Safe to Ride this tire?

[Desmo Demon]

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).

[He Man]

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.

[zooom]

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

[NorDog]

No.

[booger]

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

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? 

[bevel]

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.

[DRKWNG]

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

[Speedbag]

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.

[The ModFather]

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?

[Greg]

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.

[the_Journeyman]

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

[lazylightnin717]

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.

[ab]

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. 

[muskrat]

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.



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.

A NASCAR tire 
Left please.

[CairnsDuc]

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?