Welp, what the hell is this?

[Haste]

I was doing my pre-ride glances and noticed this line across my rear tire. Its oddly straight and goes directly across to the other side perfectly 90 degrees from the rim. I dont think its vandalism because its just TOO straight. I put my card into it to get a feel for the depth and its < the depth of normal tred.

I cant promise that its not as old as the bike, but as some of you know i keep really tight tabs on my bike and i feel like if it was old i wouldve noticed it far sooner. It probably doesnt haven an effect on anything and isnt posing a risk but im paranoid and due for a fresh tire anyways.

Leave it on and dont worry or get a new and stickier tire to squid around on? If the latter, who is the recommended tire dealer/mounter for the club? ALSO should you guys recommend replacement i wanted to talk about what tire to get mounted. Although i want the stickiest tire humanly possible the fact of the matter is i spend 80% of this bike's life commuting in a semi-straight line. in the past 4 weeks ive logged 1.5k miles so mileage is a variable for a poor college student. Im willing to lay the dollars down for a dunlop or similar quality but wanted to hear from more experinced riders about this topic.

At least i didnt ask what oil to buy? :P

[milesmiles]

I would highly! recommend the dunlop Q2, but you do so much riding you only get about 4k out of it.

[Bewst]

Is that the tire seam?

[shilka99]

Is that a Dunlop Haste? It looks a lot like a mold seam. The Q2 has a similar issue - theres a writeup here:
http://www.fwmr.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6160

Short answer - the void goes all the way to the carcass but many people ride the tire like they stole it and never have a problem. I've done many track days with this damage visible but never went all the way to the wear markers.

[Rhino]

Also as a side note, you can't run the stickiest tires possible on the street. Those would be race slicks, and they'd be worthless anywhere but at the track with tire warmers then pushed right to the limit.

[Haste]

Is that a Dunlop Haste? It looks a lot like a mold seam.

Yeah its a dunlop sport(ster?) tire, not a Q2 if i have my facts straight. I noticed it the next morning after a very particularly hard ride. A hard enough ride that when i layed my hand on the tire post-ride (as i usually do to get idea for tire warmth at varying paces) it was scorching hot. Ive still got some thick chicken strips so its not like i was going full rossi mode or anything though.

Know a good place to buy and mount?

[milesmiles]

I'm just going to post this up here because i feel i owe these guys.... Rising Phoenix Motorsports in Argile TX(denton) gives me tires at cost. Then$40 to mount and balance, very fast and super friendly. They ordered a tire one day and the wrong one came in, no biggie i was there to pick up an oil filter. I asked how much it was for the K & N he said it's free because they didn't have my tire when they said they would. Chain and sprockets for my bike were nearly at cost. I love these guys!

[Haste]

I'm just going to post this up here because i feel i owe these guys.... Rising Phoenix Motorsports in Argile TX(denton) gives me tires at cost. Then$40 to mount and balance, very fast and super friendly. They ordered a tire one day and the wrong one came in, no biggie i was there to pick up an oil filter. I asked how much it was for the K & N he said it's free because they didn't have my tire when they said they would. Chain and sprockets for my bike were nearly at cost. I love these guys!

From what ive read its not a mission critical fault, but im due for new tires soon anyways so ill try them out.

[DarcShadow]

I always go through CycleWerkz for tires and mounting. They always take good care of me.

As for type of tire. If you're mostly commuting and wanting to save many, you don't want the stickest tire. You would probably do best with a decient sport tour tire. Good sticky tires you're only going to get 3000 to 4000 out of them before you need new. If you work the cost of tires and gas for a sport bike vs a car, in the long run, the bike cost you more.

[Haste]

Im having an internal debate about the subject bcause god knows id like some stick but was hoping for more around 6k before a change out

[fixxervi6]

I'm not sure what your riding style is, but most people would do fine with touring tires, ultra sticky is just a good way to burn money on the street.

I rotate my bike to the track so I run Q2's, if I didn't do track days I'd just run sport touring tires.

I've pushed my Pilot Road 3's way past what we would classify as a moderate and intermediate and had only minor traction issues.

[NickS]

You could easily get 12k to 15k miles from some Michelin Pilot Roads. They seem pricey up front, but are a very good performing and long lasting tire. Mile for mile, they are among the least possible cost and are up to anything short of racing.

[Striple]

For longevity, I really liked the Pirelli Angel STs. Excellent combination of traction and longevity, although when compared to the Pilot Roads, the balance is slightly more skewed toward traction. You may also want to consider Michelin's Pilot Power series, which is a bit sportier. Tires are a lot like motor oils though - everybody has their personal preference, based on their own bike setup and riding style. The more people you ask about it, the more different answers you're likely to receive. The one thing that always does hold true - which you probably know - is the fact that every tire model is a trade-off between traction and longevity. Sport touring tires in general are a bit more skewed toward longevity, whereas sport tires are more skewed toward traction.

As far as where to purchase and/or get tires mounted, in my experience any decent shop will do. I've even ordered tires online and then had a local shop throw them on. As long as you purchase from a reputable vendor, a tire sale and/or install is a standard thing that is rather difficult for them to screw up.

[DemonDuck]

A quick question... When did you get the tires on the bike now? That looks like it is comming apart at the mold seam. If that is the case then it is a defect and you might be able to get a discount on new tires because of it. I use to work with car tires alot and basically your higher performance tires use a segmental molding. This type of molding allows for more even distribution of pressure and heat when the tires is being made. It would seem in a failure like this the heat was not distributed as intended and so the rubber did not bond like it should have. On cheap tires they use a clamshell mold and those have a line that goes around the middle of the tire.... not as good heat and pressure distribution on this type of mold.

On what tire to go with... I like the Q2's and the PP2CT's. I think the PP2CT's get more life out of them but not sure.