What's the life of a front tire?

CTX-ER

New member
How long should I expect my front tire to last?it's a Metzeler roadtec interact Z8 "E". It's got a leak I can't find and I'm wondering if at 17000 kilometers (11,000 miles), I should just replace it as opposed to spending money to fix it.
It was completely flat so I tightened the valve, filled it back to 36 psi but it was down to 20 psi overnight and at 5 psi by the end of the day. The tire would lose about 3 psi per week regularly (while the rear never lost anything) but this is a first.
Any thoughts?
 

Steven

Member
From what I read, many, if not most, shops will not fix a motorcycle tire due to legal issues. At 11k miles I would just replace it.

Did you spray your tire and valve with soapy water to find the leak?
 

MJC

Super Moderator
".........Metzeler roadtec interact Z8 "E". It's got a leak I can't find and I'm wondering if at 17000 kilometers (11,000 miles), I should just replace it as opposed to spending money to fix it. ...."
If you got 11K miles out of that tire I would say you got your monies worth, not much left to get out of it. I have had two front (and rear) Metzeler roadtec interact Z8 replaced in 10,500 miles. All of them squared off, fronts cupped also, and the middle was close if not at the wear marks.

What I have done in the past when a tire was losing air and I could not find the leak was use "Fix a Flat" for car tires. I would let all the air out of the tire, use the fix a flat till the tire was up to about 40 pounds then ride around the block, let the air and fix a flat out of the tire, fill with reg air to set pounds (say 40), park the bike over night and check it the next day. If I had 40, ride it around at low speeds to make sure the tire did not go out of balance, then park it again over night. If the next day all was good I would keep on riding til I felt the tread was too low and replace it. But I would not really want to go on long rides with it. That was years ago and I would NEVER DO THAT TODAY, knowing what I know now.

Now a days they have something that balances your tire and seals it so you do not get flats (only on the main part of the tire not sides or valve steams) it is called Ride-On TPS (Tire Protection System).
From the Ride On web site:
It is a tire balancer and sealant compound that evenly coats the inner surface of your tires
• This coating balances your tires and makes them into self-sealing tires while you ride
• Eliminates need for those old wheel weights
• Ride-On is specially formulated to hydro dynamically balance high-speed tires, dampen road noise, and vibrations that cause a rough ride
• If your tire is punctured, the centrifugal force of the rotating tire and the internal air pressure force Ride-On into the hole, sealing it instantly.

I have not tried it on a leaking tire so I would not know if it would work. I did use it on new tires and never got a flat and the ride was smoother with no vibration. I just put a set of new tires on my bike and was going to add in the Ride ON just because I have some left over from my last bike.

If you decide to use a sealer in your tires make sure you check your tires on a reg bases, for nails, cuts etc. At some point all sealers have a limit to how much they can work to keep your tires from going flat.

BTW, Ride On is not cheap, it will cost $20 to $30 per motorcycle tire, and $30 or more for a car tire. I have used it on my car (all 4 tires) and two of my last bikes in both front and back. It does work to balance the tire and wheel, I never got any flats so not sure on that part. It did also take the wobble out of a front tire/wheel on my Nomad, which was done and redone but two shops, two difference tires where used, forks redone, etc and I still had a front end wobble at speed. That is why I tried Ride On the 1st time, and it did work. In fact when that front tire with ride on was replaced (without Ride On) it started to wobble again after 300 miles, added the Ride On and all was good again.
 

randy1149

New member
I agree with the above recommendations. Fixing the leak on a tire with 11K on it is a waste on money.

If you want to plug it yourself it then becomes a Russian Roulette (them Russians are getting a lot of press these days), especially if you do some highway high speed riding.

I had the same flat situation problem with my rear tire with 10K on it... I replaced it with a new tire.
 

ofdave

Member
as was said, just replace it.
Some folks get 12000 and some get 15+
At 11 thou, it's done it's job and no guilt in getting a new one
 

Woodswoman

Member
I'd replace it, too, CTX-ER. Not worth the risk, for the relatively modest price of new rubber.

BTW, welcome! I knew you from the other forum, and are glad to have you here.
 
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