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Pirelli Dragon slipping issue

First of all I should say that my bike (XT660X)was sitting in a showroom for over 2 years until I bought it new in Febuary this year. It is actually a 2010 model on a 2013 plate. It has Pirelli Dragons on, and I cannot seem to gel with them. Every bike I have ever owned from DT125's up to GSXR1000'S i have always managed to get to the edge of the tyre, with no 'Chicken Strips' or slipping issues. Now whether the tyres have gone past their sell by date, I dont know, but now Ive run the bike in and riding it how it should be ridden I've still got about 7mm of untouched tread on the edge of the rear tyre. I purposely took the bike round the twisties and roundabouts and each time I cranked right over I got that small warning 'slip'. Should I get rid of these and go for something like distanzias instead?

Tyre rubber does tend to get harder during storage and consequently less "grippy". In the UK you are not allowed to supply "new" tyres over six years old. In fact most of the big tyre manufacturers instruct retailers to send stock back if it's been on the shelf for two years. How old are the tyres? Your bike might be a 2010 model, but often Yamaha would bulk buy tyres to cut costs, so they could be older still?

Be interesting to find out how old they actually are. Have a look on the sidewall for the date moulding. The first two digits show the week and the second two digits show the actual year - Eg: 1109 means it was manufactured in the 11th week of 2009.

http://www.oponeo.co.uk/img/uk-artic...markings-2.jpg

Might be worth pushing your dealer to give you a fresh set if they are very old or miss-behaving badly? Or at least give you a generous discount on a new pair. Got nothing to lose - Those that don't ask, don't get! ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pleiades (Post 188307)

Tyre rubber does tend to get harder during storage and consequently less "grippy". In the UK you are not allowed to supply "new" tyres over six years old. In fact most of the big tyre manufacturers instruct retailers to send stock back if it's been on the shelf for two years. How old are the tyres? Your bike might be a 2010 model, but often Yamaha would bulk buy tyres to cut costs, so they could be older still?

Be interesting to find out how old they actually are. Have a look on the sidewall for the date moulding. The first two digits show the week and the second two digits show the actual year - Eg: 1411 means it was manufactured in the 14th week of 2011.

http://canyonchasers.net/shop/generi...res/tire09.jpg

Might be worth pushing your dealer to give you a fresh set if they are very old or miss-behaving badly? Or at least give you a generous discount on a new pair. Got nothing to lose - Those that don't ask, don't get! ;)

now that is kooooooool info....:SpinHappy_15XK8L:

Well, you learn something every day! I didnt know that. I'll have a look at the date of the tyres later and let you know. Thanks for the info.

Well that was worth a look. The front tyre has 4608 so that's getting on for 5 years old, and the rear is 4409 so that's getting on for 4 years old on a 'brand new' bike!! Could explain lack of grip.

I have Pirelli Dragons on my XTX and I find them excellent in the dry and reasonable in the wet so yes, it sounds like they have gone hard and therefore gone off.

Just to confirm the OP's findings, earlier this year I bought a low-mileage 2009 bike, registered in 2011, which still had the original Tourances on it. I wasn't happy with the feel of the rubber on the unused part of the tyre so I put on some brand new Scorpion Trails and I'm so glad I did. My confidence is fully restored!