Long Trip Prep Help

[Ixol Phaane]

Elroy I guess I'm a little different from most. I would replace those tires before I leave. Its a shame , they still have wear on them. You have to consider the time of the year. It's summer time. Nothing is harder on tires than heat. What I got from your post was " I want a troublefree trip". Keep the old ones and puck up a spare rim later. Or call Honda if Russellville and get some new takeoff rims and tires. Already mounted and balanced. Ready for install. Have a safe trip.

I totally respect your opinion, Shooter, but... I disagree about heat being hardest on tires.

I think the leading cause of wear is the road type - twisties v flats, for example. You might recall a forum discussion about tire wear last year sometime and it seemed to me that folks riding the most "interesting" roads typically had consistently lower average mileage per tire than those of us riding more conservative roads, even if the temperatures of our roads regularly exceeded low triple digits. I'm riding year-round in AZ and road surface temps here are often well into the 110-130 F range, yet I've never gotten less than ~12-15k miles from my skins in 40 years of riding. The OPs route won't put him in temps anywhere near these.

Now, having said that, your point about ensuring a "trouble free trip" is well taken. Of course, new skins can't guarantee that.

This is obviously gonna be a comfort call... what choice will make Elroy most comfortable?

[53driver]

18K out of the back tire correct? I do my best to keep mine at 40/41 as well. Thanks Steve.

Yes sir. First swap for both was at 18k. Still had another 1k per the dealer.
I can count the number of times on two fingers I have skidded my rear tire on the B.
I use the FOBO TPMS system. Not so much for "inflight" monitoring, but just as a daily check point on preflight.

[shooter]

Point taken Ixol , but there are several factors involved. When ambient temps are higher then pavement temps are higher. Yeah curves heat up a tire but so does speed. Fact is that tire will be running a lot hotter temps than in the spring. Anything you run over or pick up will be more likely to damage the tire. And Ixol you may ride in hotter temps but if the road is straight and the speed is conservative those guys hitting the curves hard may have a hotter carcass. Friction is your enemy. I've seen too many tire failures so I'm just more cautious. Another thing is where can you get service out on the road and how much will they gouge you. Just a lot if factors in that decision. Like I said , he wants "Trouble free". No guarantees but you can make your chances better.

[stevenolts]

I don't want to steel this thread but what is the consensuses for mileage on the rear tire / front tire.

I only got 9,000 out of my first rear tire. I am now at 17,000 miles and need to know how to tell if the OEM Bridgestone tires are worn out. Are there wear bars? I think maybe I changed my first rear too early at 9000. The belts were not showing but there was not much tread left. Does anyone have a picture of the good but worn and then the point where the tire needs to be replaced?

I ride hard but I keep good air pressure in the tires with the FOBO TPMS.

I saw someone said they got 18000 on the rear / is that true? How could I be doing so badly?

On my Fatboy I only got 5000 and the belts were showing. I think the 200 rear on the fat boy was terrible for wear.

[shooter]

Steve , your riding style and habits can cut potential tire wear in half. The way you stop , the way you take off , how fast you run , how hard you take the corners , are there a lot of curvy secondary roads on your rides , etc,etc.

[stevenolts]

I live in Missouri like you and I love the twistiest roads best, but I ride a lot of highway also. I ride 45 highway miles on the way to work. On the way home I ride back roads probably 60+ miles. I thought we all bought the F6B because we love to fly around everywhere we go. Fast take offs and the hard braking are what make the F6B fun.
Steve

[Ixol Phaane]

Point taken Ixol , but there are several factors involved. When ambient temps are higher then pavement temps are higher. Yeah curves heat up a tire but so does speed. Fact is that tire will be running a lot hotter temps than in the spring. Anything you run over or pick up will be more likely to damage the tire. And Ixol you may ride in hotter temps but if the road is straight and the speed is conservative those guys hitting the curves hard may have a hotter carcass. Friction is your enemy. I've seen too many tire failures so I'm just more cautious. Another thing is where can you get service out on the road and how much will they gouge you. Just a lot if factors in that decision. Like I said , he wants "Trouble free". No guarantees but you can make your chances better.

[airfreek]

Elroy I guess I'm a little different from most. I would replace those tires before I leave. Its a shame , they still have wear on them. You have to consider the time of the year. It's summer time. Nothing is harder on tires than heat. What I got from your post was " I want a troublefree trip". Keep the old ones and puck up a spare rim later. Or call Honda if Russellville and get some new takeoff rims and tires. Already mounted and balanced. Ready for install. Have a safe trip.

change your tires, 4200 miles is a not too long of a jaunt but I always try to manage trip risk as much as possible. If they wear to quickly and you get into some big rain then you will wish you would have changed tires.

[SierraKen]

Personally I would change the rear tired. I got 9650 miles out of my rear tire and I was just done to wear bars. Front tire was fine. JMHO. Ride far and safe.

[jm21ddd15]

I tend to agree with Shooter. Yes, you have plenty of miles left, so save the rubber, and get a second wheel, as he suggested. When your current tire gets a few more Ks on it, it will not be so "great" if you are stuck in a rainstorm, as the water dispersing grooves are worn down closer to the main body of the tire. Anyone who has ridden the mountains, knows that rainstorms can pop up without much advance warning. Also, are you traveling solo, or 2 up, and how much gear? A sharp stone or small 3/8" puncture, can be absorbed by good rubber, not so much with a worn tire. Decision time for you.