Hi everyone, first post here.
I got a GS500F 2006 last month. It only had 650 miles on it! Since then I've put 400 miles on the bike and have been having a blast.
The tires seem to be OK on inspection so I've been riding on them and haven't had any issues. If they are visually OK and don't feel dry rotted are they OK to keep using?
Yea just look for cracks on the tire around the rims, and look for flats spots on the treads. If they are well maintained like kept off the ground during storage, and not left out in the weather, they should be okay.
Look for a date code on the tires. I believe tires have a 5 year life, regardless of mileage. If yours are the originals from06 and feel good, brand new ones will feel amazing.
If the bike had less than 1k on it when you bought it, chances are you're still on the original tires. Even if they still look OK, you are putting yourself at additional risk when riding. An 06 bike could have 05 date code tires on them, which means they could be 8 years old by now.
I'm in the same boat. My 04 has an 03 front and an 08 rear, both Bridgestone Battlax. I have a new set of Pirelli Sport Diablos coming this week :)
Forgive my pragmatic approach but tyres are safety critical, if YOU have doubts about them don't ask questions or expect others to put your mind at rest............replace them!! :dunno_black:
If something does happen as a result of the tyres condition the fact someone on the other side of the world who has never even seen them but says they might be ok wont mean a thing, especially when your ass is sliding underneath an 18 wheeler at 50mph :dunno_black:
If you have to ask, then that means you don't trust them and want someone to tell you they are OK.
They are old. They will not give good traction on wet roads.
For safety and peace of mind, get new tires.
2006......post a pic but unless u have any reason not to trust them i would say their fine.Swing by a MC shop & get a second opinion.
If this is a poll I vote replace. :icon_lol: If there is no visible cracking there is probably no danger of catastrophic failure but there would definitely be a loss of performance due to age. I'd ride them around locally until the new ones arrive but I wouldn't head for the mountains on them. Check the tires age like Rich suggested above.
Got my 06 gs with only 136 miles on the original tires. They had no signs of weathering, and it seemed like a waste to toss them. So I put them on my old GS for my friend when he needed new ones. He put another ~3k miles, before the rear was punctured by a nail picked up on the road. Expect the puncture, they still looked great when we swapped the replacement rear on.
BUT! I agree with everyone, and didn't trust my old set at all. Swapped them off for new ones before putting many miles on them. As soon as you can, replace them. Until then just keep a close eye on them
The bike was manufactured in October / 2005 so the tires are quite old by now. They are the original set. I really don't have any "doubts" about them but this is also my first bike so I figured I would look towards the community for an opinion. :D
I can pickup a pair of Pirelli Sport Demons for $215 so I might do that.
Quote from: sledge on November 03, 2013, 11:17:51 PM
Forgive my pragmatic approach but tyres are safety critical, if YOU have doubts about them don't ask questions or expect others to put your mind at rest............replace them!! :dunno_black:
If something does happen as a result of the tyres condition the fact someone on the other side of the world who has never even seen them but says they might be ok wont mean a thing, especially when your ass is sliding underneath an 18 wheeler at 50mph :dunno_black:
This. :thumb:
Lets see how many replies this thread generates before someone says looking at the outside of the tyre you can only see 50% of its surface area and if you are going to do the job properly you should also look at the inside also before making any sort of judgement on its condition :thumb:
Ooops.....spoiled it now :D
Quote from: sledge on November 04, 2013, 08:55:40 AM
...should also look at the inside also before making any sort of judgement on its condition :thumb:...
Ooops.....spoiled it now :D
Yeah...that's what got me thinking about this really. Anyway, like I said I'm going to order the Sport Demons.
I got my 06 with the 4k on the stock rubber on it about 2 years ago. I kept factory rubber and put another 4500 on the rear (replace at 8500miles). Still running the factory front at 11500miles. It's getting thin so I'll prob replace this winter.