Is my tire still safe to use? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Is my tire still safe to use?

Slono

Slono

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I rode 220km with a 10 minute stop at the halfway point going freeway speeds almost all the way. Once in got back I noticed some strange wear on my rear tire. Some initial research points to a minor case of “tire shred”. My tire was made sometime in 2012 even though the bike is a 2017 model so I’m thinking it may have something to do with age. I’ve gone through many sets of tires on various motorcycles but they usually get replaced due to worn down tread. I’ve never had a tire exhibit this type of wear before.

I have a few questions:

1) What caused this wear?
2) Is my tire still safe to use?
3) If it is, how much life can I get out of it?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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The bike is a 2017 and the tires are from 2012. So they are atleast 7 years old, change them out.
 
If you are talking about the graining on the surface, you have obviously never seen a used race tire ... that's nothing. It's normal for a high performance tire that has been brought into its normal (hot) operating temperature range.

If you are talking about the age of the tire ... it's due.
 
There is only something stuck in the groove of the tread. Nothing else is wrong with this tire.
 
Swap them why?
What's the issue?
 
Low rider said:
There is only something stuck in the groove of the tread. Nothing else is wrong with this tire.
Click to expand...
Looks to be just a bit of rubber from the mold seam.

Issue is they are old. Generally older than about 4 years means they have hardened somewhat. YMMV I'd definitely be wary of pushing them.
 
I'd be a little concerned about riding hard on tires that were 5 year old or older, but I'm getting as little as 7,500 km on a set now so the 5 years old issue is a bit of a moot point for me.

If I'd purchased an older bike with old dated tires I'd just change them out vs. taking a chance of dumping it, but that is just me.
 
If you ride to the ability of the tire, you shouldn't have any issues.
I think it's just waisting money, if you get rid of these for no reason.
Plenty of thread left. By the looks of the feathering I think corner grip is pretty decent.

Push them once to the limit and keep that benchmark in mind when riding.

Problem solved
 
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what bike and what tire?

Japanese bikes typically come with garbage stock tires
personally I can't wait to burn them off and replace

but if you're happy with the tires and the bike has been stored properly
I don't really see a safety concern with them
 
The tire looks fine. Stick your nail in when it’s hot. If it feels soft don’t worry about it. If it feels hard, change them. You’re obviously not an aggressive rider, so those tires will be fine for your type of riding.
 
GMAN said:
The tire looks fine. Stick your nail in when it’s hot. If it feels soft don’t worry about it. If it feels hard, change them. You’re obviously not an aggressive rider, so those tires will be fine for your type of riding.
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They’re as hard as Ron Jeremy. I guess it looks like I’ll be swapping them out.

Edit: thanks for all the suggestions and tips. I don’t normally do the nail test so that’s something I probably should have known from riding for years.
 
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GMAN said:
The tire looks fine. Stick your nail in when it’s hot. If it feels soft don’t worry about it. If it feels hard, change them. You’re obviously not an aggressive rider, so those tires will be fine for your type of riding.
Click to expand...

The problem is that when someone cuts him off his need for traction will be as great as Rossi's.
 
nobbie48 said:
The problem is that when someone cuts him off his need for traction will be as great as Rossi's.
Click to expand...
It's a rear tire on what is presumably a sport bike. It is just along for the ride in that scenario.

btw. How did the bike end up with such old tires? Someone slapped on some old stock tires to sell?
 
Yeah I was wondering the same thing. OP bought the bike with 6400km on it.

Are you sure the tires have a 2012 date code? Doesn’t make sense for a 2017 model bike.


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So, as embarrassing as this is, the number I was looking at on the tire wasn't the manufacture date. I was wondering why it looked different than what I was used to seeing. The dates are on the left side of the bike and the way I park the motorcycle in my garage makes the left side inaccessible so I looked all over the right side and found some 6 numbers with the last four being 2012 and assumed that was the DOM. *face palm* The actual manufacture date was in 2016. And yeaah, I realize the DOM only has 4 numbers...

Anyway, the tires don't inspire confidence while leaning (slips all over the place) and they are hard. I've ordered a pair of Dunlop Sportmax Q3+ tires and I'm hoping they'll be a huge improvement.

Thanks again.
 
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