Tyre Life?

[2much]

I can hear what you're thinking: FFS, another fucken tyre tread.............. But bear with me.

There's been heaps of threads on how many K's to expect out of tyres, however I can't find any on how long (as in days, months, years) you can expect them to last.

This question has been bugging me since my bin in the weekend:slap: . Afterwards, someone pointed out that the front tyre seemed to be perished and the rubber had probably gone off. It's something I'd never really consider too much before.

The tyre was OE fitment so was atleast 18 months old, probably more. the bike's been stored in the grage out of the sun for the time I've had it (4 1/2 months), and considering the type of bike it is, I'ld expect the previous owner would've done the same (deserves to be in the lounge Or bedroom really ).

The day before, I was speaking to a fellow KB'er who's just purchased a new ride and he was saying that the tyres were 2 years old and didn't feel too great and weren't scrubbing up as he'ld expect.

Now, I understand that various tyres will have different life expectances, I'm guessing touring tyres would last longer than road/race rubber. But whats your experience? what do you think?

I know a few of you probably won't have had tyres last much more than 2 months, let alone 2 years so you probably can't offer much. But what about those who park up for 6 months over the winter?

BTW, the tyre was a Pirelli Diablo with Corsa compound I'm told.

Thoughts???

[crashe]

My last set of tyres were AVON.

The rear tyre lasted 34,357kms for 3 years and 1 week.
I still am riding with the front tyre on from that set, so that is gonna last a lot longer in kms.

I ride a cruiser so that will make a huge difference between a cruiser and sprotbike tyres.

I have replaced the rear with another AVON tyre.

I ride all the time.... on the city roads and also out on the country roads.

As to why mine have lasted so long, maybe cos I dont hoon around at great speed and I also respect the fact that the tyres are gonna keep me rubber up.

Yep I do get over onto the sides of them as well... so they are being worn all over.

[beyond]

Man 34,300kms. Is your bike a hovercraft
My last two rears lasted 3500kms and 3750kms both 200 wide. I ride to the edge and relatively hard, pop the odd wheelie but no burnouts.

I have gone to Michelin pilot Roads and find them the hardest wearing as they are dual compound. The handling is not compromised at all and I have now done 4700kms on those and they are just under half worn. So I am real happy about that and have found these tyres to be ideal for my GSX1400.

[justsomeguy]

The rear tyre lasted 34,357kms for 3 years and 1 week.

What??? You serious???

[Zed]

Man 34,300kms. Is your bike a hovercraft

The Mighty Virago a "hovercraft"? Yes, I suppose you could say it is, lol.

I'm averaging 4-5,000kms out of the rear and 6-7k for the front. I choose a sports-touring compound tyre which should be longer wearing, and keep a pretty close eye on tyre pressures to maintain as much tyre life as possible.

The harder you ride the faster your tyres will wear. Can be expensive fun!

[crashe]

What??? You serious???

Deadly serious.
Original rear tyre did 17,850kms. - Don't know the brand of tyre
next rear tyre did 19,913kms - Don't know the brand of tyre
Then 34,357kms. AVON tyres.

[Motu]

You guys still haven't got what he's asking about have you? Tyre life in time,not distance traveled.

[justsomeguy]

You guys still haven't got what he's asking about have you? Tyre life in time,not distance traveled.

So what is it Motu??

I had original tyres on my CBR that I bought a few days ago - 15 years old - cracked, hard and useless......

I'm quite interested in finding out too??

Kerry you there??

[crashe]

You guys still haven't got what he's asking about have you? Tyre life in time,not distance traveled.

I have one front tyre hanging in my garage with plenty of tread left on it..
Its the one that was on the bike when I changed over to the AVONS.

Its been hanging in the garage for over 3 years...
Before it goes on the bike It will be checked out.. re tyre cracking etc..

It looks ok to my eye.. but would prefer to get it checked out first.

[DogBreath]

In the old days guys who could afford it would buy their tyres about a year before you needed them. Storing them in the garage out of the light they would harden up, perfect for the old Vauxhall. Great mileage, and who needs traction at 50mph?
Not such a good idea for a bike I would suggest.

[DogBreath]

Come to think of it when I bought the Goose it was more than 2 years old, 700km on the clock, new from the dealer.
The dunlops on it never felt right, sort of almost but not great. They would have been on it from new, rolled outside to show it of now 'n' then, but mostly parked in the shop for nearly 3 years. Both tyres wore out to bugger all skin left under 7000km
The BT45's on it now feel great, the whole package (Goose 'n' BT's) is better than me, I'm sure.

[loosebruce]

Once the tyre has been scrubed in they do have a limited life, i'd say (dont quote me) after a year or close to it of non use the tyre goes off, even worse if tyre is left sitting on the ground (so i've been told, kinda makes sense cold concrete on the rubber over period of time, fuck knows what i'm on about).
race tyres once scrubbed then not used for a while, sometimes you see an oily sheen come through on the surface of the tyre, i dont know what it is, just something i notice, bad or not, could'nt tell you. If a tyre is perishing, biff it, if the tyre feel hard when you stick ya finger nail into it i'd biff it too, it's just not worth the risk (depends on how you ride too).
I've got a set of dragon evo's on the NSR they've been sitting for at least 2 years and are rock hard, make a good burnout, stunting tyre, but wouldn't push it on the road/track, must get that thing going soon.

I dont know if there is an exact tyre rubber life, maybe now a days with more silica being used in the tyres constuction it's not so much an issue, over older more rubbery based tyres.

chances are i'm full of shit and dont know what i'm talking about (i'm good at that) someone smarter than me might know.

And crashe piss off with your 37,000ks or whatever it was, you make me sick :eyepoke:

[Zapf]

yep... just as LB said... rubber goes hard and cracks... the cracks are signs of it getting hard and off...

try digging your finger nails into the rubber of different tires and you'll start to get an idea.... also watch dent in the rubber coming back out.... shows you how soft the tire is.

[sugilite:Me]

There is no real use by date on tyres. It really comes down to a few factors, how many heat cycles has it been through, what type of roads/riding style and most importantly, has it been left outside in the sun.
The sun causes the rubber to perish over time.
Tyres on a bike that is kept in a garage and under cover whilst at work won't have this problem.

If you are going to leave your bike idle for 6 months, store your bike in a dark area, put it on blocks to relieve the suspension and safe your fork seal, then let the air out of both tyres (to de-stress the rubber)

Racers should store their tyres in a dark room to preserve the rubber. )esp wets)

Another tip for racers is, put your tyres through the least number of heat cycles possible, in other words, once you put on the tyre warmers at the start of the day, leave them on for all day. So as soon as you come in from your race, bang the warmers on right away. Do this all day and you tyre will only go through one heat cycle instead of 4! The reward is a lot more race km's per tyre

Just for the informal record, my personal record for a street/race tyre (michilin hi sport, 1990 vintage - Bike Gsxr1100K) is one twelve lap race and one 500 km sortie from Wellington to the Waiarapa and back, the result - no side tread what so ever, but a lot of centre tread left, a real novelty for the day

[Zapf]

ever thought of sealing your tire up with a big plastic bag? so to keep it from reacting to the moisture and bits in the air to a minium