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Should I change my tires?

VersusAllOdds

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Sort of a newbie here... I bought my bike some 2500-3000 miles ago, and the former owner said he'd changed the less than 1000 milea before that. Should be of note that I live in a very hot country (with lots of sand/dust), riding 100% on road.

Reason I ask is because everytime I brake even remotely sudden, I get the sliding feeling I'm about to lose traction on my front tire. In addition, this is how I fell two recently - by panic braking due to a guy in front suddenly changing lanes (I fell at 40 mph, and my bike hit his rear whell when sliding).

This is causing me to lose confidence in my bike mostly due to not being able to rely on my front braking and front tire.

Pictures (first 3 are rear, last 3 are front tire):

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

The tires are the same model as the Metzler stock tires.
 
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Given your post above the answer is easy. Change the tyres and put on a good set. That way there is no longer doubt in your mind. Don't forget to put on a few miles before your first agressive braking though. I would not like the appearance of the tyres You have on either. That looks like old rubber to me.
 
That tire is dry rotted my friend. The previous owner may have only put that tire on 1000 miles before but the tire is at least 4 years old. You MUST change tires every 5 years, especially in a hot climate because they dry out and that reduces traction.
 
What is the date code on the tire sidewall? Assuming tires sold in your country use the same coding as the US, look for a 4 digit code, for example 2215, which would mean the tire was manufactured in the 22nd week of 2015. This will tell you the true age of the tire.

Is this bike kept outdoors in the sun all the time? From the cracking seen, the tires look unusually aged.

If you're sliding on sand, I don’t think any street tire is going to help you there, but if the tire rubber is old or has accelerated aging, new tires might help you on clean pavement.
 
I agree. Those tires are dry and cracked. I would not ride on those tires.

Dry rubber has less traction on roads. Cracked rubber can fail and cause a flat while you ride.

JT
 
I go along with everyone else. Those tires need replacing. If I am not mistaken the tires are Metzeler Z8s which came on certain 2012 and 2013 models so the tires are 6 years or more old. Aside from the age it's apparent from cracking they are aging rapidly.
 
Thanks for the responses guys!

I agree. Those tires are dry and cracked. I would not ride on those tires.

Dry rubber has less traction on roads. Cracked rubber can fail and cause a flat while you ride.

JT

Obviously... how cracked is cracked? Not experienced at tires...

What is the date code on the tire sidewall? Assuming tires sold in your country use the same coding as the US, look for a 4 digit code, for example 2215, which would mean the tire was manufactured in the 22nd week of 2015. This will tell you the true age of the tire.

Is this bike kept outdoors in the sun all the time? From the cracking seen, the tires look unusually aged.

If you're sliding on sand, I don’t think any street tire is going to help you there, but if the tire rubber is old or has accelerated aging, new tires might help you on clean pavement.

Who knows what their age is... I only have the word of a previous owner, who's long gone (from the country). The bike has been kept almost exclusively in the shade, never under the direct sun. However, it has been kept outside, and not indoors. The weather here is 4 months of spring, 4 months of hot summer, 4 months of very hot summer. So the air is definitely very hot, however I don't know how much it ruins the tires given that nobody rides here during the very hot summer...

Another thing of note, which is probably a considerable factor in the story is that bikes here are not ridden a lot... This is a 2012 bike and it only has like 16k miles on it... so I guess age is what gets you here, not the miles. This is true for all bikes here, because there's just no place to have an enjoyable bike ride (desert with straight, wide highways, no curves whatsoever).

I will check the tire age and get back with the result...

Given your post above the answer is easy. Change the tyres and put on a good set. That way there is no longer doubt in your mind. Don't forget to put on a few miles before your first agressive braking though. I would not like the appearance of the tyres You have on either. That looks like old rubber to me.

How important is it to put on miles before hard braking? How many miles?

I don't brake like that often, but the traffic is insane here, and you have idiots changing lanes all the time... the traffic is like this: you take the drivers from a funny video in India (no exaggeration), and put them in a very good traffic infrastructure. So in other words, good roads, terrible drivers. Not that easy not to panic brake from time to time.

That tire is dry rotted my friend. The previous owner may have only put that tire on 1000 miles before but the tire is at least 4 years old. You MUST change tires every 5 years, especially in a hot climate because they dry out and that reduces traction.

Not sure how it's old, however another poster suggested a method how to find out... will get back with info!

Practicing some emergency braking in a safe environment also sound like a good idea to me.

My idea as well. Gonna drill it on a straight road just outside my house.
 
Many (most?) of the modern tires have the date code actually molded into the sidewall so it's not a "stamp." If you punch "date code for Metzler motorcycle tires?" into search, you should be able to find the info you need. The date is often hidden with other numbers/letters on the sidewall.
 
Rubber is supposed to be flexible without cracking. When it begins to crack, that means that the rubber is dry. Traction requires soft, flexible rubber.

Your tires have cracks across the entire surface. That is definitely too much.

JT
 
"How important is it to put on miles before hard braking? How many miles?"

Folks will have different views on this. I think 10/15 miles at a good pace will shave off the waxy surface in the centre of a new tyre. Then one needs to ease the tyre into bends gradually for a few miles to get the sides of the tread scrubbed. On the bends you will generally feel the grip improve until the treads all round are well scrubbed clean. Also I always let my tyres warm up on the road before getting agressive with them. Cold tyres will never grip as well as warm ones.

I have found that the best tyres for my former NC700X were Michelin PR4's. If Road 5's are available in your bike's size, they are even better.
 
The other reason to take it easy on new tires is that they will feel different. The round profile on a new tire is different than the profile of a used tire. This is also true from brand to brand. Different brands can have different profiles.

Go easy for a few rides to let your brain get familiar with how the new tires handle.

JT
 
New tires, once warmed up, work pretty well right away. They do take some getting used to as far as profiles go.

I've seen plenty of guys knee down first lap out (using warmers) to give an idea of "work pretty well". Slicks and DOTs.

I'm surprised to see that much cracking on the tires, it's unusual for it to be that bad anywhere outside of the grooves.
 
Thanks guys as always! I'm sorry for asking some questions that were already asked elsewhere:

I'm inclined to make the budget choice and get Shinko 705s. I'm riding on road surface 95% of the time, and while those tires are 80/20, I'd still prefer to have the choice of going off road from time to time. Also, I suppose that having a slightly more off road tire makes it better at friction and worse at mileage at street roads - am I right?

This is what I've been able to find:

Shinko 120/70R17 E705 58H E705 120/70R17 58H | Buy Products Online with Ubuy Qatar in Affordable Prices. B00T6J56L4
| Buy Products Online with Ubuy Qatar in Affordable Prices. B079MGH87X

A thing I'm worried about is regarding the rear tire - it says it's for VStrom, which I find weird given that a tire of a certain size could fit all bikes with 17" wheel - correct? This is the link where I've browsed for tires:

Ubuy Qatar Online Shopping For shinko 705 in Affordable Prices.

And another thing - tube or no tube?
 
And another thing - tube or no tube?

Unless you have some compelling reason to convert from one to the other, the tire design should match the rim design. The NC rims are designed for tubeless tires, so that is what you should mount.

Do you have a special reason for wanting tube type tires?

The Shinko 705 rear is not available in the stock 160/60 rear tire size. You’ll need to choose between the two closest sizes, which I believe are 150/70, or 170/60. Either will fit the rim width of the NC. When I ran 705s, I chose 150/70.
 
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Unless you have some compelling reason to convert from one to the other, the tire design should match the rim design. The NC rims are designed for tubeless tires, so that is what you should mount.

Do you have a special reason for wanting tube type tires?

The Shinko 705 rear is not available in the stock 160/60 rear tire size. You’ll need to choose between the two closest sizes, which I believe are 150/70, or 170/60. Either will fit the rim width of the NC. When I ran 705s, I chose 150/70.
While you should run tubeless tires on the NC, tire design absolutely doesn't have to match wheel design

lots of people run tubes in tubeless tires - most cruiser tires are rated for tubeless use but if it has spoked wheels it most likely has tubes (yes, there are some exceptions). same is true of most supermotos (as they tend to use streetbike tires, which are typically tubeless, but have spoked wheels which need tubes).

if you were to run a tube type tire, you might want to run a tube even on the NC... although plenty of people don't
 
While you should run tubeless tires on the NC, tire design absolutely doesn't have to match wheel design

lots of people run tubes in tubeless tires - most cruiser tires are rated for tubeless use but if it has spoked wheels it most likely has tubes (yes, there are some exceptions). same is true of most supermotos (as they tend to use streetbike tires, which are typically tubeless, but have spoked wheels which need tubes).

if you were to run a tube type tire, you might want to run a tube even on the NC... although plenty of people don't

I think it would be foolish to run a tube type tire on an NC without a tube.

It was my understanding that the bead shape on a tubeless tire was different than that of a tube type tire, and the bead area of the corresponding rims was different as well. I guess if you put a tube type tire on an NC rim, and used a tube, you are not depending on the bead for air sealing, so it could work. If the goal is to air way down for off road excursions, you would not have rim locks on an NC rim, so I guess you would need to maintain adequate pressure to keep the tire from rotating on the rim. Why have all the hassles of tubes if you don’t need them?

Anyway, for 5% off road usage on an 80-20 tire, I can’t see that putting on a tube type tire has any real advantage. And if “off road” really means packed, graded gravel, 100% street tires would be fine, too.
 
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This is the status of the tires (back is the one with the better lighting, front is the newer one):

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Don't know if the previous owner was telling the truth, but it would seem that he wasn't. Tires are 4-5 years old, which in the climate where I live in, is too much.
 
maybe he changed them 1000mi ago, but that was 4 years ago? I don't know how much he rode it.

Whatever the case may be - they're too worn out from the heat or maybe the humidity, or the constant dust, or plainly old age... I'll definitely look into a way of protecting them further. My bike is in the house's shade for most of the daytime, and it's always covered fully with a large canvas cover though.


Is there anything that can be applied to take care of your tires while you're not riding? Something equivalent to a cream for your skin? Maybe I'm talking nonsense - applying any oil based compound would definitely not be good for tires - if you're planning to ride them... still had to ask :)

Oh and btw, I've decided to get Michelin Pilot Road 4s... Mostly because it's the only thing I can reliable acquire in this backwater place... also I've read a lot of pretty fair reviews. My work buddy is gonna get it in our home country and bring it in his suitcase over here. Hope they can fit!
 
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