Mid Trip Tire Change

[rwortman]

I set out on my annual summer trip last week. 1100 miles of mountains in PA and NY. About 400 miles in, we stopped to eat and I notice my front tire (stock) was bald about halfway to the edge on both sides. (4600 miles) Rear tire was only half gone. It gave me a start because the night before I spent 45 minutes in the worst rain I have ever ridden in. Day 2 we happened to be driving by a huge Yamaha dealer in Tyrone PA. The parts guy wasn't sure what a sport touring tire was but he consulted his Parts Unlimited catalog and came back with a Michelin PR4. I asked if he had a rear, they did, and they freed up a mechanic who put them on right away. I made it about 40 feet before I started grinning. I can't believe how this bike's handling has been transformed. That annoying tendency to increase the steering angle in slow speed turns is gone. Not lessened, gone. The truck'ish turn in on curvy roads, gone. Honestly, if I knew in advance what the before and after was going to be like I would have had the dealer change the tires before they shipped it to me.

p.s Yes I know I read here and other places about premature front tire wear but I thought it applied to hard chargers, not little old me.

 

[FJRay]

Always start a trip with fresh tires. Save take off tires for day rides and local stuff.

 

[Twigg]

4600 miles on a front is awfully low.

The PR2 I have on the front of mine still has a little life ... It has almost 15 000 miles on it. No "cupping" either.

It's been on 4 weeks

 

[rwortman]

4600 miles on a front is awfully low.
The PR2 I have on the front of mine still has a little life ... It has almost 15 000 miles on it. No "cupping" either.

It's been on 4 weeks

I read magazine tests where the stock Bridgestone front was about gone in less than 3K. I thought they were trashing them by aggressive riding. New England riding has lots of curves but I usually wear out the middle of the back tire first. Oh well, the bike is handling so much better I am not sorry to see those tires go. This is a crop from a picture taken about 300 miles before I noticed. 300 miles later the center raised section that is the harder compound was down to the wear bars. The 1.5 inch strip to either side of it had just enough depth to see where there was tread. Maybe .010 left. Not "cupping" either. Just pretty uniformly worn down in

that that area.

 

[maggot]

4600 miles on a front is awfully low.
The PR2 I have on the front of mine still has a little life ... It has almost 15 000 miles on it. No "cupping" either.

It's been on 4 weeks

Well done...

 

[Old Guy]

Always start a trip with fresh tires. Save take off tires for day rides and local stuff.

So ....

Do you have a spare set of wheels or do you remount your take offs for local riding?

I'm asking because I've seriously considered doing this. Because of the spacing of my trips I have had to start with a new set every time and throw rubber away with a lot of miles left in them.

 

[danh600]

I use to worry about taking tires off early, but then I did the math. Let's say a tire cost $150. You take it off with 20% tread still there. That's $30 of tread.

I will certainly pay $30 extra to not miss a day of riding while on vacation.

 

[FJRay]

Always start a trip with fresh tires. Save take off tires for day rides and local stuff.

So ....

Do you have a spare set of wheels or do you remount your take offs for local riding?

I'm asking because I've seriously considered doing this. Because of the spacing of my trips I have had to start with a new set every time and throw rubber away with a lot of miles left in them.

I remount them. I do have three lifts and a power tire machine so it's not that hard.

 

[Old Guy]

I use to worry about taking tires off early, but then I did the math. Let's say a tire cost $150. You take it off with 20% tread still there. That's $30 of tread.I will certainly pay $30 extra to not miss a day of riding while on vacation.

Well, sure. At some point, it's not worth it. But I've got about half the life left in my current set, and a 4000 mile trip coming up. And my tires tend to wear out about the same time, so I'm looking at a set every time.

Thanks Ray. I don't have a lift, but wheel removal is no big deal. And I do have a manual machine.

 

[rwortman]

4600 miles on a front is awfully low.
The PR2 I have on the front of mine still has a little life ... It has almost 15 000 miles on it. No "cupping" either.

It's been on 4 weeks

I read magazine tests where the stock Bridgestone front was about gone in less than 3K. I thought they were trashing them by aggressive riding. New England riding has lots of curves but I usually wear out the middle of the back tire first. Oh well, the bike is handling so much better I am not sorry to see those tires go. This is a crop from a picture taken about 300 miles before I noticed. 300 miles later the center raised section that is the harder compound was down to the wear bars. The 1.5 inch strip to either side of it had just enough depth to see where there was tread. Maybe .010 left. Not "cupping" either. Just pretty uniformly worn down in

that that area.

Attempt to fix the pic.

 

[Old Guy]

4600 miles on a front is awfully low.
The PR2 I have on the front of mine still has a little life ... It has almost 15 000 miles on it. No "cupping" either.

It's been on 4 weeks

I read magazine tests where the stock Bridgestone front was about gone in less than 3K. I thought they were trashing them by aggressive riding. New England riding has lots of curves but I usually wear out the middle of the back tire first. Oh well, the bike is handling so much better I am not sorry to see those tires go. This is a crop from a picture taken about 300 miles before I noticed. 300 miles later the center raised section that is the harder compound was down to the wear bars. The 1.5 inch strip to either side of it had just enough depth to see where there was tread. Maybe .010 left. Not "cupping" either. Just pretty uniformly worn down in

that that area.

My stock Bridgestones made just over 4000 miles and were still pretty round from some fun Arkansas roads. I replaced them with new BT023GTs, and I was amazed at how much better they felt. How two tires labeled "BT023" from the same manufacturer could be so different is beyond me.

 

[Perfector]

My front stock Bridgestone was trashed after 4000; worn down to the cord, couldn't believe it.

A set of PR4's did the trick for me.

 

[Ptaaty]

My front stock Bridgestone was trashed after 4000; worn down to the cord, couldn't believe it.
A set of PR4's did the trick for me.

This was me...but easy riding in cool weather got me 6000 on the stocker. Put PR4s on....insane it was a different bike for turn in.