Rear Tire Worn to Cords

Hi All,
Luckily, just happened to be looking over my SWing a couple days ago and spotted what I thought was a 'muddy' area on my Pirelli(sp) Diablo rear tire.  Closer examination proved to be a "worn, cord-exposed section in the middle of the tread area.

Had noticed quite some time ago that the center tread had worn smooth and attributed it mainly to straight line highway driving as agreed to by several on this site when I wrote about it then.  Anyway, will be getting another tire lined up soon but not sure it will be the Diablo.  Had accrued some 6300 miles on it but managed much more (8300) than that with the original IRC's.  Never noticed "all" that much difference between the two so may go back to the IRC's.  

Just to let everyone know my experience with these tires.

You might want to look over your SWing at closer intervals!

Sheesh! C'mon Dick, you're really choke'n the chicken here; trying to stretch that set of tires for the 10 years you had that scoot. If you don't buy tires more often they just might stop making our size --and then it will be all your fault.  

Tim

I got almost 11K on my original IRC. Bought another to replace it...

Or find some really curvy roads that require you to spend more time on the sides of those tires...

The Scootist wrote:

Or find some really curvy roads that require you to spend more time on the sides of those tires...

DickO, curvy roads are those things not found in Kansas. I had to google it since I'm from Texas.

In the UK tyres MUST have legal tread depth on all tyres. Minimum tread on rear tyre is 2mm. front 1.5mm. I normally get 6500mls on a rear and 11,000mls on front no matter what tyre and I tried Diablo's, and Metzelers but gone back to Bridgestones.

Definitely isn't safe to ride on tires that bad. Old age kills rubber tires as well as miles do. If only the center of the tread is showing cord it could also be over inflation causing the extra wear. Get some new shoes on that bike while you're both still healthy. It's a lot more exciting to blow a bike tire than one in a car. Those unplanned dismounts are really hard on the hide.

i usually don't get but about 5000 miles out of a rear tire , about double that out of the front , but i probably weigh more and ride harder than some , i usually just buy whats on sell at Dennis Kirk , but i tend to avoid the diablos cause i had a rear tire to separate , dunlops are on the barnymobile right now .

I wore my rear tire down to the cords back in Oct. 2012.  Didn't discover it until I was on a weekend trip in MO.  We were out riding for the day about a 100 miles from the Rally we were attending.  We stopped got gas etc.  then noticed my tire.  God and my Mom who passed away two weeks before was watching over me.  We were able to locate a tire and a place to put it on. This happened at 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon.  We got back to the campground around midnight before the storm hit.  I had a Metzler Feel Free on with over 12,000 miles on it.  I won't let that happen again.

Yep, CathyN, that's basically what my tire looks like. Glad to hear you were only "inconvenienced" and not something worse. I stopped by a local bike shop (independent) not far from here today to see if they would do a "car" tire without any fuss. Well, it's one of those places that closes on Mondays, so guess I'll try again tomorrow.

Holy crappeth! I thought a preride (every ride) safety check was something we all do to increase our survival rate! I guess not.

How do you wear a tyre down to the cords and visually not notice it generally, or at least when you're checking tyre pressures or inflating the tyre? Wouldn't you also be aware that the lack of tread is affecting handling, cornering, or wet weather traction and braking. Checking you have enough 'meat' on the tyres before you go on any long trip is one of the first checks you do.. Especially as the two contact patches the tyres have gripping the road are about the size of the palms of your hands.

As Old Limey mentioned in his post, we have a minimum legal tread depth here in the UK and we all generally know how much mileage we usually average from front or rear tyres anyway.

Pulled in by the Police for a roadside check with a tyre in that state would certainly lead to prosecution, a heavy fine, and penalty points on your Licence. Informing your insurer of your conviction would certainly bump up your annual premium, or they might just consider you irresponsible and refuse to insure you.

Riding around with bald tyres and having a road traffic accident, crash, or collision whether you're at fault or not, is the perfect excuse for your insurer to invalidate your insurance cover because to them your scooter wasn't roadworthy... and could you argue otherwise?

Hotwings, Meldrew,

I do check my tires and the pressure. I thought I would be good for that trip but clearly I was wrong. I have not let them get to that state again. I learned my lesson. Tires can go fast when they have that many miles on them. I have been using the Diablos for the last two tire replacements. Usually replace around 9 to 10,000 miles. Unless I am planning a long trip I will replace sooner.

Thanks CathyN and DickO for posting your experiences. Maybe it will remind some (myself included) who are not as vigilant as others to do pre-ride checks. It's so easy to just jump on and go that we forget how quickly parts can wear. Keep safe guys and gals.

It's worth checking tread depth with a penny to see if it's deep enough to reach Lincoln's head weekly or so if you're riding regularly. That's an advantage bikes with a center stand have, it's very easy to turn the wheel over looking for cuts, lack of tread and foreign objects stuck in the tire. The front wheel is easier to see but should be checked often as well.
My 650GT has a tire pressure monitor which makes it almost too easy to check tire pressure. It's very handy but one still has to check the physical condition of the tire and tread. I usually check tires on both of my bikes weekly. Having had a tire go flat on a motorcycle I don't want to repeat the experience. Tires and brakes are the most important things keeping the shiny side up. Unexpected dismounts hurt.

Amen "Hi Yo",
Now that we have been properly chastised, we shan't let that happen again.

+ 1 to "Hi Yo" and thank you.

FYI I had the Swing towed to a shop 50 miles further. I wasn't getting back on it in that condition. As was previously stated, DickO and I are just sharing our experiences. Hopefully we all learn from our mistakes.

I don't think any of us, with the possible exception of the forum curmudgeon, Meldrew, which may or may not rhyme with mildew, are chastising you.
Your experience is valuable to all of us as a reminder of what most of us give short shrift now and then. In fact your posting probably made a bunch of us take a look at our own tires. Thanks for posting your incident.

CathyN wrote:

Hopefully we all learn from our mistakes.

  That would make me a genius!    

Meldrew wrote:

Pulled in by the Police for a roadside check with a tyre in that state would certainly lead to prosecution, a heavy fine, and penalty points on your Licence.

Newbie here on this forum but I've ridden bikes for 48 years.  Never in that 48 years have I seen any police have any bikes pulled over for roadside check other than helmet or alcohol check in the US.  I've been thru both many times and never ever did they even check my license, inspection sticker or the tires.  Wanted to see DOT sticker on helmet and if sober then roll away.  Usually Sturgis or Bike Week somewhere.
Second I had a tire that looked smooth down the center in the morning, but ok, when I left for a poker run and was informed by no less than 5 different folks that afternoon that my rear tire was thru to the cords.  It looked as bad as the one in the picture.  Scared the crap out of me and I got it changed the next morning.  U gotta look close every time you ride as tires can delaminate fast.

Had a similar experience today. Did 8,000 mile service last week, and rear tire looked like it had another 2,000 miles or so on it. Today I was out on a back road practicing high speed emergency stops (about 4 x from 70MPH), and 25 miles later the scooter started feeling funny so I pulled over. The rear tire went flat and had an 8 - 10" section of cords showing in the center of the tire. I don't know if the tire was just at the end of life with 8300 miles on it, or if the high speed stops scrubbed off that much rubber.

masontx wrote:

Had a similar experience today.  Did 8,000 mile service last week, and rear tire looked like it had another 2,000 miles or so on it.  Today I was out on a back road practicing high speed emergency stops (about 4 x from 70MPH), and 25 miles later the scooter started feeling funny so I pulled over. The rear tire went flat and had an 8 - 10" section of cords showing in the center of the tire.  I don't know if the tire was just at the end of life with 8300 miles on it, or if the high speed stops scrubbed off that much rubber.

Judging by the year (2004) and low mileage, you may have original tires. I would check the front also.

Thanks Hi Yo, they appear to have lots of tread life left. Now if I can decode the manual and get the rear tire off. Dang manual wants you to remove half the rear end, including bleeding the brakes and removing brake lines. There has got to be a simpler way.

masontx wrote:

Thanks Hi Yo, they appear to have lots of tread life left.  Now if I can decode the manual and get the rear tire off.   Dang manual wants you to remove half the rear end, including bleeding the brakes and removing brake lines.  There has got to be a simpler way.

Have a look here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsyncE3VXGM  It's Italian but it's all self explanatory.  This guy aslo has some good videos on other SWing maintenance.  Worth a look.

Den

THANK YOU!!! I knew it had to be simpler than what the book implied. Italian or not, the video cleared things up for me. Thanks a million.