Vee Rubber tires had problems｜南米一周バイク旅

The other day, I was in Porvenir, Tierra del Fuego, in southern Chile, and noticed that the center of my rear tire was pretty worn out.

No, wait a minute.

I changed my tires about a month and a half ago, and I’ve only driven about 3,600 km.

This is terrible.

I changed them to brand new tires.

The tire on the right is a Brazilian-made Rinardi tire that I drove about 7,800 km on.

As I mentioned in a previous article, I had to replace it because a tire block had cracked.

Before that, I was using Rinaldi tires, which I had driven over 10,000 km on and still had the potential to last another 2,000 km.

For me, Rinardi tires were inexpensive but reliable.

The tires I’m using today are Vee Rubber, made in Thailand.

They have poor durability, with signs of bursting after about 4,000 km, let alone 10,000 km.

They cost about 1.5 times as much as Rinardi tires, but they’re just not worth the cost.

I’m currently in Punta Arenas.

The next big city is Puerto Montt.

I’ll be driving about 4,000 km, passing through several cities, until I get there.

And I’ll be driving on several gravel roads.

This makes me anxious.

So, first, I tried to find a motorcycle parts store in Punta Arenas.

However, I couldn’t find any stores selling motorcycle parts on Google Maps.

Next, I considered purchasing online from Chile, but I confirmed that I needed a Chilean ID card when purchasing from a Chilean online store.

This is because the seller must provide an invoice.

Perhaps this is also to prevent tax evasion.

Next, I purchased from Mercado Libre in Argentina and planned to pick up the item at a post office in a city I was visiting.

I checked the arrival date on the app, only to find that it was a full month away.

I wondered if this was due to the Christmas and New Year holidays, and the strong winds in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, making safe truck operation a priority.

In January, I’d be back in Chile, not Argentina, so it would be difficult for me to pick up the items in Argentina.

So, I decided to check with a motorcycle dealer in Punta Arenas to see if they had the right size tires before purchasing.

These are reliable, Japanese-made Dunlop D604 tires.

$145,000 is about USD 160.

I can purchase Rinaldi tires online in Chile for about USD 90.

I could have also purchased Michelin tires, which are about USD 17 more expensive, but I’ll consider that next time.

If these Dunlop tires can only withstand the same level of wear as the Rinaldi tires, I’ll probably only buy Rinaldi tires from now on, considering the cost-effectiveness.

Well, since I’m not replacing them yet, I wrapped them in black garbage bags and plastic wrap to protect them from UV rays and moisture.