It's not down to the wear bars that are in the center groove of the tire, but the ends of the tread pattern in the middle on the left side are worn smooth.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Tn8i-BNMHsSzpO5f17gVpcSZnBUroLDPoFJRws7CG7Yc6wX8z1Q82aHL6QRxjcHWx26Xsmeeml9WdZA4nDVq_bRAii0-GanHbv6s3wIrp0QGixgKCj-bCArIfTU3kEriN7cAS-6PsxW7IWhiNptIVgafrGXOrVWhcmTrAH9e8zyqOwepOI3kareuzlPY1IqbAPxecFOzwDOP5Sf2Js1ULXGsiANnIbudyJgnFNPFsiuLu1HaN7IG6WAbHUX4PESLG7p0SGAf6ljhIS8T0AfoziIhCW92CbtnobCnp8Vgn1R-hUFta9OTbStI6hHDbs-WloeTuERudQ6rxfeJ3BVGmGnaa04-70Y5y0GOiv-ksgOXpnTiKRwD6-MFhRNi8aFYGoa1DrgHEtHyAeozwf6AfLmQBE_RCN0NJYIAq1_RLpZa2ZIFVouvLV1kcfd403LzDKH24lNHdGHDxpElhh7updXaTBoKr3WsKRHTw5yJDnDQDDqchOah3NnvbOiha7eN8kXNF45szBLBqlDUjwzwDIitSXXEBO7u02b7XBREHYqupSTO4wJK3n17irExLFhvXvRpzl1SsUxzXmM4TEC9Y9aHKM-poBXHy6GV_J1KZ5UqlX8BqvQY=w1024-h1818-no)
Thoughts?
Yea its done. Bias ply right ? yea those are done.
Cool.
Buddha.
I personally would be inclined to consider them worn when the edges have gone. That's the grip you want in the corners, even if you're not getting your knee down you still want the grip on the edges to be viable.
Chris
O0
Alright.
It has a little over 1K on the rear tire, Michelin Pilot Activ. That tire doesn't appear to be available in 110/70-17. What front tire would be a good match? Or just what front tire should I get to replace this? I don't ride hard or fast, don't really do high-speed highway very much, and do a lot of aging backroads with iffy surface conditions.
This tire is a Shinko 740 BTW. Appears to be a pretty well-rated tire.
A 110/80 Pilot Activ would be a good choice or any name brand bias ply tire would be OK if you want to stick with the OEM size. A radial front tire like a Pilot Street with the bias Pilot Activ rear would be considered a bad mix and could cause handling problems if pushed to the limit which most of us don't do anyway.
I've probably used more 110/80 than 110/70 size front tires with many different rear tire sizes on my GSs:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500tirelogs_zpsoxtnjzsi.jpg
Well I would up finding a good deal locally on a Pirelli Sport Demon and in the ~25 mile ride home from the shop it seemed to be night and day better than the worn-out Shinko. Glad I didn't go with another Shinko 740, even though I could have saved about $20.
I'm sure this is in the archives somewhere but... how long are these kind of tires supposed to last? One local shop tried to sell me a Shinko SR880 and the owner there suggested it would last about 2K-4K miles. That seemed pretty short-lived. I'll probably put that many miles on my bike in a year, and I'd be annoyed if I had to replace the tires annually. I have ridden about 1200 miles since I bought my bike back in August (wasn't really rideable until November) and the rear tire was nearly new then, doesn't look like it's halfway done now. From what I can tell from gsJack's tire log, looks like he was getting anywhere from 5K to 20K out of each tire. Is that typical?
Thanks, guys.