Two basic maintence questions.

[aghstnashell]

Figured I kill two birds with one...thread?

1. When should I replace my rear tire? The TWI's are starting to show down the center, but I want to keep the tire as long as possible (get the most use out of it basically). And then when I do replace it, how much should it cost to have one put on?

2. My front brake has been acting a little out of whack, so how do I know I need new pads for my brakes? (I've never owned a car of my own so I can't really relate if you use that as an example.)

[aghstnashell]

Also I just noticed the maintenance forum, sorry about that.

[cjbez07]

first off.. not sure what you mean by a little wack with your front brakes.. second... if your rear tire starts to bold up then get a new tire.. heck you only got 2 on your bike and you sure as heck dont want anything to go wrong ... also.. all depends on miles and what kind of tires you get and what kind of riding you do.. and not sure about rear tire but if you can take it off yourself and buy a tire from a place like cycle gear then they can normaly put it on the wheel for ya and you just put the wheel back yourself.. if your not comfortable doing that then around $60 for a dealer to take it off and put back on plus the cost of the tire..

[aghstnashell]

first off.. not sure what you mean by a little wack with your front brakes.. second... if your rear tire starts to bold up then get a new tire.. heck you only got 2 on your bike and you sure as heck dont want anything to go wrong ... also.. all depends on miles and what kind of tires you get and what kind of riding you do.. and not sure about rear tire but if you can take it off yourself and buy a tire from a place like cycle gear then they can normaly put it on the wheel for ya and you just put the wheel back yourself.. if your not comfortable doing that then around $60 for a dealer to take it off and put back on plus the cost of the tire..

Sometimes when I come to a stop, I can hear the front brake make a sort of grinding, and I can feel it in the handlebars. It doesn't happen every time though, maybe one out of five times I come to a complete stop. And some times its more noticeable than others.

As for the rear tire, its stock, 7200-ish miles, and I'm usually riding (sadly) on the highway, so its mostly just being upright. And I don't have the tools to get my tire off by myself.

[cjbez07]

grinding?? you can look at your brake pads without having to take anything off.. you should be able to see if its metal on metal but i doubt it would be since its just happening every now and then.. id say get some brake cleaner and clean them off pretty good.. sometimes its caused by rust/dust/ etc.. so ya definitely clean them up.. 7200 is alot of miles for a tire.. well unless you got full on road tires.. but also you are riding a 250 so im not sure about tire life.. i know the most i have ever gotten out of a tire was just around 8k miles.. you will normaly go through about 2 rear tires before you go through a front.. but like i said.. if it looks bold and not right well im sure u can go to a shop and get some prices on what it will cost and while you are there you can always ask for another opinion but i dont play around when it comes to tire replacement.. if its slick then its off.. or im not riding.. $150 -$200 a tire is better than $1000 + medical bill

[Sanchez]

Your tire should have wear bars. They're small indentations. When you can't see them anymore, you should replace the tire. If not, just replace the tire when there's no tread left in the middle. :) Your tire will not spontaneously explode if you ride it too long. You might find yourself without traction if the pavement is wet, though.

You can visually inspect your brake pads. Here's a video: http://www.ehow.com/video_4956938_check-motorcycle-brakes.html. Your pads may have a groove in them to show how far down you can wear them. If not, you should replace them at 1 mm. This will be in your bike's owners manual too.

[Lazarus]

I wouldnt think that with 7k miles on the bike you would need front brakes. I have 17k and 3 track days on mine but I'm going to replace them.

[aghstnashell]

I wouldnt think that with 7k miles on the bike you would need front brakes. I have 17k and 3 track days on mine but I'm going to replace them.
The pads desperately need replacing. I bought new pads for $31 and I'm putting them on myself.

[aghstnashell]

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr295/aghstnashell/Photo07091909.jpg

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr295/aghstnashell/Photo07091910.jpg