Different tires

[RRonin]

Hello, I've only had my bike for 3 weeks and I've put roughly 4000 miles on it. I've changed the tires 3 times so far and one thing I've noticed is that every time I change the tires the bike feels completely different. My bike came with K3s which felt awesome right off the showroom floor, then I set up the suspension and the bike felt even better. I then put Michelin Pilot Power Pures on for my Deals Gap trip and the bike felt very vague. After I put a couple hundred miles on the bike felt good but not as good as when I had the K3s. After Deals Gap I threw on some Michelin 2cts and bike felt like the tires were put on wrong. I checked the tires and everything was fine but still felt like the front end was pushing through corners. I did some slight changes to the suspension and put some miles on the tires and it now feels pretty good.

I've been riding Hondas for the last 15 years and have gone through several tires and brands and I've never noticed anything like this.

So the question is has anyone else noticed how different tires completely change the feel of this bike?

[nwills]

3 weeks...4000 miles....3 sets of tires...wow!

[RRonin]

Yeah I picked the bike up and had to get my 600 miles in to get the rev limiter taken off so I could have full power for the Dragon. ended up putting on 1000 miles in a week then another 3000 to and from the Dragon. The S1000 is freaking awesome! For some reason I didn't feel as sore or tired as I did last year on the CBR 1000.

[Triple Threat]

This has some good information: Tires, Tires, Tires


I feel the same way about Power Pures. I think one of things you may be feeling is that new tires can take 100-300 miles to break and and get used to/comfortable with.

Hope this helps,

Triple

[Sal_R1]

This is a suspension issue. The power pures have a taller profile (especially the rear tire) & changed the geometry of the bike enough for you to feel it! Cornering should be the same but as you didn't feel comfortable on them i doubt you tried aggressive lean angles.

They felt better after a few 100 miles because you had worn the rear tire down (lowering ride height) thereby compensating for adjustment!

If your suspension is dialed in then you would only need to make minor front & or rear ride height adjustments to compensate for different tire profiles.....

Originally Posted by RRonin

Hello, I've only had my bike for 3 weeks and I've put roughly 4000 miles on it. I've changed the tires 3 times so far and one thing I've noticed is that every time I change the tires the bike feels completely different. My bike came with K3s which felt awesome right off the showroom floor, then I set up the suspension and the bike felt even better. I then put Michelin Pilot Power Pures on for my Deals Gap trip and the bike felt very vague. After I put a couple hundred miles on the bike felt good but not as good as when I had the K3s. After Deals Gap I threw on some Michelin 2cts and bike felt like the tires were put on wrong. I checked the tires and everything was fine but still felt like the front end was pushing through corners. I did some slight changes to the suspension and put some miles on the tires and it now feels pretty good.

I've been riding Hondas for the last 15 years and have gone through several tires and brands and I've never noticed anything like this.

So the question is has anyone else noticed how different tires completely change the feel of this bike?

[RRonin]

Triple thank you for you reply, that thread has been extremely useful. I've done a lot of searches looking for answers and opinions but I really didn't expect tires from the same manufacturer to feel so completely different especially since the Pures and the 2Cts have very similar profiles. I really felt like the tires were put on improperly but after careful inspection they were good and after a few miles they felt fine.

Originally Posted by Sal_R1

This is a suspension issue. The power pures have a taller profile (especially the rear tire) & changed the geometry of the bike enough for you to feel it! Cornering should be the same but as you didn't feel comfortable on them i doubt you tried aggressive lean angles.

They felt better after a few 100 miles because you had worn the rear tire down (lowering ride height) thereby compensating for adjustment!

If your suspension is dialed in then you would only need to make minor front & or rear ride height adjustments to compensate for different tire profiles.....

Sal, that is exactly what I was wondering, thank you. Just seems odd to me that the Pures and 2cts would feel so different.

Thanks again guys for the great info!!!