Breaking in new tires.

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Louky

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Yesterday I bought Dunlop Sportmax Q3's. I liked what I read about them. The tech told me to ride on them for 100 miles before putting them through their paces. I've heard this before, but it doesn't seem quite right to me. If I take it easy in the curves, then I'll never really use all of the tire. Every time I lean a little further, I'll be on new rubber. The tires are nice and sticky.

Shouldn't I just go for it?

Thanks for any advice,
Louky
 
I believe it has to do with the lube they use to seat the tire. Through the process it is common for some to end up on the tire. It takes a few miles to throw it off. 100 is probably conservative but the gold standard.
 
It actually has to do with the mold release on the tire from the factory. When tires are made in the molds, they have to spray some lubricant in there to make the rubber pop out of the mold after the tire is assembled. This lube tends to stick to the outside of the tire.

For break-in, I always just gradually worked from edge to edge over the course of a couple of miles once the tire was up to temperature. It rarely takes 100 miles to break in a new tire, unless the tire is rather old. You can look for an oval on the sidewall containing 4 numbers. Something like (2613) or something like that. That will be the production date of the tire. First two digits are week, second two are year. So, 2613 would be 26th week of 2013.
 
It's not necessary to use up all of the tire (full lean angle) to burn off release compound. What burns it off is heat cycling. Speeding up and slowing down is what does it.. not so much turning.
100 miles is somewhat conservative. Keep in mind that when new tires are put on on track bikes, 1 session is plenty to break them in.. which can be as little as 20 miles.
 
Dunlop:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your Dunlop motorcycle tire questions. Dunlop Motorcycle Tire does NOT use a "mold releasing agent" during the production of our tires. When new tires are fitted, they should not be subjected to maximum power, abrupt lean-over or hard cornering until a reasonable run-in distance of approximately 100 miles has been covered. This will permit the rider to become accustomed to the feel of the new tires or tire combination, find the edge, and achieve optimum road grip for a range of speeds, acceleration and handling use.

Be sure to check and adjust inflation pressure to recommended levels after the tire cools for at least three (3) hours following run-in. Remember, new tires will have a very different contact patch and lean-over edge. New tires, mixing a new tire with an used tire, and mixing tread pattern
combinations require careful ride evaluations.
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Pirelli:
Hello

Pirelli does not use mold release. Tires are shiny because the general buying public demands that visually a tire look cool, smooth, shiny, and new when they shop for tires in the rack at the dealer. We rely on the smoothness of the mold to get this appearance and to help the tire let go from the mold during production.

I like to say tires are like new shoes, MX boots, or a leather jacket as they need the proper break in time. Regarding getting heat into tires this follows the same idea, only time and friction will put the heat in. I have attached a copy of the brochure so you can read about break in suggestions in the technical area. Ride safe

US Pirelli Moto
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Additional quote from Pirelli management:
First off, Knoche quickly dispatched the old wives' tale that the surface of the tire needs to be scuffed or roughed up to offer grip. "Maybe it's coming from the old days when people were spraying mold release on the tread when the molds were maybe not that precise," Knoche speculates, "and the machinery was not that precise. But nowadays molds are typically coated with Teflon or other surface treatments. The release you put in there (in the sidewall area only, not the tread) is for like baking a cake, you know, so that it fills all the little corners and today that is done more mechanically than by spraying. The sidewall is important because you have all the engraving in the sidewall [with tire size, inflation pressure and certifications] and that you want to look nicely on your tire, so that's why we still spray the mold release there."
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Michelin's response indicates that they do indeed use an agent although I have never experienced this 'catastrophic grease' when riding away on a brand new Michelin
Thank you for your email. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

Concerning your question, Michelin has a mold release agent on all motorcycle tires. This will cause the tire to be slippery in the first few miles, but that goes away after the tire is scrubbed in. This normally occurs in the first 25-50 miles or so. Until then, the rider should use caution in riding the tire at accelerated speeds. Michelin always recommends obeying the speed limits and using care whenever riding.

If your questions have not been answered to your satisfaction, please call
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Continental:
TractionSkin provides an extremely safe and short tire break in. This is possible due to the revolutionary raw tread surface, which is the result of a new mold coating technology which eliminates the need for tire-release agents.
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Michelin's quoted 25-50 miles is certainly a far cry from the typical internet banter of '200 miles plus before I start to push the tire'. Perhaps they use the release agent on the sidewall as Pirelli claims to do and are just covering their butts
 
Dustin said:
Michelin's quoted 25-50 miles is certainly a far cry from the typical internet banter of '200 miles plus before I start to push the tire'. Perhaps they use the release agent on the sidewall as Pirelli claims to do and are just covering their butts
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Excellent point about taking it easy initially on new tires, not because they're slippery, but because they handle differently from whatever worn set you've replaced.
 
I found the point about the tire shifting on the wheel quite interesting as well.

Personally, I just ride the new tire like I would normally do. I don't live at the entrance to a race track so there's a period of crawling around before I get to the nice roads anyway :)
 
Dustin said:
I found the point about the tire shifting on the wheel quite interesting as well.

Personally, I just ride the new tire like I would normally do. I don't live at the entrance to a race track so there's a period of crawling around before I get to the nice roads anyway :)
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Didn't see the "shifting" in your post with quotes from manufacturers, but I know it can happen. Particularly when tire installer is a bit too liberal with tire lube and lets the lube get onto sidewalls (another reason why I got my own tire changer :D )
 
Dustin said:
Dunlop:


Pirelli:


Additional quote from Pirelli management:


Michelin's response indicates that they do indeed use an agent although I have never experienced this 'catastrophic grease' when riding away on a brand new Michelin


Continental:


Michelin's quoted 25-50 miles is certainly a far cry from the typical internet banter of '200 miles plus before I start to push the tire'. Perhaps they use the release agent on the sidewall as Pirelli claims to do and are just covering their butts
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Huh. That's a bunch of good info there! I was wrong about the mold release on most tires I guess... Wonder why Michelin still uses it?
 
I found that my brand new Q3's were a bit slippery coming out of my driveway cold. Just going down the street doing a little weaving my front end slipped out on me. However after a 20 minute ride to get to the twisties they were hot and I rode them as hard as I wanted. Maybe running lower than normal pressures on new tires could help to scrub them in faster while giving you better grip. I've run 32f/30r for the life of this set and I'm just about at the wear bars after 1900 miles :(
 
Huh. That's a bunch of good info there! I was wrong about the mold release on most tires I guess... Wonder why Michelin still uses it?
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A top quality mold won't need mold release, an imperfect mold requires assistance to get the cast out of the mold, same with anything, plastic injection, carbon fiber, fiber glass etc....
 
Thanks everyone for all the responses.

VA_Rider, I did check the tire age before buying. Both were mid 2013.

Dustin, fantastic info directly from Dunlop.

Sounds like I should spend the next 80-100 miles getting used to the new feel and heating them up. All I need is some decent weather.

You guys are a huge help.
Louky
 
It doesnt hurt to "clean" them.

A trick that we did at the track back in the day, was to spray brake cleaner on a rag, then buff the tire like you'd shine a shoe.

Then again, if your smooth, a little slip wont hurt.
 
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