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Tire Shaving

5K views 23 replies 19 participants last post by  rode2rouen 
#1 ·
So my 2013 Thruxton is a devil to haul around corners. Is the worn square tire profile the cause. I realize modern tires have a round symmetrical profile. Thought I'd try shaving the corner edge between the sidewalls and the base to return the curve. Thoughts? How best to do it. Perhaps a rasp while the rear wheel is raised and rotating.
 
#3 ·
Ok. Seems like a waste to chuck them with only 7000 miles but I get it. What mileage can one expect from a Thruxton rear tire?

I am returning to biking after many years. Popular tires at the time in the UK included Avon Road Runners and Dunlop TT100. Open to suggestions. I plan to commute on a blend of major roads and highway(50%), plus weekends on the twisties, if I can find them. Anticipate mostly dry summer driving - fingers crossed.
 
#5 ·
I also get about 6000-7000 miles from a rear tire.
 
#9 ·
OK. So now I'm shopping for my first new rear tire. I notice my (Thruxton 2013) manual states only use tires design for tubes and the front and rear should match. Options. Heard the Avon Riders are great value but far as I can tell they are tubeless. Will they work ok, and what about a match to the Metzler up front?
 
#16 ·
What tires are you running? I bought the Scrambler for additional leg room more than anything. I'd need a 90% road tire.
I'll pick up a true dual sport bike when I retire.
I'm going with the tubeless conversion when I need replacements. Sure will give me peace of mind when out of cell range.
May replace sooner if my BIL can talk me into hitting more trails, he rides a GS.
 
#13 ·
Whats more important your life or trying to save some money, just buy new tyres, myself I would replace the front one as well from the stock tyres but remember to soft a tyre will handle better but you will get even less life out of them, I am happy with my RRs they grip very well and have taken them right to the edge many a times, I replace both tyres even when the front didn't need it when I replaced the stock tyres, so far The front is still good but have gone through 2 rear ones so far, the last one was a sportdemon as I was away on the bike when I had the rear blow out from something that was on the road and couldn't get a replacement RR, so far the front RR has over 25k on it and I get about 14k on the rear, thats kls not miles, so around 7,000 miles is about average on a rear tyre and make sure you check air pressure regularly as tube tyres do loose air.

Ashley
 
#14 ·
Re. Tubeless tire markings...that means the tire can be used both tubed & tubeless. The stock Metzlars are also marked as tubeless yet have tubes in them from Triumph.
Most tires these days are marked tubeless as most bikes run sealed rims without tubes. In the old days there were mainly tubed bikes and so there is no tubed-only marking on tires as far as I know.

Do a search on the forums for sealing the rims to make your spoked wheels able to run without tubes. Generally considered best for emergency repairs using plug kits while on the roadside.
 
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#15 ·
As another geriatric returnee I would just remind the op how far bike tyres have come in 40 years from the Avon Mk11 to today's 'grippers'. Car tyres are produced in far greater volumes in more automated processes in harder compounds and subject to less stresses in use. They are therefore generally cheaper and more durable but it is a false comparison. The modern bike tyre is, in varying degrees, more biased to performance than tyre life......and performance contributes to human life.
Bottom line: this is a leisure activity where false economy is lethal.
I rate my Michelin Pilot Activs but I suspect the Anakees would suit if you stray onto gravel. It mostly comes down to preference and a shocked realisation of just how the old set have worn past their best.
 
#18 ·
Just an update as the original poster that started this thread...well I survived my first season back on two wheels. Shaving worked but now shopping hard for a replacement set of tires. Had settledd first on the Michelin Pilot Road 3, but so far unable to locate a pair. Am now gravitating to the Continental Road Attack 3. Probably my final decision!

Couple of mods to stock I will be undertaking while the bike is off the road for the winter....
1. Increasing width by 20 mm. That will take me to 110/80-18 on the front, and a 150/70-17 at the rear. Tire height on the rims remains same as stock.
2. Have also been exploring my "how to" options for going tubeless. My 2013 Thruxton has aluminum rims. I am reading these present some different challenges vs the metal rims found on the Bonny. Apparently aluminum is an inactive metal so solutions like wicking Green Loctite and Permatex won't work effectively without the application of a catalyst/primer. Have been posting my progress on another thread, but will probably settle on the 3M sealing tape 4412N...I believe similar to the popular Outex kits mentioned elsewhere.

Will share results as I progress. Thanks all for your good input.
 
#19 ·
I'd go with one of the sealing tape alternatives described in other threads. No need to split for the expensive conversion kit from Japan. Just source the 3M or other mentioned alternatives available locally/on-line and go to it!
 
#21 ·
You use a hot tire iron. It is an electric hot scraper. NASCAR uses a similar device to scrape off rubber on the used tires for inspections. Duners use them to take knobbies off front tires. Some people use them to square up the knobbies on dirt bikes. Harbor Freight has them for a pretty cheap price.
 
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#23 ·
Some "top of the line" tire stores could do that for you. In car tire terms it's called "buffing" and they use an abrasive wheel on a sort of grinder to remove tread rubber. It's usually done to improve rolling smoothness by evening out irregularities in the tire which can cause roughness. Some SCCA racers will buff off some of the tread from stock tires to reduce the tread thickness which increases cornering power--obviously at the expense of tread life.

However, the cost of setting up a motorcycle to buff off the square corner would overrun the cost of a new tire. Just throw it away and get a new one. If fact throw away the front as well and get a full suit of something that says "Michelin" on the side.
 
#24 ·
A number of years ago a couple of my riding buds used a Surform file to "reround"
a front tire on a Laverda Jota. It was amusing to watch as one spun the front wheel
and the other wielded the rasp. The rest of us drank beer and made disparaging remarks.
The final result was a tire with no evidence of tread cupping remaining, and a fairly large
pile of rubber shavings!

Rex

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Stanley-Su...MIwIDyjIrW2AIV2oqzCh1UqwWjEAQYAyABEgLtRvD_BwE
 
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