Intersting (for me anyways) tire issue

How long should a tire last on a bike? When I got my XJ750 last year I put some new Dunlops on both the front and rear. The D404 front is still going strong, but the rear was bald by the end of the summer.

And that was only about 5000 miles of riding.

OK, here is the interesting issue. When I took the tire off, I glanced at it and read that it was for the front tire only. Could that have been a contributing factor for the lack of it not lasting as much as I thought it should have?

Thanks, Dan

 

AFAIK, the tread is different in front and rear tires. Maybe that was a factor?
Saludos desde Reynosa.
macnifico
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The shaft drive on these bike makes them alot harder on rear tires than a chain bike, but 5000 miles is ridiculous! Could be because its a front tire, but I would just be guessing

 

It might have been. But so could your right wrist.

Something to consider: My Norton runs 4.10X19 front AND rear; and the tires are designed to be used at either end (Dunlop K81 TT100's.) The perfectly acceptable lifespan for a rear tire is ... 5000 miles.

Chain drive, 62hp twin, old fart up... 5000 miles. Always has been.

On my other bikes over the years, all chain drive, Triumphs, SR500s, etc., I never saw more than MAYBE 8K out of a rear. What would you expect to get?

 

+1 on the 8k .... with light weight bikes and light weight riders they might get 10k to 12k on a honda cm200 with a 150lb rider.... xj's ride hard on the rear tire.

more weight = faster wear
nastalgia:
lol just thinking about this reminded me when i was younger we used to wait till the tire was real bald .... get some bleach .... go to an empty parking lot.... dump a little bleach on the back tire and have a friend take pictures while we boiled the tire to the threads ...... makes for great pictures....... ahhhh i guess my age is showing

 

The people getting 8-12 K out of tires are running premium tires, not Dunlops.

They're probably touring rather than carving corners.

They're using them way beyond they're wear limit.

 

I guess its the Canadian in me, I read 5000 miles and then typed 5000 miles as 5000 KM - 5000m (8000k) is a lot more reasonable

 

So Carl; 5K on a rear is about "median" then isn't it?

 

i just changed my tires out at 82,000 MILES...

oh wait that was on my 2007 dodge caliber... lol

 

Ok So who has had the best luck with tires and what brand seems to hold up the best.

I know Big Fitz likes Avons. How about the rest of you. I was thinking Michelin but someone said those were too hard and could lose traction in wet conditions. Is that true???

 

I was thinking the same, 5,000 Km? That doesn't look good... THEN I realized that those were miles. Now it sounds reasonable, altough 10 to 12,000 Km should be more reasonable...
Saludos desde Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México.
macnifico
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I figure 5K is good for a rear tire.
I thought the 404's were alittle harder compound then 5K. hhmmmm....

 

MN- You're right, I LOVE the Avons but I've only got 89 miles on them so far. NO foggy idea on wear, we will find out.

Almost every bike I've owned with exception of my ex's Nighthawk ended up or came with Dunlops on it except I put ContiTwins on one of my SR500s. (I always thought the stock Bridgestones sucked.)

My Triumphs all came with Dunlops, as did the Norton and the PO had just put D404's on my '81 when I got it. I've put about 3K on the '81 so far, and the rear looks like it should go 8K easy, it's barely worn.

 

Bridgestone BT45's are IMO the Best tire one canbuy for most old bikes Moderate wear, but grip that only a Race tire could give when these Bikes were new. ChapparalMotorsports.com $80 a tire or less & Free delivery. Tough act to beat
They also carry chinese: Maxxis/ Cheng sins' for the truly cheap and a decent tire for the $..Likely better than Dunslops.

 

+1 on the BT45 Battlax's.
I had them on my ZX-9R and on my ZRX1100.
IMHO, you can't beat them for twice the price, for a high-perf sport-touring tire.

 

i have the Battle Axe 45s on my 750R and i have Metzler Perfect ME77s on the 550...

i dont ride too aggressively so i cant say that the 'stones are any more sticky than the german rubbers but they all seem to ride pretty good...

im getting Kenda 675s on the 900R. ive no experience with them...

 

I went out and looked at my tires. My front tire was made in 2000 and the rear tire was made in 2001. Looks like another item on my to-do list!

mikeg

 

My '83 had Cheng Shi*s on it when I got it; they adversely affected the handling of the 550 Seca. My '81 handles VERY nicely on the Dunlops; the '83 is FINE now with the Avons. The Cheng Shi*s made it want to "fall" into corners rather than roll in smoothly. (They had to go anyway they were 11 years old.)

Also, I do quite a bit of freeway riding so I avoid tires with a continuous center groove in the front as they tend to want to follow rain grooves.

 

For a good many years I replaced the rear tire on both of my Yamahas when the wear bars first started to show. That was always around 5k miles! I considered myself lucky if I got 6k. That meant in some seasons I was replacing a rear tire three times a year! Then I went to Dunlop Elite Threes on the rear. Both of the current tires (one on a 650 Maxim and one on an 1100XS) have OVER 12k on them and still have over 75% of the tread. Superior tire!!! Excellent on both the super slab and in the twistys, sticks to the road like a hungry woodtick, does super in the wet, does NOT tend to follow the groovies. This year the E3's are going on the front of these bikes also! In over forty years of riding I have never found another tire I liked this well