chemicalsmile
Junior Member
Generally I run Michelins on a 2 rear to 1 front ratio but when I caught a nail in my new-ish PR2 rear right around the time I needed to replace the PP2CT front I decided to try something new. At $160 a set, the Motions were even cheaper than Shinkos but with the positive reviews that their tires always lack so I decided to give them a try.
After having them installed I took a few short rides and found them to be nearly identical to Pilot Powers - they are nimble, tip in with a thought and hold a line perfectly. Unlike Pilot Powers, the rear has no center tread so I was a little worried about their wet weather traction and the ability to judge wear but otherwise I was stoked. Shortly afterwards, I took off for a rally in Wisconsin to test them in the Western alphabet twisties - 800 miles round trip and 380 or so miles of riding while there and I was loving the tires. Even in the rain and gravel they performed great and I couldn't fault them.
Fast forward a couple months and another 500 miles of local riding and I'm prepping to leave for another rally, this time in Arkansas. The rear still looked great - tread depth at the edge still looked almost new and there was no squaring at the center. With around 2000 miles on the set and 1200 to go I figured I'd have no worries on my trip right?
WRONG.
320 miles later in the middle of nowhere a friend riding behind me stops and tells me the cord is showing. I get off and stare dumbfounded at a fried rear tire with less than 2500 miles on it. Let's see....in the life of this tire I've always kept correct pressure (actually a little OCD about it), never carried a passenger, never carried more than 30 lbs of luggage and never did a burnout or wheelie. I've never had treadwear this terrible. Heck I once ran a Tomahawk retread on the rear and got 3500 miles before it started squirming (never saw cord) so what's this tire's deal?
After finding a dealer 45 miles away, making it there without the tire deflating somehow, waiting an hour and paying $165 for a turd BT014 plus mounting I luckily got back on the road without missing much. The front held up well and actually looks to be wearing normally (there's actually center tread and wear bars on the front). After searching a little I found a couple reviews complaining of the same mileage so maybe there was a bad run or maybe they're new enough that most people haven't put much mileage on them. Even if I'd got 4k miles out of the rear I'd say it's totally worth the money but unfortunately if this is standard mileage it's not worth the cost savings.
After having them installed I took a few short rides and found them to be nearly identical to Pilot Powers - they are nimble, tip in with a thought and hold a line perfectly. Unlike Pilot Powers, the rear has no center tread so I was a little worried about their wet weather traction and the ability to judge wear but otherwise I was stoked. Shortly afterwards, I took off for a rally in Wisconsin to test them in the Western alphabet twisties - 800 miles round trip and 380 or so miles of riding while there and I was loving the tires. Even in the rain and gravel they performed great and I couldn't fault them.
Fast forward a couple months and another 500 miles of local riding and I'm prepping to leave for another rally, this time in Arkansas. The rear still looked great - tread depth at the edge still looked almost new and there was no squaring at the center. With around 2000 miles on the set and 1200 to go I figured I'd have no worries on my trip right?
WRONG.
320 miles later in the middle of nowhere a friend riding behind me stops and tells me the cord is showing. I get off and stare dumbfounded at a fried rear tire with less than 2500 miles on it. Let's see....in the life of this tire I've always kept correct pressure (actually a little OCD about it), never carried a passenger, never carried more than 30 lbs of luggage and never did a burnout or wheelie. I've never had treadwear this terrible. Heck I once ran a Tomahawk retread on the rear and got 3500 miles before it started squirming (never saw cord) so what's this tire's deal?
After finding a dealer 45 miles away, making it there without the tire deflating somehow, waiting an hour and paying $165 for a turd BT014 plus mounting I luckily got back on the road without missing much. The front held up well and actually looks to be wearing normally (there's actually center tread and wear bars on the front). After searching a little I found a couple reviews complaining of the same mileage so maybe there was a bad run or maybe they're new enough that most people haven't put much mileage on them. Even if I'd got 4k miles out of the rear I'd say it's totally worth the money but unfortunately if this is standard mileage it's not worth the cost savings.
