Hey everyone. Let me start off by apologizing for the newb. question that's about to be laid out. With that said, here it is.

I have a '93 F2 that I picked up not too long ago. It had a nearly brand new set of Pilot Road 2's on it when I got it. Since then I've put ~14,000 miles on it. This is my first street bike and I'm just not quite certain about when to replace the tires. Everyone says, "Holy crap! 14k? You definitely need to replace those." But that's just based on the number. Most all of my miles are freeway (hence the fat chicken strips). I've accepted a job for the summer that will have me commuting 65 miles each way every day.

If feels like the tires are still in good shape and only slightly squared off. I haven't made it to the wear bars yet but am looking for some experienced opinions on how the tires are looking and some good pointers on when I ought to change them out. The pics with the pennies are showing the depth to the wear bars on the rear tire. Thanks in advance for the input.

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Tread looks good. As long as the tire is not too old with rotting rubber, run it.

 

Is anyone else running these Pilot Road 2s on their 600's in a similar - mostly freeway commuter - style? I'm curious about the mileage that others are getting out of these. I've had the Dunlop Roadsmart IIs recommended for my next set of rubber and it looks like those will be a great tire for me to run given my riding style and the fact that I live in Oregon and ride year-round so I definitely deal with the wet. Anyone have any thoughts on these ideas?

 

I agree with Demon.

You can see the rear squaring off but the tread looks good and if the rubber isn't old, keep or truckin'.

Most of the sport touring tires you get these days have the dual compound rubber with the harder centre strip that gives better milage. Those Roadsmart II's have got good reviews from what I have seen and should be good for your kind of riding.

I can't comment on actual milage because I do a lot of track riding that obviously shortens the tire life.

 

demon is right. those are far from done. you have plenty of miles left 'til you get to the wear lines. i have those tires on my xb9r, they're pretty good, and i beat the absolute hell out of that bike. i try to spin the rear every chance i get. they've held up great so far (3.5k miles), but i'm not sure how many miles they had on them when i bought the bike...


oh, and i lived in SW fl - it rains almost every day in the late spring/summer/early fall. they're a great wet weather tire. i haven't really had them slip at all yet!

 

Sweet! Thanks for all the input guys. I really appreciate it.

 

What's the DOT code say on the sidewall as far as how old the tires are? I've heard that tire rubber starts to turn to hockey pucks after about 3 years.

Determining the Age of a Tire

 

4208!

 

4 1/2 years old. If the rubber feels soft with no cracking, you can use still for commuting on the freeway for a bit longer. Any cracks, hardness, dryness, or extreme cornering demand... replace it.

 

Built in the 42nd week of 2008. As mentioned above, it is still probably useable for commuting.