Caution with new tires........

[ngarider]

Stolen from another forum, but a good lesson contained within.

 

[LDRydr]

Ouch. Motorcycle Consumer News, in some long-past issue, ran a story rating the best ways to scrub in a new tire (without riding it). I'll see if I can find it and recap.

 

[rangerk9]

Stolen from another forum, but a good lesson contained within.

ngarider,

Thanks for posting that up. I have only been riding for 11 months now and for a newbie like me, who also got in on the MPR2 group purchase, it is damn good info to have.

Aside from riding cautiously for the first 50-100 miles, what else do I need to do when I get my tires and have them installed?

Appreciations for the good info.

Rex

 

[ngarider]

I basically wetsand 'em.... nice big sheet, random pattern and 5 minutes, let the tire dry and then take it easy for the first 50 miles or so.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Looks to me like yet another anal-retentive-ATGATT-newbie that would rather let his bike sit on its side leaking no telling what fluids while he takes out his new digital camera and shoots pics to share with his my-entire-world-forum while moaning about new tires instead of learning to use his throttle sparingly when making turns. But, thats just my $.02/33 yrs road riding experience/daily rider opinion.

Jay

'04 FJR 1300

 

[Wicked Webby]

Looks to me like yet another anal-retentive-ATGATT-newbie that would rather let his bike sit on its side leaking no telling what fluids while he takes out his new digital camera and shoots pics to share with his my-entire-world-forum while moaning about new tires instead of learning to use his throttle sparingly when making turns. But, thats just my $.02/33 yrs road riding experience/daily rider opinion.
Jay

'04 FJR 1300

+1.. Except I only have 19 years of continuously owning street bikes and riding them!

WW

 

[SkooterG]

I don't know about this. Yes, you need to be careful with brand new tires, but people go off the deep end IMHO.

When you have brand new tires, you need to be light with throttle input for a few miles when leaned over. It's that simple. The "50-100 miles" is complete bullshit in my experience. I have my tires broken in after about 5-10 miles. I have never sanded them, nor have had I had any problems. And I go through a lot of tires.

This is what I do: After mounting the new tires, while traveling down the road I weave back and forth (within a single lane). The weaves are small at first, and slowly progress to bigger ones and greater lean angles. The goal is to scrub, or roughen the tire's surface in a progressive fashion from the center to the outside. That's it. Most likely, they are fully broken in within a mile or two.

All the problems where people have crashed with new tires that I have personally heard of have been due to moderate to aggressive throttle input while leaned over within a mile or two of tire installation.

Don't fret over this too much. Don't be an idiot either.

 

[zzzzip]

Well....... looks like his tires are scrubbed in now.

B)

 

[RenoJohn]

Looks to me like yet another anal-retentive-ATGATT-newbie that would rather let his bike sit on its side leaking no telling what fluids while he takes out his new digital camera and shoots pics to share with his my-entire-world-forum while moaning about new tires

LOL, my thoughts exactly

Don't fret over this too much. Don't be an idiot either.

Yep
IMO most folks take it easy on a new tire for the first little bit ...BUT, I've seen many guys get loose on *cold* tires. riding hard, stop for a bite to eat etc ....and they take off for the next twisty as if the tires were as warm as they were before the stop ....and next thing they're loose. Tires take a bit to warm up.

 

[LDRydr]

Ouch. Motorcycle Consumer News, in some long-past issue, ran a story rating the best ways to scrub in a new tire (without riding it). I'll see if I can find it and recap.

Ok, found the article, titled Tire Conditioning Experiments, in the March 2006 issue. After reading it I'd say prep your tires if you think you need to, or take it easy on them for a while, paying careful attention to road conditions and lean angle. You'd obviously have to do the latter if you purchase and have your tires mounted at the same time while at the dealer or travelling. I predict that riding on new, unprepped tires in the first rain after a long dryspell will lead to disaster, so don't do it. Also note that what appears below applies to road tires only, not racing tires, as I'm sure that those that race have their own prep methods.

Recap:

Per manufacturer's, a new tire doesn't operate at max efficiency for about the first 100 miles. Fabric fibers are still "settling in" to their rubber bonds as applied loads cause the tire to stretch and flex as it is deformed against the road. Eventually the carcass gradually softens and becomes more resilient, laying down a bigger footprint on the road. To a sensitive rider this would feel like a softening of a spring rate. The tire will also be growing in size, and tire pressure will go down from the original inflation rate. Note that they (manufacturer's) said cautious, normal use was the only prep needed to break-in a new tire (SkooterG must have read this part). But, be careful to see where the soap used to mount the tires may have ended up.

Most manufacturers DO NOT use a mold release of any kind, but the ones that do use silica (most likely powdered), not soaps.

One brand rep claims you need to do more than just rough up the smooth tread surface. The edges of the drainage sipes also need to become rounded so that flexing of the tread against the road didn't tend to put extra pressure on the edges, reducing the load applied to the surface in-between the sipes.

The article lists a number of different items used to pre-condition a new tire. They found it takes about 20 minutes per tire.

What works:

A wire brush used in a crosshatch pattern (bristles bend on the curved tire surface)

An inexpensive flexible sanding block with either #80 or #60 sandpaper (use at a 45deg to the tread in a crosshatch pattern)

What doesn't work:

Rotary wire brush in drill (contact patch too small)

Scotchbrite pad (removes the gloss but didn't break the rubber skin significantly)

Scotchbrite stripping pad (not as good as the two items that work)

#40 sanding disk in drill (too flat, tends to jump all over)

#120 drywall screen-type paper on block (removed the gloss but didn't scratch the rubber skin)

 

[ngarider]

Also, for my ATGATT brothers, pay attention to the condition of his gear after a very low speed getoff.

 

[Toecutter]

Tires take a bit to warm up.

I had to let a CHP motor officer run away from me the other morning on my nearest freeway 270 banked turn, as I was a quarter-mile from home on cold tires. Even after 5000 miles, I don't push cold tires.

Should I register there and ask if synthetic oil is easier to clean off the rear wheel than dino?

 

[jwilly]

So do this mean I shouldn't use Armor All on my tires to make them shine?

 

[keithaba]

Gear looked terrible for such a low speed incident, I can't tell what type of pants those are, but I wouldn't want to be wearing them in a 40-50 mph getoff.

What's with all the haters on this thread? The guy posts to try and warn people about takin it easy on new tires, and people are jumpin his nuts. :glare:

Sheesh, it's monday not friday.

 

[Scab]

So do this mean I shouldn't use Armor All on my tires to make them shine?

That's okay for you, ya poser.

 

[brazos parker]

Since it's not Friday, I don't think most folks are "jumpin' his nuts." I think most appreciate his not-too-subtle warning abt taking it easy on new tires. However, I also think that some folks are hinting around that, in addition to new tires + cold tires, he had an undisciplined right hand which was a major contributing factor in this chain of events. Sounds to me like he completely blew out the rear end for the bike to do a 540 degree pirouette at a very low speed. But, I could be wrong 'bout all this...I'm just sayin'.

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

Gear looked terrible for such a low speed incident, I can't tell what type of pants those are, but I wouldn't want to be wearing them in a 40-50 mph getoff.
What's with all the haters on this thread? The guy posts to try and warn people about takin it easy on new tires, and people are jumpin his nuts. :glare:

Sheesh, it's monday not friday.

It sounded more like he blamed the tires at first according to the title! In 40 yrs. of riding I have never dropped it because of new tires! Even when I raced, 1 to 2 moderate laps and they were ready to go. Sometimes all you get is a warm-up lap on a new tire. On the street they should be ready to go after 10 mi. for sure, I don't care what kind of tires they are! I think it was just a case of heavy throttle hand myself! Glad he's OK.

 

[borrec]

So do this mean I shouldn't use Armor All on my tires to make them shine?

That's okay for you, ya poser.

Armor All is fine for you. We all know you don't really ride anyway, just a Harley wanabe.

 

[jwilly]

So do this mean I shouldn't use Armor All on my tires to make them shine?

That's okay for you, ya poser.

Armor All is fine for you. We all know you don't really ride anyway, just a Harley wanabe.

Damn, I got busted: