I got Zdeno in Canada to track down a few - he located 6 front Pirellis. Members of this forum bought those within a week. Right now, I understand that again, front Pirelli tires are impossible to find. The only sane way to deal with this is to order your tires at least several months before you need them. The rear tire I just mounted has been sitting in my garage since the end of August. I plan to order both a front and rear replacement tire this Winter, so that I'll be sure to have them mid-Summer when I need them. Most local dealers do not stock them, so when the distributors run out, you just have to wait until the next batch arrives - and that can be 2 or 3 months sometimes.

There were rumors floating around in July and August that Pirelli was not going to sell these tires in the USA anymore. Those rumors proved to be false. There is currently a rumor that the front Pirelli tire is not going to be available in the USA anymore. I think it will also prove to be false. When the distributors run out, their employees feed bad information to the dealers, who pass it on to their customers.

It is an irritating situation, but I think we will be living with it for awhile.

My recommendation is to pre-order through your dealer, or through Ron Ayers. Ron Ayers price is less, but a dealer will often charge steep fees to install a tire that they didn't sell you. If it is an emergency and you need a front tire now - check with Zdeno, they came through for us before. Neither Ron Ayers nor Zdeno show these tires on their websites, so you have to call them and give them the parts numbers.

https://www.ronayers.com/main.cfm

http://www.zdenocycle.ca/

 

[gruntled]

It's not just tires. They treat motorcycles as toys & don't stock anything.
It just took ten days for me to get a fork seal. You have to make an appointment a week in advance to get an oil change. If automobiles were treated like this we would all still be riding horses. The "service" is terrible.

 

[pauljo]

Yep. The dealers don't tie up much money to stock parts. They'll carry oil filters and spark plugs - not too much else. I knew my V-Strom would need an air filter at its last service. Good thing I checked a couple of weeks in advance. I had to order it. I also had to pay for it myself at the time I ordered it. An air filter for goodness sakes! Lose a bolt? Go to the hardware store. If you go to the dealership it will cost at least 4 times as much - and you'll wait 10 days for them to get it.

It gets worse. The USA warehouses that the dealers order parts from don't like to tie up their money either. So if it isn't a common part - they won't stock it. Hello Japan? Now you are waiting for weeks.

It isn't just Burgmans, and it isn't just Suzuki. The dealership I go to carries all four Japanese brands, and according to the service manager there they all operate the same way. He has had crashed bikes waiting for months for parts to arrive.

It is totally unacceptable.

 

[billmeek]

Yeah ... it's a pain in the butt, but it's all economics. If they sold as many Burgmans as say Ford Rangers, there'd be parts places all over that stock parts. It's just not worth it to them to tie up the money and space for small demand items.