08 fxdb - rear tire, slight sidewall cracking
 

Bought the bike used & cheap - but clearly mistreated. I just sunk 2k into restoring it. Was about to do a little polishing to the rear rim and noticed two cracks in the sidewall One continuous 1/4" long, the other non-continuous and 2 1/4" long overall. Sad thing is the tire has tons of tread left on it w/ just over 2800 miles on the tire. I inspected the other side of the rear tire front tire sidewalls and all tread - no additional hints of cracks.

I'm assuming the cracks are caused by dry rot, or possibly from sitting flat for God knows how long (although there are no corresponding cracks on the other side).

I know any sidewall crack is a bad thing but just how serious is what's shown in the pic below. Do I need to replace the tire immediately or can it wait a couple of months?

http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/s...all_cracks.jpg

If it was my bike, the tire would be replaced.

I know you said you've already spent 2k getting it back into shape.
Don't skimp on the most important part.

It's not worth risking...Change the rubber.

mine did that and ended up opening enough that it pinched the tube and left me on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere I would replace it i look at mine everytime i ride now.

it's a tire I wouldn't mess around with that one replace it

There is No room for mistakes on a bike, replace it. Your bike is only as good as the rubber holding it to the road.

okay, okay

Popped for a set of Metz - tires, tubes and strips for $311 from MCSS

At least is was a little less than I thought.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.