Total Motorcycle Community Forums

When is it time to change tires?

If I wait too long and a tire ruptures while I'm say, on the freeway doing 65mph, will I be in mortal danger? Will the bike just lay down, or can I just ease over to the shoulder on the blown tire?

The time to change tires is BEFORE they go bad.
Yes.
What the bike does depends on many factors. I've seen people lose control and crash. I've also seen somebody ride one to the shoulder.I like the way you put that,"Ease over to the shoulder."

I sneezed.

Make sure they change the valve stem too when they put on a new tire. This practice is a given with cars but with bikes, most dealers leave the old valve stem on.

The only time I blew out a front tire while riding is when a valve stem blew out on my R1150R. I was in a middle of a right hand sweeper and it instantaneously started to go straight into the oncoming traffic. I counter steered with all my might and weight and was able to keep it going right before I was able to pull over. The fact that I wasn't going too fast, that it was a slight uphill, and I am a pretty strong guy helped me. Had I been going downhill, there's probably no question that I would not have been able to keep it in the turn.

The manual for the bike will tell you when it's time to replace your tires, usually by giving a minimum amount of tread left on the tire. Like most things, the manual is written by the people who made the machine, so you should probably abide by it.

It's possible that you could "ease it to the shoulder." It's just as possible that you'll end up experiencing a horrendous crash. Up to you if you want to take the chance. Try not to hit anyone else when you lose it.

mgdavis wrote:It's possible that you could "ease it to the shoulder." It's just as possible that you'll end up experiencing a horrendous crash. Up to you if you want to take the chance. Try not to hit anyone else when you lose it.

What ever you do,( I have been told) don't use the brakes, try to coast to the safest point...down shifting is ok.

Had both go on me at one time.

Lost the rear on the freeway at speed. Bike wobbled and bounced like a drunken hooker at an Free Masons convention, but was basically controllable and I was able to pull over.....had to change my knickers afterwards mind you.

Lost the front in city traffic and at slower speeds, that one was actually more frightening and a lot less controllable. In the end I dropped the bike due to it going into tank knocker mode, but was able to scrub off a lot of my speed before hand. Walked away and changed said knickers again.

Given that I'm a new rider.... first I'll dodo my britches. I have read in the MSF books ... don't use your brakes.
CRAP ?? ??

There is a curse filter on this board, so "crumb" is the replacement word for some of the various words for poo, get it?