Understanding tire wear.

Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
3,064
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
Good tires arent cheep. My VFR and Vstrom have new rubber. My rear FJR tire I feel might be questionable. The front is about new.
6,500 miles ago, I put on a new Michelin Road 5 , GT version, which is for heavy sport touring bikes, to see how it would wear.
Tires on this bike last from 6-10 thou. There is .070 in to the wear bars right now. I have a new non GT tire in the Basement. there is .230 to the wear bar.
My gut is saying to go ahead and pull the wheel and take the tire down to the dealer and have it put on. What would be the point of trying to milk 1500 more miles
out of this rear tire since unless there is really crappy weather like last year going to the rally, the likelyhood of wearing out the new rear in my lifetime is low.
I think I can guarantee good weather in the Rockies for the Rally if I put on a new tire I wont need. Mellow has shown me that tires seem to wear faster as they wear out.
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The nice part about having multiple bikes is you can inch out those last miles while keeping another bike w/better tires for a tour... but, sounds like you were wanting to take the FJR. Better safe than sorry... and those on-a-tour tire prices are not good... wink wink..
 
If you could be assured of dry weather for your entire trip to the rally, the worn tire will actually provide better traction. Just look at race tires on almost any vehicle, 2 or 4 wheels. They are smooth. No tread.
HOWEVER, leaving home on a worn tire will guarantee rain at some time. Hydroplane condition on 4 wheels is bad, on 2 wheels REALLY bad.
 
Mellow said:
The nice part about having multiple bikes is you can inch out those last miles while keeping another bike w/better tires for a tour... but, sounds like you were wanting to take the FJR. Better safe than sorry... and those on-a-tour tire prices are not good... wink wink..
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Yeah...true story. But the money isnt a thing. Gonna just put on the spare in the basement. Will see if the dealer still does this. This will insure no hail attack in Butte and no winter storm warning. 80 degrees today.
 
Mellow said:
Chris, you're pretty handy, why don't you have a tire changer?
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10-15 years ago I would buy one. Now, I am 76. I cant even open a pop bottle due to weak hands.....I am fighting medical issues and the coolant system of my wife's car and am getting over covid. I have 10 trees I need to take down now as there is too much heat and no water and the bugs killed them. I did fix the old good chipper for now, knock on wood. I am old and tired. I hope I can still wear out a tire on one of my bikes....I am looking forward to 2 bike trips this year and maybe 3 if the smoke doenst kill August.
 
junglejim said:
Tires are like toilet paper - tread disappears faster at the end. Don’t ask how I learned that.
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About 15 years ago, I left on a 2,000 trip through the mountains on my GoldWing. I was sure that the rear tire was good for at least that far, but I ordered a new one before I left home.
I also knew from experience with a friend on his GoldWing, that the tread rubber turns from black to a dark gray layer just before the cords show.

Well, I was shocked at the rate of tire wear on that trip through the mountains. That tire was bald about 3/4 of the way through the trip. Stopped at 2 Honda dealers that had no correct tire to purchase. On the way home, with about 150 miles to go, a strip about a foot long on the tire wore to the dark gray layer. I couldn't find a tire and I knew I had one at home......so I put a layer of duct tape over the gray rubber to stop the wear. The duct tape lasted 75 miles and was then replaced to get me home. I would not have done that except the roads and forecast were dry.

Never leave on a long trip with a marginal tire......or duct tape.

Cliff
 
About 14 1/2 years ago I headed to Central Texas from Denver with my ST1300. In my garage, leaning against the wall, was a brand new front tire that I was going to change before I left on this trip. Suffice to say I got lazy did not change the tire and trusted my judgement that the existing tire on the bike would last the trip. Had to make a stop at a dealer in Georgetown Texas as my judgement was not quite up to par on the longevity of that front tire. Did not need a flat on a thin tire out in the nothingness of West Texas. To make a long story shorter, I came home with a brand new 2014 FJR1300. That was an expensive tire. By the way I still have the FJR.


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Chucksklrst said:
About 14 1/2 years ago I headed to Central Texas from Denver with my ST1300. In my garage, leaning against the wall, was a brand new front tire that I was going to change before I left on this trip. Suffice to say I got lazy did not change the tire and trusted my judgement that the existing tire on the bike would last the trip. Had to make a stop at a dealer in Georgetown Texas as my judgement was not quite up to par on the longevity of that front tire. Did not need a flat on a thin tire out in the nothingness of West Texas. To make a long story shorter, I came home with a brand new 2014 FJR1300. That was an expensive tire. By the way I still have the FJR.


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:eek::rofl1:
 
Chucksklrst said:
About 14 1/2 years ago I headed to Central Texas from Denver with my ST1300. In my garage, leaning against the wall, was a brand new front tire that I was going to change before I left on this trip. Suffice to say I got lazy did not change the tire and trusted my judgement that the existing tire on the bike would last the trip. Had to make a stop at a dealer in Georgetown Texas as my judgement was not quite up to par on the longevity of that front tire. Did not need a flat on a thin tire out in the nothingness of West Texas. To make a long story shorter, I came home with a brand new 2014 FJR1300. That was an expensive tire. By the way I still have the FJR.


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That same thing happened to several people I know. You’re not the only person who has done the same thing.

I came very close to doing it on the multi-thousand mile trip I described elsewhere on the forum where I had a major engine failure on my Concourse 10. I had stopped at a dealer and was kicking tires and ALMOST bought a Versys 650. The only reason I didn’t was my luggage arrangement on the rest of the trip would have been awkward. But I did buy a Versys 650 AFTER I got home. Very capable and FUN bike.
 
Chucksklrst said:
About 14 1/2 years ago I headed to Central Texas from Denver with my ST1300. In my garage, leaning against the wall, was a brand new front tire that I was going to change before I left on this trip. Suffice to say I got lazy did not change the tire and trusted my judgement that the existing tire on the bike would last the trip. Had to make a stop at a dealer in Georgetown Texas as my judgement was not quite up to par on the longevity of that front tire. Did not need a flat on a thin tire out in the nothingness of West Texas. To make a long story shorter, I came home with a brand new 2014 FJR1300. That was an expensive tire. By the way I still have the FJR.


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I took my 2014 FJR wheel to the dealer and had an inspiration. Why put on a five year old new Road 5 if he had a new Road 6 GT? I might tour Utah Nat Parks this year in Sept. So I looked up the revzilla price and it was $280. The dealer sold me the new tire for $296 minus my veteran/first responder discount of $29.67! $267. Now I have a spare R5. They even put it on while I waited and molested their NT1100. And yes, I pulled the pumpkin and lubed the U joint and splines. I have now insured good rally weather. The FJR is a wonderful bike. They just need to make it 160-200 lbs lighter.
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"A 62-year-old man from Mahopac, Martin Muller, died on May 27, 2025, after a motorcycle crash on the New York State Thruway near New Paltz. The crash occurred when his rear tire blew out, causing his 2009 Harley-Davidson to turn sideways and roll in the left lane. Muller was ejected from the motorcycle and was later pronounced dead at Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital."

Tire condition at time of failure is unknown. Pay attention out there.
 
Fieroguy said:
"A 62-year-old man from Mahopac, Martin Muller, died on May 27, 2025, after a motorcycle crash on the New York State Thruway near New Paltz. The crash occurred when his rear tire blew out, causing his 2009 Harley-Davidson to turn sideways and roll in the left lane. Muller was ejected from the motorcycle and was later pronounced dead at Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital."

Tire condition at time of failure is unknown. Pay attention out there.
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Seems like long ago we had a member that had his tire pressure get low and the belts in the tire failed?
 
WVRider said:
Errors in judging how many miles you have left could be disasterous ! Especially if you are an aggressive rider. This was quite a few years ago and could have been very View attachment 22865bad.
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two years ago Mellow looked at my VFR rear tire and pointed out it was low on tread. Thankfully , the nearby Honda shop had a tire and put it on ...$300 installed. Frosty and I both looked at the tire before we left Spokane and thought it had enough tread left.
 
Coyote Chris said:
two years ago Mellow looked at my VFR rear tire and pointed out it was low on tread. Thankfully , the nearby Honda shop had a tire and put it on ...$300 installed. Frosty and I both looked at the tire before we left Spokane and thought it had enough tread left.
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Your tire wear was totally predictable given that you were hard into the throttle and running fast in the corners trying to keep up with Frosty. 😳
 
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