Not happy with my Michelin Scorcher 31s
Tourer
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 380
Likes: 21
From: Colombia
just my 2 cents worth ...and i am not as experienced as the other guys are ..but i found lowering the air pressure a little bit on the tires worked ...the manual says 40 for the rear tire ..i have it at about 35-36 , at 40 on corners when you are taking off it feels really squirrely ...bit lower pressure and feels fine ..
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,254
Likes: 521
From: USA
Well the OP uses the word squirrely to describe his rear tire issues.
That implies to me a lack of traction.
1) Make sure the tire is warmed up before racing around.
2) Get a pyrometer and Michelins heat spec for that tire and adjust your tire pressure to attain that proper operating heat range.
However, squirrely could also mean rear suspension wallow. Get some rebound/ compression adjustable shocks and check your swing arm bearings.
I'll make no comments about the front.
That implies to me a lack of traction.
1) Make sure the tire is warmed up before racing around.
2) Get a pyrometer and Michelins heat spec for that tire and adjust your tire pressure to attain that proper operating heat range.
However, squirrely could also mean rear suspension wallow. Get some rebound/ compression adjustable shocks and check your swing arm bearings.
I'll make no comments about the front.
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
From: Georgia
Well the OP uses the word squirrely to describe his rear tire issues.
That implies to me a lack of traction.
1) Make sure the tire is warmed up before racing around.
2) Get a pyrometer and Michelins heat spec for that tire and adjust your tire pressure to attain that proper operating heat range.
However, squirrely could also mean rear suspension wallow. Get some rebound/ compression adjustable shocks and check your swing arm bearings.
I'll make no comments about the front.
That implies to me a lack of traction.
1) Make sure the tire is warmed up before racing around.
2) Get a pyrometer and Michelins heat spec for that tire and adjust your tire pressure to attain that proper operating heat range.
However, squirrely could also mean rear suspension wallow. Get some rebound/ compression adjustable shocks and check your swing arm bearings.
I'll make no comments about the front.
With that said, some of the extreme high mileage figures I've seen on these tires does concern me a bit. While I didn't get my Sportster with the intentions of turning it into a sport bike (I have others for more aggressive riding), I still do tend to ride at a spirited pace on a good set of twisties. Nothing dramatic but still enough to scrape the pegs with my current Roadster length suspension. While I know that modern construction and rubber compounds can create some good tires, my experience is that high mileage tires favored by touring riders don't have the friction coefficient needed to also serve the needs of a sport bike rider. While there are compromises (sport touring type tires satisfy my needs on a sporting bike), there's no free lunch. If you want ultimate grip you'll sacrifice longevity. If you want ultimate high mileage wear, you can't have sporting rubber type grip. There's a tire for most needs in between, but no one tire that does it all for all riders.
Personally I wouldn't be comfortable really pushing any tire that's returning anywhere close to 20,000 mile life expectancy.
Then again, while I can't say that I really TRUST these tires to push them real hard, they haven't done anything to make distrust them yet either. Of course, as I said, I didn't really get this bike for that purpose, so I haven't taken it to the edge in the mountains yet.
Last edited by Imaposer; Aug 16, 2014 at 12:12 PM.
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