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.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.
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.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 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.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?
+1. I have 5700 on mine, so I'll get one more rear RoadSmart, then swith to Pilot Road 2's or 3's.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!!!!!!!!!!!
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.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.
^+1 I totally agree!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!