can I run rear tire to bald? or change now?

[Wayne Orwig]

Do you fellas not have laws regarding tyre condition? Over here we need to have at least 1mm over 75% of the width and it has to be round the entire circumference, no cords showing. Cars need to have 1.6mm. The company I work for has the tyres changed on their vehicles at 2mm.

In most states it is 2/32 inch, about 1.6mm.
But those types of laws are seldom enforced. Here near Atlanta Georgia, I can drive a car with bald tires, burned out bulbs, and only one brake working, into an inspection station. And it will pass if the emissions are good.

[Triple Jim]

Funny, Wayne.  In my county in NC it's just about the reverse.  We have no emissions test at all.  There is an annual safety inspection that verifies operation of all the lights, the horn, and the wipers.  The inspector probably glances at the tires.  Then he checks off a long list of items, like brake lining thickness, original exhaust system intact, original emissions equipment present, etc.. 

I talked to an inspector about it once, and he explained that for $13.60, which he gets to keep a part of, there is no way he could stay in business if he had to remove wheels to inspect brakes, put the car on a lift and inspect the exhaust system, check all the emissions equipment, and do all the other things he is "supposed" to do to the vehicles.  It seems like it's a show that's put on to satisfy state and federal laws without hurting the many low income people that have to be able to get to work daily.  He joked that he knew my brakes were OK because the car didn't continue through the shop wall when he drove it in.

[canuguzzi]

Must be all those tires made of fiberglass, fiberglass is forever and never degrades. 

Yup, 15 year old helmets, bald tires, and JB weld. What more does a rider need except maybe one of those death benefit coffin purchase discounts?

[LowRyter]

Do you fellas not have laws regarding tyre condition? Over here we need to have at least 1mm over 75% of the width and it has to be round the entire circumference, no cords showing. Cars need to have 1.6mm. The company I work for has the tyres changed on their vehicles at 2mm.

hahahahahaha    reallly?   how would that ever be enforced?


even if we had inspection laws, which we don't, many riders would ride enough to kill a tire in a year easily. 

[Bill Hagan]

****
even if we had inspection laws, which we don't, many riders would ride enough to kill a tire in a year easily.

True, tho I wonder if dry rot on the garage queens doesn't get more tires than do the twisty-blasters and burn-out folks?  Wonder, too, if the Euro (or any) inspections look for that?

Bill

[rocker59]

Do you fellas not have laws regarding tyre condition?

Yes.  But there isn't much enforcement.  Basically, in States which have annual inspections, the tech may check the tires and fail you if your tires are below the wear bars.  Also, in most States, if stopped by law enforcement for another offense, the officer may cite you for any safety violations which exist.

In my State, there are no annual inspections, and I haven't been stopped by law enforcement on my motorcycle in probably 12-years, so if I had been running my tires down to the cords, nobody would know but me. 

[redrider]

3/32 inch minimum tread depth. Wear bars are there for a reason. Hydoplaning is NOT fun unless you have a boat and skis. I'll quit now before I write offensively.

[canuguzzi]

3/32 inch minimum tread depth. Wear bars are there for a reason. Hydoplaning is NOT fun unless you have a boat and skis. I'll quit now before I write offensively.

We all know that the wear bars are just there to sell more tires. Besides, the wear bars add traction: more rubber contact on the road = better grip.

Don't interfere with Darwin, he's backlogged.

[rocker59]

  I'll quit now before I write offensively.

Yeah.  I used to think it was fun to run the rears down to the cords.  Now I replace my tires when the handling goes to shite, which is usually before the wear bars.

[Bill Hagan]

****

I'll quit now before I write offensively.

Thanks.

All of us are tempted, I suppose, from time to time to respond "offensively," but most of us resist as you just did.  Regrettably, however, some seem to savor being mean-spirited. 

That sort of thing is inexplicable to me.  Life's too short to be a tormented soul.

I'm going down now to the Moto Grappa to find out if there really is work space under the clutter and mess I call work benches.   

Bill

[Arizona Wayne]

Thanks.

All of us are tempted, I suppose, from time to time to respond "offensively," but most of us resist as you just did.  Regrettably, however, some seem to savor being mean-spirited. 

That sort of thing is inexplicable to me.  Life's too short to be a tormented soul.

I'm going down now to the Moto Grappa to find out if there really is work space under the clutter and mess I call work benches.   

Bill

Mean-spirited.............that sounds like a PC term to me.  So if someone posts his/her opinion on a subject and your opinion on the same subject is different and you post it, that's mean-spirited?   Sounds like no room for different thoughts any more.  PC for sure!   

[MadPainter]

"Tires are cheaper than skin".I always say,

but I can't tell you how many times i said  "WOW that tire had tread  yesterday" LOL
 

[LongRanger]

New law going in the books in Colorado this year that requires drivers to have AWD/4WD, snow tires, or chains on I-70 through the mountains during the winter. If you don't, and if you get stuck or cause an accident, there are huge fines. It apples to residents, tourists, everyone. Anyone know where I can get a snow-rated 180/55ZR-17?

[Arizona Wayne]

New law going in the books in Colorado this year that requires drivers to have AWD/4WD, snow tires, or chains on I-70 through the mountains during the winter. If you don't, and if you get stuck or cause an accident, there are huge fines. It apples to residents, tourists, everyone. Anyone know where I can get a snow-rated 180/55ZR-17?

If allowed best you can do is put a tire w/ice racing studs on or use a knobby.  If your rim has spokes you can wrap a rope between them to mimic cable chains.   

[Lannis]

That was of course mostly a joke. And a lot of the many flats that I have had were early in the tires life. I've never noticed a difference in flat tire chances from new to near the end of life. Flat tires just like me. Including punching a rock through a nearly new tire.

Well, having to ride on Northern Atlanta Area roads is no joke, that's for sure.   Last time I came through the northern I-85/I-285 interchange, I couldn't believe the condition of the road surfaces.   All gouged out, pieces of plastic from wrecks, junk from contractor's trucks, it's a mess ... My tires wouldn't last long in that environment either ....

Lannis

[Bill Hagan]

Thanks.

All of us are tempted, I suppose, from time to time to respond "offensively," but most of us resist as you just did.  Regrettably, however, some seem to savor being mean-spirited. 

That sort of thing is inexplicable to me.  Life's too short to be a tormented soul.

I'm going down now to the Moto Grappa to find out if there really is work space under the clutter and mess I call work benches.   

Bill

Mean-spirited.............that sounds like a PC term to me.  So if someone posts his/her opinion on a subject and your opinion on the same subject is different and you post it, that's mean-spirited?   Sounds like no room for different thoughts any more.  PC for sure!   

Interesting comment, Wayne, but not at all.

My comment has to do with the medium, not the message.  That isn't PC, but courtesy v. churlishness.

One can disagree strongly with folks on all sorts of subjects without being a horse's petunia.  Some folks prefer to be that petunia.  I don't.

Bill

[bad Chad]

Bad Chad, I'm speaking from over 50 years of MC experience.  If you want to question what I say, fine.  Unlike some here I don't need a like new MC tire to keep me happy on the road.  I adapt to what I have just like when I used to road race.  But I suppose in your mind I can't possibly have more experience riding a MC than you do, right?

Wayne, I stand by my statements.   I'm not calling you a fool, but you or anyone else who rides a tire in that in condition is making a foolish choice.   Your own experience has no impact  on the merits of whether it's a good idea or not, to ride a tire that is toast.

[Vasco DG]

FWIW.

In my experience the vast majority of flats I've ever experienced personally have occurred when the tyre in question was severely worn. Not all of them, but certainly the largest proportion. For some reason this seemed more likely to occur with tube type tyres. Whether it's the different construction of tubeless hoops I know not but they do seem a lot more resistant to puncture, (Unless of course you are Bill! ).

Back in my youth when I was very poor and I had to drag out every mile from a tyre I'd frequently ride them until they were nearly bald. Now, in my more comfortable dotage, I am not only much more aware of my own mortality but also value highly the joy a new set of tyres brings to a machine. It's like the bike is reborn, cornering is a predictable joy and everything is good in the world!

Change early! Change often!

Pete

[Doug McLaren]

hahahahahaha    reallly?   how would that ever be enforced?


even if we had inspection laws, which we don't, many riders would ride enough to kill a tire in a year easily.

It's enforced by the police, if you get pulled for, say, speeding the bobby will have a look at the tyres and if necessary use a depth gauge to check. If you have an accident they check the road-worthiness of your vehicle, if it's faulty it can make your insurance void as it's the drivers responsibility to make sure that their vehicle is up to scratch.

Tyres are also checked at the annual vehicle inspection.

So if you ride enough to kill a tyre a year it means you buy a tyre every year.

[canuguzzi]

In the name of saving some bucks or time, running on near bald or bald tires does more than out your life at risk. You make the choice, you deal with the risk.

What about the person on the receiving end, the one you ran into, the other collision you caused or the family peeling your skin off the asphalt?

Tires are a safety item as much as something to made the ride better.


Riding on bald or badly worn tires is the height of irresponsibility. It also means the difference, in a collisions aftermath, of an insurance claim or perhaps time in jail.

If someone posted a question about using the wrong oil in  moto Guzzi there would be screaming and people being called fools or idiots.

Messing with Stelvio headlight switches? Step away from the bike now. Bald tires? Jump on, wait for cords to show.

[charlie b]

If someone posted a question about using the wrong oil in  moto Guzzi there would be screaming and people being called fools or idiots.

You mean like the above posts?  :)

Yes, I have ridden a tire until I could see its cords, once.  They had plenty of tread on them when I left on a 1000mi trip.  When I got home there was cord.  That next week I rode it to work until the new tires came in. 

I usually do not do that, but, I also run cheap Shinko tires and I change them myself.  So, at the first sign of the war bars I get a new set and slap them on.  Like Pete said, I like the way new tires feel.  And at $80 for a new rear tire it's an easy decision.

All of my flats so far have been on tube tires.  Several were within a month or two of buying the tire and tube.

Would I ride a tire showing a cord to work and back a few days?  Probably.  Would not take a multi-day trip if I did not have a near new tire on the bike.  Main reason being that the 16" tires for my bike are hard to find and I don't want to have to wait to get them shipped in during a trip.

[Arizona Wayne]

For non-American riders here, our police are not as anal as yours on subjects discussed here, unless you provoke them to be.  So we don't have to be as diligent on tire condition.  Such decisions are left up to us personally.  As you can see that decision making varies widely amongst us.  In my state, Arizona, I don't have any MC annual tests, smog checks, or even have to wear a helmet.  All those decisions are left up to me.  Depending where you live, freedoms vary. 

[charlie b]

FWIW, in NM it is the same.  The only time someone looked at my bike was when I first registered it.

And vehicle condition is rarely listed as a contributor in an accident and I have not heard of anyone whose insurance claim was faulted due to vehicle condition.

[Triple Jim]

According to a friend who's a longtime insurance agent in the US, the major companies do the research they feel they need to do before they write the policy.  Once it's written, they generally pay off if you put in a claim, unless there's blatant fraud, and if they feel you're not a good risk, they then cancel the policy.  Sort of a "fool me once..." thing.

This is my interpretation of what I was told, so if the insurance guys here know differently, I'm all ears.

[Arizona Wayne]

FWIW, in NM it is the same.  The only time someone looked at my bike was when I first registered it.

And vehicle condition is rarely listed as a contributor in an accident and I have not heard of anyone whose insurance claim was faulted due to vehicle condition.

In 50 years of paying for MC insurance I have only had 1 claim when a rock bent both my maq rims.   

[canuguzzi]

It isn't the insurance company, it is the accident investigation if bodily injury occurs. It isn't about the money, its about responsibility to others, freedoms don't enter into either.

Not sure how driving around on bald tires becomes a freedom but whatever. Maybe the guy that slams into you because his car couldn't stop fast enough is just exercising his freedoms too. Make sure to give him a pass.

[Arizona Wayne]

It isn't the insurance company, it is the accident investigation if bodily injury occurs. It isn't about the money, its about responsibility to others, freedoms don't enter into either.

Not sure how driving around on bald tires becomes a freedom but whatever. Maybe the guy that slams into you because his car couldn't stop fast enough is just exercising his freedoms too. Make sure to give him a pass.

Freedom- exemption from an obligation.

Who here as ever been found guilty of causing bodily injury of another in a MC accident?   If I ever get in a MC accident I already have medical insur. and my MC liability insurance covers for others.  In 50+ years never have I had any instances where there has been a need to cover others for injury.  It's usually the MC rider that get's physically injured.

[tris]

In most states it is 2/32 inch, about 1.6mm.
But those types of laws are seldom enforced. Here near Atlanta Georgia, I can drive a car with bald tires, burned out bulbs, and only one brake working, into an inspection station. And it will pass if the emissions are good.

And over here the test station would fail it for all of those including the emissions (unless its a bike which arnt tested )

Also the police could pull you for any or all of those and either take the car off the road or require you to take the car for testing and produce a valid test cert at the cop shop

[lucydad]

Rocker makes a superb point:  squared off rear tire makes handling go to crap.  V7R is definitely not cornering normally, and it is quite noticeable.
Flats way out the hell on FTM TEXAS roads are no fun.  Interestingly I had MPH inspect the bike about 2 months ago, but of course I have put miles on since then.  Tires still have a bit of tread, but yeah it is time for a new rear.  Front still looks great.  Must be all those burnouts on Saturday nights to impress the girls on Westheimer around 2 AM before I tear home at 100 mph on the Houston freeway, after one last scotch and beer?

Submitting my retirement notice in a few minutes.  Wish me luck for calm dealing with these people. Freedom baby, freedom!!

[Bill Hagan]

****

Submitting my retirement notice in a few minutes.  Wish me luck for calm dealing with these people. Freedom baby, freedom!!

My only regret about retirement -- that I suspect you will share -- is worrying so much about the financial piece that I did not do it sooner.  We are all different, and we were lucky along the way, but so glad I punched out when I did.

Strength to your sword arm!

Bill