Front BT020 down to wear bars

[jekirby]

My stock tires have 8600+/- miles. The front is down to the wear bars and I need to squeeze another 850+ miles out of it. I have a trip to Atlanta next week and I don't want, nor have time to mount new tires before departing. This will be all slab and since I haven't ever pushed a tire too far past the wear bars, I was hoping some of you IB folks can shed some light on how far to bald you feel comfortable taking a tire. How soon to you start to wear to cords? I am well aware of the issue with rain but rain I can wait out. Thanks folks.

 

[MojaveFJR]

Wear bars exist for a reason. I personally would not the bike till the tires are replaced, especially for that long of a ride. Front tire blow outs are extremely dangerous.

How till cord shows? Had a buddy a couple of months ago, we left here his tires were on the wear bars, 120 miles later he was showing cord. Seems the lower the tires get the faster they burn down. He spent 5.5hrs in Onyx, CA waiting for a truck to come haul his bike.

Again, I wouldn't do it. Just be careful and be ready to either raplace that tire on the road or be towed home.

 

[jekirby]

Never have tried to push one past the indicators but i know some folk's comfort level with such things is far greater than mine.

 

[odot]

Wear bars are just reminders that you really otter change the tire. Cord showing is another reminder. Losing a front tire is the last reminder. enjoy.

 

[SkooterG]

Never have tried to push one past the indicators but i know some folk's comfort level with such things is far greater than mine.

Well, I shouldn't comment, but of course, I can't help myself.

TWIs are just one indication that you need to change the tire sooner than later. Not necessarily right away. How long I feel comfortable after hitting the TWI also depends on the tire. With the Avons, I now I have lots of useful rubber left both front and rear. Not so on the rears of Pirelli Stradas, or the Dunlop D220.

Most likely, I would take the trip, babying the front tire in regards to braking. But that's my comfort zone and my risk. I am not recommending, nor recommending against for you. That's a decision you need to make. I will say I am much more comfortable running a worn tire locally where I can get it replaced quickly, than on a trip, where the wrong guess can leave me stranded.

 

[odot]

SkooterG....you been "stranded"....how many times?

 

[SkooterG]

SkooterG....you been "stranded"....how many times?

Zero.

And hope to keep it that way.

 

[El Toro]

You've gotta be comfortable yourself... it doesn't matter what other folks think about it. I've seen guys run their tires down to the cords without incident... but I still replace mine when I get to the wear bars, and sometimes even before depending on convenience issues associated with trip scheduling and such.

 

[madmike2]

Change the tires!

B020s have a bad characteristic.....when it looks like you have 1500 miles left, you DON'T.

They tend to "burn through" the last rubber on the tread. It's happened before and been reported here, including my own, IIRC-Bounce and others. Some brands will wear consistently through the tread rubber but 020s don't.

If you are going to take the trip, my recommendation would be to check them every 300-400 miles.

 

[dcarver]

Buy a bottle of liquid eletrical tape;it's essentialy liquid rubber. Apply to tire as needed, allow adequate dry time, then ride on!

Change them suckas dude - you want to explain to everyone how you crashed your brains out after leaving on a long trip with marginal rubber?

Or be harassed like old Feklar when he too ran out of rubber on a group ride? :angry: :yahoo: Sorry Mr. Feklar, couldn't resist..

 

[jekirby]

Change the tires!
B020s have a bad characteristic.....when it looks like you have 1500 miles left, you DON'T.

They tend to "burn through" the last rubber on the tread. It's happened before and been reported here, including my own, IIRC-Bounce and others. Some brands will wear consistently through the tread rubber but 020s don't.

If you are going to take the trip, my recommendation would be to check them every 300-400 miles.

Thanks. I did not know how these tires behave at this point.

 

[gr8eyes]

I've have never gotten more than 4,000 miles on a set of Bridgestone 020. I had 2 sets on my 03.

I remember hooning around Arkansas with a group of 12 guys on FJR's. One guy and his girlfriend started the trip with 2,000 miles on their new FJR. buy the time it had 2,200 miles the cords were showing. I wouldn't leave the state on those tires. As Mike said, once these tires start to go they go quickly.

Glenn

 

[fjrob1300]

I got 12000 miles out of my 020s last time. Yes right down to the wear bars. Barely got 8500 miles on my last set of Metzlers z6. You could alwats wheely it if you had too.

 

[jekirby]

You could alwats wheely it if you had too.

WEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

 

[WBill]

It's false economy to hit the road for an extended ride with worn tires. Not only do the old skins not behave well, but you're always going to be worrying about them. At least, that's what I learned last month.

This Metzler was one of a set that had more than 10,000 miles on it when I swapped it out, up in Idaho. They didn't look so bad, so I took off, thinking all was going to be ok 'till I got back. I had time available, and the trip was to go another 3,000 miles. All the way, until I changed rubber, the old tires were squirrely in the twisties, and all the way there was a nagging doubt about riding on thin rubber. After all, 10K is a lot of miles for a motorcycle tire.

The rest of the ride was waaay better. Kudos to the staff at Snake River Yamaha. They cut me such a good deal on new Metzlers and mounting that I didn't feel too bad about not having bought tires on the web. It just cost me two a day and changed my itinerary.

If you possibly can, change 'em out. WBill

 

[SkooterG]

After all, 10K is a lot of miles for a motorcycle tire.

Lots of tire left there!

10K?!?! Youse gotta be kidding me. I rarely go under 12k on a front, and have gone up to 18k. Of course those were the Azaros. Other tires don't hold up as well.

 

[WBill]

Nah, not for me.

These prolly had eleven or so on them by the time I changed them out. The trip began in Flagstaff and wound up through North Rim country, S. Utah, Nevada, and so on. Not exactly "as the crow flies." Sure, there was tread there, but look at the circumference of the contact patch.

For this bike and for three sets of tires, both front and rear seem to be ready to "retire" at about 10K, and that comes about once a year for me. I'd rather swap a set of iffy tires than try to push them to their limits, especially while I'm trying to enjoy my summer ride.

The rest of the trip took me through some wonderful 2nd gear twisty roads, including an unpaved portion through Sequoia NP, and a blistering slab ride across the Mojave. Old rubber? No, thanks.

But the number of miles was nothing compared to the difference in the way the new ones handled in comparison to the old ones. It was like sharpening a pencil. I guess my point is that mileage is not as important to me as performance. Next time, I change 'em out before I take off. WBill

 

[shredder]

Last year I was caught off guard by the same wear gremlin that plagues many tires. They looked fine at the start of the day but when I came to a stop.... after riding through one of the worst rain storms I can remember... I had belts showing on the rear tire.... alot of them. Good news.. .I did not know they were that bad during the ride because I experienced no probs or slipping. Bad news... we all know that is not good and is very unsafe. I also had to wait another day on the road until the bike shop opened up the next day to have the tires swaped out. Use caution, friend.