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When do you think tires need to be changed.

6K views 30 replies 18 participants last post by  TedEbear 
#1 ·
I got into a conversation with a friend about tires and sports riding.

I said, if the motorcycle has been kept in a garage (no direct sunlight) tires for sports riding is good 3 years. He says I should change them every 2 year no matter what.

I understand "sport" riding is subjective but lets just say you ride leisurely on the highway and hard enough in the mountains that your rear tires are just starting to show signs of melting. (not clumping on the edge but melting enough to show abrasion).

How many years do you guys ride on the same tire when riding "sport" mode?

FYI, I need new rear tires every 1000 to 1100 miles on the CBR from very leisurely track riding once a week and uber slow street riding.
 
#2 ·
I have been going 2 years or a little more on my tires thus far. I change them when the tread gets thin, not due to age. My last set had a little over 11,500 miles on them when I decided it was time for new ones.

I have read that tire rubber starts to get hard after 3 years. Not necessarily overnight turning into hockey pucks but I wouldn't ride on tires that were more than 5 years old by the DOT code on the sidewall, even if the tread was still OK.
 
#5 ·
If you are talking about the tread depth, ive seen plenty of people ride until belts are showing. Now as for the age of the tire... I have tires from 2009 that came factory on my CBR and They havent worried me one bit. As long as its pretty warm out and giving them plenty of time to get heated up, i have yet to feel any problems with my tires getting loose or feeling unsafe. I've had it leaned over pretty good in turns while going 80-100mph.. not quite knee dragging, but enough to almost get to the edge of the tire. I say it depends on how the tire has sat over the years.. more they sit in the sun and weather the quicker they go.. i just look for any dry rot/cracking, firmer rubber feel, and just how they feel when riding. I would say 5years is about the most you want.. you can ride on older tires, but i wouldnt trust them for doing anything but easy riding.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the replies.

I do see people riding bald tires and tires with belt showing up once in a while. That's is insane but I guess each to his/ her own.

I guess people ride anywhere from 3 to 5 years on the same tire without problems. As mentioned above, it doesn't harden all of a sudden so the gradual hardening probably has very effect in real life riding.

Anyway thanks for the info. Will have another discussion on this topic with my friend.
 
#15 ·
street, tires 5 years if they were stored correctly. If they are a harder compound to start out with (touring/crusier), a bit less since the compound is aready harder to begin with. Not sure what you mean by 'sport' riding but for Race tires, as new as possibe, 4 years is the limit. Storage method and temperature is key for race tires. I can't get more than 2-3 months out of a street tire or trac tire, so it hasn't really been an issue.
 
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#17 ·
For car and bike, I prefer max grip over tire life. I run R comps on my track prepped car (got about 7k and 8 trackdays from R888s), and I run the hypersport class tires for street and track, specifically the michelin supersports and the Q3s. Haven't had any issues with the Q3s, no delaminating for me. for the rear 190/55 Q3 I've gotten maybe 3k miles so far and 3 moderate trackdays. The rear is still going strong. I run 33/35 or 34/36 for street and 30/30 +/- 1 psi depending on the temp of the day.

Cuz I commute I tend to get a nail in my tire before I actually wear one out. I think it also depends how you are on the throttle. I'm easy on the throttle, for both my 600cc and the blade, so hence easy on tires.

I change tires for friends, and my friends that use shinko I see much more often. the pilot 3s are nice, and the pirelli angels I like too, but personally I would never get a touring tire, that's just me.

I think dunlop has a great price point for the Q3s, $200 for a set, can't beat that. the super corsas are $400 a set for the same size, youch! but lots of folks are brand loyal.

I think it is very easy to tell if a tire is too old. Why take the chance?
 
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#23 ·
Tires are cheap compared to the cost of the bike, so you're right, why take a chance. But I'll just have to try out a bunch of different ones from touring to sports and see what feels best. I just have a feeling that touring tires aren't going to last me any more than sports tires for me since the sides go out way before the middle.

As far as track goes, I can't get more than 10 hours of real easy track riding on them . By easy, I mean just enough to scrape the knees, something like one or two notches above street riding. No aggressive downshifting and loading the fronts to the point of howling or chattering. Even then, 10 hours of riding, and the best part of the tire is over. I could ride another 4-5 but then the pleasure is gone.

I'll just have to try a new set next time.
 
#18 ·
I change tires when they are due to be replaced. Never looked at the miles, just at the condition of the tires.
If the tires need to be replaced so be it, period! If it's after 100 miles or 10.000 miles makes no difference. It's all about safety. We've got only two tires to keep us safe so I make sure these tires are safe and in good condition.

Yep, bought a new tire after a puncture. Rode 50 miles and punctured it again. Bought a new tire again!
My son (mechanic) told me I could "fix" a tire to get home but that's just what it's for... Getting home in one piece to order a new tire.
 
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#24 ·
Had a bad experience on my 150CC Suzuki Avenis scooter. Got a flat, fixed it, then the seal came undone, had to ride at 20km per hour on the highway.

Never again will I fix a flat and ride beyond the shop. The cost to fix and then still worry about the thing failing is just too much. Needless to say, margin for accident because of malfunction is just too great.
 
#19 ·
run mine till i can see the air inside.... jk..... prob also depends on how you ride, will run tires down beyond where i think is safe if just cruisin around the city and stayin under 40-50mph.... but if i'm goin out to do 150mph, it's gotta be good tires.... no longer than 5 years time as others said...... mileage is tough cause lots of straight roads around here, so center wears out fast...
 
#20 ·
If the center wears out too fast find a tire with a, for you, better suited center.
These days you can find the perfect tire for every way of driving.
I'd rather change 10000 km's too earlie than 1 km too late.
 
#26 ·
I think I've killed my first set of Q3s. maybe 3000 miles and 2 trackdays. spring and summer I run 33 psi front/35 rear cold, 34/36 winter.

I was lubing the chain yesterday, and as I was turning the rear wheel, I could feel a chicken strippish edge on the left, the track this bike goes to is predominately left turns.

Also, last time I rode it commuting, I lost feel twice on the front, when accelerating, normal accelerating, came right back when I rolled off the throttle but that has never happened before to me, on any tire, on the street.

So even though I plan to get new wheels with my tax return, it's not worth finding out how much life is left on these Q3s, I'll put new ones one today. Just need to decide if I want the 190/55 or the 200/50 lol.
 
#30 ·
i ride mostly track/race. i replace the tires when the wear markers get low. mostly run bridgestone r10's and pirelli SC2 DOT's.

I'm sure I could squeeze more life out of them but you don't want tires on your mind when you should be focussed 100% on what you're doing. that's my 2c anyhow.
 
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