how long do my tires have once the tread is gone?

[eggman]

if i only ride on drys days can i get another 3000 miles on bald tires?

[Jge64]

You're kidding right?

[eggman]

nope lol i figure there's still plenty of rubber left even though there's no tread

[mowzertron]

Simple answer: No

[eggman]

crud lol well that sucks. back when i was a kid i recall the steal belt showing on my tires lol

[homie]

Until they go POP and you go BOOM!

[TheMaverick]

I learned the hard way that this is VERY dangerous - I'll explain why;

On the inside of the tyre it's round. On the outside of the tyre it starts round, but eventually flattens out on the contact patch as it wears - but - it's still round on the inside. So as the outside wears but the inside remains unchanged, the inside and the outside of the tyre are coming together to form a tangent in the middle of the tyre - but - (and it's a BIG but) - that isn't obvious from the outside.

What happens next is that the tyre goes "bang" without warning; if you're doing 50km/hr you may be OK (I was) (if you don't get hit by a car following behind as you try to stop with the back end of the bike wobbling all over the place) (or worse, the front). If it lets go at speed whilst you're loaded up in a corner (more likely because that's when the most pressure will be on it) then you're talking skin grafts, screws & plates in bones, weeks or more in hospital, and a wrecked bike, and all of a sudden the $20 worth of extra wear you tried to get out of the tyre doesn't seem like quite the bargain it did to start with.

I wrote about it in my motorcycle safety blog a while back - you might find it interesting: https://www.facebook.com/MotorcycleTips ... StayAlive/

In the past I've got upwards of 14,000km out of a rear tyre doing what you're suggesting, but now my hard limit is 10,000km - I even have a bit of sticking plaster under the seat with the max mileage before the next change.

[Gil]

Interesting site on tire wear for big bikes. http://www.rattlebars.com/tirewear/index.html

I replace my tires according to the thread depth indicators. The risk of a blown tire isn't worth the risk of injury.
There isn't that much rubber left after the tire has gone bald.


Gil

[eggman]

sucks by the time i get them mounted its like 250 bucks

[TheMaverick]

sucks by the time i get them mounted its like 250 bucks

Wow - mine were about NZD $80 all up (each). Sounds VERY expensive - have you shopped around?

[Gil]

Get a buddy and mount them yourself, all you need is tools and some manhandling. I changed my rear tire with the help of a buddy, saved myself $20 dollars. Look for the cheaper tires, the OEM's are quite cheap.

Gil

[Mel46]

How is it $250?? For me it is approximately $50 for the rear tire and $55 for the dealer to change and mount it if I ride the bike in after receiving the tire in the mail. Even changing both at the same time is still only around $210. I very seldom change both at the same time though. The rear wears out twice as fast as the front. Even then, the rear seldom wears out exactly at the same time as the front.

[eggman]

maybe im forgeting what i payed lastime

[TheMaverick]

A technique I use with my daughter that's proven to be exceptionally effective was to setup a spreadsheet with paydays for columns and expected expenses (sorted by date due) for rows - and calculate the total $$$ required each pay to hit the target by the required date (then add the amount to a running total each pay).

We guestimated $290 for new rear tyres and wiper blades for her car - $16 per pay - after about 9 months she's got $261 put aside. Makes exercises like this a piece of cake - done right the money is just sitting there when needed (have done the same with a house deposit for her - 5 years out we can just about name the month they'll be buying).

[iceman]

Got to the point I need a new rear tyre - still on original IRC tyre 13,000 miles in with some tread left - never experienced any issue with IRC but probably go with MCG, Pirelli or Bridgestone Battleax. Best dealer price I got was about £80 for Battleax fitted, but one dealer, HGB Rusilip where I bought my PCX said they did not know if Mitchellin CG's fit the PCX (wtf!). Other than that I can purchase a MCG for £42 delivered and have a home or work fitment for £12 but it needs to be off the bike.

[springer1]

replace my tires according to the thread depth indicators. The risk of a blown tire isn't worth the risk of injury.

+1 on that. It's unbelievable how lightning fast the result of a tire problem can happen.

[dgnyberg]

Timely tire replacement is like catastrophic health insurance!!

[TheMaverick]

It's unbelievable how lightning fast the result of a tire problem can happen.

+1 to that.



I've had 4 flat rear tyres on the PCX. 2 were slow punctures (of which one was undetected until it went flat completely approaching a busy roundabout at night in torrential rain with my daughter on the back, the other I spotted before trying to ride in the morning), one was a plug coming out after a repair by the dealer failed (ALWAYS have the tyre taken off the rim if having a repair made), and this one just let go without warning (so in total I've had 3 "nasty surprises whilst riding").

ALL of them were due to running a tyre too long, and ALL of the problems occurred on tyres around the 14,000km mark. My personal limit is now 10,000km for a back tyre - just not worth the risk to life nor the extra expense of having the bike transported.

Note that in the photo above the tyre didn't look anywhere near that "depressed" in the middle when inflated, nor was the canvas patch visible when I'd last checked the pressure a week or so before.

Lesson learned for me.

[ItBeMe]

You can run them until you can just start seeing the air inside.

[iceman]

Note that in the photo above the tyre didn't look anywhere near that "depressed" in the middle when inflated, nor was the canvas patch visible when I'd last checked the pressure a week or so before. Lesson learned for me.

Shallow tread near or just below the limit is one thing, but even if more expanded when inflated, that tyre looked like it had no tread in the middle section long before anything was done about it.

My bike has done 12,800 miles, still on original IRC and has about 1mm tread left in the middle and fairly good tread further from the middle as I do not scrape my knees or centre stand when taking bends But I will replace it soon.

btw - for those thinking of changing tyres themselves and inflating - how do you cope with the valve (keep/replace?)