Tread depth

[roughwaterjohn]

Hey all,

 

I'm getting ready for a 1200 mile roundtrip in August, and was wondering about tire replacement. There are no wear bars showing on my Dunlops, but not knowing what the original tread depth was, I don't know how much life I have before replacement.

 

I'd like to keep these tires until after the trip, but if it's a grey area or it looks like it will be cutting it close, I'd rather replace them now.Any rule of thumb for current tread depth vs mileage left?

 

Thanks!

[Paul Mihalka]

My personal guide line is about 1mm per 1.000 miles. This works for me as I do around 7K on a rear tire. Some people get only 5K or less, others get 12K. So, as the saying goes, your mileage may vary.

[roughwaterjohn]

Just checked my current tread depth. Looks like front and rear are running about 3/16" to 1/8" tread depth, fairly even from the center to the outer edges.

 

(you're not 'really' going to make me convert mm to inches, are you?)

[brianbmw]

An 1/8" is about 2.5mm. You might make it but why chance it.

[flat_twin]

The trip is in August and it's still June with riding in July to consider. Use them up in July and get new rubber for the trip. Running out of tread during a road trip stinks. You always pay a lot more for tires on the road plus the inconvenience.

[Paul Mihalka]

"(you're not 'really' going to make me convert mm to inches, are you?) "

 

1/32" = .8mm

So the way I use my tires 1/16" = 1.600 miles.

 

Generally, if you have doubts that your tire makes it, put on a new one. You sleep better.

[roughwaterjohn]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations, and especially for the conversions so my old non-metric brain didn't have to go up in smoke trying to figure it out. Looks like I'll be giving her a new pair of slippers before the trip.

 

 

[Redbrick]

I have a depth gauge in 32nds to keep track of wear (Probably get one at Kragens)..Handy to figure out what's left in a tires life.......I don't know about Donlops or other brands but Michelin tread depths on PR's and PR2's are 5/32 front and 8/32 rear when new..Maybe those depths are industry standards, I'd like to know......We get at least 9,000 miles out of the fronts, which reach the wear marks first, and change out the tires in sets so have a stock of rears in the rafters with some mileage left in them.......R1200RT and R1150RT, BTW........

[Peter Parts]

1200 miles isn't much and you can run tires low if not quite bald - unless you are expecting rain.

 

Over at Pelican Parts, the boy racers are always boasting about how few miles they get from tire because of their fierce riding styles. I'm sure some dude has said 1000.

 

My location situation is $15 per tire to be mounted and balanced. Therefore, if I take off an old set and re-install them after the new set has worn out (assuming the DOT date doesn't seem too old), all you need is an expectation of 700 miles or so to justify doing so.

 

Lemme say that again. Yeah, go ahead and remove the old set. If that old set has any rubber left, you only need to re-install and ride 'em 700 miles to justify the cost of re-installing.

 

And you don't need an Excel spreadsheet to do the math for your own costs.

 

Ben

[tallman]

Perhaps one day Mitch will run some data on heat generated vs tread depth and lateral forces/acceleration forces vs tread depth.

 

All I know is that I'd never intentionally run a tire below point Xmm ( my comfort level).

 

There are too many forces interacting on a motorcycle tire to risk less than optimum results, IMO.

 

I've seen low tread/bald tires that I could almost poke through the tire.

 

 

I value my skin too much to risk something for a few bucks saved here or there.

 

All of that heat and other forces has to go somewhere and a big bike loade with gear and 2 people isn't my idea of a test situation.

Best wishes.

[Albert]

I've removed tires that still had some life left in them prior to a long trip. I just keep them and put them back on at some point to use up during my daily commuting.

[Twisties]

Dunlop Specs

[philbytx]

Sexy looking tires with nice marketing hype

Just too bloody bad I just bought new "old" RA's for DaRTh and LeRoy !

[tallman]

Jan,

After 8 sets of Z-6's I put a set of those on the GT this morning.

We will see how they compare.

I'm happy w/the Z-6 and took off tires that had just under 3mm tread wear left, but I had over 10k on them and didn't want to second guess.

Probably had xxxx miles remaining, but I like to be conservative.

 

At least in some things.

[Peter Parts]

I've heard that far more flats happen in the last psrt of tread life.

 

Anybody have evidence on that rumor?

 

If true, a good reason to go for fresh tires.

 

Ben

[CoarsegoldKid]

Every tire mfg/ tire model/bike/rider/load/road/temperature/psi variable is different. Your mileage may vary. If you don't know what to expect your options are: change now for peace of mind; change on the road if needed you may not get the tire you want but if it's black and round I'm told it will get you home; change when you return home. 1200 miles ain't so far so if the tread wear indicators are not showing wear you are likely good to go.