So something happened tonight while riding home from work and it has kept me up until almost 1 am now so I decided to seek advice from more knowledgeable folks.
So i ride a Yamaha R15S. Owned since December 2016. I have clocked 18k+ kms on it. The tyres are still the ones that it came with. Year of tyre manufacture is 2017. Both front and rear tyres have had a couple or so punctures that have been repaired well.
Both tyres have worn more from the middle but it isn't too extreme. Its just that the original shape is now gone and its slightly squarish in the middle.
Both tyres have a decent tread depth remaining, i reckon at this rate should last this year.
I commute 40 kms a day, 6 days a week and fewer kms on Sundays. All of it on mixed road conditions.
Now tonight on my way back home, i took a corner at around 40-50kmph. I came in faster, braked at the start, let go of the brake and pushed the left handle bar and leaned the bike over.
*** In the middle of that corner the front tyre started to slide ***
Luckily, I had kept a loose grip on the handlebars and handlebars wobbled a bit but the bike corrected itself and i was able to make it out of that corner.
I don't think I had leaned the bike over too much, like say - beyond 45 degrees. I definitely did not apply the front brake when leaned over. There wasn't any gravel on the road either. Might be a layer of dirt, but I couldn't see a patch of it. The road did feel shiny under the street light but couldn't see a water or oil patch either. The front tyre shoulder also looks good with deep treads. I am as of now not sure of cupping, will check tomorrow morning.
I had taken the same corner at about the same speed- or slightly less maybe - yesterday with no problems
Now I am not sure whether it was something I did wrong, something on the road that caused that sliding or whether the tyres have hardened enough to not provide good grip even from the good looking shoulder region. Maybe I did lean it over too much and didn't realize it? Maybe there was something on the road i didn't see? Sleep eludes me tonight.
Should i go ahead and replace both tyres? Thoughts appreciated.













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