To ride, or not to ride, that is the question

[FJRMaineiac]

So, I am getting to the end of the life of my Michelin PR's. I am just about at the wear bars on the back. The front has prolly got 2 mm of tread left. The problem is I am planning a trip to New Bruswick this weekend (~600 mi. round trip), and am debating whether or not to chance it. Anyone got experience riding to the hairy edge of tire life? Thoughts? (yes, I know, I procrastinated too long in putting new tires on. They are on order, but too late for this ride).

My alternative is to take my '86 FJ1200 instead. I just put new tires on it and address some maintenance issues, so she's good to go. Not as comfy as the FJR, but she would do the trick (she has many times before).

Thoughts? Experiences???

 

[Ignacio]

This seems like stinky bait.

Mr. 18 posts wants to know if it's OK to go past the tread wear indicators and ride on bald tires? Would you like us to include our names, addresses, and attorney's names for when you splat from the advice, "Go for it!"

Naw. I would say you should follow the manufacturer's recommendations and not go past the wear bars.

Now, if you want to search the forum and see how some members have ridden their tires far past that point with no ill effects and want to decide yourself something different....try searching on tire life site:fjrforum.com at Google and/or see various posts by Skooterg about long tire life.

EDIT: I see they've been a member since 2005. Not very active, but would still hope they've then seen the many, many, MANY conversations on this topic already.

 

[El Toro]

The problem is I am planning a trip to New Bruswick this weekend (~600 mi. round trip), and am debating whether or not to chance it.

Depends on whether or not it rains.

 

[FJRMaineiac]

No bait here. Not even looking counsel (legal or otherwise). Just trying to find out what others have had for experience - good and bad - when reaching the end of their tires' lives.

As for being "Mr. 18 posts", I am guilty of being a bit more of a lurker than a newbie. I try not to post unless I am really struggling with something or I think I have something meaningful to bring to the discussion.

Thanks for the link to ScooterG's experience. I have read some of the other tire life threads, but had not seen his yet.

 

[GunMD]

I ride until they get "squirrelly" on the roads that I ride every weekend and know like the back of my hand. Pretty subjective, but that's my cue to replace 'em.

 

[SkooterG]

CLICKY HERE

 

[FJRMaineiac]

Great thread ScooterG! You surely get your money's worth. I think I might just give it a go. Lord knows I am no where close to that worn out yet. I am guessing I have about 7K miles on these tires (I'd have to pull my paperwork to find out for sure, and I don't have it handy). I should be able to wring a few more (careful) miles out.

Thanks!

 

[beemerdons]

As Your Resident Old Guy and having made it safely riding 45 years of street miles without having a catastrophic tire failure: I'd go with your trusty FJ1200 with new tires versus your FJR with tires that are worn out in my 60 year old opinion.

However, if you do take the FJR to New Brunswick and add an additional 600 miles of wear on those tires, please mail them off to Arizona; and we will deliver them promptly to SkooterG. That Puto Perro will put another 6,000 miles on those skins!

 

[El Toro]

I'd go with your trusty FJ1200 with new tires versus your FJR with tires that are worn out in my 60 year old opinion.

+1

If you stop and think about it, you don't need the grooves in a dry world. Consider any dry road racing tire. Its a slick, and its fine. As some have pointed out, when you hit the wear bars, you're not going to have anything nasty happen right that moment.

However, if you ride in the rain, when the grooves get too shallow they will not pump water away from the contact rubber as effectively, and aggressive riding in the rain can quickly go sour.

When my rear tire hits the wear bars, both front and rear get replaced. This is usually around 5000 to 6000 miles for my style of riding on most of the larger sport touring type bikes I've had in recent years. I like the Metzeler RoadTec Z6's, but I have also been pleased, and got similar mileage, out of tires from Pirelli and Bridgestone. I have never tried the multi-compound tires, and am planning on that with my next change. Although I do get a lot of miles in on twisty roads, my current bikes just beg to be ridden on the interstate too, and so a harder compound in the center would be nice for tire life.

 

[FJRMaineiac]

Yea, Toro, its a touch choice, and I have been mulling over exactly the + and - that you mentioned. On the + side, we are in for a stretch of good weather, so rain shouldn't be an issue. The FJR is also fully farkled the way I want it and its what I used on my Iron Butt ride. The - side is that some of the roads between here and there are pretty rough, and I am not sure how much abuse the old tire can take. I typically don't ride too aggressively, but I am carrying a bit of a load (both *me* - no lightweight, and my gear).

On the flip side, the FJ1200 has been as faithful as the rising sun. I have taken it to Labrador, around the Great Lakes, and many miles in between. It has never let me down. The fact that it has new sneakers and it has been recently gone over (replaced a leaking clutch slave cylinder seal, flushed the brake juice, oil change, etc.) is a big +. I may have to do some last minute jiggering to come up with a mounting scheme for my GPS and stuff, but that shouldn't be a show stopper. It is not a comfortable or smooth as the FJR, but it would certainly get the job done.

I guess I should just be thankful I have a choice!

 

[vectervp1]

My .02 is to replace them. I've seen Skooter push Avon tires well beyond what any sane person would do, but these are not Avon's your talking about. In my experience, once you get down close to the wear bars of a PR tire, they're toast. They go from looking OK to stranding you quick! I found that out a few years ago when I tried to take a set that seemed to be where yours are on a 1600 mile trip. By the time I got half way though my trip, the tires were bald and didn't look like they were gonna get me home. Cost me more for an emergency rear tire purchase than it would have to buy a new set back home.

 

[FJRMaineiac]

Awright, I found another dealer in the area that has a set of Michelin PR2s that I am going to have installed first thing tomorrow morning. :yahoo: I hate not using my regular dealer, but he couldn't get me in until next Saturday. I am going to end up paying more for these tires, but its better than getting stranded in East Overshoe, NB.

Thanks all for helping me through the thought process :dribble: . I think a little extra $$ spent up front is the prudent thing to do.

 

[El Toro]

Great! I'm thinking I'll be up that way myself next month if things go as planned. Have a great ride!

 

[FJRMaineiac]

Well, I went ahead and spent the long dollar for the PR2's and am EXTREMELY happy that I did! :clapping: . The weather, which looked like it was going to be nice, went south in a hurry. I spent about 1/2 of my riding time in rain gear, and the new tires performed flawlessly. I am sure I would have had more than a few white knuckle moments (or worse) on the old skins.

My first impressions of the new PR2s is that they are great successor to the PRs. I enjoyed the PRs much more than the Metzlers I had been running on it before. They seemed stickier and inspired more confidence. However, as they got squared off towards the end of their life, the handling degraded as expected. I am hoping that this new dual compound tire will deliver more good handling mileage before they square off.

Thanks all for chiming in. I know I made the right decision to re-shod the bike before this trip. I'll have to see if the dealer can ship my old "gently enjoyed" skins to ScooterG so he can wring a few more miles out of 'em!

 

[Randy]

Well, I went ahead and spent the long dollar for the PR2's and am EXTREMELY

Wow...nice cliffhanger....

 

[FJRMaineiac]

Sorry 'bout that. I fat fingered the wrong key the first time. Post has been modified.

 

[Randy]

Glad you had a good ride....you made the right choice to replace