Advice on tires for trip

[nixter]

Hey all, I bought my FZ6 last summer with only 1600 km on it. Original tires obviously. What I didn't notice until later was a plug in the rear tire. At first I thought it was gum and I was even trying to pull it out! lol. Anyways the bike now has 4500 km and I'm going to be doing a 3 day trip from Vancouver to Napa in June. There's plenty of tread left with only 4500 easy riding km on them but do I have to replace the rear due to the plug?

Thanks

 

[Erci]

No, not due to plug. If it holds air well, the plug is nothing to worry about (especially since it's been in there all this time). I'd be more concerned about tire age. They're nearly 5 years old now. Take a good close look at the rubber.. do you see tiny hairline cracks? If you do, it's time for a new set.

How many KMs do you plan to cover on your trip?

 

[Ssky0078]

ERCI is right on this. The age of the tire is the concern. You should look for the tire born on date on the side of the tire. It could even be a year older than what the bikes is. Depends on how fast Yamaha was going through the tires when they were making the bikes before shipping them out.

Depending on how the bike is stored, i.e. if the tire touches the ground or on center or side stand, because I guess if the tire is stored on concrete the concrete will suck the moisture out of the tire and lead to weakening of the tire and it's especially worse if the tire is on the side stand.

 

[nivag]

I've had 2 plugs in my rear tyre and did a trackday as well

It seems like the plug has been put in ok, otherwise it wouldn't of lasted for the amount of mileage you're already done.
Though I'd be tempted to swap it as I don't know which plug they have used.

 

[Erci]

You should look for the tire born on date on the side of the tire.

Since you brought it up: look for a 4-digit number. Something like 0408, which would translate to 4th week of 2008.

Advice on changing tires strictly based on age varies. Some say as often as 3 years, others say 5 years. 5 year old tires will not have as good of a grip as a fresh set, even if they have no miles on them.

 

[nixter]

Appreciate the replies guys. The trip will be about 1600 km. I'll check the tire age. There are no hairline cracks.

 

[nixter]

VAD1408 front.
DEJ1308 rear.

Not sure about the first part but I guess 08 is 08. No hairline cracks. Replace?

 

[Cloggy]

You said you had the Original tyres on your bike, personally I didn't like the Original tyres on mine, I had Dunlops, although some people had Bridgestones which as I understand were better.

I've riden with michelin pilot road (2&3) since and it is soooo much better than the Original tyres, but if you change to another tyre you'll have to buy both front and rear (matched pair).

As for the age of the tyres IMO it's a bit borderline, I'm not going to tell you to change, but it might be wise.

 

[KingY]

if that was me, i would continue as normal, the tyres are 4 years old, but if they look good, as stated above with no cracks i would have no problem touring on them, but that's just me

 

[Erci]

if that was me, i would continue as normal, the tyres are 4 years old, but if they look good, as stated above with no cracks i would have no problem touring on them, but that's just me

5 years old. We are on 1613 now. They're probably not dangerous just yet. However, I say if you can afford it, replace them now. You're doing yourself a disservice by getting more use out of tires which weren't all that sticky to begin with.

 

[agf]

I BOUGHT MY FZ IN JAN 11 and it was an'09 model, had Dunlops on it and changed about July/Aug last year to metzler z-8's
I am amazed at the difference between a tyre that still had lots of tread and a new tyre renowned for its grip
after a few weeks you will forget the purchase$ and just enjoy the sense of grip and wonder why you took time to make that decision
It kinda made the bike feel Brand new again

 

[pookamatic]

5 years old. We are on 1613 now. They're probably not dangerous just yet. However, I say if you can afford it, replace them now. You're doing yourself a disservice by getting more use out of tires which weren't all that sticky to begin with.

On the other hand, if you want to be frugal, get your one last trip in on those tires and replace on return.

As others have said, they are near/at the end of service. Depending on the length and more importantly, how aggressive the roads will be on your trip, you should keep/replace.

 

[Gelvatron]

if that was me, i would continue as normal, the tyres are 4 years old, but if they look good, as stated above with no cracks i would have no problem touring on them, but that's just me

When looking at a tire you should not be checking the fact that the SIPES have alot of distance to the top of the tread, your checking for age, compound of tire and any major issues that have happened to the tire in its life.

you need to make love to your tire, run your fingers all the way around the sidewalls feel for the plys as they run down the side of tire you usually have 4 of them that are noticeable in + shape and are due to the manufacturing process but when you find them not in a + or X pattern its a broken ply also check for gashes gouges and blistering,

next check the shoulder what is the angle of wear if its very steep or only low in the inner half of the shoulder your tires have been over and or under inflated while driving,

next check the center part of the tread for damage cracking leaks etc, its very basic to overlook a major issue between the sipes usually starts to dry rot.

Any tire over 3 years old in the united states WILL NOT EVER do better than its first 3 years in grip rolling resistance and tread wear.

the major thing with tires is they require a lot of basic maintenance that is overlooked, if you run low psi for a day you're going to start a small, Very small tread wear for a underinflated condition and you cant overinflate to compensate for it. Once it starts to wear wrong it can never be corrected.

2ndly you can do all this and still ruin your tire with a simple bad balance, the tire should have a static balance done. (car tires are dynamic balance)
*i may be mistaken and motorcycle tires do need dynamic* but i was told that the wheel (rim) is dynamically balance already and the tires are manufactured dynamically also. if you skip this balance or the tire is out of balance you can cause a lot of premature wear making the tire useless, caused by wheel tramp.

last but not least the DOT number usually a 4 digit number stamped or branded on the tire next to 2 groups of 4 numbers
EXAMPLE : (2606) (6234) (1H35)
^DOT
first set of numbers but its usually only one side so check both it may be before the 8 manufacturing numbers or after this i am not 100% certain
but nonetheless this example would be 26 week of 2006 the tire was made now that being said its very old in US standpoint if the tire was never mounted and sat in a warehouse they could NOT sell this as a new tire
again because the us regulation is 3 year or more is OLD i believe the reason is because the US federal testing determines that at 3 years the treads grip is lost significant enough to cause a loss of control on a vehicle with these tires, also something to do with the rubber drying out .

Basicly, just because the "treads" have big deep grooves between them doesn't mean the tire is ok, you need to check all the information available to you and make a sound decision, its comes down to how much $ you got and how much you value yourself and possession

Please be safe if you are not sure about it just tightening it down a bit more is not the best idea know what your doing what it will cause and why it will cause that.

stay safe ride safe

 

[KingY]

When looking at a tire you should not be checking the fact that the SIPES have alot of distance to the top of the tread, your checking for age, compound of tire and any major issues that have happened to the tire in its life.

you need to make love to your tire, run your fingers all the way around the sidewalls feel for the plys as they run down the side of tire you usually have 4 of them that are noticeable in + shape and are due to the manufacturing process but when you find them not in a + or X pattern its a broken ply also check for gashes gouges and blistering,

next check the shoulder what is the angle of wear if its very steep or only low in the inner half of the shoulder your tires have been over and or under inflated while driving,

next check the center part of the tread for damage cracking leaks etc, its very basic to overlook a major issue between the sipes usually starts to dry rot.

Any tire over 3 years old in the united states WILL NOT EVER do better than its first 3 years in grip rolling resistance and tread wear.

the major thing with tires is they require a lot of basic maintenance that is overlooked, if you run low psi for a day you're going to start a small, Very small tread wear for a underinflated condition and you cant overinflate to compensate for it. Once it starts to wear wrong it can never be corrected.

2ndly you can do all this and still ruin your tire with a simple bad balance, the tire should have a static balance done. (car tires are dynamic balance)
*i may be mistaken and motorcycle tires do need dynamic* but i was told that the wheel (rim) is dynamically balance already and the tires are manufactured dynamically also. if you skip this balance or the tire is out of balance you can cause a lot of premature wear making the tire useless, caused by wheel tramp.

last but not least the DOT number usually a 4 digit number stamped or branded on the tire next to 2 groups of 4 numbers
EXAMPLE : (2606) (6234) (1H35)
^DOT
first set of numbers but its usually only one side so check both it may be before the 8 manufacturing numbers or after this i am not 100% certain
but nonetheless this example would be 26 week of 2006 the tire was made now that being said its very old in US standpoint if the tire was never mounted and sat in a warehouse they could NOT sell this as a new tire
again because the us regulation is 3 year or more is OLD i believe the reason is because the US federal testing determines that at 3 years the treads grip is lost significant enough to cause a loss of control on a vehicle with these tires, also something to do with the rubber drying out .

Basicly, just because the "treads" have big deep grooves between them doesn't mean the tire is ok, you need to check all the information available to you and make a sound decision, its comes down to how much $ you got and how much you value yourself and possession

Please be safe if you are not sure about it just tightening it down a bit more is not the best idea know what your doing what it will cause and why it will cause that.

stay safe ride safe

yea i agree ^^ with everything above about looking after the tyre. Like i said my opinion, i have rode tyres to the metal, im not saying i am any valentino rossi but i know how to use a tyre to the edge and feel for traction. I dont waste what i have regardless of age or condition, that tyre could be 10 years old, if it didn't look/feel physically damaged i would be riding on it (obv with correct PSI and tread depth)

If he is just touring, as long as tyre look safe then yes i my self would do the tour. If you got money to burn by all means new rubber is never bad, super sticky is always a win win.

i must just be a poor fart :thumbup:

Then again i dont change my oil every 3K either, once a year on its service date approx every 12K miles the bike gets an oil change. My bike gets used hard and beacuse its an FZ6 its puts up with everything

 

[Ssky0078]

yea i agree ^^ with everything above about looking after the tyre. Like i said my opinion, i have rode tyres to the metal, im not saying i am any valentino rossi but i know how to use a tyre to the edge and feel for traction. I dont waste what i have regardless of age or condition, that tyre could be 10 years old, if it didn't look/feel physically damaged i would be riding on it (obv with correct PSI and tread depth)

If he is just touring, as long as tyre look safe then yes i my self would do the tour. If you got money to burn by all means new rubber is never bad, super sticky is always a win win.

i must just be a poor fart :thumbup:

Then again i dont change my oil every 3K either, once a year on its service date approx every 12K miles the bike gets an oil change. My bike gets used hard and beacuse its an FZ6 its puts up with everything

If it were me and I didn't have as much experience as you I would buy the new tire needing as much grip as I could get