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Hot,Cold,Hot,Cold...Wear out tires?

2K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  krista_k 
G
#1 ·
This sounds crazy to me, but...

A few guys i ride with said I need to replace my front tire because it "appeared" hard from getting hot, then cooling down repeatedly.

To be honest it couldn't hurt. I am on my 3rd rear since April. Have not yet replaced the front, but tire looks fine. Plenty of tread. I do have 7.5k miles on it though.

Anybody heard of this?

How many miles do you get out of a front tire?

thanks,
Chris
 
G
#4 ·
Not crazy at all.....the guys you ride with are correct.
Heat cycled tires over time will get hard and should be replaced.
Mileage varies on tire compounds and riding style. I'm lucky to get 2500 miles.
(typo)
 
#7 ·
Bloodshot, I'm noticing the same thing.

I got about 5200 out of my stock Dragon Evo's. The rear was worn out and the front was getting 'triangular', made the bike pretty spooky to ride in the canyons.
I've got some Diablo's on now, and I think I'm going to get more mileage out of them than the Evo's.
The ambient temperatures have been lower with the Diablo's, so that may have something to do with it, but the Diablo's rubber compound just seems to be a little more durable. It doesn't look like it gets so hot in canyon charging, and it doesn't get the 'eraser' look after a superslab slog.
They've got more than enough stick for me, I've never felt 'em slide on clean pavement.
 
#8 ·
I wouldn't worry about heat cycles unless I were racing. I used to get that cool blueish look on the 208GPs I had on my R6, particularly on the front tire. Never felt like that affected my riding, though. The thread wore out long before the rubber became hard (different story on the old 207s - there you'd start out with hard rubber and see how many millimeters of thread you could scrub off until you crashed).

-R.
 
#12 ·
Not sure exactly what you mean. I don't think it is good though. I have the 207 in the front.
207s used to come stock on R6s. It's a slightly harder rubber compound than the 207GPs (then) or the 208 GPs (now). They last a bit longer, but if you're going to push your bike (say, on a trackday) they're not as grippy as the GP. I experienced some severe slides on almost new 207s before switching to the GPs with haste.

My previous statement may have been a bit exaggerated, but that's only because I'm still puckering up when I'm thinking of one particularly nasty slide and subsequent tankslapper and almost-highside. Most likely, under "normal" riding, you will be fine on your 207.

Thanks Herb. Is this the kind of helpfull information I should expect from this Board?
Herb's comment was directed at Ducato. A week or two ago, Ducato was bashing other members on the board for their riding style - including me, who had just completely finished off a Metzeler M1 rear within 1.500 miles. Called me a liar or something. I don't care, but his choice of words didn't sit well with some of the other members, and before long somebody jumped into the fray and called him out to be a p*ssy (not me, by the way - I thought it but never said it ;D ). Ducato angrily promised to leave the board, but seems to be back with contributions displaying his usual wit and grace.

So. Herb's comment wasn't directed at you. Herb's the good guy. Ducato is - well, just some dude. Nevermind him.

Re: using higher tire pressures - yes. I am increasing the rear pressure from 32psi to the Metzeler-recommended 36psi to see if I can't get a few more miles out of the new rear. I'll keep y'all posted.

-R.
 
G
#13 ·
no no not a liar...just your "pu**y-meter" just plain ridiculousness ::) geez...

oh yeah I plan on having the same stock 205 in the next 5000 miles or so, plain fun! :p

Now I'm still wondering where in LosAngeles you eat a tire in 1200 miles...on the sand beach in Venice? ;D
 
#17 ·
i think a street tire is relatively safe from heat cycling. stickier race tires do lose some of their grip after a number of heat cycles. even then, that's something that i think only the top riders can make that difference. :)

street tires need replacement when the wear bars show or if they get cupped. or if there are other issues like dry rot, cuts in the carcass, road damage, etc...

:) chris
 
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