Safety Topic #5 - Scrubbing in new tires

I just installed new Tourances on the Red Devil this weekend, and I got to thinking about the scrub-in process. One little tip I heard long ago was, “Slippery when new.” So I thought this week’s topic should be about the scrub-in period for new tires.

New tires may have sticky or slimy goo on them, either mold-release compound from the manufacturer to make sure the tire comes out of the mold, or lubricant to let the tire slip more easily onto the rim. (A lot of tire manufacturers and installers deny that such materials exist.) In any case, new tires are smooth and have limited traction.

When you buy new tires, the best thing to do is to find an empty parking lot and do some lazy figure-eights. Make your turns progressively faster and with greater lean angles. The idea is to scrub off that goo under controlled circumstances. You never want to suddenly turn so hard that you're riding entirely on an area of the tires that hasn't been scrubbed off yet.

Once you leave the parking lot after your scrub-in, remember, optimal grip is obtained only after the tread surface has been ridden on for 100 or so miles, so go into those first few twisties with a bit of caution. Take turns gently, slowly increasing your angle of lean. Slowly is the key: You always want enough of the contact patch to be on the broken-in section that you don’t lose it. Eventually your chicken-strips will disappear.

The nice thing about having a GS is we can take new tires for a ride down a gravel road (at least that's what I do). The gravel gets the goo off pretty quickly...

Be Safe!

The original post on F650.com can be found here.

References:
http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq/maintaining.html
http://swmototires.com/technical.htm
http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/tire_facts/