Newbie needs help.

Each to his or her own! I’m on my fourth set of Dunlop Roadsmart 3’s and could not be more pleased with handling, grip and especially wear. I do go all the way to the wear indicators, which for me is consistently 17,000-18,000 miles!! I ride moderately (and fast on the open roads) with 36 front and 39-42 rear depending on load.

I have friend that I ride with on long and frequent rides that has used Shinkos - on a VStrom and later on the FJR.
He's an excellent rider and I watch him when I'm behind, at first I thought those Shinkos are pretty good and last forever, though not for all bikes - the Shinkos have lower limits on heavier bikes. While they do last a much longer than most others, the performance sacrifice is not worth it on the heavier FJR. While he pushes them to the edge on the VStrom, has has admitted that they can feel squirmy depending on the surface condition such as rough or smooth, and definitely not a good feeling on wet roads in either bike. So after trying them on the FJR, it was determined that it was not a good choice and was taking away from the FJRs capabilities, and has now moved away to Michelin PRs or Pirelli Angel IIs depending on what he finds on sale. He's OK keeping them for the lighter bikes.
I have never tried Shinkos. For me I rather stick with one tire I get to know and not mess with changes. I am riding Pirelli Angel II A Spec and have been for some time now after trying the obvious OEM Bridgestone, then Avon (couldn't balance those) but had good traction, then one set Michelin PRs, and then settled on Pirelli Angel IIs for the past 3 sets. The Pirellis were a recommendation from another riding buddy after watching him on a Connie, and after seeing how he pushes them successfully, I decided to try them.
I find the Pirellis to have excellent wet traction and I'm quite comfortable with them on any surface, they are predictable and have a fair lifespan. I run 36~38 in front and 40~42 on back depending on the load.
In our group, the riding style is 'spirited' .

Bruce Ente said:

I do go all the way to the wear indicators, which for me is consistently 17,000-18,000 miles!! I ride moderately (and fast on the open roads) with 36 front and 39-42 rear depending on load.

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I've never heard of anyone other than a darksider getting that kind of mileage on an FJR. Are you sure you're not riding a Harley with a heavy cruiser tire? I get between 13 and 14,000 km typically (8500 miles) and figure I'm doing well. When the road is challenging enough, my riding would definitely qualify as spirited but most of south western Ontario roads don't qualify.
My Gen I '03 was spec'd at 36psi front and my Gen II '08 is spec'd for 39psi and it's a slightly heavier bike with its weight bias more forward. Have they reduced the recommended pressures since the '08? The 36 on the Gen I was always too low and it showed with most riders experiencing cupping until they bumped up the pressures. The Bin of Facts doesn't indicate when tire pressures changed.

graytaz said:

My Gen I '03 was spec'd at 36psi front and my Gen II '08 is spec'd for 39psi and it's a slightly heavier bike with its weight bias more forward. Have they reduced the recommended pressures since the '08? The 36 on the Gen I was always too low and it showed with most riders experiencing cupping until they bumped up the pressures. The Bin of Facts doesn't indicate when tire pressures changed.

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I have a few, mostly UK, Owner's Manual pdfs. The ones I have show these pressures:
Year F R
2004 36 36 - rear of 36 is very questionable.
2006 39 42
2010 39 42
2013 36 42
2014 36 42
2016 36 42 (UK)
2016 39 42 (CDN)
2018 36 42

Personally I dislike the handling with the front anything below 38, in particular I find it needs constant countersteering pressure on the handlebars to maintain a turn. Above that the steering is neutral.

I normally run 39-40 front, 43 rear.

graytaz said:

I've never heard of anyone other than a darksider getting that kind of mileage on an FJR. Are you sure you're not riding a Harley with a heavy cruiser tire? I get between 13 and 14,000 km typically (8500 miles) and figure I'm doing well. When the road is challenging enough, my riding would definitely qualify as spirited but most of south western Ontario roads don't qualify.
My Gen I '03 was spec'd at 36psi front and my Gen II '08 is spec'd for 39psi and it's a slightly heavier bike with its weight bias more forward. Have they reduced the recommended pressures since the '08? The 36 on the Gen I was always too low and it showed with most riders experiencing cupping until they bumped up the pressures. The Bin of Facts doesn't indicate when tire pressures changed.

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I am DEFINITELY not a H-D rider, nor am I a darksider! I agree -- I am astonished at the mileage I've gotten from the Dunlop Roadsmart 3's on my 2005 FJR (now with 188,000 miles), but the odometer numbers don't lie. Here are the tire replacement intervals I have recorded for the past four sets of tires: 18,190 miles; 17,500 front, 22,320 rear; 17,284 miles; 19,466 miles. I ordinarily replace tires once a year, so these are also my approximate annual totals including one long trip from Ohio to the west coast and back every summer. (I will add that I've never had a "cupping" issue at 36 psi front.)

All I can say is that you must have the gentlest throttle hand of any FJR rider and you must stay away from SE Ohio. I know that if I lived that close, I'd be buying tires more often than I do here. I've had a couple sets of Roadsmarts, no idea what series, and they performed well for me. I expect the cupping is based on riding style and the more you push, the more they cup and the higher tire pressures help even out the wear. No pushing, no wearing.....

graytaz said:

All I can say is that you must have the gentlest throttle hand of any FJR rider and you must stay away from SE Ohio. I know that if I lived that close, I'd be buying tires more often than I do here. I've had a couple sets of Roadsmarts, no idea what series, and they performed well for me. I expect the cupping is based on riding style and the more you push, the more they cup and the higher tire pressures help even out the wear. No pushing, no wearing.....

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That or his speedo's broke....been on feejers for 17 yrs...my best is 9500mi front and 8200 rear at 40f/42r average psi...

Azor50Ron said:

That or his speedo's broke

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Odometer set on kilometers? Easy to do but I expect it would be noticed...
Certainly more miles than I have seen on any tire on an FJR.

Jerseydevil said:

Unfortunately No Ross.. I'm probably the only FJ in the county lol but considering I've put 600 miles on this Shinko Apex. Backwards..gotta admit it kinda shows they're manufacturing quality. Might just buy another one.. the dealer I bought it from wants to make it right. But I live 2 hrs away.. told him it's a damn good thing I trailered this home.. I would've been in the Delaware River off of 295.. Now he wants to replace the tire.. but Id have to rent the trailer again.. Taco gets 16mpg and gas is 3.70 a gal. And it's 150 miles round trip.. it's gonna cost me more then the damn tire.. I'm just gonna order a set an have my local shop install um. Lesson learned.. "we did a full service on that".."the hell u did,the oil is Brown after 600 miles..And the tire is backwards".. To be Continued

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Did that dealer have any of the repair invoice to show the repairs they claimed to have completed? I just recently bought a used fjr from a dealer but they had invoices. I am curious about what else you find.

Correct tire pressure is a must. Try a different tire brand on the next change.

GP

Azor50Ron said:

That or his speedo's broke....been on feejers for 17 yrs...my best is 9500mi front and 8200 rear at 40f/42r average psi...

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Here's another vote for 40/42. Happy with 8800 miles. Michelin always.

I wore thru Mich PR4s in less than 7000 miles. Not impressed by handling or wear. I have had Dunlop RS4s for 2000 miles and they handle better and hopefully wear significantly longer than. Roadsmart4 > I do say the rear has a firmer ride while the front has a less firm ride. RS4 Rear has a much stiffer sidewall as confirmed by multiple shops in my area and was obvious when being mounted.