Posted by Gary on February 14, 2000 at 05:48:34:

 When did you last check your tire pressure? Is there enough tread left to get home on? Do you have enough tread to ride safely when unexpected rain arrives? Have you inspected your tire tread, are chunks of tar or rocks present which could cause “head wobble?”

We should worry most about available traction in all possible conditions. Inspect your tires weekly for any excess road tar, objects in the tread and general condition of the tire.

It is best to keep tire pressure constant but changes occur. Get a good tire gauge, don’t begin being cheap at this point. Some gauges are no better than (±)25%. Dunlop reports some gauges are off 4-10 psi. We should ride with pressures set to tire manufacturers specifications and not just close. Studies indicate that properly inflated tires promote optimum cornering, braking and straight line vehicle performance, whereas, a 30% reduction in tire pressure reduces tire life a whopping 48%. Dunlop checks their gauges before each rally. The next time you see the Dunlop weigh-in and tire pressure check in operation, stop in with your gauge and have it compared to theirs. If it is off, trash it then and go get a good gauge. Dunlop recommends “Schrader.”

Some of us replace our tires when the wear bar is reached. Most of us intend to replace our tires before the wear bar is reached. Yet there are those who will ride every mile before a tire replacement. What do we gain by replacing a tire on time vs. waiting for the last available miles to be logged on our current tires? We increase our risk just to save a few dollars. Is our safety worth those few dollars?

A friend bragged at Wing Ding that he was cheap and rode every mile available on his tire. I cautioned him that his wear-bar on the rear tire indicated replacement time had come ( there was about 1/64 left). He felt safe on the tire and told me of plans to replace the tire when he returned to Butler PA (almost 800 miles). The remaining tread on a tire is often deceiving. We fool ourselves into thinking that the tires can’t wear out with only a few miles to go until we reach home. Some say tread wear isn’t the same through out a tires useful life. Weather it is or isn’t an excuse to ride on unsafe tires. My friend didn’t think about the tire on the way home, he knew he had enough tread for the trip. He performs he own maintenance, changes his own tires (has them balanced at the shop), and from the condition of his bike, he seems to be rather compulsive about caring for the bike. His attitude towards the tire was a surprise given his attention to detail in other aspects of his motorcycle maintenance.

My friend called me when he had arrived home to say thanks for the info I shared with him at WD on tire wear. He went on to say if it hadn’t happened to him he wouldn’t believe it. The tire was smooth, no tread, no wear-bars, nothing but smooth rubber was showing on his rear tire the morning after his return. Then he shared with me that he had ridden through a rain storm between 1 and 3 AM that day. He realized the risk of letting a tire go to long and that being cheap doesn’t offset the increased risk.

What is the wear rate? What do our tires cost per mile? If you figure on just 10,000 miles of use, then tires cost $2.00 per hundred miles (SEE THE CHART).

What is your risk factor worth?

Miles $200.00 $150.00 $125.00 Miles $per100 Miles

10k $ 0.0200 $ 0.0150 $0.0125 100 $2.00 1.50 1.25

12k $ 0.0167 $ 0.0125 $0.0104 100 $1.67 1.25 1.04

14k $ 0.0143 $ 0.0107 $0.0089 100 $1.43 1.07 0.89

15k $ 0.0133 $ 0.0100 $0.0083 100 $1.33 1.00 0.83

17k $ 0.0118 $ 0.0088 $0.0074 100 $1.18 0.88 0.74

19k $ 0.0105 $ 0.0079 $0.0066 100 $1.05 0.79 0.66

20k $ 0.0100 $ 0.0075 $0.0063 100 $1.00 0.75 0.63

21k $ 0.0095 $ 0.0071 $0.0060 100 $0.95 0.71 0.60

Do you want to increase your mileage? Check your tire pressure with an accurate gauge. Remove the unnecessary weight from your saddle bags. Load your trailer to the proper tongue weight.