Although
originally fitted with Dunlop tyres I prefer Michelin Macadams
which I believe give better grip and wear well.
I expect to get around 6-9,000 from
a rear tyre and maybe up to twice that from the front.
If you are experiencing excessive steering
shake it is often worth replacing the front tyre.
The front tyre size is 110 x 80 VR18
and rear is 150 x 80 VR 16
Tyre pressures vary depending depending
on load and country of origin
The manual suggests 36 psi for the Front and 41 psi for the rear
for most countries
Michelin once told me to try 32 psi in the front and 36 psi in the
rear (presumably only for their tyres).
The following table shows the rate
of tyre wear I have experienced over the many years I have been
riding GTR/Concours bikes. The average rear tyre lasts 5,745 miles
and a front one 9,954 (somewhat distorted by the amazing 17,848
miles from an early Avon front tyre - I only changed it because
it was beginning to perish!
There doesn't seem to be a conclusive
winner in terms of longevity (mainly because so many of the tyres
have been Michelin) - I can say I have found the Macadam 50 to
be particularly prone to wear (but then they are much cheaper
than the 90/100s)
Tyre wear chart for Kawasaki GTR 1000 / Concours
Date
Fitted
|
Front/
Rear
|
Maker
|
Type
|
Miles
|
End
Condition
|
Miles/mm
|
199309 |
F
|
Avon |
ST22 |
17848
|
2.5mm |
11898
|
199404 |
R
|
Dunlop |
700G |
7667
|
1mm |
1277
|
199410 |
R
|
Dunlop |
700G |
4712
|
2mm |
942
|
199502 |
F
|
Dunlop |
700G |
7546
|
2mm |
3773
|
199502 |
R
|
Dunlop |
700G |
7546
|
1.5mm |
1372
|
199508 |
F
|
Avon |
Venum |
13245
|
2mm |
4415
|
199508 |
R
|
Avon |
Venum |
5444
|
0mm |
680
|
199511 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
7148
|
1.2mm |
1348
|
199602 |
R
|
Avon |
ST23 |
4621
|
2mm |
1320
|
199606 |
F
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
12137
|
0.5mm |
3467
|
199606 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
6690
|
1mm |
1216
|
199608 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
3496
|
4mm - Punctured |
1398
|
199609 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
8796
|
1mm |
1599
|
199705 |
F
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
8612
|
1.6mm |
3588
|
199706 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
4931
|
1.6mm |
1006
|
199707 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
7445
|
0mm |
1145
|
199709 |
F
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
7797
|
1mm |
2599
|
199801 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
3279
|
4mm |
1311
|
199805 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 50 |
3563
|
0mm |
509
|
199807 |
F
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
6638
|
2mm |
3319
|
199807 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
6638
|
0mm |
1021
|
199810 |
F
|
Michelin |
Macadam |
6413
|
2mm |
3206
|
199810 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
6413
|
0mm |
986
|
199906 |
F
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
11769
|
1.2mm |
4203
|
199910 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
6067
|
0mm |
933
|
200005 |
F
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
12831
|
0.5mm |
3666
|
200005 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
7811
|
0mm |
1201
|
200007 |
R
|
Metzeler |
MEZ2 |
6279
|
1mm |
1141
|
200009 |
F
|
Metzeler |
? |
5792
|
2.5mm |
3861
|
200103 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
858
|
5.3mm - Punctured |
715
|
200111 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
5578
|
1.2mm |
1052
|
200204 |
F
|
Dunlop |
K105F |
7022
|
1.4mm |
2700
|
200205 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 90 |
5414
|
1.1mm |
1002
|
200209 |
F
|
Michelin |
Macadam 100 |
11752
|
1.8mm |
4352
|
200209 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 100 |
6587
|
1.0mm |
1197
|
200306 |
R
|
Michelin |
Macadam 100 |
5165
|
2.5mm |
1291
|
Date Fitted - the Year and Month the tyre was
fitted to the bike
Type - As much information as I have - I didn't used to note
the particular type of Macadam
Mileage - The number of miles the tyre covered before being
changed - on its own this figure does not give a good indication
of tyre life as sometimes tyres are worn out when changed and sometimes
they are changed early (before a major trip perhaps)
End Condition - milimetres of tread left
Miles/mm - a guide as to how well the tyre has worn - a high
figure is good - this figure is calculated by taking the final tread
depth in mm from the tread depth when new and dividing the mileage
covered by the tyre by this "tread used" figure
Tyre wear chart for Kawasaki GTR 1400
Date
Fitted
|
Front/
Rear
|
Maker
|
Type
|
Miles
|
End
Condition
|
Miles/mm
|
200804 |
F |
Bridgestone |
BT021 |
8021 |
2.0mm |
4010 |
200804 |
R |
Bridgestone |
BT021 |
3946 |
?mm |
- |
200806 |
R
|
Bridgestone |
BT021 |
4075
|
0.5mm |
679
|
200810 |
R
|
Avon |
AV56 |
2595
|
1.0mm |
447
|
200810 |
F |
Avon |
AV55 |
2595
|
2.0mm |
1621
|
200902 |
R |
Avon |
AV56 |
2576 |
?mm |
- |
200902 |
F |
Avon |
AV55 |
2576 |
?mm |
- |
200905 |
R |
Avon |
AV56 |
3586 |
1.5mm |
676 |
200905 |
F |
Avon |
AV55 |
6552 |
?mm |
7280 |
200911 |
R |
Avon |
Angel |
2966 |
1.7mm |
605 |
201006 |
F |
Michelin |
Pilot Road 2 |
5922 |
2.4mm |
3701 |
201006 |
R |
Michelin |
Pilot Road 2 |
5922 |
2.0mm |
1345 |
201009 |
F |
Michelin |
Pilot Road 2 |
3573 |
4.2mm |
35730 |
201009 |
R |
Michelin |
Pilot Road 2 |
3573 |
3.8mm |
1374 |
201103 |
F |
Bridgestone |
BT021 |
5218 |
1.9mm |
2609 |
201103 |
R |
Bridgestone |
BT021 |
4410 |
-1.0mm |
630 |
201107 |
R |
Dunlop |
Sportmax Qualifier |
1341 |
3.1mm |
462 |
201108 |
F |
Dunlop |
Sportmax Roadsmart |
7452 |
1.9mm |
3726 |
201108 |
R |
Dunlop |
Sportmax Roadsmart |
3757 |
1.9mm |
894 |
201203 |
R |
Dunlop |
Sportmax Roadsmart |
3162 |
1.2mm |
632 |
201209 |
F |
Bridgestone |
BT023 |
9390 |
2.6mm |
4942 |
201209 |
R |
Bridgestone |
BT023 |
2032 |
3.0mm |
677 |
201301 |
R |
Bridgestone |
BT023 |
3586 |
1.0mm |
717 |
201307 |
R |
Bridgestone |
BT023 |
3772 |
1.0mm |
725 |
201402 |
F |
Bridgestone |
BT023 |
4820 |
2.0mm |
1928 |
201402 |
R |
Bridgestone |
BT023 |
4820 |
1.0mm |
964 |
201409 |
R |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
2955 |
1.9mm |
642 |
201409 |
F |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
6920 |
2.0mm |
3460 |
201507 |
R |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
3965 |
1.6mm |
809 |
201605 |
F |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
8465 |
1.0mm |
2821 |
201605 |
R |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
4244 |
1.0mm |
771 |
201507 |
R |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
3965 |
1.6mm |
809 |
201709 |
F |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
3795 |
2.7mm |
2919 |
201709 |
R |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
3795 |
1.8mm |
807 |
201805 |
F |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
- |
?mm |
- |
201805 |
R |
Bridgestone |
T30 |
- |
?mm |
- |
|