Touring tire longevity

THIS...and yes it works with street tires, well at least sport street tires, I haven't had a cruiser in so long those tires would belong in the Smithsonian.


I got 5,000 miles out of a set of Super Corsa SPs including 4-6 track days in there, there is no way you should be getting less mileage out of a touring tire.

Running it at max sidewall PSI encourages squaring because are effectively running the tire on a smaller part of its surface, running it to soft causes it to heat more and also encourages wear.

But yeah, more front brake and take it easy with slapping the throttle open.

You're gonna die dude

The tire pressure on the sidewall is specifically for the maximum load the tire is capable of carrying. Any application. The pressures in the motorcycle owner's manual should apply. Just like the pressures listed on the car door sticker are for all tires.

I don't use the listed pressures they are for the stock tires, the tires on my 675 at the moment are just barely removed DOT race tires, the cold pressures are 26/28 as a starting point, in fact on cold days I've run them a 23/24 to get them to 32psi hot where they are supposed to be.

Likewise my Speed Triple came with Bridgestones on it, its worm PR2s forever now. The pressures aren't analogousness.

What Bueller posted about the 10% rule is the best way to go about it.

This is the Dark Side, isn't it. I heard about this on the NGW list.

Why yes it is, and that was a "perfect line" joke.

On big bikes it works fine, I mean big, Rocket IIIs, Oldwings , valks and such. There are many who tense up and start twitching at the very idea though,

On the older Glides ( had one for many years, now have an '11 glide ) 4k or so it common milage. How I looked at was - Glides are around 800lbs and the rear tire on the older ones is relativly narrow , so they sqare off quickly and just can't last that long due to the weight and the smaller contact patch.

On the 11 I have now, the Glide weighs close to 800 fully loaded, but the tire is a lot wider and the compound in the center is harder. 11k on it the rear tire, it is not squared off and looks to be able to get more than 15k on it.

Michelin Commander II. Up to twice the mileage with these tires compared to the Metzelers.

Dunlops used to suck big time... They did change their tire structure/compound in the last year or two. Now their tires actually last a reasonable miles without scalloping.

I run Michelins on my cruisers.

We get 10-15k on the Dunlops and 15-25k on the Michelins.

+1

..or bike & car manufacturers would just say "run what the sidewall says" in the manual.

Anyone who thinks otherwise should do a braking test with "recommended" pressures
and then with sidewall maximum pressure. Or ask around on a track where lives depend
on 1 PSI.

Why winter?

Anyone who thinks otherwise should do a braking test with "recommended" pressures
and then with sidewall maximum pressure. Or ask around on a track where lives depend
on 1 PSI.


When riding on the track one's only concern is traction, therefore you lower the pressure. You are not concerned with mileage or temperature or ride of the tire.

Do what you want because everyone has their own opinion and it doesn't seem to matter what facts are put out there. Done and out. All ride safe.

On an 850 lb Venture, will get 15000+ on a Dunlop Elite3. Avon Venom will provide 12-14000 miles. Dunlop D404 - never again. 4000-4500 miles. POS they are.

E3 or Avon.

I get 10k easily (best was around 15k miles) on my rear and have gotten 22k out of a front, Harley changed the tires for the 09 and later models (Dunlop) with a harder compound in the center and softer on the sidewalls. Most of my friends who ride older Harleys are switching to the Michelin Commanders, they're telling me it's cheaper than the Dunlops and wears better. I've also had a V65 Sabre for 20 something years and I could go through a rear tire in 3500 miles and the front in 6-7k miles

go to the "darkside", put a car tire on your bike,,,

People tend to base their opinions without any prior knowledge.
This should be common sense, though.

And to answer the OP.. I had 16.500 miles on my BT020's when I replaced
them on my Kawasaki 650R, which is a nice & torquey twin. The rear was
still not at the wear bars, and I used to slide around the rear around town
frequently in the last 2-3k miles.

It's down to very slick city roads around here, they're as polished as glass
and there's no traction. I could power-slide my 9hp scooter on some
intersections.

Of course, the BT020's being made out of mixed lego plastic and stone helps
too.

Have you read Rollin's ride reports? 25,000 miles is a five day trip to Starbucks...I'm thinking he's going to Prudhoe Bay.

No, I'm outta the loop.

Winter tires have softer compound = more wear in higher temps &
they overheat.. at least that's what happens when they're used on cars.

I had fairly good luck with Dunlop 404's,got about 10k outa the rear before it squared off.My Honda only weighs about 575 lbs though and it was all highway miles.I replaced them with BT45's just to try something different,not enough miles yet to make a good judgement but I like then so far

Another vote for the dark-side. It really does work well. Try it. You can get a car tire for most large tourers for about $100.