How long do tires last?

I recently bought a used FZ '06. It only had 800 miles on it. I have since put on about 1400 miles (total of 2200). It seems that I sometimes feel the rear tire slip/skip when I make a right hand turn. Conditions are warm and roads are dry. They are Dunlop Sportmax tires.
What should I expect the shelflife of these tires to be (normal riding)?
Thanks for any help in advance.

that is a very tough question since it really depends on the way that the bike was stored.

Tires CAN be safe for the 3-4 years without an issue, but things like sitting in the sun, hot, cold, ect can deteriorate them, also the surface that they were on could dry them out as well. Cement is very bad for tires that are not used much.


If you are not comfortable on them then the safe bet is to swap them out. even if it is psychological it might be worth the few hundred $ to get your confidence.

It also depends on how hard you ride. I like the Pilot Power 2ct, I get 8 to 9 K, some people get more some less. I don't think that I ride hard, next set of tires will be different.


Doc

Almost all problems blamed on tires are caused by the rider.

Your job as a rider is to use the tire that you have on the bike. It has just so much traction. If you are excedeing the traction of the tire do you need a stickier tire or more training???

kaz said:

I recently bought a used FZ '06. It only had 800 miles on it. I have since put on about 1400 miles (total of 2200). It seems that I sometimes feel the rear tire slip/skip when I make a right hand turn. Conditions are warm and roads are dry. They are Dunlop Sportmax tires.
What should I expect the shelflife of these tires to be (normal riding)?
Thanks for any help in advance.

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Are you in too high a gear? To fast on the corner? A bald tire will grip in warm weather. How much do you weigh? what is your preload at?
Just some random thoughts that come to mind, keep asking the pros.

I stored a street bike once for a few years with new tires on it, concrete dried them out and cracked em, only 1000 miles or less and they still were shot.

I don't think I could put a price on safety or confidence, life is too short for regrets and hindsight is 20 20 eh.
Got a pic of that tire?

I have a friend who is a retired racer, he swears by Avon vipers/cobras, some snake name.
I have not tried them yet on the Fizzer, but I felt his tires and wow, seem like good quality, maybe check em out, I know most people are into the Pilots, but I am not so impressed by them yet.
But then again I ride on squidstones everyday.(btx16 triple comp)

Thanks for the input so far. I have to laugh a little about some of the questioning of my aggressiveness. Im the guy that gets 48+ mpg, rarely has it over 5K rpms in any gear and am making these turns at around 18-22 miles an hour entering my housing community.
I do not know if it is all in my imagination or not but it just feels like the rear tire slips a bit when I am turning at the speeds mentioned above. I do not feel it all the time. It has only happened a few times.
I know that the bike was stored in a garage on concrete before I bought it. The tread on the tires does not even seem warn (I have not checked the depth yet).
I am 6'2" at about 195. I guess I was just wondering if anyone esle has experienced a slight slip of the rear tire in this circumstance.
Thanks again for all the info in advance.

Are you turning over a road stripe? Coming off a crowned roadway? The first week I had my bike i was turning over a road stripe into my subdivision and the rear tire slipped in the turn. I've also heard of instances where coming off a crowned roadway (center of the road is high and road surface slopes toward the gutters) can cause a tire to slip. Just a couple things to look out for.

If you decide changing the tires don´t forget it comes with a thin wax cover that can be slippery if you force traction

kaz said:

I recently bought a used FZ '06. It only had 800 miles on it. I have since put on about 1400 miles (total of 2200). It seems that I sometimes feel the rear tire slip/skip when I make a right hand turn. Conditions are warm and roads are dry. They are Dunlop Sportmax tires.
What should I expect the shelflife of these tires to be (normal riding)?
Thanks for any help in advance.

Click to expand...

I just pulled some Dunlop Sportmax tires off my loan bike 'cause they were letting go dreadfully in the wet. They too had been stored on the bike for a bit. They didn't exactly inspire confidence in the dry either.

If it's the same tire and it's performing the same be incredibly careful in the wet. I can't stress enough how suddenly and totally they let go.

I didn't like them very much and changed them straight away for Pilot Powers.

Cheers
Mike

ozzieboy said:

I just pulled some Dunlop Sportmax tires off my loan bike 'cause they were letting go dreadfully in the wet. They too had been stored on the bike for a bit. They didn't exactly inspire confidence in the dry either.

If it's the same tire and it's performing the same be incredibly careful in the wet. I can't stress enough how suddenly and totally they let go.

I didn't like them very much and changed them straight away for Pilot Powers.

Cheers
Mike

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Can vouch for this...i dont think it was even 24 hours after taking delivery of the bike, that you organised the Powers....

:thumbup:

Have you been checking your tire pressure?

thanks guys. And yes I have been checking tire pressure on a reg/weekly basis since the first time I felt/imagined that it slipped. Im going to take it into the dealer tomorrow and have them take a look at them and see if they see anything that I am missing.
No stripes or crown on the road that I am turning off of.
Im fortunate that when it even looks like rain i take my car to work, so I havent driven in the rain or on wet roads yet.

well I got 6k out of my original bt 20's, don't think I ride too hard, lol would like to get more miles out of my tires, its warm 9 months a year,so I ride alot.

I think it depends on your riding style and what surfaces as well as to how long they last ( as well as if they're hard or soft compound rubber). I've just done 2 high speed runs on the putty road and it did to the tyres what 6 months of comuting usually does. (Plus a cracked bellypan and a near collision with a 4wd).

ozzieboy said:

I just pulled some Dunlop Sportmax tires off my loan bike 'cause they were letting go dreadfully in the wet. They too had been stored on the bike for a bit. They didn't exactly inspire confidence in the dry either.

If it's the same tire and it's performing the same be incredibly careful in the wet. I can't stress enough how suddenly and totally they let go.

I didn't like them very much and changed them straight away for Pilot Powers.

Cheers
Mike

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If I had any spare money I'd be doing this too.
The stock tyres on the FZ6 have never been that confident inspiring for me. I got my 08 this year which means it sat out in the dealers yard for a fair amount of time, and while its taken about 5000kms to get them to have confidence inspiring grip.
I'm not really sure if they might have just aged a bit out in the open, or if they just aren't that great. Even on my first 250 cc bike I paid top dollar for tyres because there is a huge difference and a good dealer will make sure you get what you need.
If your having issues with the rear slipping out make sure you are warming up the tyres properly. Also make sure your rear suspension is set up properly, that makes a fair difference.
Also, you need confidence on the FZ6 cornering, a stock bike in first gear cornering has too much torque if your not leaning her over, and not enough in second gear unless you speed it up a bit (IMO). Once I got a custom exhaust I found the bike alot nicer through the corners since the down low is a bit more steady and manageable, otherwise first gear can be a real pain in the neck, very on/off.
Might just find your still getting used to the bike!

I mean Casey Stoner has that back wheel sliding out when he's racing so maybe you just need to be looking for a racing sponsor!