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Tire Life - when to change em??

Joined
Feb 25, 2005
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Location
Houston, Texas
I've mostly lurked since finding this site although actively posted for a while. Don't browse as much as I used to but always nice to check in and catch up on my reading of what's been happening...

On to the subject...

I ride a VTX1300. Bought it new May 04 and at 13 months old it now has just shy of 11k miles on it. We like to ride! :-D

I've been hearing that tires generally last 12 - 14k miles and tread wear is not the most significant factor due to dry rot and heat and cold expansion of the rubber. Just how exactly am I supposed to be able to tell when the tires should be changed if not be tread wear? I hope I don't just ride till they start having problems, flats, etc.?

I haven't noticed any problems while riding but don't want to take any chances with them either - it just ain't worth it.
 
:tab Unless you store the bike outside exposed to the weather, I would not be real concerned about dry rot. Tires now are much better than they used to be and take much longer to degrade. If the tread is deep enough (not down to the wear bar) I would just keep riding unless you see cracks in the rubber.

:tab There are a few other considerations besides dry rot and tread depth. Front tires may cup. This is a condition where the tread will drop from one block to the next in a sawtooth fashion. This can cause a wobbling feel in the front end at low speeds. Some bikes are worse than others and no one really seems to know for sure what causes it, although there are a host of pet theories.

:tab The big concern on a rear tire is how badly it gets squared off. This is where the center of the tire is just flat across and then there is a sharp corner at the point where the flat meets the curve on the side. When the bike is leaned over and the tire gets to this sharp point, the contact patch can get significantly smaller in just a split second. If you are riding briskly, this can cause a loss of traction on the rear tire. You might get a little wiggle or a big slide.

:tab If you like mail ordering tires, try swmototires.com. They usually have a wide selection, good prices and free shipping if you get more than one tire. Mine are usually here in a few days. If you can remove your wheels, Cycle Gear will mount your new tires pretty cheap.

:tab While you have the wheels off, be sure to check your brake pads! On a big heavy cruiser, they can wear down quicker than you might expect.
 
My 91 VX800 I acquired from a guy that had it sitting in his garage for 3 years with and rode it for about 3K miles before needing new tires. There were only 6K miles on it so it may have been the OEM tires. Of course I was a more docile rider at the time compared to how I ride the SV now.
 
I JUST changed the tires on my VTX. I had close to 11,000 miles on them. I probably could have gotten few more miles on them, but I got a really good deal and decided to go ahead and get them. My H has about 10,000 miles on his VTX and doesn't plan on getting them right away. I think he can go another 2000 or so before he will absolutely need them. BTW...new tires make a HUGE difference!!
 
:tab New tires make a huge difference because of the profile. Generally, the bike will feel like it is steering easier, especially at low speeds. Also, because of the squaring issue mentioned for the back tire, the bike may feel less squirrely with a new rear. There have been times when I have replaced tires for just this reason even though they had plenty of tread left.

:tab I read about guys getting 10K+ miles out of the rear on the GS... I just can't seem to ride the bike that gently :angel: I get excited if the rear last 5K miles and the front maybe 9K.
 
One thing I have noticed is that it seems the "second" half of the tread depth seems to wear faster than the first.
Has anyone else noticed this?
 
Tourmeister said:
...the rear last 5K miles and the front maybe 9K.

That's about it for me also. I don't see how some of these guys are getting 12,000 miles out of a set of tires.
 
I do not like the way the bike handles when the rear tire gets a flat spot around the middle, so when this gets bad I change the rear tire. When I change the rear tire, I change the front tire. This is generally not necessary and I could probably get additional mileage out of the front tire, but when I have changed only the rear I was unhappy with the results.

I think the bike handles much better when you change both tires at the same time and changing both at the same time instills confidence in me and improves my riding.

-
 
I had about 5,000 miles on the rear when I changed it and I have no idea how many miles it had on it since it was on the bike when I bought it, but it looked pretty new. I changed F/R since the front was pretty much toasted and the rear was squared off. It rode like a new bike after the change, I no longer had to force it off the square tread, fall-in was great and the ride was much better.
 
I charge 20 bucks a tire off the bike, 35 on the bike, except for Wings and such with all sorts of goodies added to them that take removal of half the rear of the friggin' bike to get at or disconnection a couple hundred christmas lights or something. Then, I'll charge extra. :roll: I have seen such rigs. Makes you wonder what they do out on the road when they can't even see the friggin' tire in that thing. :lol:

My experience is about 5K rear, 9 front, too. I don't see how some of these guys get 12 or more on the rear. Must be some HARD compounds! :shock: Probably slide if you looked at it wrong. :lol:

I've had Dunflop K491 touring elites recommended for mileage, but I haven't gotten all that decent on them either, maybe 8K on a rear, maybe.
 
On to the subject...

I ride a VTX1300. Bought it new May 04 and at 13 months old it now has just shy of 11k miles on it. We like to ride! :-D

I've been hearing that tires generally last 12 - 14k miles and tread wear is not the most significant factor due to dry rot and heat and cold expansion of the rubber. Just how exactly am I supposed to be able to tell when the tires should be changed if not be tread wear? I hope I don't just ride till they start having problems, flats, etc.?



~~~~~~~First I want 2 say, Wow, are tires important. They are one item on a bike, that I check often. The air pressure, examine all around them, feel & look.~~I will not let my back tire go long, if it don't suit me, and mainly, it's because my Wife is back there real often.
~~~~~Everyone is saying, it mainly depends upon the type bike and the type Rider, as to how many miles the back tire will go. Mine, is around 9,000. I've gotta friend who had to ride about a mile of gravel to get to his home. His back tire maybe will last 6,500 miles. I think it's best to get both tires each time, even tho the front shows less, ususally.
~~~~~~~~willieT~~~~~~~~
 
I think it's best to get both tires each time, even tho the front shows less,
ususally.

I've never done that except on racers. I buy race tires in sets. I won't buy street tires in sets, though, since the front lasts a lot longer than the rear. I'm going to need a new rear on the SV and the Wing soon. The SV is going to need one soon. Both fronts are in good shape.

This thread reminds me of an Andy Griffith episode. Gomer was trying to make more money at the gas station 'cause his boss was getting on him about not producing. He told Andy, "I don't like telling folks they need something when they don't. I told Emmett he needed new tires, so he bought some. Heck, Andy, he coulda got another 300 miles on the cord!" :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
StoneTriple said:
Tourmeister said:
...the rear last 5K miles and the front maybe 9K.

That's about it for me also. I don't see how some of these guys are getting 12,000 miles out of a set of tires.

I saw a 17K tire.

It wasn't pretty.

Guy is lucky it didn't blow out on him.
 
jeffie foo-foo said:
I saw a 17K tire.
scared.gif
 
When I was a kid I ran a couple of rear tires till they popped through the cord, one when I was 2 up, that was fun. I was broke and couldn't afford tires. I once cut 2 new treads into a bald tire deep enough to get it inspected as well.

Now that I'm not a broke teenager I go by what I was taught, the space between the edge of a penny and the top of Lincoln's head in tread depth in the middle of the tire. Must be a holdout in my head from doing state inspections back when I was 18 or 20.

I usually get 2 rears to every front, and I usually replace fronts because they cup into the sawtooth tread depth Scott was talking about instead of just tread depth.

On cruisers you can get harder compound touring tires that I could easily see someone getting 10k out of or more.

I get about 5k on my harleys rear 10k on the front, but I run a soft tire. The FZ1 I've only averaged about 2100 miles per rear tire and about 5k per front, and about the same for the DOT knobs on the KTM's.
 
Dyna Sport said:
The FZ1 I've only averaged about 2100 miles per rear tire and about 5k per front

John... This isn't a problem with the tire, I'd say we have a wrist issue... :shame:
 
Thanks for all the feedback. Obviously I don't ride the tires especially hard altho we do ride 2 up most of the time.

Tread wear is not an issue - even after 11k miles there's plenty of tread front and back on the original tires. I'll have to look a bit closer at the front on the cupping issue and check the back for squaring off - would assume I've got a bit of both.

Now just have to find a shop to provide the tires and handle replacing em...

And there's this weird noise that just started on the rear of the bike... :)
 
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