[NoelCP]

I replaced my Continental tires and found the front tire blistered on the inside. They were the Road Attack and I had 9,500 miles on the set. Granted that I ride in hot weather, often over 100 degress across south and west Texas, New Mexico, AZ, etc. Still, wasn't expecting to see this. Blisters ran all the way around the inside. The outside was OK. View attachment 179628

Ouch that is not good. I have been a staunch advocate for RA3--is that what this is presumably? I found all aspects of the tire to be superior to the other 3 tires I had used for wethead RT. I don't ride in high temps anymore so I'm sure I'm fine but if i did would need to consider a different tire.

 

[NoelCP]

The motorcycle manufacturer has specific guidelines to follow for just how much inflation is required. Only the motorcycle manufacturer should recommend tire pressure for their motorcycle. Do not rely on the tire manufacturers, blogs, forums or even friends for recommendations.

PR4GT severely cupped within a few thousand miles on my '16 RT. The Michelin rep advised my local dealer to tell people to overinflate the front from the recommended 36.3psi to 40psi to retard cupping. That was the last Michelin tire I bought for this bike, plus as it ended its useful life it got quite noisy in turns.

 

[NoelCP]

I blame BMW for selecting that model of tire for the RT.

But delaminating ply’s On that Conti is troublesome for sure, excessive heat and pressures comes to mind, but maybe just a defective tire?

Good point MBevans, re selecting that tire for RT.

Besides PR4GT I tried Z8, Angel GT and Conti RA3 and I'm on my 3rd set of those right now. Bad batches happen (just think about poorly hardened cam lobes in wetheads happening over many years) and my guess is that's exactly what's happened here. Or perhaps the tire sat out in the sun and cooked on top of being ridden in high heat conditions repeatedly. One bad story can be all it takes to take down something like this, and really as you point out, we don't really know if this is more of a one-batch-off issue, or something pervasive--very doubtful else we'd (and Conti) would already have heard about it. When these tires go I will buy another set because in all areas the tire beats the other 3 handily and especially in turn-in the tire matches the RT's and my body weight and riding practices perfectly, no noise, best dry traction and likely fine in wet I just don't ride in wet much, resistance to squaring perhaps a little better, best in linear grooved pavement, bridge surfaces etc, and minimal cupping by EOL at BMW recommended pressures, and 100% traction from initial install with no break-in required. Haven't tried the newer Michelins but a while back I concluded the tire is vastly overrated at least for this bike and decided when their solution was to overinflate the tire I didn't want to endorse that any further. My guess is that tire cups seconary to its ornate siping, where as RA3 has large bold channels.