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[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

On a motorcycle aerodynamics are going to be mush more important than rolling resistance.

You could always put the insight tires on the motorcycle.  They call that "going to the dark side".   

They do (recalling that from the V-Strom community). But 90/10 tires will net you some 5% extra range or so. I've switched my rear out already on the DSR, and both on the DS now - tires take so long to wear out on electric motorcycles when you don't crank hard on the throttle regularly.

[NEW2elec]

Brian what kind of mileage are you getting and what tire pressure do you use?
I've gotten about 8k on two sets of the cheap Kenda 80/20 stock tires.  I can pick up a set on Ebay for about $120 shipped for both tires.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Brian what kind of mileage are you getting and what tire pressure do you use?
I've gotten about 8k on two sets of the cheap Kenda 80/20 stock tires.  I can pick up a set on Ebay for about $120 shipped for both tires.

I haven't finished my second set of tires on either bike. The DS is just shy of 20k miles and the DSR almost to 15k miles. I changed the DS tires at 12 and 13k miles (rear then front) and the DSR rear at 13 with stock front still. Metzler Tourance on the DSR and earlier Tourance now on the DS (I think, will check tomorrow morning).

[MostlyBonkers]

Got an new bike last week.. I let the dealer change the tires from Kenda to Michelin Anakee 3's.
What a upgrade to the whole bike that is! Specially in wet weather the Kenda's where really slippery and unpredictable how they behave. Now it feels so much more secure and I enjoy now so much more the bike!
Also the humming fibration of the nobles in the steer is gone and it feels so smooth and full of grip. On my commute of 40km I save a average of 3% range with these tires. Bit hard to keep my driving habits the same though, with these rubbers you easily drive faster and more sporty
Really great upgrade and I can recommend these tires to all DS owners. Huge jump forward in driving quality for a reasonable price!

I'm getting close to 10,000 miles on my '14 DS. The rear is just about done and grip is despicable in the wet. I'll try the Anakee 3's next. Thanks for your post.

[buutvrij for life]

+ 1 !

[Low On Cash]

If you're going to be buying new tires - the hell with the low rolling BS and supposed to be better mileage, get a tire that will provide the most safety and grip, really how much more mileage could you possible get.

Lose a few pounds or go buy yourself a better windshield if you're looking for a few extra miles or better yet - just slow down another 5 mph.

Merry Xmas - Mike

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

If you're going to be buying new tires - the hell with the low rolling BS and supposed to be better mileage, get a tire that will provide the most safety and grip, really how much more mileage could you possible get.

Lose a few pounds or go buy yourself a better windshield if you're looking for a few extra miles or better yet - just slow down another 5 mph.

Don't be such a jerk. Stock DS tires really do take out about 5% of the range of the DS. The DS is rated at 10% less range than S models, partly rolling resistance and partly drag.

What we're discussing is going from a 70/30 or 80/20 tire to 85/15 or 90/10, which still provides a lot of traction and control in the wet but isn't some super-slick track tire.

Changing the tires that way benefits the ride if you don't go offroad that much and would rather have a few miles to play with than have to tuck or whatever. There is such a thing as diminishing returns, but changing your tires is perfectly reasonable in this case.

[Low On Cash]

If you're going to be buying new tires - the hell with the low rolling BS and supposed to be better mileage, get a tire that will provide the most safety and grip, really how much more mileage could you possible get.

Lose a few pounds or go buy yourself a better windshield if you're looking for a few extra miles or better yet - just slow down another 5 mph.

Don't be such a jerk. Stock DS tires really do take out about 5% of the range of the DS. The DS is rated at 10% less range than S models, partly rolling resistance and partly drag.

What we're discussing is going from a 70/30 or 80/20 tire to 85/15 or 90/10, which still provides a lot of traction and control in the wet but isn't some super-slick track tire.

Changing the tires that way benefits the ride if you don't go offroad that much and would rather have a few miles to play with than have to tuck or whatever. There is such a thing as diminishing returns, but changing your tires is perfectly reasonable in this case.

You got your wires crossed if you think changing a tire is going to give you any substantial increase in mileage, it's a pipe dream to think you'll get 5 extra miles.

 Your better off mounting a safe tire on the bike and run some over pressure, you will achieve the same results. Unlike a radial on a passenger car with the lost energy of flexing the sidewall known as hysteresis, with bikes we do not have this loss. Also keep in mind that these so called tires do not have the same wet stopping capability.

 The chevy Volt came low resistance tires and it's been proven there was virtually no benefit using the tires, you can just inflate a regular tire and get the same results. 

Like I said, buy yourself a good grade tire and slow down 5 mph if you need more mileage.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

If you're going to be buying new tires - the hell with the low rolling BS and supposed to be better mileage, get a tire that will provide the most safety and grip, really how much more mileage could you possible get.

Lose a few pounds or go buy yourself a better windshield if you're looking for a few extra miles or better yet - just slow down another 5 mph.

Don't be such a jerk. Stock DS tires really do take out about 5% of the range of the DS. The DS is rated at 10% less range than S models, partly rolling resistance and partly drag.

What we're discussing is going from a 70/30 or 80/20 tire to 85/15 or 90/10, which still provides a lot of traction and control in the wet but isn't some super-slick track tire.

Changing the tires that way benefits the ride if you don't go offroad that much and would rather have a few miles to play with than have to tuck or whatever. There is such a thing as diminishing returns, but changing your tires is perfectly reasonable in this case.

You got your wires crossed if you think changing a tire is going to give you any substantial increase in mileage, it's a pipe dream to think you'll get 5 extra miles.

Your better off mounting a safe tire on the bike and run some over pressure, you will achieve the same results. Unlike a radial on a passenger car with the lost energy of flexing the sidewall known as hysteresis, with bikes we do not have this loss. Also keep in mind that these so called tires do not have the same wet stopping capability.

The chevy Volt came low resistance tires and it's been proven there was virtually no benefit using the tires, you can just inflate a regular tire and get the same results. 

Like I said, buy yourself a good grade tire and slow down 5 mph if you need more mileage.

Motorcycle tires are different from car tires, and motorcycles are different from cars.

While what you're saying is true about tire pressure benefiting your mileage, tire choice does matter in a broad sense. You can't possibly deny that a set of knobby tires that flex substantially as the tire rolls doesn't have an effect on overall efficiency. Would you suggest that putting knobby tires on a sport bike wouldn't reduce its range?

My mileage did go up on my DS when I changed my class of tires. It's hard to assign a number, because repeatability in these measurements is difficult where I live (hills, winds, and temperature all shift), but my general estimates for range at various speeds went up by about 5 miles per charge.

But, mainly, stop talking down to people here because of a study you're interpreting. You're also still characterizing the tire choices presented as "unsafe", when they're really just sensible sport-touring tires with some wet/offroad grip. A normal 90/10 or 85/15 tire suited for highways.

That's all we're talking about. Stop posturing like you know something we don't.

[Low On Cash]

Brian,

Its hard to assume an mileage advantage numbers because in most cases there is none.

At the risk of being redundant, a low rolling resistance tire is accomplished by designing a tire that does not flex like a radial yet attempt to give the owner a somewhat good ride. Not sure how long you have been riding bikes, but bikes don't have flexing sidewalls like an automotive tire they tend to remain in a cylindrical round shape, so there is very little "recoverable" loss.  Regretfully, a lot of electric bike riders are spending their money on tires that do almost nothing except make the tire unsafe because of hard composition, less thread and poor wet weather performance.

Regards!

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

You're missing the point arguing about flexing side walls - it's about the knobs.

This does not matter with an ICE engine, or on a car, where the amount of fuel it's burning is relatively flattened. On an electric motorcycle, you're dealing with the amount of energy contained in one third of a gallon of gas, with a power train that will draw more or less exactly as much current as the physical load demands (to reach what the throttle asks for).

Because of this, certain aspects are magnified, and while streamlining is huge, and tire pressure makes a big difference, the tire tread itself is also in there and yields a small benefit. Regarding safety, I'm quite sure that mine and others' tire choices mentioned here are safer than most S/SR riders' tires.

Your idea of "less thread" would make sense if it were somehow on the same scale. I remember noticing when they came out that the 15DS (same for 16DSR) had a stock tire choice that was too knobby for the street, leading test riders to be uncomfortable the way the tread "walked" around a bit. I just mean that backing off of this for a 90/10 tire yields a little mileage benefit, and it's not unsafe at all if your riding really is a 90/10 mix.

Feel free to posture more about this strawman version of this argument, but I think I've clarified my interpretation as well as I can. I want to make sure that people reading this thread don't think that a 90/10 tire is somehow a crazy dangerous choice to make for a DS, which you seem to be intent on convincing someone of.

[clay.leihy]

I've seriously considered putting 100% street tires on my FX, maybe a set of Avon Roadriders, since I never take it off road. Sportsman, anyone?

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