Is it worth pulling off a tire with 'life' left in it prior to a trip.....

[Jerry_75_Guy]

Ok, I'm thinking I'll take the VFR to El Paseo. I'm changing the rear tire, for sure, before I go, but the front looks like it could be ok for the trip (I'm guessing I'll ride ~1200 to~1400 miles all in all).

 

I don't have a good feel for how long the front will really last and thought I might just pull the tire, put on the new one, and change it back upon my return home. I'd rather not have to do this being as lazy as I am, but...

 

So...has anyone done this before, trade tires back and forth to get all the liife out of them without risking a badly worn tire on a trip?

 

Does this cause any problems with the tires later, ie beads not seating properly, leaking etc.?

[Fugu]

Yank it off. Throw it away. You won't have to worry about punctures or failures from thin tires, or getting a new one if you take a detour.

 

Not worth the money to remount old used tires.

 

Hell, even if I had a tire mounting setup it wouldn't be worth my time, and I'm not exactly a $500 per hour type.

[tom collins]

the bike won't feel right with a new rear and worn front. you'll get the full benefit with a new pair.

 

tom collins

[Ken H.]

I'd put new on, but I wouldn't necessarily throw the old one with some life left in it away. Keep it around as a spare or to go back on for a few thous. more later. (But then I have a tyre changer, so the mount and demount cost isn't a factor for me.)

[Trinity]

I have been in the same spot (twice) and ended up replacing both tires. In each case, I took long-ish trips and encountered sizeable amounts of rain. The confidence I had from having good tires in the rain more than compensated for the money I spent on the new tires and installation.

[tallman]

Just did that for El Paseo.

Tread left, but riding 2 up.

Best case, riding home on thin ice.

Worst case, well, not worth it.

 

I've also taken them off at 50% life knowing I'd be way over that on the trip and prefering not to stop on the road.

Remounted when returned with the other set worn out.

I alway do front and rear at the same time, too.

[Jerry_75_Guy]

(But then I have a tyre changer, so the mount and demount cost isn't a factor for me.)

 

Same here; I have Mitch's full set up, so no labor costs, just the 'grunt factor' to deal with (so far I've always had to do it solo ).

 

Thanks for the input guys; it's a little too easy to want to go 'penny wise and pound foolish' on a student's income, so baby will be wearing a new (minus ~474 miles enroute) full set of shoes to El Paseo

[SageRider]

If you're doubtful whether the tire will make the trip and don't want to change it on the road, then the logical thing to do is change it before the trip.

Even though i have my own changing equipment, rarely is it worth the effort to remount an old tire. Exception is if the tire has very low mileage on it.

I will soon be remounting a rear Avon Storm that has 1K miles on it. I knew it couldn't make the distance on my last trip so put on a set of Pilot Roads. When they are worn, the 1K used rear Avon and a new Avon front will be fitted.

[BluegrassPicker]

Yank it! The trip will be more enjoyable!

[notacop]

Join the "Dang, there's tread left" society!

I got an extra set of rims to avoid this. Now I have new tires for the trip and a means to wear out the old ones later.

[outpost22]

Yea, I left a "good" front Z6 on for a trip and it was bald when I got back. The thing went to hell in a hurry. It made right "turn-ins" feeling like turning an ocean liner. Not good. Change it!

 

Heck, I'm leaving for Baja in 3 weeks and just yanked off 2 Tourances and replaced them with Avon's. The Tourances have a good 2k left on them, but I learned my lesson last time. I'll throw them back on for shorter trips next year after these Avons are wasted.