XSEast Tire Poll Question

[newc4]

You’re in Bridgeport WV. You’ve finished a third day of cutting WV mountain roads on your FJR1300 and your front tire looks like this, it’s literally thread bare in five places. You think back to the previous week when you had your bike serviced and the mech saying you were down to one wear bar on the front tire. Gee, I’ve only had the tire on two years. You finally crack open your logbook, do the math and note that you put the tires on 12K miles ago. You’re 270 miles from home; its Sunday evening on a Memorial Day weekend and no shops will be open tomorrow. What do you do?

a) Trust your luck, ride home on the interstate at reduced speed hoping your front tire doesn’t blow out.
b) Trust your luck, ride home on WV-50 at reduced speed hoping your front tire doesn’t blow out.
c) Spend another night in no tell motel, hoping they’re not shooting live video next door and take the bike to the shop Tuesday.
d) Spend another night in no tell motel, hoping they are shooting live video next door and take the bike to the shop Tuesday.
e) Call the wife who just got home from picking your son up in Pittsburg, hear her ten minute lecture on checking tires before a trip, coerce her into picking up a trailer then pick you up five hours later.
f) Call the wife who just got home from picking your son up in Pittsburg, hear her ten minute lecture on checking tires before a trip, float the idea and see if she bites.

[newc4]

Extra Credit

Now that you’ve replaced your bald tires with new ones, cornering and maneuverability is___________
a) a helluva lot better
b) much better except for the rattling in the brake pads
c) no change except you don’t have to worry about a front tire blow out
d) worse and they didn’t shoot live video next door

[jwhughes3]

C

Wait. Are they paying for D? Might pay for tire...


BTDT DAMHIKIJK

John

[DGXSER]

More info needed. How old is the son? Teenager you say? Option D, only stay longer.

On replacement, I am going with B because no. One would think of it if it did not happen to them.

[natemoen]

Wait. Are they paying for D? Might pay for tire...


BTDT DAMHIKIJK

John

We don't need to know about other professions you have had John......and please for the love of god do not start telling us the names of the movies....

[jetmechmarty]

FWIW, my tires looked just fine before I left home. Upon my return, I'm showing fabric on the rear and getting to the wear bars on the front.

I would have made the same choice you did.

[BA80]

If you have ever had a front go down at highway speed you know that A and B are not even an option.

I E or D are the best options, either way. I would prefer D personally but that's just me.

I wouldn't want to listen to the preaching all the way back home.

[jwhughes3]

We don't need to know about other professions you have had John......and please for the love of god do not start telling us the names of the movies....

Ha! Perhaps I should be more specific next time with what I had experienced

John

[DGXSER]

John, I have never inquired of the source of the callouses on your hands...let's play the Clinton game and not tell!!

[MartyA]

Take if from someone who wears out tires, what they "look like" has little to do with how long the tread will last. I chart every tire and carry that chart with the bike. I know how many miles I can put on a front and rear tire. I get 6200 to 7000 miles on a rear tire, 8000 - 10,000 on a front. If I have a 1,000 mile weekend planned and I have 5300 miles on a rear tire I will take it off, and replace it before I leave. Of all the things that could happen on a bike, worn tires before the end of the trip won't be one of them.

...although there was that weekend in north GA when I started out with a brand new rear tire that was completely worn after 2 1/2 days with only 745 miles on it...

Darrell you probably did the right thing waiting an extra day to get a new tire. I might have tried the slab for that 270 miles on the slab, but I am glad you didn't.

[jetmechmarty]

Take if from someone who wears out tires, what they "look like" has little to do with how long the tread will last. I chart every tire and carry that chart with the bike. I know how many miles I can put on a front and rear tire. I get 6200 to 7000 miles on a rear tire, 8000 - 10,000 on a front. If I have a 1,000 mile weekend planned and I have 5300 miles on a rear tire I will take it off, and replace it before I leave. Of all the things that could happen on a bike, worn tires before the end of the trip won't be one of them.

This is a piece of advice I should follow. It seems 6K is the most I can get out of a rear tire. I got home showing some fabric on the rear and approaching the wear bars up front. The front tire is starting to show cracks in the tread grooves. The front has 12K on it or there-about.

[BA80]

The Elite 3 I have on the rear of my SG I put on just before XS South East last fall and I just changed the oil for the second time so I have right at 6K on it. It MIGHT make another 3K but I won't test it on a long trip.

I like the E 3 but they have jumped in price to about $150 for a rear. Ivan suggested the Pirelli MT66 so I bought one for my next tire. $92.

[jetmechmarty]

Greg, that Pirelli would save me over $60 if I bought those rather than replace the ME880. The load rating is the same for both tires @ 805 lbs. I'm not going anywhere until I replace the tires.

[BA80]

Ivan seems to like them and after the last weekend we rode in Arkansas it certainly hasn't slowed him down.

The $60 lower price and Ivan's endorsement is what attracted me.

[jetmechmarty]

Tire shopping is a drag. It's too hard to know exactly what you're actually buying.

I found:
Shinko 230 Tour Master @ $125 for the pair

Pirelli MT66-Route @ $165 for the pair

Metzeler ME880 Marathon @ $252 for the pair

These tires are all sized to fit my XS1100SG and all carry the same load rating. Interestingly, the Shinko is V rated and the other two are H rated.

I have the Metzeler on the bike now and I like them just fine, but are they twice as good as the Shinko? Do they last twice as long? What I have to go on is my experience with the Metzeler, and Greg's valuable endorsement of Ivan's endorsement of the Pirelli.

My own experience with the Dunlop GT501 was very good, and it's a V rated tire, but with less load rating than I desire. They cost even more than the Metzeler above and I go through them quickly. Many of you rave the Shinko 712, but I want a higher load rating.