Pirelli Scorpion Sync Tire Review

[P_Jensen]

Now that it is time to replace the Scorpion Syncs I put on the R last year, I thought some might be interested in a mini review.

Bike: 2004 R1150R fitted with a 5.5" rear wheel.

Tires: Front 120/70-17 Scorpion Sync 34 psi one up 36 psi 2 up
Rear 180/55-17 Scorpion Sync 38 psi one up 42 psi 2 up

The Sync's have 7,500 + miles on them, at 7,500 I measured the tread depth and it was at 2mm rear and about 2.5mm front. Technically time for replacement, but still usable for short trips while I wait for the new ones to arrive. Overall these tires were very good, much better handling than the OE Michelin Pilot Roads that came on the bike (9,000 mi) and the Pirelli Strada's I tried in between. The Sync's have more grip than both of the previously mentioned tires the chicken strips on them are minimal compared to the other two. Grip in the wet was good as well with no drama events (In the wet I do ride on the conservative side). The wear on these tires was very consistent, they did not square off as much as the Michelin's did. These were an excellent choice in tires for the R1150R, they allowed me to ride both on pavement and graded dirt roads which are plentiful here in northern Vermont. If you are looking for a tire with a 90/10 mix for that occasional dirt road these are the tires to choose. Disclaimer time I do not work for Pirelli and I am not a professional tester.

[riceburner]

Where did you get those pressures from?? Pirelli? They seem on the soft side to me - I run 36/42 as standard on most tyres on this bike.

[adg44]

Yeah, regardless of the tire brand, the BMW recommended pressures should be followed. That's 36/42 *cold* PSI.

- Anthony

[riceburner]

Yeah, regardless of the tire brand, the BMW recommended pressures should be followed. That's 36/42 *cold* PSI.

- Anthony

Quite the contrary: I'd ALWAYS follow the TYRE manufacturers recommended pressures. Most tyres that I've used tend to recommend 36/42, but IIRC one particular manufacturer (dunlop maybe?) tends to develop their tyres for use with lower pressures.

Think about it - the Tyres most of us are currently using weren't in existance when BMW designed the R1100 series bikes. Tyre technology moves very quickly these days.

[adg44]

Yeah, regardless of the tire brand, the BMW recommended pressures should be followed. That's 36/42 *cold* PSI.

- Anthony

Quite the contrary: I'd ALWAYS follow the TYRE manufacturers recommended pressures. Most tyres that I've used tend to recommend 36/42, but IIRC one particular manufacturer (dunlop maybe?) tends to develop their tyres for use with lower pressures.

Think about it - the Tyres most of us are currently using weren't in existance when BMW designed the R1100 series bikes. Tyre technology moves very quickly these days.

Where do you see tire manufacturer recommendations for pressure? The pressure depends on the bike and its weight.

The pressure that is on the sidewall of the tire is the *MAX* PSI that the tire can handle - not that you should run that pressure.

You can get technical with speed ratings and load ratings, but you're going to end up wanting to run 36/42, or within one to two PSI of that.

[Buckster]

I second with agg44. Tire expert told me the same thing. Go with what the vehicle recommends.
I always went with pressure on the sidewall and only to find out about 2 years ago that was wrong all along.

[Erik Stordahl]

Ok, so everyone agrees with the 36/42, but what is the weight factor for a 2 up ride.
I top out at 250 plus, does that still qualify for a solo ride or should I bump the pressure.
I have set my preload up for a little stiffer ride and currently am running 38 in the rear (Pilot Road).

[wncbmw]

Mr. P Jenson - how does that mileage compare with the Stradas? Tire mileages vary so wildly for folks, the only way we can compare mileage is to see what you got on something we have used. For me, it is the Stradas.

Thanks for any info.

BTW, I run 36/42!

[riceburner]

Don't be daft!! of course I don't use the max-pressure ratings on the sidewall. Fairly obviously, that's MAX pressure that the tyre is safe to use at.


My point is that the tyre manufacturers will test their product on as many machines as possible during development and will publish their recommended pressures to the public, through the tyre distributors and fitters and on their websites. How else can you find out what the recommended pressure is for a tyre that was developed AFTER your owners manual was printed??????

ALWAYS check the tyre manufacturers recommendations because that will be the more up to date information.

eg : http://www.pirellityre.com/web/fitment/ ... mentanchor
(assuming that link works obviously!)

[adg44]

The link doesn't work.

It doesn't matter if the tire was made after the bike. As I said, the only real difference will be speed rating and load rating.

Tire pressures come primarily beacuse of the weight of the bike, not because of the tire. BMW engineers decided that 36PSI front and 42 PSI rear is the proper pressure based on the distribution of weight and the size of the tires for this bike.

Here is a little trick.... take the curb weight of your car, divide it by 100, and then add 2 PSI for the "heavier" end (read: the front).

Then go look at the tire pressures indicated in the owners manual for the car. It's going to be pretty damn close. And auto manufacturers have numerous tire manufacturers produce tires for their cars, yet the tire pressure is the same across the model line regardless of which brand of tires are on the car. That's because it's the weight that matters. There may only be a small difference based on tire size and correlating to that, load rating and speed rating.

Just a few things I've picked up while working in the auto industry.

- Anthony

[ProductUser]

I love tyre pressure threads as much as oil threads.

ProductUser

[Buckster]

Yeah....I run the rear at 38.

[TexasRoadster]

Now, getting back to the discussion of the Pirelli Sync's, did you note any unusual wear or different handling due to running the wider rear (180 vs 170). I've heard that different brands feel different when running slightly larger due to bulging of the tire sidewall. Was it better or worse than the Strada's? Thanks for your comments.

[P_Jensen]

The pressure is based on the sticker under the seat, most of the time I ride 1 up with empty or lightly loaded bags. The pressure I quoted is some where between 1 and 2 up. I weigh about 200 w/gear. For Texasroadster, I did notice that the sync's handled better than the Strada's. This was in line with what the Metzler/Pirelli Rep told me. The rep indicated that the sync's would have more grip and wear faster than the strada's and Z6's. The Sync's wore evenly across the the tire and did not flatten in the center as much as the Pilot Roads did. At the end of thier life the Pilot Roads were like going off a cliff when rolling to the side. The Sync's still roll smothly with minimum effort. Yesterday I took the bike over Smugglars Notch (Rt108) from Cambridge Vt to Stowe VT and back and the tires were still feeling good. (8,200+). I can not comment on how long the Strada's will last because they only had 3,500 mi's, when I switched over to the Rim's w/the Sync's. The Strada's are mounted on the stock rims and the Sync's are mounted on a spare set I purchased on the IBMWR board.

[Boris Badenov]

Interesting…
I went through couple of sets of Pilot Road and none of them squared even though I’m on the highway 80% of the time. Got over 10K from a set every time.

Go figure…

[tor1150r]

I check pressure every week. More frequently on long trips and with new tires.

I go by BMW's recommended pressures (by the sticker under the seat).
I have never gotten less than 20k km on a set of tires (and could have gone a little further).

My riding is 50/50 (solo/2-up), so I leave the pressure at the 2-up settings.
F36/R39. This has worked great, except on a set of Pilot Roads - which squared rather quickly at these pressures. I should have bumped it up 1 psi.