Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Brought Home 03 TBA, Do I Need New Tires?

Just brought it home today, thanks for all the help with the trailer!
The bike is practically new but its been stored in a garage for quite a while. He rode it a bit every year but it has a total of 900 miles on it. Not sure if I need to post pictures for a better idea of their condition, but what would you think? They've never been replaced.


Also whats the cost for a good pair of tires? Thanks again everyone!

Is their any cracking on the sidewalls, etc...?
Does the rubber have any 'soft spots'?
I would doubt you would need tires since it was garage kept unless you see cracking or they just don't ride right.
Your opinion and piece of mind is the most important here. If you're really worried about it, do it.

5 years old tyres are old rubber change them

You can probably run those ties until you wear them out. Look for side wall cracks but you are probably ok as long as they were out of the sun and not in a wet area.

You'll have more fun if you replace the stock tires with Avons or Metzlers but in reality if there are no signs of cracks or dry rot you're good to go.

Grzegorz, I usually agree with you but: Its a TBA (tubes), unlike a tubeless absent cracking at the beads and sidewall they may be fine.

Now, putting a few new tubes in may be a good idea.

Congrats on the new bike.

What am I looking at price wise for some new tires?

This spring I too bought an '03 TBA. It had 1200 miles on it with original tires. Been riding it ever since with same tires and everything is fine. I live in twisty country with 40+ years riding experience and believe me, I would not have ridden it with bad tires. I think you are fine.

well thats a loaded question... and will depend on were you buy them..

i can tell you at the dealer you will go it will be about $200 for the rear and about $150 for the front and also the time to change them and mount and balance them it will be over $400 by the time your done ..

now you can get them cheaper on line but be careful.. that your not buying old tire's

and the way i do it is I pull the wheel my self take them to the dealer have them mount and balance the tire ... I bring them back and put them on the bike my self.....

this saves some money..

the last set i got online save about $150 bucks

but the only way to check is to see what you local dealer price is and the go online and see what you can get them for

but i bet you will find a BIG difference ..

Ed

Just replaced the front on my TBA because it had severe weather cracking. The rear was changed because it had been plugged twice. Both had a lot of tread left.

Purchased from http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=33_165_172_595&&page=2 $149 for the rear and $103 for the front with free shipping anywhere in the States.

americanmototire.com is

Just put a rear Wild Flare on Wendy's bike, it was $100 including shipping. (A little over $100 but can't remember the exact amount maybe $105)

I just bought another Kenda Kruz K673 rear 170/80/15 for $71.29 delivered from http://www.traxms.com/ Great tires and a really good price, me thinks. ( Although i bought the last one for $52.00 with free shipping!) Could've gotten it for $60.00 but the local warehouse was out of stock...

If you ask around a little bit locally, it shouldn't be impossible to find a place or person to change the rubber for around 2/3rds or half of what a dealer's labor rate is.

Another vote for the Metzler 880s. Mine wore like iron, and I thought they held the road extremely well, wet or dry.

I like the Metz too but like the IRC Wild Flare better now. The tire costs less but also wears out faster so no real savings there but I like the look and the way it rides.

Thank you for the link to american tire. I use pirelli route 66 and they are cheaper than motorcyle superstore. I have about 18,000 on front and got 28,000 on rear before I change rear. Service at motorcycle superstore is Really great. They are only about $2 more on front

Motorcycle Superstore seemed expensive when I was pricing tires.