Hawk front tire wear question

Bill1 · 11-20-2018, 09:39 PM

I have about 2500 miles on my Hawk with factory tires and tubes.

On the front tire, the knobs are wearing at a fairly steep angle. The back of the knobs are worn almost completely and the front of the knobs are almost untouched.

I ride mostly only a few miles to work and back, so 98% on-road.

Any insights?

More Pictures:
https://imgur.com/a/46rjcI3

ChipToothy · 11-20-2018, 10:30 PM

I don't know your budget but these or similar would be much longer lasting and better handling than any knobbies on the highways. These are a 80/20 tire, 80% street and 20% dirt. The opposite of the Hawk tires which are aimed primarily at dirt. If you have zero interest in riding off road then an all weather street tire would be your best choice.

My boss has what looks like small Ninja wheels and tires on his KLR, SuperMoto style for pure street.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/...roduct-details

timcosby · 11-20-2018, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill1

I have about 2500 miles on my Hawk with factory tires and tubes.

On the front tire, the knobs are wearing at a fairly steep angle. The back of the knobs are worn almost completely and the front of the knobs are almost untouched.

I ride mostly only a few miles to work and back, so 98% on-road.

Any insights?

More Pictures:
https://imgur.com/a/46rjcI3

you got another 4k to go befor looking for tires.

pete · 11-21-2018, 12:55 AM

front tyre nobbs wear backwards because of brakeing...
the load is reversed to the drive load on the rear wheel.
the rear dosn't do it as it skids before there is enough pressure..

some tyres wear this way more than others..

..

**JerryHawk250** · 11-21-2018, 06:33 AM

My front tire looked the same at 2500 miles. My rear tire has over 4500 miles and still has a good bit of threads left.

Rear tire @ 4500 miles
Name: rear tire.jpg
Views: 833
Size: 96.7 KB

Bill1 · 11-21-2018, 07:04 AM

OK. Thanks for the info. Glad to know there's not a problem causing the wear. I might take the front tire off and change directions to make it last a little longer. After that, I was thinking about the Shinko 700. Even though I ride almost all street, I'm not ready to go to a supermoto tire. I still have dreams of having time to off-road.

bogieboy · 11-21-2018, 07:07 AM

Normal wear for dirt oriented knobbies....as mentioned earlier, you can convert to street oriented tires using Ninja rims... i did my 07 roketa with 86 ninja 250 rims...

bogieboy · 11-21-2018, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill1

OK. Thanks for the info. Glad to know there's not a problem causing the wear. I might take the front tire off and change directions to make it last a little longer. After that, I was thinking about the Shinko 700. Even though I ride almost all street, I'm not ready to go to a supermoto tire. I still have dreams of having time to off-road.

You would be amazed how much offroading you can do with a street tire.....

roundhouse · 11-21-2018, 04:43 PM

That is normal.

I ride like you, mostly on the street. I put Shinko 705s on mine and love them. Handle and brakes WAY better on road. Trail riding on packed dirt they are pretty good. Loose sand is terrible. I will trade that any day for how aggressively I can ride on the street.

dh · 11-22-2018, 09:46 AM

I have had the same type of wear on my front tire with my SSR, but after about 5k miles of mostly street and highway. I have mainly stuck to kenda 244 or Shinko 705, and the 705 lasts a little longer.

I thought this might be typical, except I have read on a KLR forum about people getting close to 10k on a set of 244s doing similar riding as me. How does a heavier bike get nearly twice the life out of the same tires? Well a mechanic recently told me that this type of front tire wear is due to poor front fork damping.

I recently changed my front tire and fork oil, so I am interested to see what happens.

culcune · 11-22-2018, 11:24 AM

I had a 2013 TMEC 200 enduro. At the time, my friend was distributing them and offered either a 21/18 setup with knobbies, or 17/17 'supermoto' style (now, only Sunright distributes them with 21/18 wheels and either DOT knobbies or more street oriented dual sport tires). I rode my bike for about 10k miles daily to work and back for 2 years and they still had the little nubs like they were new! In fact, a member bought the wheels and tires off me for his TMEC. Heck, he might still owe me for the shipping? Anyway, never took the bike off-road which is ironic since I lived in Yuma, AZ, but this was 4 wheeler country with lots of sand; beachlike sand--the kind you need paddle tires to ride on. Part of the durability of the tires was the fact that my friend spec'd them from TMEC with a high-quality brand, whose name eludes me. I wouldn't rule out 17/17 with sport tires just yet...

kirbo7106 · 11-24-2018, 10:42 AM

I switched over to the Shinko 244 Tires. On the street, they ride so much better than the stock knobbies. I still like the option of hitting a trail or dirt road, otherwise I would have gone with the 705 tires.

When I switched out my tires, I also changed out the tubes and rim strips. Both of those were from iRC. The rim strips felt like twice the thickness of the factory strips. I went with IRC Heavy Duty tubes, but I think any quality tube will be twice the thickness of the factory tubes.

Be safe out there!

Ariel Red Hunter · 11-24-2018, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill1

OK. Thanks for the info. Glad to know there's not a problem causing the wear. I might take the front tire off and change directions to make it last a little longer. After that, I was thinking about the Shinko 700. Even though I ride almost all street, I'm not ready to go to a supermoto tire. I still have dreams of having time to off-road.

Knobbies set up vibration patterns on pavement. This causes "tramping" which causes tire wear like you have. Try going to a thicker fork oil....ARH

lefty · 11-28-2018, 09:32 PM

I Love my Shinko 700 on the Hawk

And if you use the Nija wheels like Bogieboy you could do like my KLX...well mabie not the 4.60 front lol

Best,
Lefty

2015 Hawk 250
2009 KLX250SF
2006 883 Sportster
1972 Honda CT70
Lost along the way;
1982 GS1100L
1983 Honda 185s 2ea.
1974 Puch 175mx
Right Arm

lefty · 11-28-2018, 09:35 PM

11-21-2018, 12:55 AM	#4
pete Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: ChCh , NZ Posts: 2,266	front tyre nobbs wear backwards because of brakeing... the load is reversed to the drive load on the rear wheel. the rear dosn't do it as it skids before there is enough pressure.. some tyres wear this way more than others.. .. __________________ 09 XT660R ... 06 TTR250 ... 80 Montesa H6 125 Enduro... 77 Montesa Cota 348 MRR "Malcom Rathnell Replica"... Current resto projects.. 81 Honda CT110... 80 Kawasaki KL250A1... 11 Husaburg TE125 enduro... "sold" along with another 31... Lifan 125 Pitbike.. "stolen" ... KIWI BIKER FORUM...... http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/content.php All the best offroad rides in NZ... http://www.remotemoto.com/ E-mail... xtpete1@gmail.com
	1

11-21-2018, 06:33 AM	#5
JerryHawk250 Moderator Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 11,847	My front tire looked the same at 2500 miles. My rear tire has over 4500 miles and still has a good bit of threads left. Rear tire @ 4500 miles __________________ 2025 Lifan KPT 400 2024 Linhai 300 ATV 4x4 2023 Lifan Lycan 250 Chopper 2023 Venom Evader 2022 Lifan KPX250 2020 Kawasaki Vulcan S (Sold) 2004 Honda ST 1300 (Sold) 2016 Black Hawk 250 (sold) 2016 Cazador180 XL 2014 Coolster150 JerryHawk250.com My YouTube Channel Last edited by JerryHawk250; 11-21-2018 at 11:11 AM.
	1

11-21-2018, 07:04 AM	#6
Bill1 Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: FL Posts: 95	OK. Thanks for the info. Glad to know there's not a problem causing the wear. I might take the front tire off and change directions to make it last a little longer. After that, I was thinking about the Shinko 700. Even though I ride almost all street, I'm not ready to go to a supermoto tire. I still have dreams of having time to off-road. __________________ 2016 RPS Hawk 250, exhaust, Uni Filter, Mikuni VM-26 clone w/ 120 main & 30 pilot, MSR shifter, 17/45 sprockets, JT chain, digital cluster...
	1

11-22-2018, 09:46 AM	#10
dh Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: NW Arkansas Posts: 460	I have had the same type of wear on my front tire with my SSR, but after about 5k miles of mostly street and highway. I have mainly stuck to kenda 244 or Shinko 705, and the 705 lasts a little longer. I thought this might be typical, except I have read on a KLR forum about people getting close to 10k on a set of 244s doing similar riding as me. How does a heavier bike get nearly twice the life out of the same tires? Well a mechanic recently told me that this type of front tire wear is due to poor front fork damping. I recently changed my front tire and fork oil, so I am interested to see what happens. __________________ 2013 SSR XF-250 2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan 411
	0

11-22-2018, 11:24 AM	#11
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,056	I had a 2013 TMEC 200 enduro. At the time, my friend was distributing them and offered either a 21/18 setup with knobbies, or 17/17 'supermoto' style (now, only Sunright distributes them with 21/18 wheels and either DOT knobbies or more street oriented dual sport tires). I rode my bike for about 10k miles daily to work and back for 2 years and they still had the little nubs like they were new! In fact, a member bought the wheels and tires off me for his TMEC. Heck, he might still owe me for the shipping? Anyway, never took the bike off-road which is ironic since I lived in Yuma, AZ, but this was 4 wheeler country with lots of sand; beachlike sand--the kind you need paddle tires to ride on. Part of the durability of the tires was the fact that my friend spec'd them from TMEC with a high-quality brand, whose name eludes me. I wouldn't rule out 17/17 with sport tires just yet... __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
	0

11-20-2018, 10:30 PM	#2
ChipToothy Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 819	I don't know your budget but these or similar would be much longer lasting and better handling than any knobbies on the highways. These are a 80/20 tire, 80% street and 20% dirt. The opposite of the Hawk tires which are aimed primarily at dirt. If you have zero interest in riding off road then an all weather street tire would be your best choice. My boss has what looks like small Ninja wheels and tires on his KLR, SuperMoto style for pure street. https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/...roduct-details
	1

11-21-2018, 07:07 AM	#7
bogieboy Join Date: May 2013 Location: finger lakes NY Posts: 2,063	Normal wear for dirt oriented knobbies....as mentioned earlier, you can convert to street oriented tires using Ninja rims... i did my 07 roketa with 86 ninja 250 rims...
	2

11-21-2018, 04:43 PM	#9
roundhouse Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: N Texas Posts: 709	That is normal. I ride like you, mostly on the street. I put Shinko 705s on mine and love them. Handle and brakes WAY better on road. Trail riding on packed dirt they are pretty good. Loose sand is terrible. I will trade that any day for how aggressively I can ride on the street.
	0

11-24-2018, 10:42 AM	#12
kirbo7106 Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Holiday, Florida Posts: 672	Hey Bill1! I switched over to the Shinko 244 Tires. On the street, they ride so much better than the stock knobbies. I still like the option of hitting a trail or dirt road, otherwise I would have gone with the 705 tires. When I switched out my tires, I also changed out the tubes and rim strips. Both of those were from iRC. The rim strips felt like twice the thickness of the factory strips. I went with IRC Heavy Duty tubes, but I think any quality tube will be twice the thickness of the factory tubes. Be safe out there! __________________ Dan-O -2018 Tao Tao HellCat - DOA -2016 Hawk 250 - Kitty Hawk - eBay exhaust, Mikuni carb(120 main/30 Pilot), airbox mod with K&N filter, digital cluster, total LEDs, 17/45 sprockets, RK chain, Shinko 244 tires, trunk, aftermarket levers, burrito tube, skid plate, Sargent Cycle Seat... -2003 HD Sportster 100th Anniversary -1999 Buell X-1 Lightning - Race kit, Buell Seat
	0

11-28-2018, 09:32 PM	#14
lefty Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 46	I Love my Shinko 700 on the Hawk And if you use the Nija wheels like Bogieboy you could do like my KLX...well mabie not the 4.60 front lol Best, Lefty 2015 Hawk 250 2009 KLX250SF 2006 883 Sportster 1972 Honda CT70 Lost along the way; 1982 GS1100L 1983 Honda 185s 2ea. 1974 Puch 175mx Right Arm
	0

11-28-2018, 09:35 PM	#15
lefty Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 46
	0