Ducati Monster Forum

I'm no expert but something tells me this tire on my 2005 620 looks like it needs replacing. Can someone tell me if its safe to ride this thing the 28 miles (half of which is highway) to my local Duc Shop (MCC Villa Park) or am I better off just getting a new tire put on at the Honda Cycle Shop 5 miles away?

 ???

(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6099/6228330971_f1e2ba5181.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65036619@N04/6228330971/)
IMG_3270 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65036619@N04/6228330971/#) by ricknieto (http://www.flickr.com/people/65036619@N04/), on Flickr

(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6151/6228846686_390a5becd9.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65036619@N04/6228846686/)
IMG_3266 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65036619@N04/6228846686/#) by ricknieto (http://www.flickr.com/people/65036619@N04/), on Flickr

You have 2 chances.... :P

I think I would stay off the slab with that thing. 

I wouldn't have a problem riding it to the Duc dealer but that's me (and I'd go slow)

Probably best to play it safe here and stop at Honda.

weigh the options:
1. Hospital bills if things turn to shit - $5k +
2. Peace of mind is priceless IMO
3. You only have two wheels, I would not ride that thing more than 5 miles at 35 mph

Agreed.  I'd also strongly consider a sport touring tire as the replacement, as the sides of this one still look great while the center it toast.

i would keep the tire ONLY if all i did was lean and not ride straight.

I won't tell you it is "safe" and I won't tell you that you should ride to either dealership, but....

I wouldn't hesitate to ride to the shop that is 28 miles away, even if it was 100% straight superslab.

(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d32/Kramer_Krazy/vicki_tire-1.jpg)

I currently have tires that are worse than yours on my ST2 and the GSXR-1100. I currently use both mainly for commuting, and I wouldn't have any issues riding either of them the 50+ miles round-trip; and probably will a few more times before changing them out.

it should be changed, but if it were me i'd ride it that way the 28 miles.  of course, if there's a bike shop closer why the hell would you go 28 miles just to get a tire changed at a ducati shop?

There's some real smart folk on here...

And some people believe the sky is falling because everyone else seems to think so. I am curious though, what is your first-hand, personal experience with riding on tires like this?

Me personally?  None, because I haven't let my tires get that bad.  I have seen three different people's tires let go on them while riding though; all because they were sure they could go that much further on them. 

I'll answer that question.

I pushed one rear tire farther than either of those pictured because I was broke and wanted to ride anyway.

I could see the cords showing here and there and figured it would hold for just a little longer.

I was on the slab on night coming home and the vibration started.  It got worse and worse.  Chunks of tire were pealing off from around the corded area and by the time I made it home (slowly) some of the cords had started to break.

I don't think it would have went two more miles.

When my tire just barely starts to show the steel, like the OP's, is when I have mine changed.  I have no qualms about riding a bike with a tire like that, but I do ride gently and get a new tire asap. 

My wife and I have run every tire to bald or to the cords (including the front) since 2006, which translates to more than 70 tires, and we've never had a problem with any of them failing. In 2009, we each ran on at least one bald/cords tire every month (ran through 28 tires that year). When wear bars are almost always hit in less than 2000 miles, and have been hit in under 1000 miles (my wife ran a new FRONT Pilot Race to bald in 890 miles once), we simply can't afford to change them as soon as a wear bar is hit when we can ride over 40k miles in a year.

As I stated, I don't really recommend that anyone ride on them or want anyone to think it is "safe", but due to my experiences of riding somewhere in the neighborhood of 15k+ miles on bald tires or with cords showing, I, personally, don't have any issues with riding on tires like this.

I'm not advocating changing out tires as soon as a wear bar is hit.  I'm just saying that I would never let mine get to the point of showing that many cords.

That picture is actually the absolute worst tire we have ever run. My wife ran that one on her GSXR and was trying to get rid of all signs of tread - just to see if she could do it. The last 2 rides on that bike were on nice, sunny days, in the 80's, and on a road that she scouted prior to riding hard enough to lean it over. She finally gave up on trying to get all of the tread off of the tire when it started to slide on her more than she cared for and it was starting to get unpredictable. That's an advantage to having multiple bikes. We can save those iffy tires for really nice days to finish them off. We also have spare rims for most of our bikes and have been known to switch rims/tires depending on the conditions we will be riding in if they will not be favorable for the highly worn tires and we want to take a particular bike (like on a long trip).

My preference is to change them when they just start going bald on either end (I HATE having cords showing on a front tire).

id be comfortable riding it 28 miles.


Desmodemons tire. id ride it to the dealer too. but probably not back.

do realize that the chance of failure increases much greater when the steel shows and any manufacturing imprefections will show it self very quickly and rough roads can cause failure much faster because the rubber acts like a shock and absorbs the impact.

In a ride quality aspect if i could i change my tires out before the wear bars. Its a night and day difference between bald tires and a new one.

someone insert a sound laden gif image or something of like Family Fued with Richard Dawson looking at the board after saying " Survey Sayssssss...." and a loud RAzzzzzzz with a big red X

No.

Aw come on. That tire's in it's prime.  8)

Better to pull the wheel off and truck it to the shop to get it changed. I usually stop riding them at that point. Besides don't they charge more to R&R a tire if they have to take it off the bike and reinstall? 

OP's tire is about where mine was when I got it changed.

All the shops around here charge more if they have to pull the tire off the bike, so I showed up with rim and new tire ready to go. So if it were me, I'd throw the bike on a rear-stand, spend the time to pull it off, and truck down to whichever show you want.

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TOOBbwybE9g/TOghj9mElHI/AAAAAAAAAhE/CX-4ig9u3oc/s1600/richard_dawson.jpg)
(http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo146/vwgeist/red_x_mark.jpg)
(http://childhoodrelived.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/richard-dawson-feud1.jpg)

I've ridden tires similar to the OP for the distance discussed. Probably could for more, but I don't like crashing all that much.  ;)

I usually watch them pretty closely when they get below the wear bars, and when that odd stripe appears it's time for new shoes.

I've never taken a tire off. But I have wondered if I'd be better off investing in a rear stand (mind you I dont have rear spools on my 620) and trying to take it off my self.

Although I was under the impression there would be some adjustments made (i.e. balancing) after a new tire is put on. I might be able to take the tire off and maybe just maybe put it back on but I doubt I could balance a tire as I can barely balance a beer, wife, 3 kids and a job.

Simply put... How hard is it to remove and remount a tire?

With hand tools it can be a pregnant dog. Invest in the stands and take the wheels down to the dealer, or somewhere like Cycle Gear, that way you will save on them having to take the wheels off and you should be able to get the tires mounted and balanced for $20 each. Then you'll have the stands if you want to do other maintainance work. Later on you can decide if you want to invest in a tire changer.

Me?  I'd ride it, just not crazy fast, no hammering the throttle or knee dragging though.  However, I've also ridden home in the snow more than once on my Monster, so if you're looking for low risk advise, don't listen to me.

The tire change is cheaper if you have to tools/space to pull the wheels off the bike and just take the wheels to the dealer.

JM

Mine looked exactly the same as yours before I had it changed and it was on a similar, if the not the same Pirelli rear.

It was fine for me to ride it to the shop and that was 20+ miles.

I have two experiences

1- bad front tire  (bald ) ended up low siding during a slow turn around town on a gravel

2- twisty ride on a tire that I thought had about 300 miles left on it , ended up with a flat on it and towing it

So you choose. 

A NASCAR tire  ;D
Left please.

To throw a Different Spanner in the works, Has anyone thought of the Insurance Implications?
Purely speaking from an Australian point of view if you have an accident or Incident, even if it is not connected to the Tyre itself being worn that badly, a lot of Times Insurance companies can walk away from the claim, simple because the vehicle would not be considered Road worthy at the Time of the Accident/claim.

I'm not sure about American or British law, but worth checking that angle out surely?

No balls....

















But seriously, when it comes to safety, erring on the side of caution never hurts.

We thought it was weird how that one tire seemed to favor the left. We thought it was because the final days of riding were on a road with especially coarse pavement and a lot of wide left-handed sweepers where the biek stayed cranked over on the left side more than the right.

It's not a concern here. A buddy just crashed a Hypermotard on a wet road with a rear tire below the wear bars and the insurance company never said a thing and are shelling out the $6k to fix the bike. On the other hand, if you are involved in a felony at the time of a crash, such as running from the cops, the insurance company won't pay for it, so around here, just don't run from the cops with bald tires.   [laugh] ;D

Consider yourself lucky my friend :) At that level of wear, a tiny stone in the wrong direction can pierce a hole into that in no time.. I've had crazy incidents with 4 wheels, and want nothing even close to that when on 2..
Personally, I'd rather spend 200 bucks a replace a tire than spend thousands replacing body parts (which are not always available in stock)..

I'm sure that tire would be just fine in the rain too.   [thumbsdown]

Knowing insurance companies as I do, if they can avoid paying, they will. That is a constant the world over.

Personally I wouldn't go very far on a tyre like that but it probably depends on the type of road, the surface and the distance to where you are getting it changed.