Tire Life after Wear Bars hit

[RoadTrip]

I have 2500 miles now on my OEM RoadSmarts, the center rear is worn to the wear bars - anyone know how far you can go past that before this particular tire is truly gone?

I have a 400mile trip planned next week, I don't won't them to give out mid-trip (no rain forecasted).

 

[JSP]

0 miles.

If you are down to the wear bars, change your tires. That is what they are there for. You only got 2500 miles out of them? Most have gotten 10k or more.

Seems you do mostly straight riding? What do you have your tire pressure set at and how often do you check it?

Either way, if they are wore down that much, change them. It is unsafe, especially if you are planning a trip.

 

[bjs045]

definitely change it.

 

[RoadTrip]

I corner as much as possible and chicken strips are less than an inch, maybe I rode upright too much early on when I was learning. Dang, I was hoping I could milk another 400 out of them - what would happen if I tried? Would they go down to the belts? I could avoid rain on this next trip, if that's the concern.

Also, I read a professional review site where they also only got ~2500 out of the rear (of course, that was a liter bike, though).

I have been running the 36-33 / rear-front as reccommended - maybe my tire gauge is off.

 

[Diluted]

I corner as much as possible and chicken strips are less than an inch, maybe I rode upright too much early on when I was learning. Dang, I was hoping I could milk another 400 out of them - what would happen if I tried? Would they go down to the belts? I could avoid rain on this next trip, if that's the concern.

Also, I read a professional review site where they also only got ~2500 out of the rear (of course, that was a liter bike, though).

I have been running the 36-33 / rear-front as reccommended - maybe my tire gauge is off.

Don't risk it, get them replaced. Tires are one of the biggest things keeping you safe on the bike. If your front goes, you're going down and you might not get back up. If your back goes, there's a good chance you're going down too. It's just not worth the risk. Your life is certainly worth more than the ~$250 you'd pay to get them replaced.

 

[flyingminno]

Hmm, that mileage is really low. I got 7k before it hit the wear bar. Can you provide pictures of the tire tread?

 

[dart1963]

hmmm....

"corner as much as possible", you mean you sit upright and lean the bike over as far as possible?

"chicken strips are less than an inch" sounds about right for normal riding... if you said they were less than a 1/4 in... or to the edge, then I'd worry.

Just stating the obvious here, please take no offense.... but your goal should not be to get rid of chicken strips... or to lean as much as possible... you should, however, ride where you feel comfortable into and out of turns... whether that's @ or > the speed limit is your call... you'll be the one to live with the consequences if you drop the bike or simply get a LEO involved. Again... just commenting... don't mean anything ill by my comments.

As to your tires... put up pics! if they are truly @ the wear bars, then don't push them... a lot of factors go into tire wear beyond mileage... riding style (as you've pointed out, you may be more aggressive than some of us), temps (heat/cold cycles do just as much damage as time) and road conditions (some backroad not-well-maintained asphalt can wear a tire faster than well-maintained asphalt!).

Just be safe out there on the roads!

 

[RoadTrip]

Cool, thanks for the replies - luckily I anticipated the issue and already got a set of M5's in the garage ready for replacement.

I read the Twist of Wrist II and believe I am cornering correctly (body/head leading inside of turn), so bike is more upright through the turn.

I lean it pretty good when needed, but nothing what dudes do at the track. Wife is a bit pissy about needing tires after just a couple of months, but I am giving up my cigar habit to ensure I can afford new shoes when I need them - that seemed to appease her.

Hey, riding fast on backroads on a beautiful day is just about the best thing I have ever experienced - It's a 200 mile a week habit, and I have no plans on cutting back.

And, yeah, I do ride pretty fast on really crappy chipseal back roads, so maybe they just ground down prematurely.

 

[FitZ6R]

Cool, thanks for the replies - luckily I anticipated the issue and already got a set of M5's in the garage ready for replacement.

What? You already have the new tires? Then it's completely no question. Give the stockers one last burnout and let them join the great cycle of life... I mean recycling.

You'll be one of the first on the forum to try Metzelers, so let us know how they work out!

 

[RockZooky]

At the end of last season I needed new tires and I got some Metzelers but the Z6 which is more of a sport-touring tire. I only had a few hundred miles on them when I put the bike up for the winter but so far they seemed pretty good.

 

[Marthy]

I just pop 10 000 miles this week. I ordered a sprockets / chain combo. Now I'm shopping around for tires. I still have a little left in them but not much... I want to change tires and sprockets all at the same time.

 

[stuna]

wow i get 5k on rear tires , i thought that was bad
and they say ride a bike for gas mileage . hum you pay for tires

 

[joloy133]

Yeah, grip costs when you're only on 2 wheels! My rear tire is close to the bars at 5000 mi., front still looks good. The tire rating chart on another post shows the roadsmart rear lasting 1/2 the fronts approx. I seem to be following that data. Might change to those Michelins!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Marthy]

It might sound stupid, but wear bar? Not sure what you guys are talking about exactly. I know how it looks when you can see the cord (not there yet...) but wear bar... Any pics?

 

[bmw675]

It might sound stupid, but wear bar? Not sure what you guys are talking about exactly. I know how it looks when you can see the cord (not there yet...) but wear bar... Any pics?

i had to look real close to find mine. i could only see them every couple of grooves. mine were close to the indicators (5500 miles) so i just changed them out since i had time.

 

[ksanbon]

Yeah, grip costs when you're only on 2 wheels! My rear tire is close to the bars at 5000 mi., front still looks good. The tire rating chart on another post shows the roadsmart rear lasting 1/2 the fronts approx. I seem to be following that data. Might change to those Michelins!!!!!!!!!!!

+1. I have 5700 on mine, so I'll get one more rear RoadSmart, then swith to Pilot Road 2's or 3's.
Motorcycle Superstore currently has the 160 RS for $142 w/ free shipping. Comp Acc has the front & rear PR 2's for $247.

 

[sammy56]

At the end of last season I needed new tires and I got some Metzelers but the Z6 which is more of a sport-touring tire. I only had a few hundred miles on them when I put the bike up for the winter but so far they seemed pretty good.

I have a Metzler Sportec M3 as a rear tire and it was great. I got 5000 miles out of it, but I am replacing it with a Dunlop Roadsmart.
With less than 200 miles on my bike when it was brand new, I ran over a roofing nail and had to get a new rear tire. I am hoping to get a bit more than 5000 miles out of the Dunlop rear tire, but I am not too concerned if it performs as the Metzler did.
My front tire is still perfect and I suspect it will be until at least 10,000 miles if not more.

LB

 

[RoadTrip]

Some feedback - I couldn't get to the shop in time to replace the tires, so did the 400 mile trip with the worn rear tire. It held up fine, but I was a bit nervous, just kept checking on it. So, yeah, got 3000 miles out of the rear Roadsmart.

 

[RoadTrip]

Update: replaced the rear with a new Roadsmart, got 5K out of that one, huh, not sure why to OEM only got 3K, kept the front.

Well, replaced the whole set today with my shelved set of Metzler M5's, now of course they are new - but, they corner great, and stick great, nice linearity and smooth feel transitioning from side to side.

The M5 actually look skinnier than the Roadsmart from the rear, but you can really feel the quality in the tire, I will update if I finish the set - I actually almost pulled the trigger on a 2011 GSX-R750 this AM while in service, but the bottom line $$$ after trade was just too big, maybe next time - kinda like the ninja zx-6r as well.

Finally, the 8K service and tires took all day 10-3, they had the bike all pulled apart to replace the plugs and whatnot, guess I am getting my money's worth on that service package now.

 

[Sparkxx1]

hmmm....

"corner as much as possible", you mean you sit upright and lean the bike over as far as possible?

"chicken strips are less than an inch" sounds about right for normal riding... if you said they were less than a 1/4 in... or to the edge, then I'd worry.

Just stating the obvious here, please take no offense.... but your goal should not be to get rid of chicken strips... or to lean as much as possible... you should, however, ride where you feel comfortable into and out of turns... whether that's @ or > the speed limit is your call... you'll be the one to live with the consequences if you drop the bike or simply get a LEO involved. Again... just commenting... don't mean anything ill by my comments.

As to your tires... put up pics! if they are truly @ the wear bars, then don't push them... a lot of factors go into tire wear beyond mileage... riding style (as you've pointed out, you may be more aggressive than some of us), temps (heat/cold cycles do just as much damage as time) and road conditions (some backroad not-well-maintained asphalt can wear a tire faster than well-maintained asphalt!).

Just be safe out there on the roads!

^+1 I totally agree!