Re-use IRC Road winner Tyre?

[akima]

My bike is due for a compulsory inspection soon (M.O.T.). I'm pretty sure the front tyre will fail inspection as it has now hit the wear marker in some of the tread.

Problem is, I don't have the money for another awesome DRII front tyre right now. I'm planning on putting my old IRC Road Winner back on for a while. This is the original tyre that came with the new bike back in early 2011. I think the IRC has only had ~1000 miles of gentle nooblet riding on it. It's still got lots of little rubber, feeler things sticking out the sides.

Besides the fact that the IRC is inferior to my DRII, do you guys think I should be considering anything extra when I switch over? Like: will the rubber have degraded a bit over time? The tyre has been kept in-doors also this time.

Do you think I should take it really easy while I'm riding on this tyre?

[snapshot]

If you take it easy, you should be fine. Just replace it with something a bit better when you can afford to.

I one bought a twelve year old machine (VTR-250) with a few thousand miles on it and wore the original tires out before replacing them. But man, would they slide!

Luck,

J~

[csmith12]

Take your time and get a feel for the lesser tire grip. Aside of that, all should be fine. I have my set in the garage "just in case". Hmmm... check the date on the sidewall, might be getting close to their 5th birthday. There is no better gauge than your own good judgement though.

[akima]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Take your time and get a feel for the lesser tire grip. Aside of that, all should be fine. I have my set in the garage "just in case". Hmmm... check the date on the sidewall, might be getting close to their 5th birthday. There is no better gauge than your own good judgement though.

Yeah, sadly I've hit that "just in case". Glad I've got them though.

I will heed your advice and take my time on them. Start very slow. I'm just getting back into riding after majorly wussing out over winter, so I will take it slow anyway.

As for feel. I'm not really good at feeling grip on a motorcycle. I read @alex.s comments about the stages before totally loosing grip, but I'm not sure I've experienced any of those stages (except maybe once, about 2 seconds before I crashed into a ditch that time ).

I remember feeling these IRC tyres "loose grip" when I first started riding, but quickly found out what I was feeling was far more likely just the rubber flexing.

I checked the side-wall thoroughly: no best before date: will assume they are safe to eat

[alex.s]

i've heard tires will fail these types of inspection if they're too old... the rubber dries out and gets hard. look for any cracking in the side walls for example. its not really safe (even new those ircs aren't safe) but you might just swap them on for the inspection, sand off the tire date, have it inspected, then put back on your old DR2s

[dcj13]

4 years old? Stored inside? Low miles?

You'll be fine! It'll only be a money saver if you change it yourself.

[akima]

Originally Posted by alex.s

sand off the tire date, have it inspected, then put back on your old DR2s

It's a stupid test. Worn, 1 year old DRIIs will fail the MOT, but 4 year old, crappy IRCs will pass.

My current front DRII still feels planted to me and visually it looks fine (except for the reduced tread).

[alex.s]

sipes are only for water anyway

[alex.s]

wesley sipes says:

[fishdip]

Will they let it pass since the tire is past its consider use by date?

[akima]

Originally Posted by fishdip

Will they let it pass since the tire is past its consider use by date?

I think so. The rubber still feels soft to the touch and there is no visible date on the tyre.

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by akima

I think so. The rubber still feels soft to the touch and there is no visible date on the tyre.

There's no 4 digit code anywhere?

[Singh2jz]

Yea go ahead and put that tire on for now. make sure you visually molest your tire for the date, cuz if they see it they might fail you anyway. good luck, homiee!

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by akima

I think so. The rubber still feels soft to the touch and there is no visible date on the tyre.

Pardon the assumption but this makes it sound like you're looking for a date in a common date format (dd/mm/yyyy or mm/dd/yyyy). Tires have their own style.

[akima]

There are some numbers on the tyre, but none of them look anything like any kind of date.

I'll keep on looking at the tyre for this magic date to appear

[Alex]

It's the only 4-digit code you should see on the sidewall, and like others have said, I'm reasonably confident it's there.

[csmith12]

Lemme get a pic of mine in the garage for you to go by. I wouldn't think the tires are any different over there as far as tire date goes.

Stay tuned!

[csmith12]

Mine is 1309 = 13th week of 2009

Check both sides of the tire, it's only on one side and easy to miss but each tire, front and rear should have one.

[akima]

Thanks guys. Found it.

4410

44th Week of 2010, which according to wolfram alpha (love that site) is: October 31, 2010 to November 6, 2010
source

[csmith12]

[tfkrocks]

So 4.5 years old. Might not be a very safe tire.

[dcj13]

Only 4.5 years old? No prob.

[akima]

Originally Posted by tfkrocks

So 4.5 years old. Might not be a very safe tire.

I think you're probably right. It wasn't a very safe tyre brand new imo.

I'm considering scrounging around for the money to just get a new tyre. Put some things on ebay that I've been meaning to get rid of for a while.

Potentially I could try this instead of another DRII:
http://moto.michelin.co.uk/tyres/mic...-street-radial

Cheaper, will last longer and I've read reviews that say it performs as well as the DRII (in the wet, at least).

Any of the people in this thread had any experience with both this tyre and the DRII on the same bike?

[csmith12]

Yes mam, I have had both tires on the 250 in my avatar. I still would not change my answer one bit. Right now, your voluntary and involuntary inputs to the bike and feedback from the bike is largely based on the characteristics of the DRII's. It may take a ride or two to adjust back to the IRC's. Just like I stated in my above post. Take it easy until you get your wits about you, then ride as normal.

Many people hate on the IRC's, but if would make you feel better... I can upload some video of racers... on IRC's... at pace... IN THE WET. Once you get the IRC's up to temp, they aren't really that bad but they are nothing to brag about either. They are commuter tires, treat them as such and they will meet your expectations.

Once again, trust your good judgement. The tires are approaching their 5th bday but that isn't a reason to toss them "just yet" unless your judgement says to do so. They should offer no real problems and get you by until the next set of prefered tires.

[NevadaWolf]

I wish shipping wasn't so terrible, I have a DRII front sitting in my garage with something like 5000 miles on it. Haven't checked the date, but got it near the beginning of September and took it off late October 2014.

Originally Posted by akima

Any of the people in this thread had any experience with both this tyre and the DRII on the same bike?

I've got the Pilot Streets on mine currently and have had numerous sets of DRIIs previously. Also had Bridgestone BT-45s just to complete the list.

Of the two, for my riding, I LOVE the Pilot Streets. They've handled exceptionally well in very heavy rain and I've now got just over 10k miles on them with lots of life left. The only time they've felt loose was when I was downshifting and braking, while on a downhill slope, with wet pavement. My idiocy did that, not the tires. I've done a few dirt roads with these on and for the hard pack gravel/dirt we have out here, I felt stable enough to be cruising along at 30-40 mph.

The DRII rears last me about 5000-6000 miles, stuck great when cornering hard on a track (for a newb) and gave me a lot of confidence going up and down the mountains around here. I can recall one stupid monsoon I rode through and never felt like questioning the tire during it (my sanity on the other hand...). Flat high speed highway and interstate riding ate them up too fast though for me. These I did take off road also and they felt stable enough over washboard and ruts with no loose feeling for my easy riding.

Both are great tires, it mostly comes down to how you ride. If you do a lot of twisties or on roads where grip is primary to mileage, the DRIIs are awesome. If you do a lot of straight flat roads with grip (slightly) secondary to mileage, then definitely go with the Pilot Streets.

[akima]

Lots to think about from what you two have just said!

While we're discussing tyres. When it comes to replace my rear DRII, if I was to go for a Pilot Street Radial for that, would a 140/70 fit my bike? I'm running a 140/70 DRII, but it barely seemed wider than the original IRC. I read that the Pilot is a wider 140/70 than the DRII! If it does fit, which would you recommend: the 140/70 Pilot or the 130/70 Pilot? Or... 200/70 WITH AN EXTENDED SWING ARM

[csmith12]

Heck, I might have a set of DRII take offs in my garage. If I have them and you can bear the shipping. They are yours for free. Of course the edges are gone but around the center is like brand new. hahahahahahah I will check what I got.

[NevadaWolf]

I've got 140's on mine, no fit issues what so ever.

[akima]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Heck, I might have a set of DRII take offs in my garage. If I have them and you can bear the shipping. They are yours for free. Of course the edges are gone but around the center is like brand new. hahahahahahah I will check what I got.

That's a very kind offer, but I think the import costs would make it not worth while. I expect there's an American ninjetter who can provide a good home for them.

[NevadaWolf]

I think it'd be useful to know the costs between our countries. I know there are things I could have sent other places but the catch all "shipping" stopped me.

Slow boat from China usually has low shipping costs, but I've never ordered anything big.

I think a stop at the Post Office is in order. i'm curious now.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by akima

That's a very kind offer, but I think the import costs would make it not worth while. I expect there's an American ninjetter who can provide a good home for them.

Common... just think how cool you would be when someone looks at your rear tire.

I can only offer this as an upgrade to your already high level coolness factor.

[NevadaWolf]

Severe ballparking shows about $165.90 just to mail it from Reno to London. No idea if anything extra is needed or what you get hit with on your end.

Ok, back to work now.

[akima]

@Alex - here you said you were going to try out the Pilot Street Radials after your DRIIs were done. Did that happen? If so, how do they compare?

[Alex]

Nope, it's going to be awhile. Not putting nearly as many miles underneath me as I would want!

[akima]

^ me either. That's gonna change though. The weather has been really awesome here this April. My skin has been crawling to ride. Bad tyres, bad rear brake and a ticking sound coming from the engine has foiled my plans so far though. I think it should be all sorted by next month (read: next pay check).