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[jotjotde]

Tried Bridgestone T33 for the cold season, but now this.

After approx. 4,500 km the front tire is worn down to less than 2 mm profile depth (especially on the sides) while the rear tire still has 4 mm.
While I can recommend the T33 for their performance, this is somewhat dissapointing.

Forum member @most told me, he heard of BMW 1250ies experiencing this. I drove more than a dozen sets of tires of different makes, yet this is completely new to me.

[Pard]

bummer...

Must be the higher grip but poor wear side compound suffering under energica cornering weight.

Can you post a pic when you get a chance?

[jotjotde]

Hi Pard, I somewhat knew you would answer this immediately 

Pics are attached below.

You could be right, that it has something to do with the rubber mix on the tires' sides. Bridgestone might have overdone it making them too grippy.
It can't be because of high temperatures - the tires have never seen more than 16 degC ambient temp.

I drove them with 2,7 bar/39 PSI rear and 2,5 bar/36 PSI front as I did for all tires I had the last two years (Pirelli, Conti, Mitas, Dunlop, Michelin).
With the a.m. setting I found the T33 reliable and stable with lots of grip even below 10 degC.
Tried a higher pressure in the front in the beginning but found the feeling 'unstable'.

Would you say that a higher pressure would have had a significant effect on the wear?

[Pard]

Nothing jumps out from those photos, but running at 36 PSI front on that tire may be accelerating wear.

 I like to run lower pressures as well, ride quality and handling suit me better, but closer to 42 may keep the tire profile better under load and extend longevity.

I would guess that is the cause of premature wear.

[smithy]

I was having similar issues with the front tyres on my Experia....didn't really matter who the tyre manufacturer was, Bridgstone, Continental, Michelin etc... the front would wear strangely, often cupping etc...We need to remember these bikes are quite heavy @~260kg...plus rider and any luggage or gear we carry etc...

I was running the normal 42rear and 36 front as most of us do I guess, my Experia manual says 38/38 front and rear...A friend suggested I run at least 40psi in the front due to the extra weight of the Experia...surprisingly, this sorted my strange front tyre wear...I used to like the Bridgestone S-21 hypersport tyres for their excellent grip...although they tend to wear fairly quickly.... I now especially like the Continental Road Attack-3 & 4 tyres, as they provide excellent mileage and decent edge grip even when cold....I like to ride to the edge of the tyres and I'm now getting great service from the Conti tyres. I've not found anything better yet for my use, a mix of daily work commutes and a little weekend scratching with my riding friends.

Smithy.

[jotjotde]

Thx for your input!

Sounds right, it appears that the BS front tire needs a higher pressure than the ones of other manufacturers. But as said, the BS felt weird to me when I tried.
Ordered a new front tire yesterday and ride the set until the rear tire is worn down, but I probably will not use the T33 anymore.

I had a set of Conti Road Attack 4 last winter, but rear wheel slipped (probably on an oil slick) and I crashed just leaving the premises of the tire shop 
That somewhat reduced my confidence in the Contis. They were good for 6.000 km (only) and they had this significant 'sausaging' on the rear, i.e. along the edges of the side profile rubber was building up. The T33 do the same but it's quite low compared to the Contis. So, no Contis for me anymore.

Probably the best setup for me would be a T33 rear and Conti RA4 in front 

[smithy]

Interesting...my rear Conti RA-3 has well over 15k km on it now, was fitted to the bike when the ODO was ~35000km, I now have just shy of 51,000km on the ODO, it is wearing well with no scalloping... and still has plenty of life left.

I've got a new Conti RA4 to go on next.

Smithy.