I JUST GOT MY BIKE BACK FROM HAVING A NEW CAM PUT IN. WHILE I WAS PICKING IT UP I WAS TOLD MY REAR TIRE IS GETTING CLOSE. NOW I THOUGHT I WAS GOOD AT JUDGING TIRES ON MY CAR BUT MAYBE I'M NOT GOOD ON A HARLEY. THE TIRE IS ONLY 11/2 YEARS OLD AND HAS ABOUT 2K ON IT. I DON'T DO BURN OUTS AND I HAVEN'T BEEN RIDING ON REAL BAD ROADS. SO MY QUESTION IS THIS WHAT DO I NEED TO LOOK AT TO TELL WHEN IT'S TIME FOR NEW RUBBER AND NOT JUST BEING HOSED TO BUY A NEW TIRE. I HAVE METZ'S ON THERE NOW.

 

Most tires have wear bars built into the tread. When the rubber gets thin, these bars show up. Dunlop H-D tires have a small triangle along the sidewall indicating were the wear bars are. I dont know about the Metz tires.

 

I use the penny trick....

U.S. coins can be substituted for a tire tread depth gauge as tires wear to the critical final few 32nds of an inch of their remaining tread depth.
Place a penny into several tread grooves across the tire. If part of Lincoln's head is always covered by the tread, you have more than 2/32" of tread depth remaining.

Place a quarter into several tread grooves across the tire. If part of Washington's head is always covered by the tread, you have more than 4/32" of tread depth remaining.

Place a penny into several tread grooves across the tire. If the top of the Lincoln Memorial is always covered by the tread, you have more than 6/32" of tread depth remaining.

The Law
According to most states' laws, tires are legally worn out when they have worn down to 2/32" of remaining tread depth. To help warn drivers that their tires have reached that point, tires sold in North America are required to have indicators molded into their tread design called "wear bars" which run across their tread pattern from their outside shoulder to inside shoulder. Wear bars are designed to visually connect the elements of the tire's tread pattern and warn drivers when their tires no longer meet minimum tread depth requirements.